Overview - Transparent Proxy

Monetize your API in minutes without changing a single line of code. The transparent proxy sits between your customers and your backend, handling payments automatically at the network edge.

How it works

When an API consumer (client) requests your API through Kobaru, the proxy handles the entire payment lifecycle:

Client requests your endpoint through access.kobaru.io/{your-slug}/path

No payment? Kobaru returns HTTP 402 with payment instructions

Client pays by signing a blockchain transaction

Client retries with payment proof in the Payment-Signature header

Kobaru verifies the payment and forwards the request to your backend

Your backend responds normally - it never sees payment details

Usage is tracked and refunds are processed if needed

The entire flow takes under 2 seconds.

What you get

Zero code changes - Your backend stays exactly as it is

Edge performance - Runs on the edge on more than 100+ datacenters worldwide

Automatic usage tracking - Pay-per-request and pay-per-time models

Smart refunds - Automatic refunds when your backend returns errors

Multi-network payments - Accept Solana, Base, and SKALE

Setup checklist

Getting your proxy live takes four steps. Each step builds on the previous one.

Step	What you do	Where
1. Verify your domain	Prove you own the domain your API runs on	Domain verification
2. Create a proxy service	Register your API with a slug and base URL	Service setup
3. Enable a payment capability	Choose which blockchain network to accept payments on	Capabilities and routes
4. Configure the capability	Set your wallet address, price, and usage model	Capabilities and routes

Optional: Add route exceptions to override pricing for specific API paths.

Proxy overview dashboard

The Proxy page in the Console gives you a bird's-eye view of your configuration.

Setup checklist

The dashboard shows your progress through the setup steps. Incomplete steps are highlighted with clear instructions on what to do next.

Plain-English status

Once setup is complete, you see a human-readable summary:

My Weather Service is active, receiving requests at
https://access.kobaru.io/weather/* which forwards to
https://api.weather.com/*, charging 0.1 USDC on Solana
(wallet AbC1...Xy4Z) for 100 requests.

Health warnings

The dashboard detects and warns about configuration issues:

Missing base URL - Service has no target to forward requests to

Inactive service - Service exists but won't process traffic

Incomplete capability - Missing wallet address, price, or usage settings

Each warning links directly to the page where you can fix the issue.

Statistics

Proxy services - Active and total count

Capabilities - Fully configured and incomplete count

Route exceptions - Number of active routes

Your gateway URL

Once configured, your API is accessible at:

https://access.kobaru.io/{your-slug}/*

All requests to this URL are forwarded to your backend's base URL. For example:

https://access.kobaru.io/weather/forecast?city=London
    --> https://api.weather-service.com/v3/forecast?city=London

What your backend receives

The proxy forwards clean requests to your backend. Payment headers are stripped and replaced with:

Header	Description
`X-Kobaru-Payment-Hash`	Unique identifier for the payment transaction

Your backend never sees payment tokens or blockchain details.

When to use the proxy

Choose the transparent proxy when:

You want the fastest path to monetization

Your backend is in any language (Go, Python, Rust, Java, etc.)

You don't want to add payment middleware to your code

You have a legacy API that can't be easily modified

Simple, uniform pricing works for your use case

Consider the Standard SDK instead when:

You need dynamic pricing based on request content

Your request bodies exceed 64KB

You need WebSocket support

You want full control over error handling and response formatting

Next steps

Start with domain verification to prove you own your API's domain.

Or if you prefer a complete walkthrough, follow along with the quick start guide which covers the entire setup end-to-end.

Overview - Transparent Proxy

How it works#

What you get#

Setup checklist#

Proxy overview dashboard#

Setup checklist#

Plain-English status#

Health warnings#

Statistics#

Your gateway URL#

What your backend receives#

When to use the proxy#

Next steps#

How it works

What you get

Setup checklist

Proxy overview dashboard

Setup checklist

Plain-English status

Health warnings

Statistics

Your gateway URL

What your backend receives

When to use the proxy

Next steps