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An inference permit is a model-bound deposit of credits in TulipInferenceEscrow. It limits how much the Gateway can settle for a user’s requests without giving the Gateway arbitrary wallet access.

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Permit fields

Each permit records:
  • Owner.
  • Credit token and model ID.
  • Optional pinned provider offer.
  • Remaining credit balance.
  • Expiration time.
  • Close request and closed state.
The escrow verifies that the deposited token is the canonical credit for the selected model.

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Request lifecycle

1

Quote

The Gateway tokenizes the prompt, assumes the requested maximum output, checks whether the endpoint must wake, and obtains the maximum charge from the on-chain tariff.
2

Reserve

The Gateway atomically reserves that maximum against the permit in its durable store. Concurrent requests cannot reuse the same available balance.
3

Serve and meter

The selected endpoint serves the request. The Gateway requires actual prompt and completion token usage from the upstream response.
4

Sign receipt

The Gateway releases the unused part of the reservation and signs an EIP-712 receipt containing the exact model, offer, tariff version, token usage, timestamps, and wake state.
5

Settle on-chain

Receipts are submitted to the escrow. The contract recomputes the charge, rejects replayed request IDs, debits the permit, and transfers credits to the recipients.

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Close and refund

The owner may top up an open, unexpired permit. To withdraw unused credits, the owner first requests closure. The contract enforces a 30-minute delay before closePermit refunds the remaining balance. The delay gives already issued receipts time to settle. A close request can be cancelled before final closure.

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Open or pinned provider selection

  • An open permit has a zero offer ID. The Gateway may select any eligible offer and may perform pre-output failover.
  • A pinned permit names one offer. Settlement rejects receipts from every other offer.
A permit is not an unlimited approval. Credits are transferred into escrow when the permit opens or is topped up. Only the unused escrow balance is refundable.