Implement a Spending Limit for Regulatory Compliance
Set an agent's spending limit in MAWS, test it with preflight, and see exactly what does — and does not — enforce it.
What You Will Learn
- ✓How to set an agent's spending limit (stored in the IdentityRegistry, enforced by MAWS).
- ✓How to use policy preflight to test limits.
- ✓What MAWS and the chain's PCL each do with a violation.
Prerequisites
- An ACTIVE agent holding at least 200 OKRW — for example, the agent from Create and Fund Your First Agent.
Tools Needed
MCP Client
To keep an AI agent within a budget, set a
spendingLimit on its IdentityRegistry record. MAWS enforces it before it signs anything; the chain does not read it, so it does not bind a transaction sent with the agent wallet's key outside MAWS. 1
1. Set the Policy
Use
policy.set to establish a 100 OKRW limit per transaction.LLM Tool Call
policy.set json
{
"agentId": "<agent-id>",
"spendingLimit": "100"
} 2
2. Test with Preflight
Before attempting a transfer, use
policy.preflight to see if a 150 OKRW transfer would be allowed.LLM Tool Call
policy.preflight json
{
"agentId": "<agent-id>",
"to": "0xRandomAddress",
"amount": "150"
} Note: The preflight returns
policyCheck.allowed: false and canTransact: false, with the reason Amount 150 OKRW exceeds spending limit 100 OKRW. 3
3. Attempt the Transfer
If the agent ignores the preflight and calls
transfer.send for 150 OKRW anyway, the MCP server will block it off-chain and return a POLICY_REJECTED ToolError. transfer.send checks the balance before the policy, so the agent must hold at least 150 OKRW to reach this error; with less, it returns INSUFFICIENT_BALANCE instead.LLM Tool Call
transfer.send json
{
"agentId": "<agent-id>",
"to": "0xRandomAddress",
"amount": "150"
}Conclusion
MAWS now refuses any transfer above the limit before signing it. That is the whole of this limit's enforcement: no chain module reads
spendingLimit. For a cap the chain itself enforces, store a TransferLimit value (a 32-byte uint256 in atokrw); the chain enforces it only where AGENT_OKRW_TRANSFER_LIMIT_POLICY is configured, and the testnet's global policy does not configure it — see pcl-template-agent-okrw-transfer-limit-policy.