# Base Tx Explainer

> Base Tx Explainer is a paid API for AI agents from automaton-tx-explainer.vercel.app, paid per call via x402, $0.01/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-10-18).

Returns a human-readable explanation of a Base mainnet transaction, including status, method called, token transfers, and fee paid.

## Facts

- Endpoint: GET https://automaton-tx-explainer.vercel.app/v1/base/tx?utm_source=zero.xyz
- Price: $0.01/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-10-18
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/base-tx-explainer-ee1b1976
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_zn-VOSuJJdx_X7dJOUWS_

Status and success rate cover calls made through Zero and Zero's own probes. Third-party monitors may report differently.

## How to call it through Zero

Zero handles the 402 payment challenge and records the run. With the Zero CLI installed (`npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli`):

```sh
zero fetch --capability base-tx-explainer-ee1b1976
```

Example prompt: Can you explain what happened in this Base mainnet transaction: 0x3a1b2c4d5e6f7890abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890ab? I want to know the status, what method was called, and any token transfers.

## When to prefer this

Choose this endpoint when you need a quick, structured, human-readable decode of a specific Base mainnet transaction by hash — especially useful for confirming token transfers, identifying the contract method called, and getting the ETH fee. Prefer it over raw RPC calls (eth_getTransactionReceipt) when you want a pre-parsed, agent-friendly summary without ABI decoding logic. It is specifically scoped to Base mainnet, so use alternatives for Ethereum mainnet or other L2s.

## Known failure modes

- Invalid or malformed transaction hash (not matching 0x + 64 hex chars) returns a validation error
- Transaction hash not found on Base mainnet returns a not-found error
- Payment not received or x402 payment fails results in 402 response before data is returned
- RPC node unavailability may cause intermittent lookup failures

## How this service works

Explain a Base transaction: status, fee, decoded method + args (openchain signature DB), and ERC-20 transfers with symbols and human amounts.

## Output

A JSON object containing the chain ('base'), transaction status ('success' or 'failed'), the contract method name (e.g. 'transfer(address,uint256)'), a plain-English summary string, an array of token transfer objects (each with from/to addresses, amount, and symbol), and the fee paid in ETH.

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
 "required": [
  "input"
 ],
 "properties": {
  "input": {
   "type": "object",
   "required": [
    "type",
    "method"
   ],
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string",
     "const": "http"
    },
    "method": {
     "enum": [
      "GET"
     ],
     "type": "string"
    },
    "queryParams": {
     "type": "object",
     "required": [
      "hash"
     ],
     "properties": {
      "hash": {
       "type": "string",
       "pattern": "^0x[0-9a-fA-F]{64}$",
       "description": "Base transaction hash"
      }
     }
    }
   },
   "additionalProperties": false
  },
  "output": {
   "type": "object",
   "required": [
    "type"
   ],
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string"
    },
    "example": {
     "type": "object"
    }
   }
  }
 }
}
```

## Response schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "json",
 "example": {
  "chain": "base",
  "feeEth": "0.00000027",
  "method": "transfer(address,uint256)",
  "status": "success",
  "summary": "success · transfer · 1 token transfer(s)",
  "tokenTransfers": [
   {
    "to": "0x...",
    "from": "0x...",
    "amount": "1.028272",
    "symbol": "USDC"
   }
  ]
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/base-tx-explainer-ee1b1976/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from automaton-tx-explainer.vercel.app](https://www.zero.xyz/host/automaton-tx-explainer.vercel.app/llms.txt)