Is discovery the same as API authentication?
No. Discovery explains available product surfaces; authenticated access governs durable or premium reads.
Agent-native market data
How to let trading agents discover data capabilities safely
Expose a narrow product discovery layer first. The agent can learn capabilities, plan boundaries, and safe next commands without touching backend adapters or privileged routes.
Question
How can a trading agent learn which market-data surfaces exist without probing private services?
When this problem happens
- Agents may probe endpoints opportunistically if capability boundaries are not explicit.
- Private service names and routes become accidental prompt context when discovery is ad hoc.
- Trading workflows need to know what is readable before they ask for premium or account-scoped data.
Recommended architecture
Keep discovery narrow, public-safe, and product-scoped; route all privileged market reads through account-aware authorization.
Implementation steps
- Start with guide and access-matrix discovery instead of direct adapter probing.
- Allow only selected starter market reads for first-touch exploration.
- Require authenticated account access for status, usage, premium routes, and durable automation.
- Record capability decisions in docs or handoffs so later agents do not rediscover by trial and error.
Example workflow
cornerstones-client guide
cornerstones-client changelog
# then use dashboard-issued access for authenticated market readsComparison table
| Option | Best for | Tradeoff |
|---|---|---|
| Cornerstones | Agent-native market context | Requires adopting a product-level access model |
| Raw private integration | Human-operated internal systems | Can expose credentials, adapters, and unstable implementation details to agents |
| Static prompt paste | One-off prototypes | No freshness, usage accounting, entitlement boundary, or repeatable evidence trail |
FAQ
Can agents see every backend route?
No. Agents should see customer-facing capabilities, not backend implementation topology.
Why include plan boundaries in discovery?
Plan boundaries stop agents from assuming premium surfaces are available under starter access.
What should changelog access show?
Public-facing changelog material should describe product changes without exposing private source infrastructure.