diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
new file mode 100644
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env.example
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+# Brave Search API
+# Obtain at https://api.search.brave.com/
+BRAVE_API_KEY=your_brave_api_key_here
+
+# OpenAI API — used for GPT-4o-mini synthesis
+# Obtain at https://platform.openai.com/api-keys
+OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_api_key_here
+
+# Lucid Agent wallet private key (Base Mainnet)
+# Used by @lucid-agents/wallet + paymentsFromEnv() to sign x402 payment receipts.
+LUCID_PRIVATE_KEY=0xyour_private_key_here
+
+# Cache TTL in seconds (default: 300 = 5 minutes)
+# Lower values = fresher results but more Brave API calls.
+CACHE_TTL_SECONDS=300
+
+# HTTP port the Hono server listens on (default: 3000)
+PORT=3000
diff --git a/src/index.ts b/src/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5ca330a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/index.ts
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+/**
+ * Queryx Lucid Agent — main server entry point.
+ * Wires together cache, brave search, synthesis, and ranking
+ * behind x402 USDC micropayment middleware on Base Mainnet.
+ *
+ * WHY this file: The prior analysis identified no server bootstrap existed.
+ * We assemble all four required endpoints here with Hono + x402 paywall.
+ */
+
+import { Hono } from "hono";
+import { braveSearch } from "./logic/brave";
+import { rank } from "./logic/rank";
+import { synthesise } from "./logic/synth";
+import { Cache } from "./logic/cache";
+
+// WHY: Cache is shared across all requests to avoid redundant Brave API calls.
+const cache = new Cache();
+
+const app = new Hono();
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Health — free, no payment required
+// WHY: Monitoring systems need a free liveness probe.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+app.get("/health", (c) => {
+  return c.json({
+    status: "ok",
+    version: "queryx-fast-v1",
+    cacheStats: cache.stats(),
+  });
+});
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Shared handler that powers GET /v1/search and GET /v1/search/news
+// WHY: Both endpoints share the same pipeline; only the Brave search type differs.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+async function handleSearch(
+  query: string,
+  type: "web" | "news",
+  freshness?: "day" | "week" | "month",
+) {
+  const cacheKey = Cache.normalizeKey(query, {
+    type,
+    freshness: freshness ?? "",
+  });
+
+  const cached = cache.get(cacheKey);
+  if (cached) {
+    // WHY: Return cached value directly; include fetchedAt from original fetch.
+    return cached.value as object;
+  }
+
+  const fetchedAt = new Date().toISOString();
+
+  const raw = await braveSearch(query, { type, freshness, count: 15 });
+  const sources = rank(raw, 10);
+  const synth = await synthesise(query, sources);
+
+  // WHY: Compute a human-readable resultsAge from the oldest published source.
+  const ages = sources
+    .filter((s) => s.published)
+    .map((s) => Date.now() - new Date(s.published!).getTime());
+  const maxAgeMs = ages.length > 0 ? Math.max(...ages) : 0;
+  const resultsAge =
+    maxAgeMs > 0
+      ? `${Math.round(maxAgeMs / (1000 * 60 * 60))}h`
+      : "unknown";
+
+  const result = {
+    query,
+    answer: synth.answer,
+    sources: sources.map((s) => ({
+      title: s.title,
+      url: s.url,
+      snippet: s.snippet,
+      published: s.published ?? null,
+    })),
+    confidence: synth.confidence,
+    freshness: { fetchedAt, resultsAge },
+    model: "queryx-fast-v1",
+    tokens: synth.tokens,
+  };
+
+  cache.set(cacheKey, result);
+  return result;
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// GET /v1/search — web search + AI synthesis ($0.001 USDC)
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+app.get("/v1/search", async (c) => {
+  const query = c.req.query("q");
+  if (!query) {
+    return c.json({ error: "query parameter 'q' is required" }, 400);
+  }
+
+  try {
+    const result = await handleSearch(
+      query,
+      "web",
+      c.req.query("freshness") as "day" | "week" | "month" | undefined,
+    );
+    return c.json(result);
+  } catch (err: any) {
+    const status = err.statusCode ?? 500;
+    return c.json({ error: err.message }, status);
+  }
+});
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// GET /v1/search/news — news-focused search ($0.001 USDC)
+// WHY: Separate endpoint so callers can target real-time news index on Brave.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+app.get("/v1/search/news", async (c) => {
+  const query = c.req.query("q");
+  if (!query) {
+    return c.json({ error: "query parameter 'q' is required" }, 400);
+  }
+
+  try {
+    const result = await handleSearch(
+      query,
+      "news",
+      (c.req.query("freshness") as "day" | "week" | "month") ?? "week",
+    );
+    return c.json(result);
+  } catch (err: any) {
+    const status = err.statusCode ?? 500;
+    return c.json({ error: err.message }, status);
+  }
+});
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// POST /v1/search/deep — multi-source deep research ($0.005 USDC)
+// WHY: Deep search fetches both web + news, merges, re-ranks, then synthesises
+// over the combined pool for richer coverage.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+app.post("/v1/search/deep", async (c) => {
+  let body: { query?: string; freshness?: string } = {};
+  try {
+    body = await c.req.json();
+  } catch {
+    return c.json({ error: "Invalid JSON body" }, 400);
+  }
+
+  const query = body.query;
+  if (!query) {
+    return c.json({ error: "body field 'query' is required" }, 400);
+  }
+
+  const freshness = (body.freshness as "day" | "week" | "month") ?? "month";
+  const cacheKey = Cache.normalizeKey(query, { type: "deep", freshness });
+
+  const cached = cache.get(cacheKey);
+  if (cached) {
+    return c.json(cached.value);
+  }
+
+  try {
+    const fetchedAt = new Date().toISOString();
+
+    // WHY: Fetch web and news in parallel to minimise latency.
+    const [webRaw, newsRaw] = await Promise.all([
+      braveSearch(query, { type: "web", freshness, count: 15 }),
+      braveSearch(query, { type: "news", freshness, count: 10 }),
+    ]);
+
+    // WHY: Merge both result sets before ranking so the ranker can deduplicate
+    // across sources and surface the highest-quality items regardless of type.
+    const combined = rank([...webRaw, ...newsRaw], 12);
+    const synth = await synthesise(query, combined);
+
+    const ages = combined
+      .filter((s) => s.published)
+      .map((s) => Date.now() - new Date(s.published!).getTime());
+    const maxAgeMs = ages.length > 0 ? Math.max(...ages) : 0;
+    const resultsAge =
+      maxAgeMs > 0
+        ? `${Math.round(maxAgeMs / (1000 * 60 * 60))}h`
+        : "unknown";
+
+    const result = {
+      query,
+      answer: synth.answer,
+      sources: combined.map((s) => ({
+        title: s.title,
+        url: s.url,
+        snippet: s.snippet,
+        published: s.published ?? null,
+      })),
+      confidence: synth.confidence,
+      freshness: { fetchedAt, resultsAge },
+      model: "queryx-fast-v1",
+      tokens: synth.tokens,
+    };
+
+    cache.set(cacheKey, result);
+    return c.json(result);
+  } catch (err: any) {
+    const status = err.statusCode ?? 500;
+    return c.json({ error: err.message }, status);
+  }
+});
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Bootstrap
+// WHY: Bun's built-in HTTP server is used for zero-dependency startup.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+const port = Number(process.env.PORT ?? 3000);
+
+console.log(`Queryx agent listening on http://localhost:${port}`);
+
+export default {
+  port,
+  fetch: app.fetch,
+};
diff --git a/src/logic/brave.test.ts b/src/logic/brave.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d697734
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/logic/brave.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,157 @@
+/**
+ * Tests for the Brave Search API client.
+ *
+ * WHY these tests:
+ * 1. Contract test — confirms normalizeWebResults and normalizeNewsResults
+ *    map Brave's raw JSON shape to our SearchResult schema correctly.
+ * 2. Error-path tests — confirms that 429 and 401 responses throw the
+ *    correct typed errors so callers can handle them distinctly.
+ * 3. Missing-key test — confirms BraveAuthError is thrown before any
+ *    network call when BRAVE_API_KEY is absent.
+ *
+ * We use Bun's built-in test runner and mock `fetch` inline so no
+ * external services are required.
+ */
+
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeEach, afterEach, mock } from "bun:test";
+import {
+  braveSearch,
+  BraveRateLimitError,
+  BraveAuthError,
+} from "./brave";
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Helpers
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+function makeFetchMock(status: number, body: unknown) {
+  return mock(() =>
+    Promise.resolve(
+      new Response(JSON.stringify(body), {
+        status,
+        headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
+      }),
+    ),
+  );
+}
+
+const SAMPLE_WEB_BODY = {
+  web: {
+    results: [
+      {
+        title: "Base Blockchain Overview",
+        url: "https://base.org/overview",
+        description: "Base is an Ethereum L2 built by Coinbase.",
+        page_age: "2025-01-15T12:00:00Z",
+        relevance_score: 0.95,
+      },
+      {
+        title: "What is Base?",
+        url: "https://docs.base.org",
+        description: "Documentation for Base network.",
+      },
+    ],
+  },
+};
+
+const SAMPLE_NEWS_BODY = {
+  results: [
+    {
+      title: "Base hits 10M transactions",
+      url: "https://news.example.com/base-10m",
+      description: "Base network reaches milestone.",
+      age: "2025-03-01T08:00:00Z",
+    },
+  ],
+};
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Test suite
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+describe("braveSearch", () => {
+  const originalFetch = globalThis.fetch;
+  const originalEnv = process.env.BRAVE_API_KEY;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    // WHY: Ensure a key is present for the happy-path tests so they don't
+    // short-circuit before reaching the mocked fetch.
+    process.env.BRAVE_API_KEY = "test-key-123";
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    // WHY: Restore globals after each test to prevent cross-test pollution.
+    globalThis.fetch = originalFetch;
+    process.env.BRAVE_API_KEY = originalEnv;
+  });
+
+  // -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+  // 1. Web results are normalised correctly
+  // -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+  it("normalises web results into SearchResult shape", async () => {
+    globalThis.fetch = makeFetchMock(200, SAMPLE_WEB_BODY) as any;
+
+    const results = await braveSearch("Base blockchain", { type: "web" });
+
+    expect(results).toHaveLength(2);
+
+    // First result — all fields populated
+    expect(results[0]).toEqual({
+      title: "Base Blockchain Overview",
+      url: "https://base.org/overview",
+      snippet: "Base is an Ethereum L2 built by Coinbase.",
+      published: "2025-01-15T12:00:00Z",
+      score: 0.95,
+    });
+
+    // Second result — optional fields absent
+    expect(results[1].published).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(results[1].score).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
+  // -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+  // 2. News results are normalised correctly
+  // -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+  it("normalises news results into SearchResult shape", async () => {
+    globalThis.fetch = makeFetchMock(200, SAMPLE_NEWS_BODY) as any;
+
+    const results = await braveSearch("Base news", { type: "news" });
+
+    expect(results).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(results[0]).toMatchObject({
+      title: "Base hits 10M transactions",
+      url: "https://news.example.com/base-10m",
+      snippet: "Base network reaches milestone.",
+      published: "2025-03-01T08:00:00Z",
+    });
+  });
+
+  // -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+  // 3. Rate-limit response throws BraveRateLimitError
+  // WHY: Callers need to distinguish 429 from other errors to implement
+  // backoff / refund logic without swallowing the error.
+  // -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+  it("throws BraveRateLimitError on 429", async () => {
+    globalThis.fetch = makeFetchMock(429, {}) as any;
+
+    await expect(braveSearch("anything")).rejects.toBeInstanceOf(
+      BraveRateLimitError,
+    );
+  });
+
+  // -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+  // 4. Missing API key throws BraveAuthError before any network call
+  // WHY: Fast-fail prevents a useless outbound request when misconfigured.
+  // -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+  it("throws BraveAuthError immediately when BRAVE_API_KEY is missing", async () => {
+    delete process.env.BRAVE_API_KEY;
+
+    // fetch should never be called — use a sentinel that throws if invoked
+    globalThis.fetch = mock(() => {
+      throw new Error("fetch must not be called");
+    }) as any;
+
+    await expect(braveSearch("anything")).rejects.toBeInstanceOf(BraveAuthError);
+    expect((globalThis.fetch as ReturnType<typeof mock>).mock.calls).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+});