Developer Guide

This guide walks you through the full builder journey on Rival - from signup to earning from your published tools. Each step is self-contained, so you can jump to any section if you’re already partway through.

Go to cortexone.rival.io and create your account. You’ll verify your email, create an organization (your workspace on Rival), and set up a passkey. Choose your organization name carefully - it appears in tool URLs and marketplace listings and is difficult to change later.

For the full walkthrough, see the Quickstart.

Step 2: Verify your phone to claim Welcome Credits

After your org is set up, verify your phone to unlock $10 in Welcome Credits. These land in your Run Balance and are usable for any tool or agent run - perfect for testing your own work before spending more. Phone verification also unlocks Refer & Earn.

Step 3: Explore the marketplace

Before building, spend a few minutes in the Marketplace (top nav, or /marketplace). Browse Functions, MCPs, and Storm tools, run a couple using your Welcome Credits, and pay attention to how the published ones are documented. That’s your bar.

Step 4: Open Studio

Open Studio at cortexone.rival.io/studio. This is where you build tools. You can either start from a blank Tool Editor or - much faster - chat with RivalBot and describe what you want.

Step 5: Generate a draft with RivalBot

In the “What do you want to build?” prompt, describe your tool in plain language. RivalBot generates code, an input schema, test cases, metadata, and an icon, then hands you the Tool Editor pre-filled. Iterate by chatting - “Add error handling”, “Also accept an optional language parameter” - instead of rewriting by hand.

See Building with RivalBot for the full chat experience.

Step 6: Choose your tool type

Three options:

Function - general-purpose handler in Python, Python 3.13 — Fast, JavaScript, or Lua. API integrations, transformations, algorithms.
MCP - a JSON-RPC 2.0 endpoint AI agents can discover and call.
Storm - no-code content tagging driven by a topic file.

Step 7: Choose your runtime

For Functions, pick Python, Python 3.13 — Fast, JavaScript, or Lua. For MCP tools, pick Python, JavaScript, or Lua. Python has the broadest ecosystem and is the default for AI/data work. Python 3.13 — Fast has the lowest Python latency but no outbound HTTP. JavaScript and Lua have fast cold starts. Storm tools don’t use a runtime.

Step 8: Write or refine your handler

The handler is the function Rival calls when your tool is executed. It receives the input event and must return a structured response. Keep it focused and return clear errors on bad input. See Writing Code for language-specific details.

Step 9: Define your input schema and events

The input schema is the contract between your tool and its callers - including AI agents that read it to know how to call you. After defining it, save at least one event with realistic values. Events power the Test panel and appear in the marketplace listing.

Step 10: Add environment variables if needed

If you need API keys or secrets, set them as environment variables in your tool’s settings - don’t hardcode. See Environment Variables.

Step 11: Test from the Test panel

Run your saved events from the Test panel inside the Tool Editor. Check the output shape, edge cases, and error responses. Use the Run History to inspect any failed runs.

Step 12: Polish branding and documentation

Add a clear one-sentence description, a useful overview, and per-field docs for your inputs and outputs. Usage is driven by clarity - a well-documented tool will out-perform a technically better but vague one every time.

Step 13: Publish and choose pricing

When you’re ready, publish from the Tool Editor. Pick visibility (Private or Public) and pricing (Free or Paid). Paid tools earn you 85% of every run - see Monetization. See Versions & Publishing for the full publish flow.

Step 14: Call your tool from code

Every tool has an API endpoint. Create an API key in your account settings, then POST to the tool URL with a JSON body containing an event field. Pass the key as Authorization: <key> (no Bearer prefix). See Error Reference for response codes.

Step 15: Monitor runs in My Tools

The My Tools dashboard has tabs for All · Built by you · Used · Favorites · Run History. Run History shows every execution - input, output, run cost, status - so you can debug failures and watch real-world usage.

Step 16: Withdraw earnings and refer other builders

Earnings from paid tools land in your Wallet. Set up Payouts to withdraw. Share your Refer & Earn link to earn 5% of revenue from anyone who signs up through it - paid from Rival’s platform cut, capped at $500 per referred user per year.