FAQs
What is Rival?
Rival is the platform for AI agents and the tools they call. You can browse and run tools and agents from the Marketplace, build your own in Studio with RivalBot (the chat assistant), and earn when others run what you publish.
What is a tool on Rival?
A tool is the core unit of work - a self-contained, executable piece of logic with a defined input schema and output, hosted and run by Rival on demand. Tools can be called from the dashboard, via API, or by AI agents. Each tool goes through Draft → Private → Public as you build, test, and publish.
What are the different tool types?
Rival supports three tool types. Function is a code handler in Python, Python 3.13 — Fast, JavaScript, or Lua - the most flexible type. MCP is a JSON-RPC 2.0 tool designed to be called directly by AI agents. Storm is a no-code content tagging engine - you upload a topic file and it classifies incoming content for you.
How do I get started?
Sign up at cortexone.rival.io with your email. You’ll verify your email, create an organization, and set up a passkey. Then verify your phone to unlock $10 in Welcome Credits in your Run Balance. From there, browse the Marketplace or open Studio and describe what you want to build.
What is Run Balance?
Run Balance is your execution quota - it’s debited every time you run a tool or agent. It’s separate from your Wallet, which is your withdrawable cash balance. Plans (Free, Starter, Pro, Team, Enterprise) include a monthly Run Balance allotment.
What plans are available?
Five tiers: Free, Starter, Pro, Team, Enterprise. Each sets your monthly Run Balance, seat count, and feature access. Compare them on the Plans page or in-app at cortexone.rival.io/user/billings.
How do I earn money on Rival?
Publish a tool as paid and set a price per run. When someone runs it, you receive 85% of the run cost. Earnings land in your Wallet and you can withdraw via Payouts. You can also earn through Refer & Earn - 5% of revenue from anyone who signs up through your referral link, paid from Rival’s platform cut.
What happens when my Run Balance hits zero?
New runs return a 402 Payment Required error. Your tools, agents, and data are untouched - only execution is paused. Top Up your Run Balance from the Billing Overview or Upgrade your plan.
What’s the difference between Private and Public tools?
A Private tool is visible only to members of your organization. It won’t appear in the marketplace. A Public tool is listed in the marketplace and can be run by anyone. You can move from Private to Public any time; going back can affect callers already using it.
Can I change my organization name?
Organization names appear in tool URLs and marketplace listings, so renaming has downstream effects. Contact support@rival.io - don’t create a new organization as a workaround.
How do I invite my team?
Go to your workspace settings, open Members, and enter the invitee’s email and role (Member or Admin). They get an email; invitations expire in 24 hours. After joining, Members need to be assigned to specific tools or teams before they can act on them.
What runtimes are supported?
Functions can be written in Python, Python 3.13 — Fast, JavaScript, or Lua. MCP tools support Python, JavaScript, and Lua. Python has the broadest library ecosystem and full PyPI access. Python 3.13 — Fast has the lowest latency for self-contained computation. JavaScript and Lua have fast cold starts. Storm tools require no code - just a topic file.
What is an event?
An event is a sample input used to run or test a tool. When you build a tool you define an input schema; an event is a concrete instance of that schema. Events power the Test panel and appear in the tool’s marketplace listing so callers know what valid input looks like.
What is a test case?
A test case is an event you’ve saved to verify your tool behaves correctly. Running test cases catches regressions when you update code and gives marketplace users confidence the tool works.
How does Refer & Earn work?
Owners who have verified their phone get a referral link in the Refer & Earn section. When a referred user signs up and builds paid tools, you earn 5% of their tool revenue - drawn from Rival’s platform fee, not the creator’s share. Capped at $500 per referred user per calendar year, paid monthly Net 30. See Refer & Earn.
What’s the difference between a tool and an agent?
A tool is a single executable unit - call it with input, get output. A Rival Agent is a configurable AI assistant with its own persona that can call tools, read knowledge sources, connect to services, and run on a schedule via Rituals.
Where can I get help?
Email support@rival.io for account, billing, or technical questions. Include your organization name, tool ID, input, and exact error message. See the Support page for what to include in a bug report.