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Version: mainnet (v0.71)

Programmatic trading basics

In this tutorial you'll learn the basics about how to use Vega and the Vega Wallet to submit orders using the APIs, so you can build bots or other software to interact with the network.

Network for tutorial

This guide suggests using Fairground, the Vega testnet, as well as Sepolia (test Ethereum) for testing purposes.

This guide covers how to:

  1. Set up your Vega Wallet
  2. Find a market to trade on
  3. Get testnet assets using Console
  4. Deposit assets
  5. Get market information
  6. Send transactions via the Vega Wallet
  7. Submit an order to place a trade
  8. Cancel an order
  9. Monitor trades and overall positions
  10. See example bot code in Go

This tutorial uses Linux commands. The overall guide will also work for Windows and MacOS, but you may need to update the command format. Each example command with a file path has a $HOME variable, which you should replace with your home path.

Set up your Vega Wallet​

Download the Vega Wallet software​

Each network, such as testnet, will have a compatible version of the CLI Wallet software, which should be used to interact with it. The Vega Wallet software manages wallets and the keys within them, and allows you to approve or reject site connections and transactions.

You can also sign transactions directly from your application with a signer library if one exists for the language you're using, but this is out of scope of this guide. You can refer to two example libs in the example code section.

Read more

Create a wallet: See a step-by-step guide to creating a Vega Wallet for testnet.

Check the docs site top bar to see what software version the network you need is running on, and download the equivalent version on GitHub ↗.

Choose the vegawallet-<os>-<arch>.zip for your machine, then unpack the file and make sure the resulting vegawallet executable is placed in your path. Run vegawallet software version to check if the right version is loaded.

Create a wallet and public/private keypair​

If you want to place or manage orders, you'll need to have a wallet to hold your private/public keypair, which is required for sending in new transactions. Once you've created a wallet, you'll also need to create a long life token for your application to prevent you from having to verify every transaction manually.

For all example commands below we are assuming the existence of the folder vega in your home directory which you will used to store all configuration and runtime files.

  1. Choose a name for your first wallet, and secure it with a passphrase. vegawallet --home=/$HOME/vega/wallet create --wallet=<WalletName>

  2. Create a token password file for the long lived tokens echo “password” > /$HOME/vega/tokenpassword.txt

  3. Initialise the long lived token support vegawallet --home=/$HOME/vega/wallet api-token init --passphrase-file=/vega/tokenpassword.txt

  4. Create an api token for the new wallet vegawallet --home=/$HOME/vega/wallet api-token generate --wallet-name=<WalletName> --tokens-passphrase-file=tokenpassword.txt

The last step will produce an API token that you must save or take note of, as it will be needed later when communicating with the wallet. You'll receive an output something like: ✓ The API token has been successfully generated: qqjkzoby9aXCN9K0zcAn1OhbWTzCsFvugK5AHRf1iuJxIEWG43fyEK28cbEmtRiT

Set up network config​

The wallet service needs to know which network it will be connecting to. To do this, download a configuration file from the relevant network repo. The file contains the addresses of the nodes on the network it can connect to.

Read more

Manage networks: Read about how to get specific network details and troubleshoot any issues.

Download the wallet configuration file for the testnet network called fairground.

mkdir /$HOME/vega/wallet/config/wallet-service/networks
cd /$HOME/vega/wallet/config/wallet-service/networks
curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vegaprotocol/networks-internal/main/fairground/vegawallet-fairground.toml > testnet.toml

Start the wallet service​

Start the wallet service by running:

vegawallet --home=/$HOME/vega/wallet service run --network=testnet --load-tokens

Find a market to trade on​

Find a market using the API​

To place a trade, rather than the market name, you'll need to find the market ID of the market you want to trade on.

Get a list of all the markets by using a node URL and the markets endpoint. For example, for testnet you can use: https://n08.testnet.vega.xyz/markets.

From this JSON output, you can see the market ID, as well as the asset ID for the market's settlement asset.

Find a market using Console​

You could, instead, use the Console trading interface to see the current markets and what state they're in, and take note of the market ID and settlement assset ID. Visit https://console.fairground.wtf/.

Check the wallet service is running correctly​

Once you're on the Console dApp, click on the button that says “CONNECT VEGA WALLET” and then click “CONNECT VEGA WALLET” again.

Choose your wallet and allow Console to connect to your wallet. If this works, then the wallet is running correctly and can be used by your bot for trading.

When connecting, you'll be given a prompt similar to this one: 

> The application "console.fairground.wtf" wants to connect to your wallet.
? Do you approve connecting your wallet to this application? (yes/no) yes
* Connection approved.
> Here are the available wallets:
    - TestBot
? Which wallet do you want to use? TestBot
> Enter the passphrase for the wallet "TestBot":
* The connection to the wallet has been successfully established.

> The application "console.fairground.wtf" requires the following permissions for "TestBot":
    - public_keys: read
? Do you want to grant these permissions? (yes/no) yes
* Permissions update approved.
* The permissions have been successfully updated.

Get testnet assets using Console​

  • Connect to your wallet in Console ↗.
  • Select the “MARKETS” option on the top toolbar, if you haven't picked a market from the pop-up market selector.
  • For the market you wish to trade on, click on the settlement asset. This will open an asset details dialog. Select the contract address to see details of the asset’s smart contract on Etherscan.
  • Select “Contract” in the middle toolbar.
  • Select “Write” in the buttons below.
  • Select “Connect to Web3” and allow it to connect to your Ethereum wallet.
  • Further down the page, choose the faucet option, select it and click “Write”. This will create and transfer some of the asset to your Ethereum address.

Deposit assets​

Before submitting any orders, you'll need to deposit assets to the wallet you created above. This can be done from the Console dApp, or directly with the smart contract.

You'll need Sepolia ETH to pay for the Ethereum transaction gas.

Deposit using Console​

  • Go back to Console ↗ and select the “PORTFOLIO” button on the top toolbar.
  • Select the Deposits tab.
  • Click the “DEPOSIT” button on the bottom right.
  • Connect your Ethereum wallet to the dApp to populate the “from address”.
  • In the asset dropdown, select the asset you got in the faucet step.
  • Enter the amount of the asset you would like to transfer, taking into account the maximum limits shown above the data entry field.
  • Click the “DEPOSIT” button to perform the transfer from your Ethereum address to your Vega key.

After the transaction is confirmed, the assets will be deposited and you will see a new entry in the Deposits tab for your assets. They are now ready to be used for trading.

Deposit using Etherscan​

You'll need the following information available:

  • Vega public key you want to deposit to
  • ERC-20 bridge logic address
  • Token address for the asset
Ethereum addresses

Ensure the token you want to deposit is listed:

  • Go to etherscan.io/address/[erc20_bridge_logic_address]
  • Click "Contract"
  • Click "Read Contract"
  • Click "is_asset_listed"
  • Paste in the ERC20 token address and click "Query"
  • Ensure the result says "true"

Approve bridge to 'spend' the token:

  • Go to etherscan.io/address/[erc20_token_address]
  • Click "Contract"
  • Click "Write Contract"
  • Click "Connect to Web3" and follow instructions
  • Click "approve"
  • Under "spender" paste the erc20_bridge_logic_address
  • Under "amount" enter the amount you want to deposit (ensure the correct number of zeroes to account for the asset's decimals)
  • Click "Write" and follow the wallet prompts

Run the deposit asset function:

  • Go to etherscan.io/address/[erc20_bridge_logic_address]
  • Click "Contract"
  • Click "Write Contract"
  • Click "Connect to Web3" and follow instructions
  • Click "deposit_asset"
  • Under "asset_source" paste in erc20_token_address
  • Under "amount" enter the amount you want to deposit (ensure the correct number of zeroes)
  • Under "vega_public_key" paste in your vega wallet public key
  • Click "Write" and follow the wallet prompts

Get market information​

If you plan to add orders into the order book using limit orders, rather than have them fill immediately (market orders), then you'll need to know the current state of the market so you can accurately price the new orders you are sending.

Follow the REST documentation to query the current market depth for the market.

There is also a subscription service available using REST to give you the market depth data in real time as things change in the market.

Send transactions via the Vega Wallet​

To enter transactions into the network, you'll need to use Vega Wallet to encode and send the data packets. Every transaction sent to the wallet needs a minimum set of headers.

The origin and authorization fields must be populated.

Header NameValueExample
OriginUser defined name for the trading processmybot
AuthorizationString consisting of the constant “VWT“ and long lived token generated from the walletVWT <oHmxvahukhhUMs9OWObPZkaLB7Si2Ycfk5t4Pitp2FX4iYvgvGUPWTv3xKAIkOjQ>

The origin field can be any name that identifies the project you are working on. The Authorization field must be the long life token generated at the start and should be formatted as VWT <token>

Template for sending request​

The template below allows you to send a transaction that uses your authorization token and pulls from a file you'll have created with the JSON request.

In the following sections, you'll learn how to format 'submit order' and 'cancel order' commands. 

curl -v -H "Content-Type: application/json" -H "Origin:mybot" -H "Authorization:VWT <YOUR_AUTHORIZATION_TOKEN>" localhost:1789/api/v2/requests -d @<FILE-CONTAINING-JSON-REQUEST>

Get your public key​

You need to provide your public key when sending a transaction to the network, so that the transaction can be decoded. You can get your public key from the wallet using the “client.list_keys” method.

Perform a POST request with the following body:

{
  "id": "1",
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "client.list_keys"
}

This will generate a response similar to this:

{"jsonrpc":"2.0","result":{"keys":[{"name":"Key 1","publicKey":"bb4bff0825f45210ce8fab46f0086bfb4c8d47707b011ce294b3fbb9a5b4125c"}]},"id":"1"}

If the wallet has more than one keypair, all keypairs will be listed in the same response. If you only have one keypair, you can use the publicKey value returned in future transactions.

Submit an order to place a trade​

Copy the following JSON into a file and update the fields you require for your own order. Then, use the curl below to send your order submission to the network.

When choosing your price, be sure to account for decimal places, as well as the position decimal places. For example, for testnet you can find the information for the specific market using: https://n08.testnet.vega.xyz/markets. 

{
  "id":"1",
  "jsonrpc":"2.0",
  "method":"client.send_transaction",
  "params":
  {
    "publicKey":"YOUR_PUBLIC_KEY",
    "sendingMode":"TYPE_SYNC",
    "transaction":
    {
      "orderSubmission":
      {
        "market_id":"MARKET_ID_TO_TARGET",
        "price":"500000",
        "size":1,
        "side":1,
        "time_in_force":1,
        "type":1
      }
    }
  }
}

Then send the order using the following command:

curl -v -H "Content-Type: application/json" -H "Origin:mybot" -H "Authorization:VWT <TOKEN>" localhost:1789/api/v2/requests -d @sendtrade.json

Cancel an order​

Copy the following JSON into a file and update the fields you require for your own order. Then, use the curl below to send your order cancellation to the network.

{
  "id":"1",
  "jsonrpc":"2.0",
  "method":"client.send_transaction",
  "params":
  {
    "publicKey":"bb4bff0825f45210ce8fab46f0086bfb4c8d47707b011ce294b3fbb9a5b4125c",
    "sendingMode":"TYPE_SYNC",
    "transaction":
    {
      "orderCancellation":
      {
        "market_id":"10c7d40afd910eeac0c2cad186d79cb194090d5d5f13bd31e14c49fd1bded7e2"
      }
    }
  }
}

Send the order cancellation using the following command:

curl -v -H "Content-Type: application/json" -H "Origin:mybot" -H "Authorization:VWT <TOKEN>" localhost:1789/api/v2/requests -d @sendcancel.json

Monitor trades and overall positions​

You can use the curl command to subscribe to the endpoints that return order and position information using REST:

Example code​

Signer libraries​

Refer to the following example libraries for submitting signed transactions to the Vega protocol via gRPC, bypassing the Vega Wallet. Note, these may not be actively maintained, so you should test before using either on an active network.

Bot code​

If you want to use Go to perform the same actions, see the sample bot at github.com/jeremyletang/vegamm ↗. Note that this code may not be actively maintained, so you should to test it before using it on an active network.