Elfa API Skill

This skill enables agents to work with the Elfa API — a social listening, market context layer, and automated condition engine for crypto. Elfa ingests real-time data from Twitter/X, Telegram, and other sources, then structures sentiment, narratives, and attention shifts into actionable trading insights. The Auto subsystem adds a managed condition engine and trigger pipeline — describe what to watch for, and Auto evaluates continuously and fires actions when conditions are met. The Trade subsystem adds direct, synchronous order execution — place and manage perp orders on Hyperliquid and GMX immediately, without a condition or query.

Full documentation: docs.elfa.ai

Staying current — check weekly. This skill is updated on a weekly cadence to track Elfa API and Auto changes. Before relying on it, check whether your copy may be stale: if it has been more than 7 days since this skill was last fetched/installed (or you are unsure), re-fetch the latest version before acting —

Skill package & changelog: https://go.elfa.ai/claude-skills (and the elfa-ai/skills repo).

Live source of truth: docs.elfa.ai — when this skill and the docs disagree, the docs win; prefer the docs and flag the mismatch to the user.

When in doubt about a specific endpoint, parameter, or price, verify against docs.elfa.ai at call time rather than trusting a possibly-stale copy.

Environment and credentials

Elfa supports API-key auth and x402 keyless payments. API keys are optional when using x402.

| Variable | Required | Use | |---|---:|---| | ELFA_API_KEY | No | API-key authenticated requests. Get a free key at https://go.elfa.ai/claude-skills. | | ELFA_HMAC_SECRET | No | HMAC secret for Auto trade-action mutations (market_order, limit_order, or llm callbacks to those) and exchange linking, and for all Trade (/v2/trade/*) write routes (place / cancel / modify / close / tpsl). Auto notification-only mutations (notify, telegram_bot, webhook, or llm callbacks to those) and Trade previews accept unsigned requests; the HMAC requirement on trade actions reflects current documented policy and is subject to change. Always-signing remains compatible if you prefer to avoid edge cases. | | ELFA_AGENT_SECRET | No | Persistent agent identity secret for x402 Auto. Generate once with openssl rand -hex 32 and reuse for query lifecycle calls. |

x402 wallet signing is handled client-side by @x402/fetch or @x402/axios.

When to use this skill

User asks about trending tokens, narratives, or contract addresses in crypto
User wants social mentions for a specific ticker or keyword
User wants smart stats (smart followers, engagement) for a Twitter/X account
User wants an AI-generated market summary, macro overview, or token analysis
User asks how to integrate, call, or use the Elfa API
User wants code examples (curl, Python, JavaScript/TypeScript) for Elfa endpoints
User mentions "elfa" in a crypto or trading data context
User wants to set up automated alerts or monitoring on price, indicators, or narratives
User wants to build condition-based triggers (e.g., "alert me when BTC crosses 100k")
User mentions Auto, EQL, condition engine, or trigger pipeline in a crypto context
User wants agent workflows that react to market conditions automatically
User wants to build queries with Builder Chat using natural language

API Overview

Base URL: https://api.elfa.ai Version: v2 (current) Docs: docs.elfa.ai

Two access modes

Elfa supports two independent ways to authenticate requests:

| Mode | Endpoint prefix | Auth header | Best for | |---|---|---|---| | API key | /v2/ | x-elfa-api-key: YOUR_KEY | Humans & apps with a registered key | | x402 (keyless) | /x402/v2/ | PAYMENT-SIGNATURE: <signed-payload> | Agents & wallets — no signup needed |

Both modes access the same data. The only difference is how you authenticate:

API key — register at https://go.elfa.ai/claude-skills, get 1,000 free credits.
x402 — pay per request with USDC on Base, Arbitrum, Polygon, or Avalanche. No registration, no API key. Currently in beta with a 70% discount on Auto endpoints.

Endpoints at a glance

Data endpoints

All endpoints below work with both /v2/ (API key) and /x402/v2/ (keyless) prefixes, except key-status which is API key mode only.

| Endpoint | Method | Description | Credits | |---|---|---|---| | /v2/key-status | GET | API key usage & limits (API key only) | Free | | /v2/aggregations/trending-tokens | GET | Trending tokens by mention count | 1 | | /v2/account/smart-stats | GET | Smart follower & engagement stats | 1 | | /v2/data/top-mentions | GET | Top mentions for a ticker symbol | 1 | | /v2/data/keyword-mentions | GET | Search mentions by keywords or account | 1 | | /v2/data/event-summary | GET | AI event summaries from keyword mentions | 5 | | /v2/data/trending-narratives | GET | Trending narrative clusters | 5 | | /v2/data/token-news | GET | Token-related news mentions | 1 | | /v2/aggregations/trending-cas/twitter | GET | Trending contract addresses (Twitter) | 1 | | /v2/aggregations/trending-cas/telegram | GET | Trending contract addresses (Telegram) | 1 | | /v2/chat | POST | AI chat with multiple analysis modes | Speed-based |

Auto endpoints (Condition Engine)

Auto endpoints are available under /v2/auto/ (API key, HMAC for trade/exchange routes) and /x402/v2/auto/ (keyless). See Auto docs for full details.

Auth column legend (tables below). API key = x-elfa-api-key only (no HMAC). Conditional = HMAC required only when the EQL action is trade-flavoured (market_order, limit_order, or llm callback to those); notification-only actions (notify, telegram_bot, webhook, llm callback to those) skip HMAC. HMAC = HMAC always required. See HMAC Bypass for Notification-Only Mutations.

API key mode (/v2/auto/*):

Query lifecycle:

| Endpoint | Method | Description | Auth | |---|---|---|---| | /v2/auto/chat | POST | Builder Chat — AI-assisted query building (produces drafts only) | API key | | /v2/auto/queries/validate | POST | Validate EQL and preview cost | API key | | /v2/auto/queries | POST | Create and activate a query | Conditional | | /v2/auto/queries | GET | List queries | API key | | /v2/auto/queries/:queryId | GET | Poll query status and executions (resolves query or draft) | API key | | /v2/auto/queries/:queryId/cancel | POST | Cancel an active query (returns 409 if status is terminal) | Conditional | | /v2/auto/queries/:queryId | DELETE | Delete a terminal query — only when status is triggered / expired / cancelled / failed (returns 409 otherwise; active queries must be cancelled first) | Conditional | | /v2/auto/queries/:queryId/stream | GET | Stream notifications via SSE | API key |

Query drafts (editable, not yet active):

| Endpoint | Method | Description | Auth | |---|---|---|---| | /v2/auto/queries/drafts | POST | Create or update (upsert) a query draft | Conditional | | /v2/auto/queries/drafts | GET | List editable query drafts | API key | | /v2/auto/queries/drafts/:draftId | GET | Get a specific draft (legacy — prefer GET /queries/{queryId}) | API key | | /v2/auto/queries/drafts/:draftId | DELETE | Delete a query draft | API key | | /v2/auto/queries/drafts/:draftId/validate | POST | Validate a stored draft | API key | | /v2/auto/queries/drafts/:draftId/convert | POST | Convert a draft into an active query | Conditional |

LLM sessions (for action.type: "llm" queries):

| Endpoint | Method | Description | Auth | |---|---|---|---| | /v2/auto/queries/:queryId/sessions | GET | List LLM sessions | API key | | /v2/auto/queries/:queryId/sessions/:sessionId | GET | Get full LLM session details | API key |

Executions (trigger fire records):

| Endpoint | Method | Description | Auth | |---|---|---|---| | /v2/auto/executions | GET | List execution records | API key | | /v2/auto/executions/:executionId | GET | Get a single execution record | API key |

Exchange connections (for live trade actions):

| Endpoint | Method | Description | Auth | |---|---|---|---| | /v2/auto/exchanges | POST | Connect an exchange integration | HMAC | | /v2/auto/exchanges | GET | List connected exchanges | API key | | /v2/auto/exchanges/:exchange | DELETE | Disconnect an exchange | HMAC |

Other:

| Endpoint | Method | Description | Auth | |---|---|---|---| | /v2/auto/validate-symbol/:exchange/:symbol | GET | Check whether a symbol is supported on a venue (exchange = hyperliquid / gmx) — pre-flight for trade actions and for price/ta data sources | API key |

x402 mode (/x402/v2/auto/*) — note: some routes use POST instead of GET:

| Endpoint | Method | Description | |---|---|---| | /x402/v2/auto/chat | POST | Builder Chat | | /x402/v2/auto/queries/validate | POST | Validate EQL and preview cost | | /x402/v2/auto/queries | POST | Create and activate a query | | /x402/v2/auto/queries/:queryId | POST | Poll query status (POST, not GET) | | /x402/v2/auto/queries/:queryId/cancel | POST | Cancel an active query | | /x402/v2/auto/queries/:queryId/stream | GET | Stream notifications via SSE | | /x402/v2/auto/queries/:queryId/sessions | POST | List LLM sessions (POST, not GET) | | /x402/v2/auto/queries/:queryId/sessions/:sessionId | POST | Get LLM session details (POST, not GET) |

Note on x402 Auto scope. Trade execution actions are not available via x402. Exchange connections, drafts, executions, and the terminal-query DELETE endpoint are API-key-mode only. x402 Auto covers the core monitoring lifecycle (chat, validate, create, poll, cancel, stream, sessions).

Trade endpoints (Direct Execution)

Trade is direct, synchronous order execution — one request, one order, no condition engine. Same x-elfa-api-key + HMAC auth and same venues (hyperliquid, gmx) as Auto; they differ only in when the order fires. Trade is API-key mode only (no x402). See Trade docs for full details.

All endpoints are POST under /v2/trade. HMAC is required on every write; previews are free and unsigned.

| Endpoint | Method | Description | HMAC | Credits | |---|---|---|---|---| | /v2/trade/orders | POST | Place a market or limit order | Yes | 1 | | /v2/trade/orders/preview | POST | Dry-run an order (wouldExecute) | No | Free | | /v2/trade/orders/cancel | POST | Cancel a resting order | Yes | Free | | /v2/trade/orders/modify | POST | Modify size / price / trigger price | Yes | Free | | /v2/trade/positions/close | POST | Close a position (full or partial) | Yes | 1 | | /v2/trade/positions/close/preview | POST | Dry-run a close | No | Free | | /v2/trade/positions/tpsl | POST | Set take-profit / stop-loss | Yes | 1 | | /v2/trade/positions/tpsl/preview | POST | Dry-run a TP/SL update | No | Free |

Credits & billing. 1 credit per executed order (place / close / tpsl), charged only on a 2xx; failed fills (422/502) are never billed. Previews, cancels, and modifies are free. Trade bypasses the monthly spend-cap hard-stop (a key over its limit still trades and bills overage).

For full parameter details, see the Elfa API documentation.

Machine-readable manifest: an endpoint manifest is published at https://docs.elfa.ai/assets/files/endpoints.manifest-*.json (path rotates per release) — each entry includes method/path, docs route, required headers, HMAC requirement with mounted signature path template, payment requirement, and request/response examples. Useful for auto-generating client code.

How to use this skill

Step 1: Determine the mode

Check whether the user wants to make a live call, get code/integration help, or set up automated monitoring.

If the user says things like "show me trending tokens", "what's the sentiment on SOL", "get me the top mentions for ETH" → they want live data. Proceed to Step 2a.
If the user says things like "how do I call the trending tokens endpoint", "give me a curl example", "help me integrate Elfa" → they want code snippets. Skip to Step 4.
If the user mentions x402, keyless, pay-per-request, or wallet-based access → they want x402 mode. See Step 2b for live calls or Step 4 for code snippets.
If the user mentions Auto, alerts, triggers, monitoring, conditions, "alert me when", "notify me if", EQL, or Builder Chat → they want Auto. Proceed to Step 3.

Step 2a: Making live API calls (API key mode)

Use the bash_tool to call the Elfa API via curl.

Getting the API key:

Check if the ELFA_API_KEY environment variable is set. This is the preferred method.
If the env var is not set, stop and prompt the user. Offer both options:

To make live calls, you have two options:

Option A — API key (free tier): Get a free key with 1,000 credits at https://go.elfa.ai/claude-skills — then set it as the ELFA_API_KEY environment variable (do not paste it directly into the chat).

Option B — x402 keyless payments: Pay per request with USDC on Base, Arbitrum, Polygon, or Avalanche — no signup needed. See the x402 docs for setup.

Do not attempt any authenticated API calls without a key or x402 setup. Wait for the user.
Credential safety:
- Always read the API key from the ELFA_API_KEY environment variable, never ask the user to paste it into the conversation.
- Never log or expose the full API key in outputs — mask it when displaying curl commands.
- Never echo or print environment variables: Do not run echo $ELFA_API_KEY, env | grep ELFA, printenv, or similar commands that would expose credentials in the transcript.
- If a user does paste a key in chat, warn them to rotate it and set it as an env var instead.

Free tier limitations: The free tier provides 1,000 credits that cover most endpoints (trending tokens, smart stats, top mentions, keyword mentions, event summary, token news, trending contract addresses). Some endpoints require a higher tier: trending narratives needs Grow or Enterprise, and AI chat needs Grow, Enterprise, or PAYG. The Chill tier adds more credits but no new endpoints over Free. Check https://go.elfa.ai/claude-skills for the latest tier requirements.

If a user hits an authorization error on one of these endpoints, let them know they can upgrade their plan or use x402 payments instead. Full details at https://go.elfa.ai/claude-skills.

Making the call:

curl -s -H "x-elfa-api-key: $ELFA_API_KEY" "https://api.elfa.ai/v2/aggregations/trending-tokens?timeWindow=24h&pageSize=10"

Step 2b: Making live API calls (x402 keyless mode)

x402 lets any wallet pay per request using USDC on Base, Arbitrum, Polygon, or Avalanche — no API key, no registration. This is ideal for agents, bots, and programmatic access.

How x402 works:

Send a request to the /x402/v2/ version of any endpoint (no auth header).
The server responds with HTTP 402 containing payment requirements.
Your wallet signs a USDC transfer authorization (no gas fees).
Resend the request with the signed payment in the PAYMENT-SIGNATURE header.
Server verifies payment, serves the response, and settles on-chain.

x402 signing and security:

Signing happens entirely client-side using the @x402/fetch or @x402/axios libraries. The agent never handles, stores, or transmits private keys.
The user's wallet private key is used only locally by the x402 library to sign EIP-712 typed data authorizing a specific USDC amount for a specific request.
Never ask the user to share their wallet private key or seed phrase in the conversation.
When generating x402 code examples, use "0xYOUR_PRIVATE_KEY" as a placeholder and advise the user to load it from an environment variable (e.g., process.env.PRIVATE_KEY).

x402 details:

Networks: the server offers every supported network in the 402 response; your client signs on the first one it's registered for. Register the network(s) you hold USDC on.
Scheme: exact (fixed price per request); asset is native Circle USDC (6 decimals).
Status: Currently in beta.

| Network | Chain ID | USDC Address | Facilitator | |---|---|---|---| | Base | eip155:8453 | 0x833589fCD6eDb6E08f4c7C32D4f71b54bdA02913 | xpay.sh, payai.network | | Arbitrum | eip155:42161 | 0xaf88d065e77c8cC2239327C5EDb3A432268e5831 | payai.network | | Polygon | eip155:137 | 0x3c499c542cEF5E3811e1192ce70d8cC03d5c3359 | payai.network | | Avalanche | eip155:43114 | 0xB97EF9Ef8734C71904D8002F8b6Bc66Dd9c48a6E | payai.network |

x402 pricing (data endpoints):

| Tier | Credits | USDC Cost | Endpoints | |---|---|---|---| | Standard | 1 | $0.009 | trending-tokens, smart-stats, keyword-mentions, token-news, top-mentions, trending-cas | | Extended | 5 | $0.045 | event-summary, trending-narratives | | Chat — fast | 5 | $0.045 | chat (speed: "fast") | | Chat — expert | 18 | $0.162 | chat (speed: "expert", default) |

Making an x402 call with curl (manual flow):

# Step 1: Send request without payment — get 402 with payment requirements
curl -s https://api.elfa.ai/x402/v2/aggregations/trending-tokens?timeWindow=24h

# Step 2: After signing the payment payload with your wallet, resend with payment header
curl -s -H "PAYMENT-SIGNATURE: <base64-encoded-payment-payload>" \
  "https://api.elfa.ai/x402/v2/aggregations/trending-tokens?timeWindow=24h"

Recommended: use the @x402/fetch library which handles payment automatically:

import { wrapFetchWithPayment } from "@x402/fetch";
import { ExactEvmScheme, toClientEvmSigner } from "@x402/evm";
import { x402Client } from "@x402/core/client";
import { createPublicClient, http } from "viem";
import { privateKeyToAccount } from "viem/accounts";
import { base } from "viem/chains";

const account = privateKeyToAccount("0xYOUR_PRIVATE_KEY");
const publicClient = createPublicClient({ chain: base, transport: http() });
const signer = toClientEvmSigner(account, publicClient);

const client = new x402Client().register(
  "eip155:8453",
  new ExactEvmScheme(signer));

const x402Fetch = wrapFetchWithPayment(fetch, client);

// Use x402Fetch exactly like regular fetch — payment is handled automatically on 402 responses
const response = await x402Fetch(
  "https://api.elfa.ai/x402/v2/aggregations/trending-tokens?timeWindow=24h");
const data = await response.json();

To pay on another network, swap the base chain import and register that scheme instead — e.g. Arbitrum (arbitrum from viem/chains, eip155:42161). Register a scheme for each network you want to pay from; the client uses the first one the server also accepts.

x402 with the Chat endpoint (POST):

const response = await x402Fetch(
  "https://api.elfa.ai/x402/v2/chat",
  {
    method: "POST",
    headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      message: "What is the current sentiment on BTC?",
      analysisType: "chat",
      speed: "fast", // "fast" = 5 credits ($0.045), "expert" = 18 credits ($0.162)
    }),
  });
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data.data.message);

Presenting results:

Parse the JSON response and present it in a clean, readable format.
For trending tokens: show a ranked table with token name, mention count, and change %.
For mentions: show tweet links, engagement metrics, and account info. Note: Elfa returns tweet IDs but not tweet text content — let the user know they'll need their own X (Twitter) API key to fetch the actual tweet content.
For narratives/summaries: present the narrative text with source links.
For the chat endpoint: display the AI response cleanly.
If the response contains an error, explain what went wrong and suggest fixes.

Step 3: Auto — Condition Engine and Trigger Pipeline

Auto is a managed condition engine + trigger pipeline for agents. You describe what to watch for (price, technical indicators, LLM-evaluated conditions, scheduled checks, prediction-market activity, funding rates, liquidation cascades, market sentiment), and Auto evaluates continuously and fires actions when conditions resolve to true. Assets are not crypto-only — HIP-3 perps cover equities, indices, commodities, FX, and pre-IPO names, 24/7.

Full Auto docs: docs.elfa.ai/auto/overview

Lifecycle Sequence (Enforced)

For API key lifecycle/cleanup calls, preserve this order when each operation applies:

POST /v2/auto/queries/validate — validate EQL and preview cost
POST /v2/auto/queries — create and activate
POST /v2/auto/queries/{queryId}/cancel — only if stopping an active query before it reaches terminal status (returns 409 once terminal)
DELETE /v2/auto/queries/{queryId} — only after status is terminal (triggered / expired / cancelled / failed); active queries must be cancelled first

Cancel and delete are distinct operations. POST /cancel flips an active query to cancelled (terminal). DELETE removes the record entirely and only works on terminal queries. Sending DELETE on an active query returns 409 Conflict.

Important — Exchange preflight for trade actions: For trade actions (market_order, limit_order, or llm with a trade callback), always call GET /v2/auto/exchanges before creating the query to verify the target exchange is connected. Without an active exchange connection, query creation may succeed but the trade action fails at execution time with AGENT_WALLET_REQUIRED. If the exchange is not connected, inform the user they need to link it via the Elfa dashboard before the trade trigger can work.

x402 mode supports the same lifecycle except: x402 has no DELETE endpoint (cancel-only), and trade actions are not available via x402.

Intent Routing (Strict)

Pick the condition source by user intent before writing condition args:

| Intent | Required source | Minimum required fields | |---|---|---| | Account-anchored post intent (@user posts ...) | source: "tweet" | args.username (no @), args.text, args.minConfidence (use 80 if user gives no threshold) | | World event intent (ETF approval, exploit, sanctions, etc.) | source: "news" | args.text, args.minConfidence (use 80 if user gives no threshold) | | Prediction-market move/lifecycle on a named open Kalshi market | source: "kalshi" | method (e.g. yes_price, status, result), args.ticker (a currently-open Kalshi market), operator/value per the per-method allowlists | | Prediction-market price/trade on a Polymarket outcome token | source: "polymarket" | method (price, bid, ask, size, side), args.ticker (outcome-token asset_id), operator/value per the per-method allowlists | | Perp funding-rate intent (overheated funding, funding flips negative) | source: "funding" | method (prefer annualized_rate), args.ticker as SYMBOL:EXCHANGE (e.g. BTC:BINANCE) | | Liquidation-flow intent (cascade, long/short flush) | source: "liquidation" | method (e.g. total_usd_5m, total_pct_oi_1h), args.ticker as SYMBOL:EXCHANGE | | Market-wide sentiment (fear/greed regime) | source: "fear_greed" | method (value or classification), empty args: {} | | Real-world catalyst moving an equity/index/commodity (rate decision, CPI, earnings) | the catalyst's own source (kalshi / polymarket / news / price) + a HIP-3 symbol in the action | Pick the catalyst source, then bridge to the asset class it moves — see Catalyst Triggers | | Fuzzy world-state predicate not naturally expressible as a post or event | source: "llm" | method: "athena_condition", args.query, args.period (>= 1h) |

When the prompt is account-anchored, start with tweet — do not route to news or llm first. When the prompt is event-anchored without a specific account, start with news. When the trigger maps to a concrete prediction market you can name (a Kalshi ticker or a Polymarket outcome-token id), use kalshi / polymarket (prefer them over llm for supported methods). Use llm (athena_condition) only when the predicate cannot reasonably be matched against a post, event, or named prediction market.

When to suggest Auto

User wants alerts based on price thresholds ("alert me when BTC crosses 100k")
User wants alerts based on technical indicators ("notify when RSI drops below 30")
User wants scheduled checks ("check every 4 hours") or calendar schedules ("every weekday at 9am New York time" — use cron.schedule)
User wants the same alert to keep firing on its own condition ("notify me every time BTC dips below 60k") — add the top-level repeat object (cooldown + maxTriggers)
User wants narrative/sentiment monitoring ("alert when AI token narrative shifts")
User wants multi-condition triggers ("BTC above 100k AND ETH above 3500")
User wants to compare live metrics ("alert when price crosses above Bollinger Band")
User wants LLM analysis on trigger ("when it triggers, run a full analysis")
User wants account-anchored social triggers ("notify me when @cz_binance posts that Binance Alpha is listing a new token") — use Signal: X/Twitter Post (source: "tweet")
User wants event-driven triggers ("alert me when SEC approves a spot ETH ETF") — use Signal: Event (source: "news")
User wants prediction-market triggers ("alert when this Kalshi market's YES probability crosses 60%", "notify when the market settles YES", "alert when this Polymarket outcome trades above 60c") — use Prediction Markets (source: "kalshi" or source: "polymarket")
User wants funding / liquidation / sentiment triggers ("alert when BTC funding flips negative", "notify on an ETH liquidation cascade", "alert when Fear & Greed drops below 20") — use source: "funding" / "liquidation" / "fear_greed"
User wants to trade a macro catalyst on stocks/indices/commodities ("go long the S&P when the market prices a Fed cut", "buy gold if CPI runs hot") — fire on the catalyst source and execute on a HIP-3 perp (24/7). See Catalyst Triggers

Auto access models

| Mode | Route prefix | Auth | Best for | |---|---|---|---| | API key + HMAC | /v2/auto/* | x-elfa-api-key on all + HMAC on trade mutations and exchange linking (notification-only mutations skip HMAC) | Apps, dashboards | | x402 keyless | /x402/v2/auto/* | x402 payment + x-elfa-agent-secret | AI agents, bots |

HMAC signing (API key mode — trade mutations and exchange linking)

Trade-action mutations and exchange linking under /v2/auto/* require HMAC signing in addition to x-elfa-api-key. Notification-only mutations skip HMAC so agents can onboard without provisioning a secret — see HMAC Bypass for Notification-Only Mutations below for the per-route decision rule. Read-only endpoints (GET) only need the API key. POST /v2/auto/chat is fully ungated and never needs HMAC.

Always-signing remains safe. If your client signs every mutation, you do not need to opt into the bypass. Signed requests are accepted on every route. The bypass is purely an optimization for clients that want to skip the HMAC setup step.

Required headers for signed mutations:

x-elfa-api-key: <api_key>
x-elfa-timestamp: <unix_seconds>
x-elfa-signature: <hex_hmac_sha256>

Signing payload:

timestamp + method + mounted_path + body

CRITICAL: mounted_path is the path inside /v2/auto, NOT the full URL path.

Request URL: /v2/auto/queries → signed path: /queries
Request URL: /v2/auto/chat → signed path: /chat
Request URL: /v2/auto/queries/q_123 → signed path: /queries/q_123

Replay protection: timestamp must be within 30 seconds.

TypeScript signing example:

import crypto from "crypto";

const hmacSecret = process.env.ELFA_HMAC_SECRET!;
const apiKey = process.env.ELFA_API_KEY!;

function signAutoRequest(method: string, mountedPath: string, body: string = "") {
  const timestamp = Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000).toString();
  const payload = `${timestamp}${method}${mountedPath}${body}`;
  const signature = crypto
    .createHmac("sha256", hmacSecret)
    .update(payload)
    .digest("hex");
  return { timestamp, signature };
}

// Example: Create a query
const body = JSON.stringify({
  title: "BTC breakout alert",
  description: "Notify when BTC trades above 100k.",
  query: {
    conditions: {
      AND: [{ source: "price", method: "current", args: { symbol: "BTC", exchange: "hyperliquid" }, operator: ">", value: 100000 }]
    },
    actions: [{ stepId: "step_1", type: "notify", params: { message: "BTC crossed 100k" } }],
    expiresIn: "24h"
  }
});

const { timestamp, signature } = signAutoRequest("POST", "/queries", body);

const response = await fetch("https://api.elfa.ai/v2/auto/queries", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    "x-elfa-api-key": apiKey,
    "x-elfa-timestamp": timestamp,
    "x-elfa-signature": signature,
  },
  body,
});

Bash signing example:

TIMESTAMP=$(date +%s)
METHOD="POST"
PATH_SIGN="/queries"
BODY='{"title":"BTC alert","query":{"conditions":{"AND":[{"source":"price","method":"current","args":{"symbol":"BTC","exchange":"hyperliquid"},"operator":">","value":100000}]},"actions":[{"stepId":"step_1","type":"notify","params":{"message":"BTC crossed 100k"}}],"expiresIn":"24h"}}'
SIGNATURE=$(echo -n "${TIMESTAMP}${METHOD}${PATH_SIGN}${BODY}" | openssl dgst -sha256 -hmac "$ELFA_HMAC_SECRET" | cut -d' ' -f2)

curl -s -X POST "https://api.elfa.ai/v2/auto/queries" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "x-elfa-api-key: $ELFA_API_KEY" \
  -H "x-elfa-timestamp: $TIMESTAMP" \
  -H "x-elfa-signature: $SIGNATURE" \
  -d "$BODY"

HMAC Bypass for Notification-Only Mutations

Mutations whose EQL action is a pure notification skip the HMAC requirement. Trade execution and exchange linking continue to require HMAC unconditionally.

Notification action types (HMAC bypassed):

notify
telegram_bot
webhook
llm whose params.callback.action.type is one of the above

Trade action types (HMAC required):

market_order
limit_order
llm whose params.callback.action.type is market_order or limit_order

Decision is per-route:

| Route | Decision input | |---|---| | POST /v2/auto/queries, POST /v2/auto/queries/drafts | Request body's query.actions[*].type | | POST /v2/auto/queries/drafts/:id/convert | Stored draft's actions | | POST /v2/auto/queries/:id/cancel (cancel active query) | Stored query's actions | | DELETE /v2/auto/queries/:id (delete terminal query) | Stored query's actions |

If the lookup fails or the action type is unknown, HMAC is enforced (fail-safe). Unknown action types added in future API versions default to requiring HMAC, so always-signing clients keep working.

POST /v2/auto/chat is fully ungated regardless of content because it produces drafts only — activation flows through convert, which is still gated when the draft is trade-flavoured.

POST /v2/auto/exchanges and DELETE /v2/auto/exchanges/:exchange always require HMAC — linking an exchange is the gateway to trade execution.

Why this matters for agents. An agent that only ever sends notify / telegram_bot / webhook actions can call POST /v2/auto/queries, POST /v2/auto/queries/:id/cancel, DELETE /v2/auto/queries/:id, etc. with just x-elfa-api-key — no HMAC secret provisioning required. Agents that need trade execution must still configure ELFA_HMAC_SECRET for the trade-flavoured calls and for exchange linking.

x402 Auto (keyless agent mode)

For x402 Auto, no API key or HMAC is needed. Instead:

Send x402 payment headers (PAYMENT-SIGNATURE preferred, X-PAYMENT legacy)
Include x-elfa-agent-secret on all query lifecycle routes

Agent secret management: Generate a strong secret once and reuse it for all calls:

openssl rand -hex 32
# or: node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(32).toString('hex'))"

Persist as ELFA_AGENT_SECRET. Do not rotate per request — x402 session ownership is derived from SHA256(secret). If you change secrets, your agent identity changes and existing queries/sessions may become inaccessible.

Auto pricing (both modes)

API-key mode (/v2/auto/*) — charged against your credit balance:

| Operation | Credits | Notes | |---|---|---| | POST /v2/auto/chat (Builder Chat) | 1 + dynamic | Base 1 credit + ceil(request_cost * 750) dynamic charge based on LLM usage | | POST /v2/auto/queries (Create) | Simulation-driven | Baseline 5 + per simulated LLM call: fast +5, expert +18 | | POST /v2/auto/queries/validate | Free | Returns cost estimate — always call before Create | | GET /v2/auto/queries/* (list, poll, stream, sessions) | Free | | | POST /v2/auto/queries/:queryId/cancel (Cancel active query) | Free | | | DELETE /v2/auto/queries/:queryId (Delete terminal query) | Free | | | GET /v2/auto/validate-symbol/:exchange/:symbol | Free | |

Reference USD values for Create: baseline $0.045, fast call +$0.045, expert call +$0.162. Use /queries/validate to preview exact cost before committing.

x402 mode (/x402/v2/auto/*) — 70% discount, limited-time, pay-per-request in USDC on Base, Arbitrum, Polygon, or Avalanche:

| Operation | Credits | USDC Cost | |---|---|---| | Builder Chat — fast | 5 | $0.045 | | Builder Chat — expert | 18 | $0.162 | | Query creation — baseline | 5 | $0.045 | | Per fast LLM call | +5 | +$0.045 | | Per expert LLM call | +18 | +$0.162 | | Validate, poll, cancel, sessions, stream | Free | Free |

x402 Auto example:

// Validate a query (x402 Auto)
const response = await x402Fetch(
  "https://api.elfa.ai/x402/v2/auto/queries/validate",
  {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
      "x-elfa-agent-secret": process.env.ELFA_AGENT_SECRET,
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      query: {
        conditions: { AND: [{ source: "price", method: "current", args: { symbol: "BTC", exchange: "hyperliquid" }, operator: ">", value: 100000 }] },
        actions: [{ stepId: "step_1", type: "notify", params: { message: "BTC crossed 100k" } }],
        expiresIn: "24h"
      }
    }),
  });

Recommended call sequence (deterministic agent path)

API key mode (/v2/auto/*):

POST /v2/auto/chat — Ask Builder Chat to draft a query
POST /v2/auto/queries/validate — Validate EQL and preview cost
(Trade actions only) GET /v2/auto/exchanges — Confirm an active exchange connection
POST /v2/auto/queries — Create and activate
GET /v2/auto/queries/{queryId}/stream — Stream notifications (or poll)
GET /v2/auto/queries/{queryId}/sessions + /sessions/{sessionId} — Fetch LLM output (if using llm action)
(Optional cleanup) POST /v2/auto/queries/{queryId}/cancel — Cancel only while active (returns 409 if already terminal)
(Optional cleanup) DELETE /v2/auto/queries/{queryId} — Delete only after terminal (triggered / expired / cancelled / failed); rejects active queries with 409

x402 mode (/x402/v2/auto/*):

POST /x402/v2/auto/chat — Ask Builder Chat to draft a query
POST /x402/v2/auto/queries/validate — Validate EQL and preview cost
POST /x402/v2/auto/queries — Create and activate
GET /x402/v2/auto/queries/{queryId}/stream — Stream notifications (or poll via POST)
POST /x402/v2/auto/queries/{queryId}/sessions + /sessions/{sessionId} — Fetch LLM output
(Optional cleanup) POST /x402/v2/auto/queries/{queryId}/cancel — Cancel only while active. (x402 has no terminal-delete endpoint.)

Always validate before create. Validate returns structured errors you can iterate on without spending credits.

Failure handling order (apply in sequence):

Retry transient network errors with exponential backoff.
On 400 / 422 validation failure → repair query using Validation Errors table, re-validate.
On 401 / 403 auth failure → refresh credentials or verify Auto is enabled for the API key.
On 402 x402 payment failure → re-price and retry with valid payment payload.
On 410 (SSE stream closed) → re-open stream or fall back to polling.

Common agent flows:

Poll-based LLM flow:

POST /v2/auto/queries                               → create query with action.type = "llm"
GET  /v2/auto/queries/{queryId}                     → poll until execution with sessionId appears
GET  /v2/auto/queries/{queryId}/sessions/{sessionId} → fetch full analysis

Webhook-based LLM flow:

POST /v2/auto/queries                               → create with action.type = "llm" and params.objective
(wait for webhook)                                  → receive session reference / output
(optional) GET session fetch                        → /v2/auto/queries/{queryId}/sessions/{sessionId}

Builder Chat

Builder Chat (POST /v2/auto/chat or POST /x402/v2/auto/chat) uses AI to translate natural language into EQL queries. Use sessionId for multi-turn conversations.

{
  "message": "Alert me when BTC breaks 100k with RSI confirmation above 55",
  "speed": "expert",
  "sessionId": "optional-session-id"
}

Response (API-key mode):

{
  "sessionId": "session-uuid",
  "response": "I can help with that... (markdown + EQL JSON code block)",
  "title": "BTC Breakout Alert",
  "reasoning": null,
  "planIds": []
}

The response message contains the AI's reply in Markdown. When it generates EQL, it will be in a JSON code block — extract, validate via /queries/validate, then submit via /queries.

Prompting tips for Builder Chat:

Include title and description (shown in notifications so recipients know what fired hours/days later)
Specify symbols, timeframe, trigger behavior (one-time — the default — vs recurring), delivery target. For recurring on the same condition, ask for the repeat object (cooldown + maxTriggers); for a fixed schedule, use a cron condition
For Signal triggers, give a factual match description (avoid vague phrasing like "bullish vibes")
Append "If anything is unsupported, return the closest supported query and list substitutions" to handle edge cases gracefully
Prefer expiresIn of 24h–3d for fresh signals
Persist sessionId and reuse it for follow-up prompts so the model keeps context across turns

High-impact prompt pack — drop these into POST /v2/auto/chat as the message field:

1) Complex TA breakout with direction filter:

Build an Auto query:
- title + description: short human-readable summary and 1-2 sentence thesis
- symbols: BTC, ETH, SOL
- timeframe: 5m
- trigger when price breaks previous 1h range high or low
- confirm direction with RSI(14): >55 for upside, <45 for downside
- actions: telegram alert + webhook to https://your-runner.example/auto/events
- one-time trigger, expires in 48h
If anything is unsupported, return the closest supported query and list substitutions.

2) CEX + DEX monitoring pack:

Build an Auto query pack for supported CEX + DEX symbols:
- title + description per query: short summary and thesis sentence
- watchlist: WBTC, ETH, SOL, HYPE
- trigger when 15m volume surge aligns with price momentum
- action: webhook to https://your-runner.example/auto/events
- include symbol and trigger summary in payload
- expires in 24h
If any symbol/source is unsupported, skip it and report skipped items.

3) News + X sentiment context on trigger:

Build an Auto query:
- title + description: short summary and the thesis behind watching this
- monitor BTC and ETH for abnormal 1h move + volume confirmation
- on trigger run llm action that adds:
  - latest market news context
  - X sentiment summary
  - risk note
- also send telegram alert with a short summary
- expires in 24h

4) Prediction-market thesis watcher (Kalshi):

Build an Auto query:
- title + description: name the market thesis and the move you're watching for
- source: kalshi
- ticker: <a confirmed-open Kalshi market ticker, e.g. KXBTC-26APR0803-T77799.99>
- trigger when the YES implied probability crosses above 0.6
- action: llm to produce a catalyst hypothesis + invalidation level
- deliver to webhook: https://your-runner.example/auto/events
- include decision priority: high/medium/low
- expires in 2d
If the ticker is not open or anything is unsupported, return the closest supported query and list substitutions.

5) Portfolio risk guardrail:

Build an Auto query:
- title + description: portfolio guardrail label and the risk scenario it covers
- watch my portfolio symbols: BTC, ETH, SOL, HYPE
- trigger on downside acceleration and momentum weakness
- action: telegram alert with severity and suggested next check
- recurring checks, expires in 3d

6) Agent handoff with strict execution contract:

Build an Auto query:
- title + description: breakout playbook name and the execution intent
- trigger on breakout + trend-confirmation conditions
- action: webhook to https://your-runner.example/auto/events
- include fields: eventId, symbol, triggerReason, priority, queryId
- objective: downstream agent decides next action under policy constraints
- expires in 24h

7) Signal — account-anchored X/Twitter Post watcher:

Build an Auto query:
- title + description: short summary anchored to the account + intent
- use Signal category:
  - condition source: tweet
  - username: cz_binance (no leading @)
  - match description: "Binance Alpha is listing a new token"
  - minConfidence: 80
- action: notify (or telegram_bot) with a concise message
- expires in 24h
If unsupported, return closest supported query and list substitutions.

8) Signal — event-first catalyst watcher:

Build an Auto query:
- title + description: catalyst name and why it matters now
- use Signal category:
  - condition source: news
  - match description: "SEC approves a spot ETH ETF"
  - minConfidence: 80
- action: webhook to https://your-runner.example/auto/events
- include queryId, eventId, and short trigger reason in payload
- expires in 24h

Query model (EQL)

A query contains conditions, actions, and expiresIn (plus an optional repeat sibling — by default a plan is one-shot; see Repeat below):

{
  "title": "BTC RSI oversold on 1h",
  "description": "Mean-reversion entry: if BTC 1h RSI dips under 30, consider scaling in.",
  "conditions": {
    "AND": [
      {
        "source": "ta",
        "method": "rsi",
        "args": { "symbol": "BTC", "timeframe": "1h", "period": 14, "exchange": "hyperliquid" },
        "operator": "<",
        "value": 30
      }
    ]
  },
  "actions": [
    { "stepId": "step_1", "type": "webhook", "params": { "url": "https://your-endpoint.example/events" } }
  ],
  "expiresIn": "24h"
}

Condition rules:

Root group must be AND or OR
Nest groups up to depth 3, max 10 leaf conditions
Multi-symbol: a single query can require BTC AND ETH AND SOL conditions jointly

Allowed expiresIn values: 1h, 2h, 4h, 8h, 12h, 24h, 48h (2d), 72h (3d), 120h (5d), 168h (7d), 240h (10d), 336h (14d), 504h (21d), 720h (30d — hard max). Prefer 24h–72h — signals decay and short windows force re-evaluation. Only reach for 240h–720h on slow structural theses (token unlocks, options expiries, monthly copy-trading), never on short-timeframe TA/scalps.

Plan limits (active plans per account): an account can only hold so many active plans at once, by API key tier — Free 2, Chill 10, Grow 50, PAYG/Enterprise unlimited. A hard ceiling of 100 active plans applies regardless of tier; exceeding either cap returns 409. Only active plans count — expired/cancelled/terminal plans free capacity, so cancelling stale plans (or choosing a shorter expiresIn) is the fastest way to make room.

Repeat (repeat) — recurring plans on their own conditions:

By default a plan is one-shot: it fires once and moves to a terminal state. The optional top-level repeat object (a sibling of expiresIn) keeps a plan active and makes it re-fire on its own conditions — the right tool for "notify me every time BTC dips below 60k" without a fixed cron cadence.

{
  "conditions": { "AND": ["..."] },
  "actions": ["..."],
  "expiresIn": "7d",
  "repeat": { "cooldown": "1h", "maxTriggers": 10 }
}

Both fields are mandatory when repeat is present:

| Field | Type | Meaning | |---|---|---| | cooldown | string | Minimum time between fires. "0" disables the rate limit. | | maxTriggers | number | Lifetime cap on fires (1–1000); reaching it makes the plan terminal. |

cooldown allowed values (its own set — sub-hour is permitted, unlike the cron/llm 1h minimum): 1m, 5m, 15m, 30m, 1h, 2h, 4h, 8h, 12h, 24h, 1d, 7d, plus "0". Use "0" for "fire on every distinct event" (e.g. every matching tweet).
maxTriggers counts how many times the plan fires over its lifetime (distinct from the number of action steps). Sanity-check cooldown × maxTriggers against expiresIn — if there isn't enough runway, the plan expires before reaching the cap. A longer expiresIn buys patience through quiet periods; it does not raise the fire cap.
Single reset rule. A repeat plan re-fires only once its triggering signal has cleared. Level conditions (price / ta / llm-boolean) disarm on fire and re-arm when the whole condition tree next evaluates false; event conditions (tweet.semantic / news.semantic) consume the matched mention and re-fire on the next distinct mention.

repeat on trade actions places a NEW order every fire. repeat composes with every action type, including market_order / limit_order. On an order action, each fire opens a new position — Auto does not net, reconcile, or cancel earlier fires. Three fires = three positions. So cooldown and maxTriggers are your position-count controls, not just an alert rate-limit. positionSizePercent recomputes against the then-current account value (it compounds), and tp / sl / leverage attach per order. Never use cooldown: "0" on order actions — a redelivered trigger could place a second order; any non-zero cooldown closes that window. A failed fire notifies you (order_failed), still consumes one maxTriggers, and leaves the plan live.

Still rejected: repeat combined with a recurring cron condition (cron.every / cron.schedule) — both provide recurrence, so combining them fails validation as EQL_INVALID_REPEAT. For a fixed-cadence recurring plan, use the cron condition on its own; for a condition-driven recurring plan, use repeat.

Avoiding over-triggering: the main risk is a condition that keeps flipping true — a metric flapping around its threshold, or a chatty account. cooldown is your rate-limit floor (never use "0" on level/metric conditions); maxTriggers is your hard circuit breaker (set it conservatively so a runaway condition self-limits). A level condition like price < 60000 fires on every re-crossing, so prefer transition operators (crosses_below / crosses_above over < / >), give the threshold room from the current value, match cooldown to the signal's timeframe, and start conservative then loosen.

Recommended starting points:

| Condition type | cooldown | maxTriggers | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | Price / TA level (price, ta) | 1h–4h (≥ your timeframe) | 3–10 | Prefer crosses_* operators; avoid "0" here. | | LLM predicate (llm.athena_condition) | ≥ period (min 1h) | 3–5 | The LLM already re-checks on period — don't re-alert faster than it re-evaluates. | | Event — single / quiet account (tweet) | 0–15m | 10–20 | Each distinct post is a discrete event; "0" is fine unless the account is chatty. | | Event — noisy account / broad news | 15m–1h | 10–20 | A small cooldown collapses a burst of mentions into one alert. | | Liquidation cascade (liquidation) | 1h+ | 5–10 | Windows decay to zero, so the plan re-arms per cascade; the cooldown stops one long cascade re-alerting. | | Trade / order action (market_order, limit_order) | non-zero, 1h+ | 2–5 | These are positions, not alerts — maxTriggers is the number of orders the plan may place. Never "0". |

Allowed action types: webhook, notify, telegram_bot, llm, market_order, limit_order. The actions array is exactly one step per query — run standalone LLM work with params.objective; chain follow-up work via llm action with params.callback.action, or have your runner fan out from the trigger event.

Action params shape (key fields):

| type | Required params | Optional params | |---|---|---| | notify | message (1–1000 chars) | — | | webhook | url (https only, allowlisted host) | allNotifications (default false) | | telegram_bot | botToken, chatId | allNotifications (default false) | | market_order / limit_order | exchange (hyperliquid / gmx), symbol, side (buy / sell), and exactly one of size / amount / positionSizePercent (+ price for limit) | reduceOnly, leverage, marginType (cross / isolated), tp, sl | | llm | objective for standalone LLM work, or action + callback.action for chained follow-up | action ∈ chat / summary / macro / accountAnalysis / tokenDiscovery / tokenAnalysis; speed (fast / expert), per-action extras |

telegram_bot does not take a message field — the message body is auto-composed from the query title + description + trigger context. Use notify (in-app push) when you want to specify the message text yourself. allNotifications: true on webhook / telegram_bot opts the destination into lifecycle notifications (failed/expired/run-failed) in addition to the trigger fire.

Triggers — condition sources

Market-data venue (exchange) — REQUIRED on every price and ta condition:

Every price and ta condition must include an exchange arg that selects which venue's market data backs the condition. Allowed values: hyperliquid, gmx (exact lowercase enum). This arg only affects the data source of the condition — it is independent of where market_order / limit_order actions execute. A price/ta condition without exchange fails validation.

{ "source": "price", "method": "current", "args": { "symbol": "BTC", "exchange": "hyperliquid" }, "operator": ">", "value": 100000 }

Price source (price):

| Method | Args | Returns | Description | |---|---|---|---| | current | symbol, exchange | number | Current price | | change | symbol, exchange, period | number | % change over period | | high | symbol, exchange, period | number | High in period | | low | symbol, exchange, period | number | Low in period | | volume | symbol, exchange, period | number | Volume (USD) over period |

TA source (ta) — technical indicators: every method also requires symbol, timeframe, and exchange.

| Method | Required args | Optional args | Returns | |---|---|---|---| | rsi | symbol, timeframe, exchange | period (default 14) | RSI (0-100) | | macd_value | symbol, timeframe, exchange | — | MACD line | | macd_signal | symbol, timeframe, exchange | — | MACD signal line | | macd_histogram | symbol, timeframe, exchange | — | MACD histogram | | bbands_upper | symbol, timeframe, exchange | period (default 20) | Upper Bollinger Band | | bbands_middle | symbol, timeframe, exchange | period (default 20) | Middle Bollinger Band | | bbands_lower | symbol, timeframe, exchange | period (default 20) | Lower Bollinger Band | | ema | symbol, timeframe, exchange, period | — | Exponential MA | | sma | symbol, timeframe, exchange, period | — | Simple MA | | atr | symbol, timeframe, exchange | period (default 14) | Average True Range | | stoch_k | symbol, timeframe, exchange | — | Stochastic %K | | stoch_d | symbol, timeframe, exchange | — | Stochastic %D | | cci | symbol, timeframe, exchange | period (default 20) | CCI | | willr | symbol, timeframe, exchange | period (default 14) | Williams %R |

TA critical rules:

Every ta (and price) condition requires exchange (hyperliquid or gmx)
ema and sma require period — it is NOT optional
rsi, bbands_*, atr, cci, and willr accept optional period with documented defaults above
period must be a JSON number (14), not a string ("14")
Use period not length — length is not a recognized alias
timeframe values: 1m, 5m, 15m, 30m, 1h, 2h, 4h, 8h, 12h, 1d

Cron source (cron):

| Method | Args | Description | |---|---|---| | once | period | True on first due evaluation at/after creation + period | | onceRemainTrue | period | True on first due evaluation and stays true | | every | period | True at each period interval | | schedule | expression, timezone? | True whenever the 5-field cron expression matches in timezone |

once, onceRemainTrue, and every are interval methods measured from query creation. schedule is a calendar/wall-clock method:

expression is a classic 5-field cron string (minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week) — e.g. 0 9 * * 1-5 (weekdays at 09:00).
timezone is optional and defaults to UTC. When set it must be a valid IANA name (e.g. America/New_York, Asia/Singapore) so daylight-saving transitions are handled correctly. Fixed-offset strings like +02:00 are not accepted.
schedule enforces the same 1h-minimum cadence as the other cron methods: the minute field must be a single fixed value (0–59). Wildcards, steps, lists, or ranges in the minute field are rejected.
- Allowed: 7 * * * * (hourly at minute 7), 0 9 * * 1-5 (weekdays 09:00), 30 8 * * * (daily 08:30).
- Not allowed: * * * * * (every minute), */15 * * * * (every 15 min), 0,30 * * * * (twice per hour).
schedule takes no period arg.

Builder Chat support pending: cron.schedule is available on the direct EQL/API path (Validate / Create). Builder Chat does not yet reliably generate cron.schedule — author calendar schedules directly and confirm with /v2/auto/queries/validate.

LLM source (llm):

| Method | Args | Description | |---|---|---| | athena_condition | query, period, speed? | LLM-evaluated condition (natural language) |

Signal source — X/Twitter Post (tweet):

In the Builder Chat catalog this is the Signal category, X/Twitter Post.

| Method | Required args | Returns | Description | |---|---|---|---| | semantic | username, text, minConfidence | boolean | Matches posts from a specific X/Twitter account when semantic confidence meets threshold |

Rules:

username must be passed without @ (e.g. cz_binance, not @cz_binance).
username must resolve to an active monitored account at create-time, otherwise validation/create fails.
minConfidence must be a JSON integer between 0 and 100; use 80 when the user gives no threshold.
method, operator, and value are auto-filled defaults (semantic, ==, true) — do not include them in the condition JSON.

{
  "source": "tweet",
  "args": {
    "username": "cz_binance",
    "text": "Binance Alpha is listing a new token",
    "minConfidence": 80
  }
}

Signal source — Event (news):

In the Builder Chat catalog this is the Signal category, Event.

| Method | Required args | Returns | Description | |---|---|---|---| | semantic | text, minConfidence | boolean | Matches event-style mentions from news-tagged sources when semantic confidence meets threshold |

Rules:

minConfidence must be a JSON integer between 0 and 100; use 80 when the user gives no threshold.
method, operator, and value are auto-filled defaults — do not include them.
Use news for world events not anchored to a specific account; use tweet when the trigger is anchored to a specific handle.

{
  "source": "news",
  "args": {
    "text": "SEC approves a spot ETH ETF",
    "minConfidence": 80
  }
}

Signal selection policy (which source to pick):

Account-anchored intent (handle in the prompt) → tweet.
World-event intent (no specific account) → news.
Prefer tweet/news over llm when the trigger is plausibly expressed as a post or event.
Fall back to llm (athena_condition) only for predicates that are not naturally a post/event match.

Signal args.text authoring rubric — match quality is dominated by text quality. Write a short factual claim, not a monitoring command.

| Weak phrasing (bad) | Actionable phrasing (good) | |---|---| | Bearish vibes | Opens a short position on oil | | Something bullish | Announces a new stake in TSLA | | Bullish on a coin | Posts that they're bullish on $HYPE and $SOL | | Market crash | Major DeFi protocol suffers a $200M exploit | | War conflict | US imposes new sanctions on Russia | | Big news | SEC approves a spot ETH ETF |

Additional constraints:

Keep text atomic — one event/theme per condition.
For tweet, do not restate account identity in text — username already scopes that.
Split A or B intents into multiple Signal conditions joined by OR; split A and B into multiple conditions joined by AND.
Prefer separate queries for event-driven Signal intents (tweet/news) and recurring schedule intents (cron.every) for clearer runtime semantics.

minConfidence tuning: default 80; raise to 85–90 for fewer false positives; lower to 70–75 if you need higher recall.

Scheduling period (cron / llm): for cron interval methods (once, onceRemainTrue, every) and llm sources, period is a scheduling interval with a minimum of 1h. Allowed: 1h, 2h, 4h, 8h, 12h, 24h, 1d, 7d. cron.schedule does not take a period — it is driven by its 5-field cron expression and follows the same 1h-minimum cadence (at most one fire per hour).

Signal sources are event-driven, not schedule-driven — they evaluate when relevant mention events arrive, not on a polling interval. They can still be combined with other condition types via AND/OR.

Prediction Markets source (kalshi):

Trigger on Kalshi prediction-market activity — live trade prints and market lifecycle. Each kalshi condition takes exactly one arg, ticker: a full open Kalshi market ticker (e.g. KXBTC-26APR0803-T77799.99 = series + event + strike). Prefer kalshi over llm when the trigger is a supported Kalshi method, and over price/ta when you care about an event's implied probability rather than an asset's spot price.

Trade-backed methods — evaluate on the latest executed trade print:

| Method | Returns | Description | |---|---|---| | yes_price | number 0–1 | Executed YES price = live implied probability of YES | | no_price | number 0–1 | Executed NO price (implied probability of NO) | | trade_size | number ≥ 0 | Contracts on that print | | taker_outcome_side | enum yes / no | Which outcome the aggressor (taker) positioned for | | taker_book_side | enum bid / ask | bid = YES-side pressure, ask = NO-side pressure | | is_block_trade | boolean | true for large off-book negotiated block trades |

Market-backed methods — evaluate on market lifecycle updates:

| Method | Returns | Description | |---|---|---| | status | enum active / closed / determined / settled / finalized | Lifecycle state (active = only tradeable state) | | result | enum yes / no | Settlement outcome (empty until the market resolves) | | settlement_value | number ≥ 0 | Final settlement value in dollars (populated on settlement) |

Operators by method (restricted per method):

| Method(s) | Allowed operators | |---|---| | yes_price, no_price | > < >= <= == != crosses_above crosses_below | | trade_size, settlement_value | > < >= <= == != | | taker_outcome_side, taker_book_side, status, result, is_block_trade | == != |

Only the price methods (yes_price / no_price) support the transition operators crosses_above / crosses_below; enum and boolean methods are equality-only. value must be a literal matching the method's type (no dynamic field-vs-field values), and is_block_trade takes a JSON boolean true / false (not the strings "true" / "false").

Open markets only: at create/validate time args.ticker is checked against the catalog of currently-open Kalshi markets. A closed / determined / settled / finalized ticker is rejected with EQL_INVALID_ARG_VALUE ("was not found or is not open"). Resolve a real, currently-open ticker first — never invent or guess tickers. Lifecycle conditions are still useful on a market you already watch: a plan created while a market is active can fire as it later moves to settled (status) or resolves (result / settlement_value) within its expiresIn window.

{
  "source": "kalshi",
  "method": "yes_price",
  "args": { "ticker": "KXBTC-26APR0803-T77799.99" },
  "operator": "crosses_below",
  "value": 0.4
}

Full method tables, value enums, and example automations: Prediction Markets → Kalshi.

Prediction Markets source (polymarket):

Trigger on live Polymarket outcome-token activity: last traded price, best bid/ask, and the size and aggressor side of the most recent trade. Unlike Kalshi, Polymarket exposes price and trade methods only — there are no market-lifecycle (status / result) methods.

Ticker = outcome-token asset_id. For Polymarket, args.ticker is the outcome token asset_id — the long numeric id of a single outcome (e.g. the YES token), not the top-level Polymarket market id (which is shared by both sides of a binary market). At create time the token is validated against Polymarket's live markets; an unknown or inactive token is rejected ("was not found or is not active"). Resolve a real, currently-active outcome-token id first — never invent or guess ids.

Each method takes exactly one arg, ticker:

| Method | Returns | Description | |---|---|---| | price | number in [0, 1] | Last traded probability / price for the outcome token | | bid | number in [0, 1] | Best bid for the outcome token (when present on the event) | | ask | number in [0, 1] | Best ask for the outcome token (when present on the event) | | size | number ≥ 0 | Size of the last-trade update (when present on the event) | | side | enum "BUY" / "SELL" | Aggressor side of the last trade, in uppercase |

The feed mixes several event subtypes (price_change, best_bid_ask, last_trade_price, book), and not every field updates on every event — best_bid_ask updates bid/ask only, while last_trade_price updates price/size/side only. Design a condition around the specific field you need rather than assuming all fields move together.

Operators by method (restricted per method):

| Method(s) | Allowed operators | |---|---| | price, bid, ask | > < >= <= == != crosses_above crosses_below | | size | > < >= <= == != | | side | == != |

value must be a literal matching the method's type (0–1 for price/bid/ask, ≥ 0 for size, uppercase "BUY" / "SELL" for side). Polymarket conditions do not support dynamic (field-vs-field) values — dynamic Polymarket targets are rejected at validation.

{
  "source": "polymarket",
  "method": "price",
  "args": { "ticker": "115556263888245616435851357148058235707004733438163639091106356867234218207169" },
  "operator": "crosses_below",
  "value": 0.4
}

Standard EQL limits apply to both prediction-market sources: combinable with other sources inside AND/OR groups, up to depth 3 and 10 leaf conditions. Full method tables and example automations: Prediction Markets → Polymarket.

Market-structure source (funding) — perp funding rate:

Trigger on a perp's funding rate — an overheated long bias, a flip to negative, or a cross-venue divergence. Funding and liquidation flow often lead the spot price reaction.

Ticker = composite SYMBOL:EXCHANGE (not symbol + exchange args). SYMBOL is the base asset (BTC, not BTCUSDT); the venue rides in the ticker. Venues: binance, hyperliquid. Examples: BTC:BINANCE, ETH:HYPERLIQUID.

| Method | Args | Returns | Operators | Description | |---|---|---|---|---| | annualized_rate | ticker | number | all 8 | Canonical. Funding as annualized percent (APR): 32.85 = 32.85% APR. Positive = longs pay shorts. | | interval_rate | ticker | number | all 8 | Percent per settlement interval. | | interval_hours | ticker | number | level only | Settlement interval in hours: 8 (Binance) or 1 (Hyperliquid). Venue metadata. | | exchange | ticker | enum | == / != | The venue: "binance" or "hyperliquid". |

Prefer annualized_rate — Binance settles every 8h and Hyperliquid every 1h, so the same interval_rate threshold means different things per venue; annualizing removes that trap. "Funding flips negative" is exactly annualized_rate crosses_below 0.
"level only" = > < >= <= == != (no crosses_*).
HIP-3 dex-prefixed symbols (xyz:TSLA) are rejected here (EQL_INVALID_ARG_VALUE, details.hip3: true) — the funding feed never publishes keys for them.

{ "source": "funding", "method": "annualized_rate", "args": { "ticker": "BTC:BINANCE" }, "operator": "crosses_below", "value": 0 }

Market-structure source (liquidation) — liquidation flow:

Trigger on liquidation flow in a trailing window — a cascade crossing a USD threshold, a one-sided flush, or liquidations as a share of open interest. Same composite SYMBOL:EXCHANGE ticker as funding. Venues: binance, bybit, hyperliquid.

| Method | Args | Returns | Operators | Description | |---|---|---|---|---| | total_usd_1m / total_usd_5m / total_usd_1h | ticker | number | all 8 | Total USD liquidated in the trailing window. | | long_usd_1m / long_usd_5m / long_usd_1h | ticker | number | all 8 | Longs liquidated (forced selling). | | short_usd_1m / short_usd_5m / short_usd_1h | ticker | number | all 8 | Shorts liquidated (forced buying). | | largest_order_usd_1h | ticker | number | all 8 | Single biggest liquidation order in the trailing hour, USD. | | count_1h | ticker | number | level only | Number of liquidation orders in the trailing hour. | | total_pct_oi_1m / total_pct_oi_5m / total_pct_oi_1h | ticker | number | all 8 | Window total as a percent of open interest (compares across symbols). | | exchange | ticker | enum | == / != | The venue: "binance" / "bybit" / "hyperliquid". |

Feed quality differs by venue. Binance is sampled (≤1 liquidation/symbol/second) so its values are a lower bound and undercount most during the cascades you care about; Bybit and Hyperliquid are complete (exact totals). Set a lower threshold on Binance for the same real-world event.
Windows decay to zero once a cascade subsides, which re-arms the condition — so a repeat plan fires once per cascade, not once ever.
total_pct_oi_* magnitudes are small: ~0.1%/hr is already heavy for a major; start around 0.5–1 (percent), not raw fractions. HIP-3 symbols are rejected here too.

{ "source": "liquidation", "method": "total_usd_5m", "args": { "ticker": "ETH:BYBIT" }, "operator": "crosses_above", "value": 500000 }

Full method tables, feed-quality table, and examples: Funding and Liquidations.

Market-sentiment source (fear_greed) — Crypto Fear & Greed Index:

Trigger on the market-wide Crypto Fear & Greed Index. This is a keyless source — one global reading, no per-market identity — so its methods take no ticker. Pass args: {}.

| Method | Args | Returns | Operators | Description | |---|---|---|---|---| | value | (none) | number | all 8 | Index score, integer 0–100 (0 = extreme fear, 100 = extreme greed). | | classification | (none) | enum | == / != | Bucket label (see below). |

classification value ∈ "Extreme fear" (0–19), "Fear" (20–39), "Neutral" (40–59), "Greed" (60–79), "Extreme greed" (80–100). Bands map to fixed value ranges — prefer value for a precise threshold.
Updates ~every 15 min. A crosses_* leaf needs a prior reading, so it can only fire on the second reading after activation. No dynamic values.

{ "source": "fear_greed", "method": "value", "args": {}, "operator": "crosses_below", "value": 20 }

Supported operators: >, <, >=, <=, ==, !=, crosses_above, crosses_below

Dynamic comparisons: value can reference another live data source instead of a literal:

{
  "source": "price",
  "method": "current",
  "args": { "symbol": "ETH", "exchange": "hyperliquid" },
  "operator": "crosses_above",
  "value": {
    "source": "ta",
    "method": "bbands_upper",
    "args": { "symbol": "ETH", "timeframe": "4h", "exchange": "hyperliquid" }
  }
}

Copy-paste query templates

1) Breakout alert (webhook):

{
  "title": "BTC breakout above 100k",
  "description": "Notify runner when BTC spot trades above the 100k level.",
  "conditions": { "AND": [{ "source": "price", "method": "current", "args": { "symbol": "BTC", "exchange": "hyperliquid" }, "operator": ">", "value": 100000 }] },
  "actions": [{ "stepId": "step_1", "type": "webhook", "params": { "url": "https://your-endpoint.example/events" } }],
  "expiresIn": "24h"
}

2) Downside guardrail (telegram_bot):

{
  "title": "ETH downside guardrail (< 2500)",
  "description": "Risk-off alert: flag if ETH breaks below 2500. The notification body is auto-composed from title + description + trigger context.",
  "conditions": { "AND": [{ "source": "price", "method": "current", "args": { "symbol": "ETH", "exchange": "hyperliquid" }, "operator": "<", "value": 2500 }] },
  "actions": [{ "stepId": "step_1", "type": "telegram_bot", "params": { "botToken": "<TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN>", "chatId": "<TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID>" } }],
  "expiresIn": "24h"
}

3) Triggered LLM analysis:

{
  "title": "BTC > 100k — LLM review",
  "description": "On BTC breakout, run LLM to decide next trading action.",
  "conditions": { "AND": [{ "source": "price", "method": "current", "args": { "symbol": "BTC", "exchange": "hyperliquid" }, "operator": ">", "value": 100000 }] },
  "actions": [{
    "stepId": "step_1",
    "type": "llm",
    "params": { "objective": "Analyze trigger context and return next action" }
  }],
  "expiresIn": "24h"
}

4) Multi-symbol confirmation:

{
  "title": "BTC + ETH joint breakout",
  "description": "Confirm majors moving together before acting.",
  "conditions": {
    "AND": [
      { "source": "price", "method": "current", "args": { "symbol": "BTC", "exchange": "hyperliquid" }, "operator": ">", "value": 100000 },
      { "source": "price", "method": "current", "args": { "symbol": "ETH", "exchange": "hyperliquid" }, "operator": ">", "value": 3500 }
    ]
  },
  "actions": [{ "stepId": "step_1", "type": "notify", "params": { "message": "BTC and ETH confirmation fired" } }],
  "expiresIn": "24h"
}

5) Dynamic comparison (price vs Bollinger Band):

{
  "title": "ETH breakout above 4h upper BBand",
  "description": "Dynamic: fire when ETH price crosses above its own 4h upper Bollinger Band.",
  "conditions": {
    "AND": [{
      "source": "price", "method": "current", "args": { "symbol": "ETH", "exchange": "hyperliquid" },
      "operator": "crosses_above",
      "value": { "source": "ta", "method": "bbands_upper", "args": { "symbol": "ETH", "timeframe": "4h", "exchange": "hyperliquid" } }
    }]
  },
  "actions": [{ "stepId": "step_1", "type": "webhook", "params": { "url": "https://your-endpoint.example/events" } }],
  "expiresIn": "2d"
}

6) Scheduled cron check:

{
  "title": "Every 4h: portfolio sweep",
  "description": "Recurring LLM pass every 4h.",
  "conditions": { "AND": [{ "source": "cron", "method": "every", "args": { "period": "4h" }, "operator": "==", "value": true }] },
  "actions": [{
    "stepId": "step_1",
    "type": "llm",
    "params": { "objective": "Summarize BTC/ETH/SOL context and flag any risk shifts" }
  }],
  "expiresIn": "3d"
}

7) LLM-evaluated narrative condition:

{
  "title": "AI narrative shift watcher",
  "description": "Fire when dominant AI-token narrative shifts based on news + X sentiment.",
  "conditions": {
    "AND": [{
      "source": "llm", "method": "athena_condition",
      "args": { "query": "Has the dominant narrative around AI-sector tokens shifted materially in the last 6 hours?", "period": "1h" },
      "operator": "==", "value": true
    }]
  },
  "actions": [{ "stepId": "step_1", "type": "telegram_bot", "params": { "botToken": "<TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN>", "chatId": "<TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID>" } }],
  "expiresIn": "2d"
}

8) Signal — X/Twitter Post (account-anchored):

{
  "title": "Binance Alpha listing post watcher",
  "description": "Fire when cz_binance posts that Binance Alpha is listing a new token so the runner can review follow-through.",
  "conditions": {
    "AND": [{
      "source": "tweet",
      "args": {
        "username": "cz_binance",
        "text": "Binance Alpha is listing a new token",
        "minConfidence": 80
      }
    }]
  },
  "actions": [{ "stepId": "step_1", "type": "webhook", "params": { "url": "https://your-runner.example/auto/events" } }],
  "expiresIn": "24h"
}

9) Signal — Event (news-driven catalyst):

{
  "title": "ETH ETF approval event watcher",
  "description": "Fire when event feeds indicate a spot ETH ETF approval so I can kick off a post-event playbook.",
  "conditions": {
    "AND": [{
      "source": "news",
      "args": {
        "text": "SEC approves a spot ETH ETF",
        "minConfidence": 80
      }
    }]
  },
  "actions": [{ "stepId": "step_1", "type": "notify", "params": { "message": "Event trigger fired: spot ETH ETF approval signal" } }],
  "expiresIn": "24h"
}

10) Prediction Market — Kalshi (YES probability crossing):

{
  "title": "Kalshi YES crosses 60%",
  "description": "Fire when the market's implied YES probability crosses up through 60%, signalling the market now expects this outcome.",
  "conditions": { "AND": [{ "source": "kalshi", "method": "yes_price", "args": { "ticker": "KXBTC-26APR0803-T77799.99" }, "operator": "crosses_above", "value": 0.6 }] },
  "actions": [{ "stepId": "step_1", "type": "webhook", "params": { "url": "https://your-runner.example/auto/events" } }],
  "expiresIn": "48h"
}

11) Prediction Market — Kalshi (settlement recap via LLM):

{
  "title": "Kalshi market resolved YES — recap",
  "description": "When the market settles with a YES result, generate a concise recap of what happened and why.",
  "conditions": { "AND": [{ "source": "kalshi", "method": "result", "args": { "ticker": "KXBTC-26APR0803-T77799.99" }, "operator": "==", "value": "yes" }] },
  "actions": [{ "stepId": "step_1", "type": "llm", "params": { "objective": "This Kalshi market just resolved YES. Write a concise recap explaining what resolved and what to watch next." } }],
  "expiresIn": "48h"
}

12) Prediction Market — Polymarket (outcome-token price crossing):

{
  "title": "Polymarket outcome crosses 60%",
  "description": "Fire when the outcome token's last traded price crosses up through 0.60, signalling the market now expects this outcome.",
  "conditions": { "AND": [{ "source": "polymarket", "method": "price", "args": { "ticker": "115556263888245616435851357148058235707004733438163639091106356867234218207169" }, "operator": "crosses_above", "value": 0.6 }] },
  "actions": [{ "stepId": "step_1", "type": "webhook", "params": { "url": "https://your-runner.example/auto/events" } }],
  "expiresIn": "48h"
}

13) Recurring trigger (repeat):

Re-fire on the plan's own condition instead of a fixed cron cadence — notify every time BTC crosses down through 60k, rate-limited to once per hour, capped at 10 fires. Note the safer-pattern choices: crosses_below (reacts to the crossing edge, not a value sitting below the line) plus a 1h cooldown and a low maxTriggers ceiling.

{
  "title": "Notify when BTC crosses below 60k",
  "description": "Recurring risk alert: fire each time BTC price crosses down through 60000, no more than once per hour, up to 10 times.",
  "conditions": { "AND": [{ "source": "price", "method": "current", "args": { "symbol": "BTC", "exchange": "hyperliquid" }, "operator": "crosses_below", "value": 60000 }] },
  "actions": [{ "stepId": "step_1", "type": "notify", "params": { "message": "BTC dipped below 60k again" } }],
  "expiresIn": "7d",
  "repeat": { "cooldown": "1h", "maxTriggers": 10 }
}

14) Calendar schedule (cron.schedule):

Run on a wall-clock schedule — every weekday at 09:00 New York time. Direct EQL/API path only (Builder Chat support pending).

{
  "title": "Weekday 9am NY: market open recap",
  "description": "Every weekday at 09:00 America/New_York, run an LLM market-open recap.",
  "conditions": { "AND": [{ "source": "cron", "method": "schedule", "args": { "expression": "0 9 * * 1-5", "timezone": "America/New_York" }, "operator": "==", "value": true }] },
  "actions": [{ "stepId": "step_1", "type": "llm", "params": { "objective": "Give a concise market-open recap for BTC/ETH/SOL and flag overnight risk shifts" } }],
  "expiresIn": "7d"
}

15) Funding flip (funding):

Fire when Binance BTC funding turns negative — shorts start paying longs (crowded-short signal). Note the composite SYMBOL:EXCHANGE ticker and venue-comparable annualized_rate.

{
  "title": "BTC funding flips negative",
  "description": "Shorts are now paying longs on Binance BTC — a crowded-short signal worth reviewing.",
  "conditions": { "AND": [{ "source": "funding", "method": "annualized_rate", "args": { "ticker": "BTC:BINANCE" }, "operator": "crosses_below", "value": 0 }] },
  "actions": [{ "stepId": "step_1", "type": "notify", "params": { "message": "BTC funding on Binance flipped negative" } }],
  "expiresIn": "7d"
}

16) Liquidation cascade (liquidation + repeat):

Fire each time ETH liquidations cross $500k in a 5-minute window. Windows decay to zero once a cascade subsides, so with repeat this fires once per cascade.

{
  "title": "ETH liquidation cascade (5m > $500k)",
  "description": "Alert on each distinct ETH liquidation cascade on Bybit, capped at 10 alerts.",
  "conditions": { "AND": [{ "source": "liquidation", "method": "total_usd_5m", "args": { "ticker": "ETH:BYBIT" }, "operator": "crosses_above", "value": 500000 }] },
  "actions": [{ "stepId": "step_1", "type": "webhook", "params": { "url": "https://your-runner.example/auto/events" } }],
  "expiresIn": "7d",
  "repeat": { "cooldown": "1h", "maxTriggers": 10 }
}

17) Catalyst → equity/index trade (HIP-3):

The prediction-market-to-perp bridge: when a Fed-decision market reprices, take a position in the S&P perp — including overnight and at weekends, when cash equities are closed. xyz:SP500 is a HIP-3 market on Hyperliquid; each repeat fire opens a new position, so maxTriggers is a position count. Resolve a real open Kalshi ticker first — don't guess.

{
  "title": "Fed cut odds → long S&P",
  "description": "When the market prices a cut as more likely than not, go long the S&P perp.",
  "conditions": { "AND": [{ "source": "kalshi", "method": "yes_price", "args": { "ticker": "<an open Kalshi Fed-decision market ticker>" }, "operator": "crosses_above", "value": 0.6 }] },
  "actions": [{ "stepId": "step_1", "type": "market_order", "params": { "exchange": "hyperliquid", "symbol": "xyz:SP500", "side": "buy", "amount": "250" } }],
  "expiresIn": "168h",
  "repeat": { "cooldown": "4h", "maxTriggers": 3 }
}

Poll response shape

GET /v2/auto/queries/{queryId} (and the x402 POST equivalent) returns:

{
  "queryId": "q_123",
  "status": "active",
  "latestEvaluation": {
    "evaluatedAt": "2026-04-01T12:00:00.000Z",
    "wouldTriggerNow": false
  },
  "executions": [
    {
      "id": "exec_123",
      "queryId": "q_123",
      "type": "llm",
      "status": "failed",
      "error": {
        "code": "LLM_ACTION_UPSTREAM_ERROR",
        "message": "Failed to execute llm action"
      },
      "createdAt": "2026-04-01T12:00:01.000Z"
    }
  ]
}

Use polling for debugging or backfills. For production delivery, prefer webhook or SSE notifications. Store sessionId values from executions so you can fetch full LLM analysis only when needed via GET /v2/auto/queries/:queryId/sessions/:sessionId.

Notifications — delivery channels

After a query triggers, Auto delivers events via one of three channels:

| Channel | Best for | Setup | |---|---|---| | Webhook | Production agent automation | action.type = "webhook" with signature verification + queue/worker | | Telegram | Fast human-readable alerts | action.type = "telegram_bot" with params.botToken + params.chatId (direct), or webhook→bot relay for custom formatting | | SSE Stream | Real-time event consumers; always available regardless of the chosen action | GET /v2/auto/queries/{queryId}/stream using the same auth as query creation (x-elfa-api-key for API-key queries, the x402 secret for x402 queries) |

Query title and description in notifications: both fields are embedded in every outbound notification (Telegram, webhook, SSE). Recipients often see an alert hours or days after the query was set up — these fields are what make it clear what fired and why it was set up. Always set them.

Notification payload (what Auto actually sends)

Auto's outbound notification object (webhook body, SSE data) has this shape:

{
  "id": 12345,
  "type": "athena_query_notify_only",
  "category": "alerts",
  "title": "BTC breakout above 100k",
  "body": "price > threshold",
  "data": { "queryId": "q_123" },
  "priority": "high",
  "createdAt": "2026-04-01T12:00:00.000Z"
}

id is the numeric notification ID; correlate back to a query via data.queryId. title and body come from the query's title / description plus trigger context.

Canonical event payload contract (internal normalization)

It's useful to normalize incoming events (webhook, Telegram relay, SSE) to a single internal shape so downstream processing is channel-agnostic. This is a recommended runner-side convention, not the wire format Auto sends (see the payload above):

{
  "version": "1.0",
  "eventType": "query.triggered",
  "eventId": "evt_01J...",
  "timestamp": "2026-04-01T12:00:00.000Z",
  "queryId": "q_123",
  "channel": "webhook",
  "trigger": {
    "symbol": "BTC",
    "reason": "price > threshold"
  },
  "evaluation": { "triggered": true },
  "action": { "type": "webhook" }
}

Webhook request headers (what your receiver must read):

| Header | Purpose | |---|---| | X-Auto-Event-Id | Unique event ID for deduplication | | X-Auto-Signature-Timestamp | Unix seconds for replay-window check | | X-Auto-Signature | v1=<hex_hmac_sha256> — verify against raw body |

SSE frame format (the stream uses the same auth used to create the query — x-elfa-api-key for API-key queries, or the x402 secret for x402 queries; it is not limited to x-elfa-api-key. For minimal setup, attach a notify action with a message — those notifications are retrievable only via SSE or poll):

id: 12345
event: notification:new
data: {"id":12345,"type":"athena_query_notify_only","category":"alerts","title":"...","body":"...","data":{"queryId":"q_123"},"priority":"high","createdAt":"2026-04-01T12:00:00.000Z"}

The SSE id: line is the numeric notification ID (not the query ID); the query UUID lives in data.queryId.

Telegram relay job format (when transforming webhook → Telegram Bot API):

{
  "eventId": "evt_01J...",
  "queryId": "q_123",
  "channel": "telegram",
  "chatId": "<CHAT_ID>",
  "text": "BTC trigger fired: price > threshold",
  "priority": "high"
}

Webhook signature verification

Signing inputs:

signing_key = SHA256(your_secret)
expected    = HMAC_SHA256(signing_key, timestamp + "." + eventId + "." + rawBody)

Node.js verification:

import crypto from "crypto";

export function verifyAutoWebhook(
  secret: string,
  rawBody: string,
  signatureHeader: string,
  timestamp: string,
  eventId: string,
): boolean {
  if (!signatureHeader?.startsWith("v1=")) return false;
  const given = signatureHeader.slice(3);
  const signingKey = crypto.createHash("sha256").update(secret).digest();
  const payload = `${timestamp}.${eventId}.${rawBody}`;
  const expected = crypto.createHmac("sha256", signingKey).update(payload).digest("hex");
  if (given.length !== expected.length) return false;
  return crypto.timingSafeEqual(Buffer.from(given), Buffer.from(expected));
}

Operational checklist:

Enforce a bounded replay window on X-Auto-Signature-Timestamp (reject drift >30s).
Deduplicate by X-Auto-Event-Id in durable storage.
Return 2xx fast, then process asynchronously (queue + worker).

Telegram bot setup (for `action.type: "telegram_bot"` or relay)

Open @BotFather in Telegram → /newbot → save bot token (treat as secret).
Send any message to the bot (or in a group where the bot is present).
curl "https://api.telegram.org/bot<BOT_TOKEN>/getUpdates" → read message.chat.id.
Send messages via:

curl -X POST "https://api.telegram.org/bot<BOT_TOKEN>/sendMessage" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"chat_id": "<CHAT_ID>", "text": "Auto trigger fired for BTC RSI"}'

Direct chats, groups, and supergroups: telegram_bot delivers to private chats, groups, and supergroups. Channels are not supported and are rejected at create time. Two gotchas for groups: (1) group chat IDs are negative (-1001234567890) — copy verbatim from getUpdates, including the leading -; (2) the bot must be able to post — at create time Auto checks the bot's membership/permissions, and if it can't post, create fails with Telegram bot cannot send messages in this chat (check its permissions). If a group is later upgraded to a supergroup (new chat ID), Auto detects the migration, updates the stored ID, and retries — no action needed.

Agent runner — reference architecture

Auto handles query evaluation + event emission. Your runner handles event ingestion, verification, deduplication, strategy continuation, and audit logging.

Auto Query
  → Auto Event Ingress (Webhook / SSE)
  → Signature Verification + Idempotency
  → Job Queue
  → Agent Decision Worker
  → Action Adapter (Telegram / Internal API / Order Router)
  → Logs + Metrics + Alerts

Core processing loop:

Receive event (webhook or SSE frame).
Verify signature (webhook only).
Check idempotency — is eventId already processed?
Enqueue job and ACK 2xx fast.
Worker resolves extra context (poll query, fetch LLM session).
Apply policy, decide next step.
Execute downstream action.
Record result for replay/debug.

Instruction envelope — structured contract passed from ingress to worker:

{
  "eventId": "evt_123",
  "queryId": "q_123",
  "objective": "Handle trigger and decide next action",
  "allowedActions": ["notify", "fetch_session", "execute_adapter"],
  "constraints": {
    "maxExecutionSeconds": 30,
    "riskMode": "conservative"
  }
}

Minimal TypeScript worker skeleton:

type AutoJob = { eventId: string; queryId: string; raw: unknown };
const queue: AutoJob[] = [];
const processed = new Set<string>();

function onWebhook(eventId: string, queryId: string, raw: unknown) {
  if (processed.has(eventId)) return; // idempotent
  queue.push({ eventId, queryId, raw });
}

async function workerLoop() {
  while (true) {
    const job = queue.shift();
    if (!job) { await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 250)); continue; }
    // 1) Pull latest query/execution state if needed
    // 2) Fetch session details for llm actions
    // 3) Decide next action (policy + agent logic)
    // 4) Execute action (notify, relay, order adapter)
    processed.add(job.eventId);
  }
}

Deployment patterns:

| Pattern | Best for | |---|---| | Single process (API + worker) | Early-stage prototypes | | API + queue + workers | Production reliability at scale | | Serverless consumer + queue worker | Spiky workloads with managed ops |

Local (Docker Compose) stack:

version: "3.9"
services:
  redis: { image: redis:7-alpine, ports: ["6379:6379"] }
  ingress:
    build: ./ingress
    environment:
      AUTO_SECRET: ${AUTO_SECRET}
      REDIS_URL: redis://redis:6379
    depends_on: [redis]
    ports: ["3000:3000"]
  worker:
    build: ./worker
    environment:
      AUTO_SECRET: ${AUTO_SECRET}
      REDIS_URL: redis://redis:6379
      ELFA_BASE_URL: https://api.elfa.ai/v2/auto
    depends_on: [redis]

Minimal environment contract (same keys local + cloud):

AUTO_SECRET=<event-signing secret>
ELFA_BASE_URL=https://api.elfa.ai/v2/auto
QUEUE_URL=<redis/sqs/pubsub endpoint>
RUNNER_MODE=local|cloud

Reliability checklist:

Store dedupe keys by eventId in durable storage
Retry policy with dead-letter queue
Keep webhook handler fast and non-blocking
Log decision input/output for every run
Health checks + alerting on worker lag

Recommended setup by stage:

| Stage | Pattern | |---|---| | Prototype | Auto Telegram + local worker | | Production | Auto webhook + queue + worker | | Real-time operations | Auto SSE + worker service |

Full detail: Notifications | Agent Runner

Notification troubleshooting

| Symptom | Likely Cause | Fix | |---|---|---| | 400 / 401 when polling or streaming | Missing/invalid API key or auth headers | Send x-elfa-api-key; include HMAC headers where required | | Webhook signature mismatch | Signing wrong payload (not raw body) or wrong secret | Verify with timestamp + "." + eventId + "." + rawBody and SHA256(secret) key | | Duplicate downstream actions | No idempotency on event processing | Dedupe by eventId before enqueue/execute | | Event received but agent does nothing | Ingress processes inline and times out | ACK fast, push to queue, process in worker | | SSE disconnect/reconnect loops | No retry/backoff or unstable consumer | Add reconnect backoff + heartbeat monitoring | | Missing triggers after some time | Query expired or was cancelled | Poll status; check expiresIn, status, latestEvaluation | | Signature timestamp rejected | Runner clock skew | Sync clock (NTP); enforce bounded replay window | | Telegram bot cannot send messages in this chat at create | Bot isn't in the group, or the group revokes can_send_messages for it | Add the bot to the chat and grant send permission (or make it an admin), then retry | | Telegram create fails for a group | chatId missing the leading -, or the target is a channel | Group IDs are negative (-1001234567890); channels are not supported |

Validation errors — next action table

When /v2/auto/queries/validate (or Create) rejects, the error is almost always a phrasing issue, not a capability gap. Iterate on Validate instead of abandoning the query.

| Error signal | What it means | Next action | |---|---|---| | EQL_MISSING_ARG | A required arg is absent (e.g. period on ema/sma, or exchange on any price/ta condition) | Add the missing arg from the TA Args Contract, re-validate | | Missing/invalid exchange on price/ta | Every price/ta condition needs exchange | Add exchange (hyperliquid or gmx) to the condition args, re-validate | | EQL_INVALID_ARG / type errors | Wrong type ("14" instead of 14) or unrecognized key (length vs period) | Use exact key names + JSON numeric types | | Unknown method | Indicator name not supported | Pick nearest supported method; ask Builder Chat to substitute | | Unsupported timeframe / period | Value outside enum | Snap to nearest allowed value | | Unsupported symbol / source | Asset not indexed or DEX pair unsupported | Skip symbol and report it; proceed with supported subset | | Depth / leaf-count exceeded | More than depth 3 or 10 leaves | Split into two queries joined by your runner | | cron / llm period too short | Below 1h minimum | Raise to 1h or higher | | Unmonitored tweet username | tweet.semantic args.username not in monitored active accounts | Replace with a monitored active handle (without @) and re-validate | | Invalid minConfidence (tweet / news) | Non-integer or outside 0..100 | Use a JSON integer between 0 and 100 (start with 80) | | kalshi ticker not open (EQL_INVALID_ARG_VALUE on args.ticker) | Ticker is not a currently-open Kalshi market (closed/settled/unknown) | Resolve a currently-open full ticker and re-validate; don't guess tickers | | kalshi invalid enum / operator | Enum value outside its set, or operator not in the method's allowlist (e.g. crosses_above on trade_size) | Use the per-method operator allowlists and enum sets from the kalshi source reference | | kalshi is_block_trade type error | value passed as a string instead of a JSON boolean | Use JSON true / false, not "true" / "false" | | polymarket ticker not found / not active | args.ticker is not a live Polymarket outcome token (asset_id) — unknown or inactive | Resolve a currently-active outcome-token asset_id and re-validate; don't guess ids | | polymarket invalid operator / dynamic value | Operator not in the method's allowlist (e.g. crosses_above on size, > on side), or a dynamic (field-vs-field) value was used | Use the per-method operator allowlists; use a literal value (dynamic values are unsupported for polymarket) | | cron.schedule cadence too fast | Minute field isn't a single fixed value (e.g. */15 * * * *), or a sub-hour cadence | Use a single fixed minute — see the cron.schedule allowed/not-allowed examples | | EQL_INVALID_REPEAT | repeat was combined with a recurring cron condition (cron.every / cron.schedule) — both provide recurrence. repeat is allowed on trade actions | Remove repeat for recurring cron (cron already recurs), or drop the cron condition | | EQL_INVALID_ARG_VALUE with details.hip3: true | A HIP-3 (dex-prefixed) symbol was used on a funding / liquidation condition — those feeds don't publish HIP-3 keys | Use a plain base symbol (BTC:BINANCE). HIP-3 stays valid on price/ta and trade actions | | Unknown symbol in a composite ticker | Symbol not listed on that venue's perp catalog (often a naming mismatch) | Check the venue's own base-symbol convention (1000PEPE on Binance/Bybit vs KPEPE on Hyperliquid) | | SYMBOL_CATALOG_UNAVAILABLE (HTTP 503) | Market catalog was momentarily unreachable, so the symbol couldn't be checked — validation fails closed | Retry after the interval in the Retry-After header; this is transient — do not reshape the query | | Dynamic value in action params | Dynamic values only allowed in condition value | Move dynamic reference into condition; keep action params literal |

Cross-operator semantics: crosses_above = previous < threshold AND current >= threshold. crosses_below = previous > threshold AND current <= threshold. Both require previous-state tracking server-side.

Substitution ladder — if Auto doesn't fit

Before concluding a use case is out of scope, walk this ladder. Most intents resolve at rung 1 or 2.

Rephrase through Builder Chat — append "If anything is unsupported, return the closest supported query and list substitutions" to your chat prompt.
Iterate on Validate Query — loop: validate → reshape → re-validate. Do NOT jump to "this isn't possible" after one rejection.
Split into multiple queries joined by your runner (for depth 3 / 10-leaf limits).
Use source: "llm" with athena_condition for fuzzy/narrative predicates.
Pre-compute in your own service, use Auto as control plane — only after rungs 1–4 fail.

Worked example — "alert on descending trendline break":

Rung 1: Rephrase as a supported proxy — "alert when BTC price crosses above 4h upper Bollinger Band AND 1h RSI > 55".
Rung 4: If the proxy isn't acceptable, use source: "llm" with a scheduled natural-language predicate — "has BTC broken its recent descending trendline on the 4h chart?".
Rung 5: Only if both fail: compute trendline-break externally, feed a boolean into an Auto cron + llm query as the condition trigger.

Do not build your own monitoring/evaluation/trigger stack before walking rungs 1–4.

Query drafts

Drafts let you stage an Auto query without activating it (and without spending credits). Useful for human-in-the-loop approval workflows, dashboards where users edit before committing, or batch authoring flows.

Draft lifecycle:

POST /v2/auto/queries/drafts — create or update a draft (idempotent upsert).
GET /v2/auto/queries/drafts — list editable drafts.
POST /v2/auto/queries/drafts/:draftId/validate — validate stored draft.
POST /v2/auto/queries/drafts/:draftId/convert — promote draft → active query (HMAC conditional: required only when the stored draft uses a trade action type).
DELETE /v2/auto/queries/drafts/:draftId — discard draft.

GET /v2/auto/queries/drafts/:draftId still works but is legacy — prefer GET /v2/auto/queries/{queryId} which resolves both active queries and drafts.

Drafts are API-key-mode only. Not available via x402.

Symbols (tracking vs execution)

Auto is not crypto-only. Crypto majors and on-chain tokens are plain uppercase tickers (BTC, ETH, SOL, HYPE, long-tail tokens). HIP-3 assets on Hyperliquid — tokenized equities, indices, commodities, FX, and pre-IPO names — use a DEX-prefixed form <dex>:<SYMBOL> and trade 24/7, even when the underlying cash market is closed.

Two DEX prefixes matter in practice: xyz lists nearly everything and carries almost all the volume; mkts lists a smaller overlapping set. Hyperliquid hosts other HIP-3 DEXs whose markets are dormant (listed but not trading) — Auto rejects them exactly like a typo (EQL_INVALID_SYMBOL). A symbol being listed on Hyperliquid is not enough; only the liquid listing is usable (GOLD appears on six DEXs). A bare HIP-3 symbol is rejected — {"symbol": "GOLD"} fails with EQL_INVALID_SYMBOL. Only plain crypto tickers work without a prefix (they live on Hyperliquid's main DEX).

| Class | Examples | |---|---| | Crypto majors | BTC, ETH, SOL, HYPE (no prefix — main DEX) | | On-chain / long-tail tokens | RAVE, TAO, niche memes | | Indices (HIP-3) | xyz:SP500, xyz:XYZ100 (Nasdaq 100), xyz:JP225, mkts:US500, mkts:USTECH | | Sector / country baskets (HIP-3) | xyz:SMH (semis), xyz:XLE (energy), xyz:EWY, xyz:EWJ | | Equities — mega-cap (HIP-3) | xyz:NVDA, xyz:TSLA, xyz:AAPL, xyz:MSFT, xyz:GOOGL, xyz:META | | Equities — semis / high-beta (HIP-3) | xyz:AMD, xyz:TSM, xyz:ARM, xyz:COIN, xyz:MSTR, xyz:PLTR | | Pre-IPO / private (HIP-3) | xyz:SPCX (SpaceX), xyz:ZHIPU, xyz:MINIMAX | | Commodities (HIP-3) | xyz:CL (WTI crude), xyz:BRENTOIL, xyz:NATGAS, xyz:GOLD, xyz:SILVER, xyz:COPPER | | FX (HIP-3) | xyz:EUR, xyz:JPY, xyz:GBP |

Illustrative, not exhaustive — and listings change. Markets are added and go dormant. Never hardcode this list: confirm any HIP-3 symbol with GET /v2/auto/validate-symbol/{exchange}/{symbol} before building on it, and read a rejection as "that market is dead", not "Auto is missing the asset". HIP-3 markets are tradable on hyperliquid only — a HIP-3 symbol on gmx is rejected with EQL_INVALID_SYMBOL.

Composite tickers (funding / liquidation only): those two sources do not take a symbol + exchange arg — they take a single SYMBOL:EXCHANGE ticker (e.g. BTC:BINANCE, ETH:HYPERLIQUID, SOL:BYBIT). Use each venue's own base-symbol convention: 1000PEPE on Binance/Bybit vs KPEPE on Hyperliquid. HIP-3 symbols are rejected for these two sources.

Tracking vs execution differ:

Tracking (conditions, alerts, webhooks) covers DEX/on-chain assets — effectively unbounded (long-tail tokens, pre-CEX-listing assets, niche memes).
Execution (market_order / limit_order) is limited to symbols tradable as perps on the target venue. Tradability varies by exchange — a symbol may be tradable on hyperliquid, gmx, both, or neither. Pre-flight with GET /v2/auto/validate-symbol/{exchange}/{symbol} (exchange = hyperliquid or gmx). The same check also validates symbols for price/ta data sources, not just execution. Non-tradable symbols still work for tracking.

Full reference: Symbols and Catalyst Triggers.

Trade execution (`market_order` / `limit_order`)

Live trade actions execute on a connected perp venue. Two venues are supported: hyperliquid and gmx. (The exchange arg on a price/ta condition is separate — it only selects market-data source, not where orders execute.)

Order params:

| Param | Required | Notes | |---|---|---| | exchange | yes | hyperliquid or gmx (no default) | | symbol | yes | e.g. BTC, ETH, SOL — must be tradable on the venue | | side | yes | buy or sell | | amount / size / positionSizePercent | yes (exactly one) | amount = USD/USDC notional; size = contracts/units; positionSizePercent = % of account value, range (0, 100] | | price | limit only | absolute limit price (string) | | reduceOnly | no | default false; Hyperliquid only (rejected on GMX) | | leverage | no | integer ≥ 1 | | marginType | no | cross or isolated; Hyperliquid only (rejected on GMX); when omitted, the asset's current margin mode is preserved | | tp | no | take-profit, "5%" or absolute "50000" | | sl | no | stop-loss, "2%" or absolute "48000" |

positionSizePercent resolves at execution as accountValue × (positionSizePercent / 100) × effectiveLeverage, converted to size via the order's reference price — mark price for market_order, limit price for limit_order.

Venue differences:

| Feature | Hyperliquid | GMX | |---|---|---| | Minimum amount | 10 USDC | none | | reduceOnly | supported | rejected | | marginType | supported | rejected | | HIP-3 markets (equities, indices, commodities, FX) | supported | not listed (rejected) |

Trading HIP-3 markets: order actions are not limited to crypto. Any HIP-3 market (xyz:SP500, xyz:NVDA, xyz:GOLD, xyz:CL, xyz:SPCX) is tradable through the same market_order / limit_order schema using its DEX-prefixed symbol — hyperliquid only (the same order with "exchange": "gmx" is rejected EQL_INVALID_SYMBOL). They trade 24/7, including when the underlying cash market is halted; max leverage is per-market and the 10 USDC minimum notional still applies.

Catalyst pattern (prediction market → asset it moves): a prediction-market condition doesn't have to end the plan — it can be the trigger for a position in the asset that catalyst moves. A Kalshi Fed-decision leaf (yes_price crosses_above 0.6) can fire a market_order on xyz:SP500 at 3am on a Sunday, while cash equities are shut. Bridge on asset class (rates → indices/mega-cap/metals/FX; earnings → mega-cap/semis; a named commodity → that commodity), and use maxTriggers as a hard circuit breaker. Full guide: Catalyst Triggers.

Trade fees: Elfa charges 0.05% per trade; the venue's own fees also apply (e.g. Hyperliquid base fee scales with 14-day volume).

Reading account state: Auto executes trades but does not proxy account-state reads (balance, leverage, positions, unrealized PnL) — read those from the venue directly. On Hyperliquid, use its Info endpoint (a POST /info REST API) with the master account address (the address that owns the funds), not the agent wallet address. On GMX, read on-chain via the GMX Reader contract or the GMX subgraph — there is no REST info endpoint as on Hyperliquid.

Exchange connections

Required only for live trade-execution actions (beyond webhook, notify, telegram_bot, llm). Connects your venue account to Auto so triggered queries can place orders on your behalf.

| Endpoint | Method | Auth | Description | |---|---|---|---| | /v2/auto/exchanges | POST | HMAC | Connect an exchange | | /v2/auto/exchanges | GET | API key | List connected exchanges | | /v2/auto/exchanges/:exchange | DELETE | HMAC | Disconnect |

Trade-ready onboarding (one-time): enable Auto in the dev portal (Privy link + HMAC secret) → complete venue onboarding (Hyperliquid and/or GMX) in the Elfa app → return to the portal and click Verify connection. Then GET /v2/auto/exchanges must show the target venue active, or trade actions fail at execution time with AGENT_WALLET_REQUIRED.

Exchange connections are API-key-mode only. Not available via x402. Trade execution is not available via x402 at all. Full reference: Trading Execution.

Executions

Every trigger fire produces an execution record — use these endpoints to audit trigger history, debug failed actions, or reconcile with your runner's audit log.

| Endpoint | Method | Description | |---|---|---| | /v2/auto/executions | GET | List execution records (filterable) | | /v2/auto/executions/:executionId | GET | Get a single execution record |

Execution records are also embedded in the poll response (GET /v2/auto/queries/:queryId) under the executions array, but the dedicated endpoints are useful for cross-query audits and pagination.

Executions are API-key-mode only. Not available via x402.

Step 3b: Trade — Direct Execution

Trade is a direct, synchronous order API on /v2/trade/*. You call an endpoint, it executes against the venue immediately, and the response carries the fill. No condition engine, no query, no trigger — one request, one order.

Full Trade docs: docs.elfa.ai/trade/overview

Trade vs Auto — which to use

Both place orders for the same linked account with the same API key + HMAC auth and the same venues (hyperliquid, gmx). They differ only in when the order fires:

| | Trade (/v2/trade/*) | Auto (/v2/auto/*) | |---|---|---| | Execution | Synchronous — fires on the request | Conditional — fires when a trigger resolves true | | You send | An order to execute now | A query (conditions + actions) to evaluate over time | | State created | None (proxied straight to the venue) | A persistent query you poll/stream | | Best for | "Place this order now", bots that decide off-platform | "Watch for X, then trade", alerting + automation |

Use Trade when the agent has already decided and wants to act now. Use Auto when you want Elfa to watch the market and act for you.

Access model

x-elfa-api-key on every request (including previews).
The key must be Privy-linked (enable Auto in the Developer Portal). Unlinked keys get 403. Same prerequisite as Auto — there is no separate Trade enablement.
An active exchange connection for the target venue must exist, or the write fails at execution. Verify with GET /v2/auto/exchanges before placing orders.
HMAC required on every write (place / cancel / modify / close / tpsl); previews are unsigned. Unlike Auto, there is no notification-only bypass — every Trade write is signed.
Trade is not available in x402 keyless mode.

HMAC signing (Trade mount)

Identical scheme to Auto, with one critical difference: the signed mounted_path is relative to the /v2/trade mount, not /v2/auto and not the full URL path.

timestamp + method + mounted_path + body

Request URL: /v2/trade/orders → signed path: /orders
Request URL: /v2/trade/orders/cancel → signed path: /orders/cancel
Request URL: /v2/trade/positions/close → signed path: /positions/close
Request URL: /v2/trade/positions/tpsl → signed path: /positions/tpsl

Signing /v2/trade/orders instead of /orders fails verification. Replay window: ±30s. Send a per-request UUID in x-correlation-id (optional but recommended — used for tracing; the backend does not de-duplicate, so pair it with a client-side guard to avoid double submissions).

Sizing an order

Order and close payloads accept three mutually-exclusive ways to size — provide exactly one:

| Field | Type | Meaning | |---|---|---| | size | string | Base units (contracts), e.g. "0.1" BTC | | amount | string | Quote/USD notional, e.g. "2500" | | positionSizePercent | number | Percent of available balance, (0, 100] |

All sizes and prices are decimal strings; only leverage, positionSizePercent, and closePercent are numbers. Venue notes: reduceOnly / marginType are Hyperliquid-only (rejected for GMX); Hyperliquid has a 10 USDC minimum notional, GMX has none.

Place an order (preview → sign → place)

Always preview unfamiliar payloads first (free, unsigned), then place (1 credit, signed):

# 1. Preview (free, no HMAC)
curl -sS -X POST https://api.elfa.ai/v2/trade/orders/preview \
  -H "x-elfa-api-key: ${ELFA_API_KEY}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"exchange":"hyperliquid","symbol":"BTC","side":"buy","orderType":"market","amount":"25"}'
# -> { "success": true, "wouldExecute": true }

# 2. Place (1 credit, HMAC required — sign the MOUNTED path "/orders")
TIMESTAMP=$(date +%s)
BODY='{"exchange":"hyperliquid","symbol":"BTC","side":"buy","orderType":"market","amount":"25"}'
SIGNATURE=$(echo -n "${TIMESTAMP}POST/orders${BODY}" | \
  openssl dgst -sha256 -hmac "${ELFA_HMAC_SECRET}" -hex | awk '{print $2}')

curl -sS -X POST https://api.elfa.ai/v2/trade/orders \
  -H "x-elfa-api-key: ${ELFA_API_KEY}" \
  -H "x-elfa-signature: ${SIGNATURE}" \
  -H "x-elfa-timestamp: ${TIMESTAMP}" \
  -H "x-correlation-id: $(uuidgen)" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "${BODY}"
# -> { "success": true, "orderId": "123456789", "filledSize": "0.0004", "avgFillPrice": "62500" }

With the bundled helper (handles /v2/trade signing automatically when ELFA_HMAC_SECRET is set):

./scripts/elfa_call.sh /v2/trade/orders/preview -d '{"exchange":"hyperliquid","symbol":"BTC","side":"buy","orderType":"market","amount":"25"}'
./scripts/elfa_call.sh /v2/trade/orders -d '{"exchange":"hyperliquid","symbol":"BTC","side":"buy","orderType":"market","amount":"25"}' --hmac-secret "$ELFA_HMAC_SECRET"

Manage the position

All write routes sign the same way — just change mounted_path and body:

Attach TP/SL — POST /v2/trade/positions/tpsl ({ "exchange": "...", "symbol": "BTC", "tp": "72000", "sl": "60000" })
Close (full or partial) — POST /v2/trade/positions/close ({ ..., "orderType": "market", "closePercent": 100 })
Cancel a resting order — POST /v2/trade/orders/cancel ({ ..., "orderId": "123456789" })
Modify a resting order — POST /v2/trade/orders/modify ({ ..., "orderId": "123456789", "price": "61000" })

Errors and reconciliation

Failures carry success: false and a structured error { code, message } (e.g. INSUFFICIENT_MARGIN, TRADE_SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE).

| Status | Meaning | Billed? | |---|---|---| | 200 | Success — order executed / action accepted | Yes (writes that cost credits) | | 400 | Missing or invalid parameters | No | | 401 | Missing/invalid API key, signature, timestamp, or clock skew | No | | 403 | API key not linked for trading | No | | 422 | Order rejected by the venue (e.g. insufficient margin) | No | | 502 | Transport / trade-service failure (TRADE_SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE), incl. timeout | No |

Reconcile before retrying a 502. A write blocks up to the trade service's 60-second timeout. On timeout the order may still have landed at the venue, and there is no server-side idempotency lock — a blind retry can double-fill. Read your open orders/positions from the venue first and only resubmit if the order is genuinely absent.

Trade executes orders but does not proxy balances, positions, or PnL — read those from the venue directly (see Trading Execution).

Step 4: Generating code snippets

When the user wants integration help, generate correct, production-ready code. See the Elfa API documentation for the full parameter specs.

Principles for code generation:

Always mention both access modes (API key and x402) so developers know their options
Include the signup link https://go.elfa.ai/claude-skills as a comment near the API key placeholder, and link to https://docs.elfa.ai/x402-payments for x402
Always include proper error handling
For API key mode: show the x-elfa-api-key header (use a placeholder like YOUR_API_KEY)
For x402 mode: show the /x402/v2/ prefix and recommend @x402/fetch or @x402/axios
For Auto trade mutations and exchange linking: include HMAC signing code (notification-only mutations skip HMAC); for x402 use the agent-secret header
Include TypeScript types when generating TS code
Add comments explaining each parameter
For pagination endpoints, show how to paginate through results
For time-windowed endpoints, explain the timeWindow vs from/to pattern

Language priorities (use unless the user specifies otherwise):

TypeScript/JavaScript (fetch) — most Elfa integrators are web/Node devs
Python (requests)
curl

The Chat endpoint deserves special attention — it's the most complex:

It supports multiple analysisType values: chat, macro, summary, tokenIntro, tokenAnalysis, accountAnalysis
Session management via sessionId for multi-turn conversations
Different assetMetadata requirements per analysis type
Two speed modes: fast and expert

Auto code generation guidance:

Always include the validate → create flow (never create without validating first)
For API key mode: include HMAC signing helper for trade-action and exchange-linking calls (notification-only mutations can be made with just x-elfa-api-key)
For x402 mode: include x-elfa-agent-secret header on all query lifecycle calls
Include Builder Chat examples when the user wants natural-language query building
Show how to poll or stream for results after query creation

Common patterns

Time window parameters: Many endpoints accept either timeWindow (e.g., "30m", "1h", "4h", "24h", "7d", "30d") OR from/to unix timestamps. If both are provided, from/to takes priority.

Pagination: Aggregation endpoints (trending-tokens, trending-cas, top-mentions, token-news) use page + pageSize. The keyword-mentions endpoint uses cursor-based pagination instead (cursor + limit).

Defaults and maximums:

| Parameter | Default | Max | |---|---|---| | pageSize | 20 (data) / 50 (aggregations) | 100 | | limit (keyword-mentions cursor) | 20 | 30 | | page | 1 | — | | timeWindow | 24h | — |

Per-endpoint parameter notes:

keyword-mentions — accepts keywords, accountName, searchType (or), from/to, limit, cursor. Provide either keywords OR accountName (or both); accountName filters mentions by a specific account (e.g. accountName=elonmusk).
token-news — accepts coinIds, from/to, page, pageSize (default 20). V2 always returns news mentions (no isNews parameter).
top-mentions — accepts ticker, timeWindow, page, pageSize. Account details are always included (no includeAccountDetails parameter).

Ticker format (top-mentions): The ticker parameter behavior changes based on whether you include the $ prefix:

With $ prefix (e.g., ticker=$SOL or URL-encoded ticker=%24SOL): Exact cashtag matching only. Searches the cashtags field for exact matches.
Without $ prefix (e.g., ticker=SOL): Broader search across both cashtags (boosted 2x) and general token references.

Use $ when you want only cashtag-specific mentions. Omit $ for a more inclusive search.

Credit costs (data endpoints — both modes):

Most endpoints: 1 credit per call ($0.009 via x402)
Event summary: 5 credits ($0.045 via x402)
Trending narratives: 5 credits ($0.045 via x402)
Chat: fast = 5 credits ($0.045), expert = 18 credits ($0.162) via x402

Auto query lifecycle:

Validate before create (recommended): Call POST /v2/auto/queries/validate first to preview estimated credits and catch validation errors before committing. The server validates internally during create anyway, but pre-validation lets you iterate on errors without side effects.
Prefer webhook or SSE for real-time delivery
Deduplicate events by eventId
Use shorter expiries (24h–3d) for fresh signals
Include title and description in queries — they appear in notifications

Important notes

The Elfa API domain (api.elfa.ai) must be accessible from the network. If blocked, inform the user and provide the code snippet instead.
Always use the v2 endpoints (paths starting with /v2/ or /x402/v2/).
For experimental endpoints (trending-tokens, smart-stats), mention that behavior may change without notice.
When the user asks about pricing or API key tiers, direct them to https://go.elfa.ai/claude-skills for full details on plans and pricing.
API-key request rate limits are per tier: Free / Chill / PAYG = 60 requests/min, Grow = 120 requests/min (Enterprise custom). These are independent of credit balances.
x402 is currently in beta. Rate limits: 1,000 requests per 60s window (per client IP).
x402 and API key credits are independent — they do not overlap or share balances.
For x402 documentation and setup, refer users to https://docs.elfa.ai/x402-payments.
For Auto documentation, refer users to https://docs.elfa.ai/auto/overview.
Auto HMAC signing uses the mounted path (e.g., /queries), NOT the full URL path (/v2/auto/queries). Using the full path will fail signature verification.
Auto x402 agent secret must be persistent — do not rotate per request.
For the full list of Auto capabilities, triggers, and query templates, see https://docs.elfa.ai/auto/capabilities and https://docs.elfa.ai/auto/query-model.