Polymarket docs: quick guide for traders

Polymarket docs cover the APIs, market mechanics, fees, and on‑chain token logic traders need to build tools or arbitrage strategies. This guide summarizes the documentation you actually need: the Gamma, Data, and CLOB APIs; CTF token mechanics; and the relayer model that makes trading gasless. If you want a production arbitrage setup, PolyArb runs on those same primitives and adds 40ms latency, Telegram and Discord alerts, and a $7.62 minimum guaranteed edge.

Core Polymarket APIs you’ll use

Polymarket exposes three REST surfaces and a market WebSocket. Use Gamma (https://gamma-api.polymarket.com) for markets, events, and tags; Data (https://data-api.polymarket.com) for positions, trades, and open interest; and CLOB (https://clob.polymarket.com) for orderbook reads and order placement. The market WebSocket (wss://ws-subscriptions-clob.polymarket.com/ws/market) streams real-time book and trade events. Pagination and rate limits matter: Gamma uses keyset pagination with after_cursor and caps on /markets. CLOB requires API key + HMAC for trading calls; reads are public. Build tooling against these exact endpoints to avoid surprises.

Market mechanics in the docs

Polymarket uses a Central Limit Order Book and Gnosis’s Conditional Token Framework for outcome tokens (ERC-1155). Binary prices at fair value sum to $1.00; multi-outcome markets sum to $1.00 across outcomes. The docs explain split/merge/redeem flows for complete sets and the tick size rules that tighten near 0.96/0.04. Trades are executed gasless through the Polymarket Relayer, which also handles wallet deployment and approvals. Maker fees are zero; taker fees vary by category.

Where the docs don’t give you a bot

The documentation is complete for building a client but does not ship a low-latency arbitrage stack. Latency, order management, and dispute/resolution handling are engineering problems on top of the APIs. Polymarket’s optimistic UMA oracle and dispute windows introduce resolution and settlement timing risks you must code for. If you want a turn-key arbitrage service, PolyArb uses the same APIs and primitives but adds execution infrastructure, alerts, and a guaranteed minimum edge per trade.

Getting started and next steps

Start by reading the Gamma /markets and CLOB orderbook docs, wire up the market WebSocket, and test split/merge flows on Polygon with pUSD. Respect geo restrictions in the docs: several countries are blocked and VPN use is prohibited by Terms of Service. When you need production execution, PolyArb offers a managed option: 40ms latency vs typical free bots, non-custodial operation, Telegram + Discord alerts, and a $7.62 minimum guaranteed edge.

FAQ

Where are the official Polymarket API endpoints?

The three REST APIs are Gamma (https://gamma-api.polymarket.com), Data (https://data-api.polymarket.com), and CLOB (https://clob.polymarket.com). Market real-time data is on wss://ws-subscriptions-clob.polymarket.com/ws/market.

Does Polymarket require gas or special tokens to trade?

Trading uses pUSD (Polymarket’s wrapped USDC) on Polygon. Polymarket sponsors gas via its Relayer, so wallet deployment, approvals, and CTF operations are gasless for end users.

Can I build an arbitrage bot from the docs alone?

The docs provide the primitives, but production arbitrage needs low-latency execution, order management, and resolution risk handling. Many traders prefer managed runtimes like PolyArb for execution and monitoring.

How do split, merge, and redeem work?

They are CTF operations: split mints a complete set from $1.00 of pUSD, merge burns them back, and redeem converts winning outcome tokens to $1.00 after resolution. The docs detail the exact contract flows.

Polymarket docs: quick guide for traders

Core Polymarket APIs you’ll use

Market mechanics in the docs

Where the docs don’t give you a bot

Getting started and next steps

Try PolyArb for low-latency Polymarket execution

FAQ

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