Automation

Perp DEX API Risk Controls for Bots and Alerts

Automation can make mistakes faster than a manual workflow. This article covers risk controls for research and monitoring systems only; it is not financial advice, not a recommendation, and no trading advice.

Define Scope Before Code

A bot or alert system should have a written purpose before it touches an account. Observation tools, notification systems, paper-trading scripts, and live order routers carry different risks and should not share the same review path.

  • Label the system as read-only, simulation, alerting, or execution-capable before review begins.
  • Use separate credentials, permissions, and wallets for testing instead of reusing production access.
  • Document which venues, markets, order types, and account actions are explicitly out of scope.
  • Require manual review before a script moves from observation to execution capability.

Add Controls Around Every Action

API workflows need guardrails that stay active when markets move quickly, data arrives late, or venue responses change. The goal is to make unsafe states visible and reversible where possible, not to imply that automation reduces market risk.

  • Set rate limits, order-size caps, collateral caps, dry-run modes, and environment checks outside strategy code.
  • Block actions when oracle data, account state, market metadata, or venue status cannot be refreshed.
  • Use kill switches that disable new actions and record why the system stopped.
  • Log inputs, outputs, rejected actions, and operator overrides for later process review.

Keep Publication Non-Advisory

Technical tutorials can accidentally become trading instructions. A public article should focus on safety review, testing boundaries, and failure handling rather than parameters that imply when or how to trade.

  • Avoid strategy examples that include entries, exits, leverage levels, or expected returns.
  • Mark venue API documentation as a source that must be checked again before implementation.
  • Explain that automation does not remove liquidation, oracle, bridge, custody, or operational risk.