Operations

Getting started with polybot in four commands

Install, configure, initialise, and run polybot in shadow mode. From zero to a running dashboard in under ten minutes.

Published Apr 8, 2026

This is the fastest path from nothing to a working polybot instance trading in shadow mode. The full docs live at docs.cryptuon.com/polybot; this is the tour.

0. What you need

• Python 3.11 or later.
• A Polymarket proxy wallet address and its private key (for data access; no USDC needed in shadow mode).
• Optional: an Anthropic or OpenAI API key for the ai_model strategy.

If you don’t have a Polymarket proxy wallet: log into Polymarket, fund it with $1 of USDC once (this provisions the proxy), then export the proxy address and private key from your wallet settings. Keep the key safe.

1. Install

pip install polybot-trader

Or using uv:

uv tool install polybot-trader

This installs the polybot CLI and the Python package. No daemons, no global state yet.

2. Configure

polybot init

This creates ~/.polybot/ with an .env file. Open it and fill in:

POLYMARKET_PRIVATE_KEY=0x...
POLYMARKET_PROXY_ADDRESS=0x...
# Optional:
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
PERPLEXITY_API_KEY=pplx-...
# Optional — Kalshi:
KALSHI_API_KEY=...
KALSHI_API_SECRET=...

The private key never leaves your machine; polybot uses it locally to sign orders.

3. Initialise the database

polybot db init

Creates the SQLite operational DB (~/.polybot/polybot.db) and DuckDB analytics DB (~/.polybot/analytics.duckdb). Migrations run automatically on subsequent versions.

4. Enable a strategy and start

polybot strategy enable arbitrage
polybot strategy shadow arbitrage --enable    # shadow is the default but be explicit
polybot start

polybot start launches all services (scanner, executor, risk, analytics, dashboard, MCP) as a managed process group. Dashboard comes up at http://localhost:8000/ui. Logs stream to your terminal; Ctrl-C to stop.

After the first run

• Watch the dashboard for a few hours. Confirm signals are being generated and shadow fills are being recorded.
• Run polybot strategy report arbitrage --mode shadow --window 24h to see the last day’s shadow P&L.
• Want more strategies? polybot strategy enable <name>; they all default to shadow mode.
• Want the MCP server for Claude? polybot mcp start --mode shadow (see the MCP guide).

Promoting to live

Don’t rush this. See shadow mode for the promotion criteria. Short version:

polybot strategy shadow arbitrage --disable
polybot strategy config arbitrage --max-size-usd 50    # start small
polybot start

Funds should already be in your Polymarket USDC balance.

Running in production

For long-lived deployments, use Docker:

git clone https://github.com/cryptuon/polybot
cd polybot
cp .env.example .env
# fill in .env
docker compose up -d

The docker-compose.yml defines all services, volumes for state, and a reverse proxy for the dashboard. For CapRover/k8s/systemd deployments, see the deployment docs.

When things go wrong

• polybot status shows the state of every service.
• polybot logs --service executor --tail 200 for per-service logs.
• polybot reconcile run forces a state reconciliation with venues.
• polybot venue check polymarket tests connectivity and credentials.
• polybot strategy disable <name> gracefully stops a strategy without tearing down the rest.

File issues on github.com/cryptuon/polybot — we respond fast.