---

name: okx-api description: This skill should be used when the user asks to "query OKX account balance", "place an order on OKX", "get OKX market data", "check OKX positions", "cancel OKX order", or mentions OKX exchange trading, crypto trading via OKX API. Provides guidance for interacting with OKX REST API v5 including authentication, market data, and order management. version: 1.0.0

OKX API v5 Skill

Overview

OKX API v5 provides REST and WebSocket interfaces for spot trading, derivatives (perpetual swaps, futures, options), market data, and account management.

• Base URL: https://www.okx.com
• API version prefix: /api/v5/
• Demo/sandbox: same base URL, add header x-simulated-trading: 1
• Auth: HMAC SHA256 signature (private endpoints only)
• Rate limits: public endpoints by IP; private endpoints by User ID

All examples use scripts/okx_auth.py — a reusable helper that handles credential loading, signing, and response parsing.

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Configuration Setup

Store credentials in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json under the top-level env field. OpenClaw automatically injects these into the agent environment:

{
  "env": {
    "OKX_API_KEY": "your-api-key",
    "OKX_SECRET_KEY": "your-secret-key",
    "OKX_PASSPHRASE": "your-passphrase",
    "OKX_DEMO": "1"
  }
}

Set OKX_DEMO=1 to use sandbox mode (paper trading). Remove or set to 0 for live trading.

You can also export these in your shell:

export OKX_API_KEY="your-api-key"
export OKX_SECRET_KEY="your-secret-key"
export OKX_PASSPHRASE="your-passphrase"
export OKX_DEMO="1"

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Authentication

Private endpoints require four request headers:

Header	Value
OK-ACCESS-KEY	Your API key
OK-ACCESS-SIGN	Base64(HmacSHA256(pre-sign, secret))
OK-ACCESS-TIMESTAMP	ISO 8601 UTC timestamp with milliseconds
OK-ACCESS-PASSPHRASE	Your passphrase
Content-Type	application/json (POST only)

Signature formula:

pre_sign = timestamp + METHOD + path_with_query + body
signature = base64(hmac_sha256(pre_sign, secret_key))

• timestamp: e.g. 2024-01-15T10:30:00.123Z
• METHOD: uppercase GET or POST
• path_with_query: e.g. /api/v5/account/balance or /api/v5/market/ticker?instId=BTC-USDT
• body: JSON string for POST, empty string "" for GET

Use scripts/okx_auth.py — it handles all of this automatically. See references/authentication.md for edge cases and error codes.

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Common Operations Quick Reference

Intent	Method	Endpoint
Get account balance	GET	/api/v5/account/balance
Get positions	GET	/api/v5/account/positions
Get ticker (spot price)	GET	/api/v5/market/ticker?instId=BTC-USDT
Get candlestick data	GET	/api/v5/market/candles?instId=BTC-USDT&bar=1H
Get order book	GET	/api/v5/market/books?instId=BTC-USDT&sz=20
Get recent trades	GET	/api/v5/market/trades?instId=BTC-USDT
Place order	POST	/api/v5/trade/order
Amend order	POST	/api/v5/trade/amend-order
Cancel order	POST	/api/v5/trade/cancel-order
Get open orders	GET	/api/v5/trade/orders-pending
Get order history	GET	/api/v5/trade/orders-history
Get instruments	GET	/api/v5/public/instruments?instType=SPOT
Get funding rate	GET	/api/v5/public/funding-rate?instId=BTC-USDT-SWAP

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Response Handling

All REST responses follow this envelope:

{
  "code": "0",
  "msg": "",
  "data": [...]
}

• code: "0" — success
• Any other code — error; check msg for details
• data is always an array (even for single objects)

Common error codes:

Code	Meaning
50011	Rate limit exceeded — back off and retry
50111	Invalid API key
50113	Invalid signature
50114	Timestamp out of range (±30s tolerance)
51000	Parameter error — check required fields
51008	Insufficient balance

The make_request() function in scripts/okx_auth.py raises a RuntimeError when code != "0", so you can catch errors cleanly.

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Rate Limits

OKX enforces rate limits per endpoint group:

Category	Limit
Public market data	20 req/2s per IP
Account endpoints	10 req/2s per UID
Trade order placement	60 req/2s per UID
Order cancellation	60 req/2s per UID

If you hit 50011, sleep 2 seconds and retry. For bulk operations, use batch endpoints:

• POST /api/v5/trade/batch-orders — place up to 20 orders
• POST /api/v5/trade/cancel-batch-orders — cancel up to 20 orders

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Place Order — Key Parameters

{
  "instId": "BTC-USDT",
  "tdMode": "cash",
  "side": "buy",
  "ordType": "limit",
  "px": "42000",
  "sz": "0.001"
}

Field	Values
instId	BTC-USDT (spot), BTC-USDT-SWAP (perp), BTC-USD-241227 (futures)
tdMode	cash (spot), cross (cross margin), isolated
side	buy or sell
ordType	limit, market, post_only, fok, ioc
px	Price (required for limit orders)
sz	Size in base currency (spot) or contracts (derivatives)

See examples/place-order.py for a complete working example.

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WebSocket

For real-time data (prices, order updates, position changes), use WebSocket instead of polling REST.

• Public: wss://ws.okx.com:8443/ws/v5/public
• Private: wss://ws.okx.com:8443/ws/v5/private

Subscribe to channels by sending JSON messages. Private channels require a login operation first using the same HMAC signature scheme.

See references/websocket.md and examples/websocket-ticker.py.

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References

• references/authentication.md — Signature details, edge cases, auth error troubleshooting
• references/market-data-endpoints.md — All public REST endpoints with params and response fields
• references/trading-endpoints.md — All private REST endpoints, order types, instrument types
• references/websocket.md — WebSocket URLs, subscription format, private channel auth, common channels
• examples/get-balance.py — Fetch and display account balance
• examples/get-market-data.py — Ticker and candlestick data
• examples/place-order.py — Place a limit buy order
• examples/websocket-ticker.py — Real-time price subscription
• scripts/okx_auth.py — Reusable auth/request helper (import in your scripts)