Guide

How to get a Polymarket API key

Polymarket API keys are not created in a dashboard; your wallet derives them with an L1 signature.

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About 15 minutes 4 steps Checked October 2026

Before you start

  • A Polymarket account and its wallet private key (or a dedicated trading wallet)
  • Python with py-clob-client

Create your Polymarket API key

  1. 1

    Install the client

    Run pip install py-clob-client.

  2. 2

    Create the client with your wallet

    Instantiate ClobClient("https://clob.polymarket.com", key=PRIVATE_KEY, chain_id=137) (add your funder/proxy address if your account uses one).

  3. 3

    Derive credentials

    Call client.create_or_derive_api_creds(); it returns the API key, secret and passphrase.

  4. 4

    Store them

    Save POLYMARKET_API_KEY, POLYMARKET_API_SECRET and POLYMARKET_API_PASSPHRASE; keep the wallet key out of code.

Test the key

Before wiring the key into a strategy, make one request by hand. It separates “the key is wrong” from “my code is wrong”.

from py_clob_client.client import ClobClient
client = ClobClient("https://clob.polymarket.com", key=PRIVATE_KEY, chain_id=137)
client.set_api_creds(client.create_or_derive_api_creds())
print(client.get_orders())
A (possibly empty) list of orders means L2 authentication works.

Keep the credentials safe

  • Store values in a password manager or a git-ignored .env, never in code or notebooks you share.
  • In an AlgoGP project you can still add them under APIs & keys (encrypted at rest) and read them with strategy_runtime.secrets.get("POLYMARKET_API_KEY").
  • Give each bot its own credential so you can revoke one without stopping the others.
POLYMARKET_API_KEY=paste-your-value-here
POLYMARKET_API_SECRET=paste-your-value-here
POLYMARKET_API_PASSPHRASE=paste-your-value-here
.env for local runs

Design and backtest your Polymarket strategy first

AlgoGP turns an idea into Python and tests it on years of history before you connect it to Polymarket. The exported code keeps the broker behind four small adapter methods.

  • AI copilot writes and revises the rules
  • Backtests with realistic costs
  • Exported Python ready to wire to Polymarket
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How the Polymarket API works

AlgoGP is not affiliated with Polymarket. Menus get renamed from time to time; if a label differs, the official documentation has the current path.