Phemex Trade

Phemex Trading

Trade on Phemex via the phemex-cli tool. Supports USDT-M futures, Coin-M futures, and Spot markets.

How to call tools

phemex-cli <tool_name> --param1 value1 --param2 value2

Or with JSON args:

phemex-cli <tool_name> '{"param1":"value1","param2":"value2"}'

Output is always JSON. Environment variables PHEMEX_API_KEY, PHEMEX_API_SECRET, and PHEMEX_API_URL are read automatically.

Contract types

Every tool accepts an optional --contractType flag:

• linear (default) — USDT-M perpetual futures. Symbols end in USDT (e.g. BTCUSDT).
• inverse — Coin-M perpetual futures. Symbols end in USD (e.g. BTCUSD).
• spot — Spot trading. Symbols end in USDT (e.g. BTCUSDT). The server auto-prefixes s for the API.

Tools

Market data (no auth needed)

• get_ticker — 24hr price ticker. Example: phemex-cli get_ticker --symbol BTCUSDT
• get_orderbook — Order book (30 levels). Example: phemex-cli get_orderbook --symbol BTCUSDT
• get_klines — Candlestick data. Example: phemex-cli get_klines --symbol BTCUSDT --resolution 3600 --limit 100
• get_recent_trades — Recent trades. Example: phemex-cli get_recent_trades --symbol BTCUSDT
• get_funding_rate — Funding rate history. Example: phemex-cli get_funding_rate --symbol .BTCFR8H --limit 20

Account (read-only, auth required)

• get_account — Balance and margin info. Example: phemex-cli get_account --currency USDT
• get_spot_wallet — Spot wallet balances. Example: phemex-cli get_spot_wallet
• get_positions — Current positions with PnL. Example: phemex-cli get_positions --currency USDT
• get_open_orders — Open orders. Example: phemex-cli get_open_orders --symbol BTCUSDT
• get_order_history — Closed/filled orders. Example: phemex-cli get_order_history --symbol BTCUSDT --limit 50
• get_trades — Trade execution history. Example: phemex-cli get_trades --symbol BTCUSDT --limit 50

Trading (auth required)

• place_order — Place an order (Market, Limit, Stop, StopLimit). Key params: --symbol, --side (Buy/Sell), --orderQty, --ordType, --price (Limit/StopLimit), --stopPx (Stop/StopLimit), --timeInForce (GoodTillCancel/PostOnly/ImmediateOrCancel/FillOrKill), --reduceOnly, --posSide (Long/Short/Merged), --stopLoss, --takeProfit, --qtyType (spot only). orderQty units differ by contract type:
  • linear (USDT-M): orderQty = base currency amount (e.g. 0.01 = 0.01 BTC). To buy 10 USDT worth, calculate qty = 10 / current price.
  • inverse (Coin-M): orderQty = number of contracts as integer (e.g. 10 = 10 contracts). Each contract has a fixed USD value (e.g. 1 USD/contract for BTCUSD).
  • spot: depends on --qtyType. ByBase (default) = base currency (e.g. 0.01 = 0.01 BTC). ByQuote = quote currency (e.g. 50 = 50 USDT worth of BTC).
  • Example: phemex-cli place_order --symbol BTCUSDT --side Buy --orderQty 0.01 --ordType Market
• amend_order — Modify an open order. Example: phemex-cli amend_order --symbol BTCUSDT --orderID xxx --price 95000
• cancel_order — Cancel one order. Example: phemex-cli cancel_order --symbol BTCUSDT --orderID xxx
• cancel_all_orders — Cancel all orders for a symbol. Example: phemex-cli cancel_all_orders --symbol BTCUSDT
• set_leverage — Set leverage. Example: phemex-cli set_leverage --symbol BTCUSDT --leverage 10
• switch_pos_mode — Switch OneWay/Hedged. Example: phemex-cli switch_pos_mode --symbol BTCUSDT --targetPosMode OneWay

Transfers (auth required)

• transfer_funds — Move funds between spot and futures. Example: phemex-cli transfer_funds --currency USDT --amount 100 --direction spot_to_futures
• get_transfer_history — Transfer history. Example: phemex-cli get_transfer_history --currency USDT --limit 20

Safety rules

1. Always confirm before placing orders. Before calling place_order, show the user exactly what the order will do: symbol, side, quantity, type, price. Ask for confirmation.
2. Always confirm before cancelling all orders. Before calling cancel_all_orders, list the open orders first and confirm with the user.
3. Explain leverage changes. Before calling set_leverage, explain the implications (higher leverage = higher liquidation risk).
4. Show context before trading. Before suggesting a trade, show current positions and account balance so the user can make an informed decision.
5. Never auto-trade. Do not place orders without explicit user instruction.

Common workflows

Check a price

phemex-cli get_ticker --symbol BTCUSDT

Place a market buy (USDT-M futures)

phemex-cli place_order --symbol BTCUSDT --side Buy --orderQty 0.01 --ordType Market

Place a limit sell (Coin-M futures)

phemex-cli place_order --symbol BTCUSD --side Sell --orderQty 10 --ordType Limit --price 100000 --contractType inverse

Buy spot

phemex-cli place_order --symbol BTCUSDT --side Buy --orderQty 10 --ordType Market --contractType spot --qtyType ByQuote

Check positions

phemex-cli get_positions --currency USDT

Setup

1. Create a Phemex account at https://phemex.com
2. Create an API key (Account → API Management)
3. Set environment variables PHEMEX_API_KEY and PHEMEX_API_SECRET
4. Optionally set PHEMEX_API_URL (defaults to testnet https://testnet-api.phemex.com for safety; set to https://api.phemex.com for real trading)
5. Optionally set PHEMEX_MAX_ORDER_VALUE to limit maximum order size (USD)