Dflow Platform Fees

DFlow Platform Fees

Collect a fee on trades your app routes through the DFlow Trade API, paid to a builder-controlled token account on successful execution. This is the builder→user fee — builders monetizing their distribution.

Prerequisites

• DFlow docs MCP (https://pond.dflow.net/mcp) — install per the repo README. This skill is the recipe; the MCP is the reference. Exact parameter encoding, response shapes, and the full mode matrix live there — don't guess.

Surface

API only. Platform fees are /order parameters on the Trade API. The dflow CLI is for direct self-trading, not for monetizing a distribution product, so it doesn't expose platform-fee flags — don't hunt for a --platform-fee-bps option.

Which host depends on API-key status, same as the other trading skills: prod https://quote-api.dflow.net with x-api-key, dev https://dev-quote-api.dflow.net.

Two fee models

Pick based on what trades you're fee-ing.

Fixed — platformFeeBps

Flat percentage of the trade in basis points (1 bps = 0.01%). platformFeeBps: 50 → 0.5% fee. Works on spot and PM trades. The only option for spot.

Dynamic — platformFeeScale (PM outcome tokens only)

Probability-weighted fee that scales with market uncertainty:

fee = k * p * (1 - p) * c

• k = platformFeeScale, 3-decimal precision (platformFeeScale: 50 → k = 0.050).
• p = the all-in price (includes all fees + filled price), 0–1.
• c = contract size.
• Paid in the settlement mint (USDC or CASH).

p * (1 - p) peaks at p = 0.5 and is zero at p = 0 / p = 1 — so you charge the most on coin-flip markets, scale down as markets approach certainty, and charge nothing at redemption (p = 1). If your revenue model assumes a take on redemption, rework it.

Example. platformFeeScale = 50, user buys 100 YES contracts at p = 0.40: fee = 0.050 * 0.40 * 0.60 * 100 = 1.20 → $1.20 on a $40 buy.

Dynamic fees are not available on spot.

Core /order parameters

Full param details and encoding → docs MCP, or read the pages directly: /build/trading/platform-fees, /build/recipes/trading/platform-fees.

• platformFeeBps — fixed fee in bps. Works everywhere.
• platformFeeScale — dynamic fee coefficient. PM outcome tokens only.
• platformFeeMode — which side pays the fee: outputMint (default) or inputMint.
• feeAccount — the SPL token account that receives the fee. Must already exist before the trade; DFlow won't create it.

Mode matrix — who can pay the fee in which token

Easy trap when porting from imperative to declarative: inputMint mode silently becomes invalid.

Fee accounts (ATAs)

You need one ATA per token you collect in. A builder collecting in USDC and SOL needs a USDC ATA and a SOL ATA, both already created, both controlled by the builder's wallet. Pass the relevant one as feeAccount per request — DFlow reads it, validates it matches the mode's token, and transfers on success.

For PM: the fee ATA must be a settlement-mint ATA (USDC or CASH), since that's the only token PM fees can be paid in.

What to ASK the user (and what NOT to ask)

Ask if missing:

1. Which trade types do you want to collect fees on — spot, PM outcome tokens, or both? Scopes which fee model(s) are relevant: spot-only → platformFeeBps only; PM → either; both → usually platformFeeBps on spot + platformFeeScale on PM (per-request choice).
2. Rate — bps value for fixed; k value for dynamic.
3. Collection token(s) — which token(s) do you want the fee paid in, and do you already have a matching ATA owned by the builder wallet?
4. Imperative or declarative? Only matters for spot and only matters for platformFeeMode — declarative can only fee in outputMint.
5. DFlow API key. Platform fees are an HTTP-only feature (params on the user's own /order call) — there's no CLI flag for them, so you're always plumbing the key into the script's HTTP client. Ask with a clean, neutral question: "Do you have a DFlow API key?" Don't presuppose where the key lives — phrasings like "do you have it in env?" or "is DFLOW_API_KEY set?" nudge the user toward env-var defaults they didn't ask for. Surface the choice; don't silently fall back to env or to dev. It's one DFlow key everywhere — same x-api-key unlocks Trade API + Metadata API, REST + WebSocket. Yes → prod https://quote-api.dflow.net + x-api-key. No → dev https://dev-quote-api.dflow.net, rate-limited. Pointer: https://pond.dflow.net/build/api-key.

Do NOT ask about:

• RPC, signing, slippage — orthogonal to fees; the base trading skill handles them.
• Anything about who the user is — platform fees are a per-request parameter, not a wallet-level setting.

Gotchas (the docs MCP won't volunteer these)

• Don't set platformFeeBps if you're not collecting. The API factors a declared fee into slippage tolerance; if the fee isn't actually taken onchain, the slippage budget gets "spent" on nothing and user pricing worsens. Only pass a nonzero value when there's a real feeAccount at the other end.
• Redemption is fee-exempt under dynamic fees. platformFeeScale returns 0 at p = 1. There's no "take a cut on redemption" knob.
• Dynamic fees are outcome-token trades only. platformFeeScale is not supported on spot. Use platformFeeBps there.
• Declarative spot fees can only be in outputMint. Imperative has both modes; declarative narrows. Easy regression.
• PM fees are always in the settlement mint. Passing platformFeeMode: "inputMint" on a PM buy doesn't mean "collect in USDC because USDC is the input" — it's silently invalid. The fee settles in USDC/CASH regardless because that's the settlement mint.
• feeAccount must exist before the trade. DFlow doesn't create it for you. If it's missing, the trade fails.
• One ATA per collected token. USDC fee account ≠ SOL fee account ≠ CASH fee account. Create what you need upfront.
• Fees only apply on successful trades. Failed / cancelled / reverted trades → no fee charged, no transfer. Don't count failures as fee-bearing volume.

Platform fees vs DFlow's PM trading fees

Two different things that both use the word "fee":

• Platform fees (this skill) — builder→user. Defined by the builder via /order params, transferred to the builder's feeAccount on success. Applies to any trade type.
• DFlow PM trading fees + rebates — builder→DFlow, with a partial VIP rebate flow back from DFlow→builder. Charged on prediction-market outcome-token trades only (formula roundup(0.07 × c × p × (1 − p)) + (0.01 × c × p × (1 − p))), tiered by rolling 30-day PM volume (Frost / Glacier / Steel / Obsidian). Builders above $100k/30D volume may additionally qualify for the VIP rebate schedule. Details: /build/prediction-markets/prediction-market-fees.

Don't mix them up when calculating net economics. Platform fees on a spot trade are just a line item between user and builder — DFlow isn't in that loop.

When something doesn't fit

Defer to the docs MCP for exact parameter encoding, the code recipe at /build/recipes/trading/platform-fees (runnable, covers both platformFeeBps and platformFeeScale), and the FAQ entries on slippage interaction.

Sibling skills

• dflow-spot-trading — build the base spot /order call; layer these params on top. Also covers priority fees and sponsored / gasless flows.
• dflow-kalshi-trading — build the base PM /order call; layer these params on top. Also covers priority fees and sponsored / gasless flows (including predictionMarketInitPayer).