Phemex Trading#

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

What's New in v2.0.0#

Standalone CLI release — phemex-cli is now a standalone package (previously bundled with phemex-trade-mcp). Leaner install, no MCP dependencies.

1. WebSocket streaming — phemex-cli subscribe ticker|trade|orderbook --symbol SYMBOL for real-time market data.
2. list_symbols tool — Discover all available trading pairs, filtered by contract type.
3. Config file ( ~/.phemexrc) — Store API credentials persistently. No need to export env vars every session.
4. --help for every tool — Run phemex-cli <tool> --help to see parameters, defaults, and usage examples inline.
5. Friendly field names — API field suffixes ( closeRp, fundingRateRr) are mapped to readable names ( closePrice, fundingRate). Use --raw to get the original names.
6. Enhanced error messages — Errors now include suggestion and tip fields with actionable guidance instead of raw API codes.

Before you start#

Ensure you have the latest version installed:

bash

npm install -g phemex-cli@latest

How to call tools#

bash

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

Or with JSON args:

bash

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

Output is always JSON. Credentials are loaded from environment variables or ~/.phemexrc (see Setup).

Tool help#

Every tool supports --help with full parameter docs and examples:

bash

phemex-cli place_order --help

Output:

text

Usage: phemex-cli place_order [options]

Place an order (Market, Limit, Stop, StopLimit)

Required Parameters:
  --symbol <string>          Trading pair (e.g. BTCUSDT)
  --side <string>            Buy or Sell
  --orderQty <number>        Quantity. linear: base amount (0.01 = 0.01 BTC). ...
  --ordType <string>         Order type: Market, Limit, Stop, StopLimit

Optional Parameters:
  --price <number>           Limit price (required for Limit/StopLimit)
  --timeInForce <string>     GoodTillCancel, PostOnly, ... [default: GoodTillCancel]
  --reduceOnly <boolean>     Only reduce position [default: false]
  ...

Examples:
  phemex-cli place_order --symbol BTCUSDT --side Buy --orderQty 0.01 --ordType Market
  phemex-cli place_order --symbol BTCUSDT --side Sell --orderQty 0.01 --ordType Limit --price 90000 --timeInForce PostOnly

More help examples:

bash

phemex-cli get_ticker --help        # see params for price ticker
phemex-cli get_klines --help        # see resolution values for candlesticks
phemex-cli set_leverage --help      # see leverage param format
phemex-cli transfer_funds --help    # see direction values
phemex-cli list_symbols --help      # see contractType filter

Friendly field names#

By default, output uses readable field names:

bash

phemex-cli get_ticker --symbol BTCUSDT

json

{
  "closePrice": "70549.9",
  "openPrice": "70192.7",
  "highPrice": "70750",
  "lowPrice": "69160",
  "markPrice": "70549.9",
  "fundingRate": "-0.00003417",
  "volume": "5303.525",
  "turnover": "371204351.5978"
}

Use --raw to get original API field names (for scripts that depend on old format):

bash

phemex-cli get_ticker --symbol BTCUSDT --raw

json

{
  "closeRp": "70549.9",
  "openRp": "70192.7",
  "highRp": "70750",
  "lowRp": "69160",
  "markPriceRp": "70549.9",
  "fundingRateRr": "-0.00003417",
  "volumeRq": "5303.525",
  "turnoverRv": "371204351.5978"
}

Field name mapping reference:

SuffixMeaningExampleMapped toRpReal PricecloseRp``closePrice``RvReal ValueaccountBalanceRv``accountBalance``RrReal RatefundingRateRr``fundingRate``RqReal QuantityvolumeRq``volume

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 CLI 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

Utility#

• list_symbols — List all available trading symbols, grouped by contract type.

bash

# List all symbols (linear, inverse, spot)
phemex-cli list_symbols

# Only USDT-M perpetual futures
phemex-cli list_symbols --contractType linear

# Only Coin-M perpetual futures
phemex-cli list_symbols --contractType inverse

# Only spot pairs
phemex-cli list_symbols --contractType spot

Example output:

json

{
  "linear": ["BTCUSDT", "ETHUSDT", "SOLUSDT", "BNBUSDT", ...],
  "inverse": ["BTCUSD", "ETHUSD", ...],
  "spot": ["BTCUSDT", "ETHUSDT", ...]
}

Use list_symbols to discover valid symbol names before trading. This avoids "invalid symbol" errors.

Streaming (WebSocket, no auth needed)#

Subscribe to real-time market data streams. Output is JSON to stdout, logs to stderr.

bash

# Stream price ticker
phemex-cli subscribe ticker --symbol BTCUSDT

# Stream live trades
phemex-cli subscribe trade --symbol SOLUSDT

# Stream order book updates
phemex-cli subscribe orderbook --symbol ETHUSDT

Features: auto-reconnect with exponential backoff, Ctrl+C for graceful shutdown.

Error messages#

Errors return structured JSON with actionable guidance. Examples:

Invalid symbol:

bash

phemex-cli get_ticker --symbol INVALIDXXX

json

{
  "error": "Invalid symbol: INVALIDXXX",
  "code": 6001,
  "suggestion": "Symbol \"INVALIDXXX\" is not recognized. Check spelling and contract type.",
  "tip": "Run \"phemex-cli list_symbols\" to see all available symbols."
}

Common typo (BTCUSD instead of BTCUSDT):

bash

phemex-cli get_ticker --symbol BTCUSD

json

{
  "error": "Invalid symbol: BTCUSD",
  "code": 6001,
  "suggestion": "Did you mean BTCUSDT? For USDT perpetuals, use symbols ending in USDT (e.g. BTCUSDT).",
  "tip": "Run \"phemex-cli list_symbols\" to see all available symbols."
}

Order quantity too large:

json

{
  "error": "Order quantity too large",
  "code": "TE_QTY_TOO_LARGE",
  "suggestion": "The order quantity exceeds the maximum allowed for BTCUSDT.",
  "tip": "Reduce --orderQty or check the symbol's max order size on Phemex."
}

Other enhanced errors: insufficient balance, invalid API key, rate limiting, invalid leverage, order not found — all include suggestion and tip fields.

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#

bash

phemex-cli get_ticker --symbol BTCUSDT

Discover available symbols#

bash

phemex-cli list_symbols --contractType linear

Place a market buy (USDT-M futures)#

bash

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

Place a limit sell (Coin-M futures)#

bash

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

Buy spot#

bash

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

Check positions#

bash

phemex-cli get_positions --currency USDT

Stream real-time prices#

bash

phemex-cli subscribe ticker --symbol BTCUSDT

Get help for any command#

bash

phemex-cli place_order --help

Setup#

Option 1: Config file (recommended)#

Create ~/.phemexrc — credentials persist across sessions without exporting env vars:

bash

# ~/.phemexrc
PHEMEX_API_KEY=your-api-key
PHEMEX_API_SECRET=your-api-secret
PHEMEX_API_URL=https://api.phemex.com

# Optional: max order value limit (USD)
PHEMEX_MAX_ORDER_VALUE=1000

That's it. All phemex-cli commands will pick up these values automatically.

Option 2: Environment variables#

bash

export PHEMEX_API_KEY=your-api-key
export PHEMEX_API_SECRET=your-api-secret
export PHEMEX_API_URL=https://api.phemex.com

Configuration priority#

Settings are loaded in this order (highest priority first):

1. Command-line arguments
2. Environment variables
3. ~/.phemexrc config file
4. Defaults (testnet URL)

This means env vars always override the config file, so you can safely keep production creds in ~/.phemexrc and temporarily override with PHEMEX_API_URL=https://testnet-api.phemex.com phemex-cli ... for testing.

Steps#

1. Create a Phemex account at https://phemex.com
2. Create an API key (Account → API Management)
3. Save credentials to ~/.phemexrc or export as environment variables
4. Verify: phemex-cli list_symbols --contractType linear should return symbols
5. Optionally set PHEMEX_API_URL (defaults to testnet https://testnet-api.phemex.com for safety; set to https://api.phemex.com for real trading)
6. Optionally set PHEMEX_MAX_ORDER_VALUE to limit maximum order size (USD)