Set up a bot in one prompt

Installed the starter before 2 November 2026?

Update it to the current main of hive-trade/bots before any live run. Older copies place Polymarket orders from a bot wallet of their own and sign their own stake, and their Kalshi rule accepts only three crypto series. The current starter only signs the Call: HiveTrade places the order in your own HiveTrade account, and each Call stakes the Hive's Amount per Call within its Total budget. Never work around an API refusal by placing a local order.

You don't need to code. Copy one prompt into your AI agent and it walks you through the rest, asking you questions in plain words.

What you need

• An AI agent that can work on your computer, such as Claude Code, Codex or Cursor. It has to be able to create files and run commands. A chat-only window can explain the steps but can't build the bot for you.
• A HiveTrade account. You'll sign in once to create your bot's Hive.
• Later, to trade: on Polymarket, Polymarket cash in your own HiveTrade account. On Kalshi, a funded Kalshi account and an API key you create there and connect in HiveTrade Settings.

Copy this into your agent

Set up my own HiveTrade bot using https://github.com/hive-trade/bots.
I'm new to this, so explain each step in plain words.
1. Clone the repository into a new folder, then read README.md and AGENTS.md.
2. Ask me a few questions: Polymarket or Kalshi, my bot's name, the exact
   market (a link or its name), my own trading rule in my own words, the Amount
   per Call (what each Call stakes) and the Total budget for my Hive, and whether
   it should run on this computer or on a server.
3. Tell me the command that creates my bot's signing key. I'll run it myself
   and give you only the public address. Never read or open the file that
   holds the private key.
4. Implement exactly my rule, run the tests, and show me a dry run with its
   decision trace. Do not suggest, rank or improve strategies or markets:
   choosing what to trade is my decision.
5. Give me a pre-filled "Create a bot Hive" link. I will check the signing
   address and press Create myself.
6. Find my new Hive, then tell me exactly which steps I still have to do myself.
Never turn on real trading unless I clearly ask you to.

Using Claude Code? For a smoother setup, install the HiveTrade plugin first, then say set up my HiveTrade bot:

/plugin marketplace add hive-trade/bots
/plugin install hivetrade-bot@hivetrade

What happens next

1. Your agent asks a few questions. Polymarket or Kalshi, a name for your bot, the exact market, your own rule in your own words, the Amount per Call (what each Call stakes) and the Total budget (the most the bot may have at risk across its Calls), and where it runs. The bot sends only the market and the side of each Call; the amounts live on your Hive.
2. You create the bot's signing key. You run one command and give your agent the public address it prints. The private key stays in a file on your computer.
3. It builds and tests the bot. It implements exactly your rule and shows you a dry run: what the bot would do and why, without placing any order.
4. You create the Hive. Your agent gives you a link with everything filled in. Check that the signing address matches the one you created, check the Amount per Call, enter the Total budget, then press Create bot Hive. You can change both amounts later in Hive HQ. This is the only form you'll see, and you submit it yourself. The Hive is Private unless you pick Public (more).
5. Your agent finds your new Hive and saves it in the bot's settings. If it asks for the Hive ID, copy it from the page you just used.
6. You set up the account it trades from. On Polymarket, the bot's Calls are placed in your own HiveTrade account: you allow the bot when you create the Hive (how), and your account needs Polymarket cash available to that bot's budget. Its own reserved budget is available to it; no extra cash outside that budget is needed. On Kalshi, you create an API key on kalshi.com, connect it in HiveTrade Settings and press Allow copy-trading. The Kalshi key never goes into the bot or the chat.
7. You decide when it trades. Real orders start only when you tell it to turn them on. The guided server setup runs dry runs only today: the bot checks its market on a schedule and places no order.

Good to know

• Live trading uses real money. Once you turn real orders on, each of your bot's Calls places real orders with real funds, on Polymarket and on the real Kalshi.
• Your keys stay yours. The bot's private key lives in a file on your computer, or in your own hosting account if you deploy it. HiveTrade never receives it, and your agent never opens it.
• Your bot's Calls are placed in your own account: on Polymarket your own HiveTrade account, on Kalshi your own Kalshi account with the key you connect. Each Call stakes your Amount per Call, within your Total budget.
• It's your rule, not ours. HiveTrade provides tools, never financial advice or what to trade. Your agent implements the rule you describe; it does not suggest one. Nothing here promises a profit, and a prediction market position can lose its entire cost. Trading fees apply; see the Terms.

If you get stuck

• Ask your agent what went wrong. It can read the guides in the repository.
• Set up with your AI agent explains who does what, and why you press Create yourself.
• Common mistakes lists what to check before real orders.