API reference, authentication, rate limits, and integration guides are published in the Deribit API documentation. This page is a map of those resources. Product, account, and trading topics for the Deribit interface remain in this Help Center.
Start here
Deribit APIs use JSON-RPC over WebSocket (recommended), JSON-RPC over HTTP, and FIX. The test environment (test.deribit.com) and production (www.deribit.com) are independent: each requires its own account and API keys.
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Quickstart: first request, environments, and the API console
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JSON-RPC 2.0 protocol: request and response format
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API console: interactive tester on the test environment
Authentication and API keys
Create a key, assign scopes, and authenticate before calling private methods.
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Creating an API key: in the account interface or via API, including read-only access
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Asymmetric API keys: Ed25519 or RSA instead of a client secret
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Authentication: session tokens and signed requests
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Access scopes: what a key is allowed to do
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Security keys (API): TOTP confirmation for sensitive methods. To enable 2FA in the account interface, see Two-Factor Authentication (Security Keys).
Limits, policy, and errors
Best practices
Recommended patterns for connections, market data, and order entry.
Trading
Guides for specific trading workflows on the API. Matching Help Center articles cover the same features in the interface.
Account and wallet
Instrument size fields
Instrument responses from public/get_instrument, public/get_instruments, and the instrument.creation channel include three related size fields. They are not interchangeable:
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contract_size: the contract multiplier. This is the value of one contract, in the instrument's native quantity unit (USD for inverse futures and perpetuals; the underlying coin for options and linear instruments). -
min_trade_amount: the smallest order quantity accepted. On some instruments this is smaller thancontract_size, so fractional contracts are allowed. -
lot_size: reserved for future use, including fee lot counting. It is not a trading-size constraint: it does not currently affect order quantity, matching, or the minimum trade amount. When no dedicated lot size is configured for an instrument,lot_sizefalls back tocontract_size.
Integrators can persist lot_size, but should not use it as a trading-size constraint or as a substitute for contract_size or min_trade_amount.
FIX, Starbase, and reference
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Starbase overview: high-performance matching engine for selected clients (colocation, cross-connect, or AWS PrivateLink)
Multicast, AWS connectivity, server infrastructure, and testnet setup remain in this Help Center. See Server Infrastructure, the Multicast Developer Guide, and Deribit Testnet.