Essential Concepts You Must Know

A quick overview of key rules and behaviors every developer should understand before integrating with the Flipster API.

The Flipster API provides a flexible yet precise trading environment.

Before building automated strategies or executing live trades, please review the following essential concepts:

1. One-Way Trading Mode

Flipster currently supports One-Way trading, where each symbol can hold only a single open position (either long or short).

If you wish to close an existing position, use the reduceOnly flag in your order request.

When reduceOnly: true, the order will only decrease or fully close your position, never increase it.

Example: Sending a BUY order with reduceOnly: true will close a short position if one exists, without opening a new long position.

2. Symbol-Level Leverage and Margin Mode

Each symbol must have its own leverage and margin mode configuration.

Before trading, ensure you’ve set these parameters properly using the respective API endpoints:

  • POST /api/v1/trade/leverage — Set leverage and margin type for a specific symbol

Leverage and margin settings apply per symbol and must be explicitly updated before placing orders.

3. Supported Market Types

Flipster supports both Spot and Perpetual (Perp) markets.

Order behavior, position management, and funding rules may differ between them.

Check the symbol configuration from GET /api/v1/market/contractAttachment.tiff before executing trades.

4. Order Types and Triggers

Currently supported order types include:

  • Market Order — Executes immediately at the best available price.

  • Stop-Market (Trigger) Order — Executes once a specified trigger price is reached.

Limit orders and time-triggered orders will be introduced in a future release.

5. Authentication and Expiry

Every private request must include:

  • api-key

  • api-expires

  • api-signature (HMAC-SHA256)

Requests become invalid once the api-expires timestamp has passed.

This protects against replay attacks and ensures that all trading actions are securely authorized.

6. System Stability and Rate Control

To maintain a stable environment:

  • The Flipster API enforces rate limits per API key.

  • A small processing delay may occur between trading actions (e.g., order placement or margin update) to guarantee system consistency.

Avoid redundant requests and prefer WebSocket streams for real-time updates.

7. Key Takeaways

  • One active position per symbol (One-Way mode).

  • Always configure leverage and margin mode before trading.

  • Use reduceOnly for safe position closing.

  • HMAC signing is required for all private endpoints.

  • Respect rate limits and minor system delays.

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