trade

name	trade
description	Swap or trade tokens on Base network. Use when you or the user want to trade, swap, exchange, buy, sell, or convert between tokens like USDC, ETH, and WETH. Covers phrases like "buy ETH", "sell ETH for USDC", "convert USDC to ETH", "get some ETH".

Trading Tokens

Use the npx awal@latest trade command to swap tokens on Base network via the CDP Swap API. You must be authenticated to trade.

Confirm wallet is initialized and authed

npx awal@latest status

If the wallet is not authenticated, refer to the authenticate-wallet skill.

Command Syntax

npx awal@latest trade <amount> <from> <to> [options]

Arguments

Argument	Description
amount	Amount to swap (see Amount Formats below)
from	Source token: alias (usdc, eth, weth) or contract address (0x...)
to	Destination token: alias (usdc, eth, weth) or contract address (0x...)

Amount Formats

The amount can be specified in multiple formats:

Format	Example	Description
Dollar prefix	'$1.00', '$0.50'	USD notation (decimals based on token)
Decimal	1.0, 0.50, 0.001	Human-readable with decimal point
Whole number	5, 100	Interpreted as whole tokens
Atomic units	500000	Large integers treated as atomic units

Auto-detection: Large integers without a decimal point are treated as atomic units. For example, 500000 for USDC (6 decimals) = $0.50.

Decimals: For known tokens (usdc=6, eth=18, weth=18), decimals are automatic. For arbitrary contract addresses, decimals are read from the token contract.

Options

Option	Description
-c, --chain <name>	Blockchain network (default: base)
-s, --slippage <n>	Slippage tolerance in basis points (100 = 1%)
--json	Output result as JSON

Token Aliases

Alias	Token	Decimals	Address
usdc	USDC	6	0x833589fCD6eDb6E08f4c7C32D4f71b54bdA02913
eth	ETH	18	0xEeeeeEeeeEeEeeEeEeEeeEEEeeeeEeeeeeeeEEeE
weth	WETH	18	0x4200000000000000000000000000000000000006

IMPORTANT: Always single-quote amounts that use $ to prevent bash variable expansion (e.g. '$1.00' not $1.00).

Examples

# Swap $1 USDC for ETH (dollar prefix — note the single quotes)
npx awal@latest trade '$1' usdc eth

# Swap 0.50 USDC for ETH (decimal format)
npx awal@latest trade 0.50 usdc eth

# Swap 500000 atomic units of USDC for ETH
npx awal@latest trade 500000 usdc eth

# Swap 0.01 ETH for USDC
npx awal@latest trade 0.01 eth usdc

# Swap with custom slippage (2%)
npx awal@latest trade '$5' usdc eth --slippage 200

# Swap using contract addresses (decimals read from chain)
npx awal@latest trade 100 0x833589fCD6eDb6E08f4c7C32D4f71b54bdA02913 0x4200000000000000000000000000000000000006

# Get JSON output
npx awal@latest trade '$1' usdc eth --json

Prerequisites

• Must be authenticated (awal status to check)
• Wallet must have sufficient balance of the source token

Error Handling

Common errors:

• "Not authenticated" - Run awal auth login <email> first
• "Invalid token" - Use a valid alias (usdc, eth, weth) or 0x address
• "Cannot swap a token to itself" - From and to must be different
• "Swap failed: TRANSFER_FROM_FAILED" - Insufficient balance or approval issue
• "No liquidity" - Try a smaller amount or different token pair
• "Amount has X decimals but token only supports Y" - Too many decimal places