| name | vara-trading-skill |
| description | Use when an agent needs to set up or operate the local vara-agent CLI for CEX spot trading: onboarding, market checks, balances, tickers, order books, explicit dry-run/live spot orders, order history, order watching, cancellations, and explicitly confirmed withdrawals. Active trading supports MEXC, Gate.io, and Coinbase. Do not use for investment advice, autonomous trading, or inferred trades. |
| license | MIT |
| metadata | {"author":"gear-foundation","version":"0.1.4"} |
Local Spot Trading Skill
This skill package allows an AI agent to execute local CLI commands for CEX spot trading and routing actions. VARA remains a default route/example, but buy/sell commands support any active spot pair allowed by onboarding risk limits.
The project does not run a backend. All commands execute locally on the user's machine.
Preamble
Run this check before using the skill:
if command -v vara-agent >/dev/null 2>&1; then
echo "[PREFLIGHT] OK: vara-agent present ($(vara-agent --version 2>/dev/null || true))"
else
echo "[PREFLIGHT] MISSING: vara-agent CLI is not on PATH."
echo "[PREFLIGHT] Install: npm install -g vara-trading-skill"
echo "[PREFLIGHT] Then restart the shell or agent session if PATH did not refresh."
fi
If vara-agent is missing, stop and ask the user for permission to install it. Do not ask for API keys in chat.
Supported Integration Types
- Active CEX trading: MEXC, Gate.io, Coinbase
- Future CEX trading: Crypto.com
- Instant swap: Exolix, planned
- Fiat on-ramp: Banxa, planned
- Vara wallet: planned
- Route aggregator: basic route discovery implemented
Security Rules
- Never ask the user to paste API secrets into chat.
- Never display API keys or API secrets.
- Before any live trading setup, run the onboarding wizard.
- The user must pass steps: Welcome, Choose Exchange, Setup Instructions, Connect Credentials, Risk Limits, Validation, Dry-run, Final Confirmation, Ready.
- The user must explicitly choose MEXC, Gate.io, Coinbase, a custom comma-separated selection, or all active exchanges before live trading.
- When showing Custom selection, explain that it expects comma-separated exchange IDs, for example
mexc,coinbase, gateio,coinbase, or mexc,gateio.
- API credentials must be stored locally in
~/.vara-trading-agent/.env.
- When reporting setup files to the user, show full paths such as
~/.vara-trading-agent/.env and ~/.vara-trading-agent/onboarding.json.
- If mentioning file mode
600, explain it as owner-only read/write permissions.
- Trading API keys must have read + trade permissions only.
- API withdrawals are available only as explicit opt-in high-risk actions.
- Withdrawal commands currently support MEXC and Gate.io. Coinbase is active for trading/read-only order workflows, not withdrawal automation.
- Live API withdrawals require dedicated withdrawal API keys, local allowlists, per-asset limits,
--mode live, --address-confirmed, and --confirm-withdrawal.
- Dry-run mode must be preferred by default.
- Live trading requires explicit user instruction.
- Never infer a trade from analysis or discussion.
- Only execute a buy/sell command when the user explicitly asks to trade now.
- Canceling an order requires an explicit order id and confirmation.
- Never provide investment advice. Market data and order books are evidence, not instructions to trade.
Recipe Files
Read only the recipe needed for the user's request:
skills/install_agent.md - install and connect this skill pack.skills/onboarding.md - first-time setup and exchange selection.skills/get_routes.md - discover CEX routes for an asset/quote pair.skills/check_market.md - verify a market exists and inspect limits/precision.skills/get_balance.md - fetch account balances.skills/get_ticker.md - fetch ticker data.skills/get_orderbook.md - fetch order book depth.skills/trade_guidance.md - explain trade options, market-making style plans, risks, and dry-run next steps without giving investment advice.skills/get_open_orders.md - fetch active orders.skills/get_orders.md - fetch order history and status counts.skills/watch_orders.md - poll order history/open orders and report fills, cancellations, and status changes.skills/watch_order_until_done.md - after placing an order, track its returned order id and stop automatically when it reaches a terminal state.skills/cancel_order.md - cancel an explicit order id.skills/buy_spot.md, skills/sell_spot.md - market spot orders.skills/limit_buy_spot.md, skills/limit_sell_spot.md - limit spot orders.skills/withdrawal_guide.md, skills/withdrawal_check.md, skills/withdraw_asset.md - explicit withdrawal flow.
CLI
Use:
vara-agent <command>
Agent-Led Interactive Setup
For first-time setup, prefer one continuous interactive session:
vara-agent init-config
vara-agent onboarding interactive
The agent should keep vara-agent onboarding interactive running, show the user the current prompt/options, accept the user's natural-language choice, and send the matching numeric answer to the CLI. Do not replace the interactive wizard with separate state commands such as onboarding choose-integration unless the user asks for non-interactive mode or the runtime cannot keep an interactive process open.
When the wizard is at Step 0 - Welcome / Risk Warning, show the full warning text before asking the user to continue:
This agent can analyze spot markets and execute CEX trades on MEXC, Gate.io, and Coinbase after setup.
Crypto trading is risky. Start with dry-run or small amounts.
The wizard may pause at the credentials step because the user must create exchange API keys and edit ~/.vara-trading-agent/.env locally. After the user says the keys are saved, continue the wizard from the existing state with vara-agent onboarding interactive.
Onboarding validation must load markets and fetch balances for each selected CEX to test configured API credentials. Balance output should be presented as non-zero balances only, not raw CCXT account payloads.
Examples:
vara-agent onboarding interactive
vara-agent init-config
vara-agent install-skills
vara-agent onboarding
vara-agent onboarding understand
vara-agent onboarding choose-integration --integration mexc
vara-agent onboarding choose-integration --integration gateio
vara-agent onboarding choose-integration --integration coinbase
vara-agent onboarding choose-integration --integration mexc,coinbase
vara-agent onboarding choose-integration --integration gateio,coinbase
vara-agent onboarding choose-integration --integration all
vara-agent onboarding status
vara-agent routes --side buy --asset VARA --quote USDT --amount 20
vara-agent check-market --provider mexc --symbol VARA/USDT
vara-agent check-market --provider mexc --symbol USDC/USDT
vara-agent check-market --provider coinbase --symbol VARA/USD
vara-agent balance --provider mexc
vara-agent balance --provider coinbase
vara-agent ticker --provider mexc --symbol VARA/USDT
vara-agent ticker --provider coinbase --symbol VARA/USD
vara-agent orderbook --provider mexc --symbol VARA/USDT --limit 10
vara-agent open-orders --provider mexc
vara-agent orders --provider mexc
vara-agent watch --orders --provider mexc --symbols VARA/USDT --interval 5m --limit 50
vara-agent watch --orders --provider mexc --symbols VARA/USDT --order-id "<order-id>" --interval 30s --limit 50
vara-agent cancel-order --provider mexc --symbol VARA/USDT --order-id "<order-id>" --confirm
vara-agent withdrawal-guide --provider mexc --asset USDT --network TRC20 --amount 10 --address-confirmed
vara-agent withdrawal-check --provider mexc --asset USDT --network TRC20 --amount 10 --address "<address>"
vara-agent withdraw --provider mexc --asset USDT --network TRC20 --amount 10 --address "<address>" --mode dry-run
vara-agent buy --provider mexc --symbol VARA/USDT --quote-amount 10 --mode dry-run
vara-agent limit-buy --provider mexc --symbol VARA/USDT --quote-amount 2 --price 0.000605 --mode dry-run
vara-agent limit-sell --provider mexc --symbol VARA/USDT --base-amount 1000 --price 0.000604 --mode dry-run
vara-agent sell --provider mexc --symbol USDC/USDT --base-amount 10 --mode dry-run
vara-agent sell --provider mexc --symbol VARA/USDT --base-amount 100 --mode dry-run
Do not use live trading unless explicitly requested.
If the user says:
Buy VARA for 10 USDT
the agent may call dry-run first, or live only if the user explicitly requests live execution and the pair is allowed.
If the user says:
Swap 10 USDC to USDT on MEXC
the agent should treat it as a spot sell on USDC/USDT, preferably dry-run first.
If the user says:
Do you think I should buy VARA?
the agent must not call buy commands.
Onboarding
Before asking for any API key setup, use the wizard:
- Welcome / Risk Warning
- Choose Exchange: MEXC, Gate.io, Coinbase, custom comma-separated selection, or all active exchanges
- Show exchange-specific setup instructions
- Connect credentials
- Configure risk limits
- Validate setup
- Dry-run
- Final confirmation
- Ready
Supported active first release exchanges:
- MEXC
- Gate.io
- Coinbase
- Any comma-separated exchange combination, for example
mexc,coinbase, gateio,coinbase, or mexc,gateio
- All active exchanges
Paper Trading, Exolix, Banxa, Wallet / DEX, and Crypto.com are kept as future plans.
For CEX trading, explain that the user must:
- Log in to the exchange.
- Create a dedicated API key for this agent.
- Grant only the minimum read and trade permissions needed by that exchange.
- Store credentials locally in
~/.vara-trading-agent/.env.
- Use separate withdrawal keys only if API withdrawal is explicitly enabled by the user.
The agent may create ~/.vara-trading-agent/.env and ~/.vara-trading-agent/onboarding.json during setup. These are user-home config files, not project-local files. Do not call them just .env without the path.
Gate.io-specific setup:
- Open Security and set a Fund Password first.
- It protects fund security.
- Trading does not require fund password input by default.
- Open API Key Management to create the Gate.io API key.
- Create a dedicated API key for this agent.
- Enable Read / View account data.
- Enable Spot Trading.
- IP whitelist is optional.
- Copy the API Key and Secret Key shown by Gate.io.
- Open
~/.vara-trading-agent/.env and fill these exact lines:
GATEIO_API_KEY=<paste Gate.io API Key here>
GATEIO_API_SECRET=<paste Gate.io Secret Key here>
- Secret Key may be shown only once; never paste it into chat.
- Withdrawal permission is not part of normal trading setup. API withdrawals are high risk; enable them only with a separate dedicated withdrawal key if the user explicitly wants withdrawal automation.
MEXC-specific setup:
- Click the account icon.
- Select API Management.
- Create a dedicated API key for this agent.
- Enable Account Details.
- Enable Trade.
- Enable View Order Details.
- Link IP Address is optional.
- Copy the API Key / Access Key and Secret Key shown by MEXC.
- Open
~/.vara-trading-agent/.env and fill these exact lines:
MEXC_API_KEY=<paste MEXC API Key / Access Key here>
MEXC_API_SECRET=<paste MEXC Secret Key here>
- Secret Key may be shown only once; never paste it into chat.
Coinbase-specific setup:
- Open Coinbase Developer Platform / Advanced Trade API key management.
- Create a dedicated API key for this agent.
- Scope the key to the portfolio this agent should trade from.
- Enable View.
- Enable Trade.
- Do not enable Transfer permissions for normal trading setup.
- IP whitelist is optional.
- Copy the API Key name and API Secret shown by Coinbase.
- Open
~/.vara-trading-agent/.env and fill these exact lines:
COINBASE_API_KEY=<paste Coinbase API Key name here>
COINBASE_API_SECRET=<paste Coinbase API Secret here>
- Secret may be shown only once; never paste it into chat.
- Coinbase withdrawal/transfer automation is not part of normal trading setup.
- Coinbase VARA note:
VARA/USDC and VARA/USD are useful Coinbase market examples. VARA/USDT was not observed during testing; always run check-market before adding a Coinbase pair to live risk limits.
When pausing for the user to finish exchange setup, show the selected exchange field names such as MEXC_API_KEY, MEXC_API_SECRET, GATEIO_API_KEY, GATEIO_API_SECRET, COINBASE_API_KEY, and COINBASE_API_SECRET. Do not ask the user to paste key values into chat. Do not add old withdrawal-disabled wording to the MEXC or Gate.io setup checklist; withdrawal setup is a separate explicit opt-in flow.
If the user chooses multiple exchanges, show each full exchange-specific setup block before asking the user to confirm the checklist. Do not replace the exchange-specific instructions with a short generic checklist.
Recommend IP whitelist when a fixed IP is available, trading limits, a separate subaccount, and keeping only funds the user is willing to trade.
Risk limits must list every live-tradable pair explicitly, for example VARA/USDT,USDC/USDT on MEXC/Gate.io or VARA/USDC,VARA/USD on Coinbase. The agent must not place a live order for a pair outside the configured allowed pairs.
Order management commands:
vara-agent open-orders --provider mexc --symbols VARA/USDT,USDC/USDT --limit 50
vara-agent orders --provider mexc --symbols VARA/USDT,USDC/USDT --limit 50
vara-agent watch --orders --provider mexc --symbols VARA/USDT,USDC/USDT --interval 5m --limit 50
vara-agent watch --orders --provider mexc --symbols VARA/USDT --order-id "<order-id>" --interval 30s --limit 50
vara-agent cancel-order --provider mexc --symbol VARA/USDT --order-id "<order-id>" --confirm
When watching an order created by a trade command, read skills/watch_order_until_done.md and pass its returned exchange id as --order-id. The watcher stops automatically when that tracked order becomes closed, filled, canceled, cancelled, expired, or rejected. Use --keep-running only if the user explicitly asks to continue polling after the tracked order is finished.
Withdrawal guidance command:
vara-agent withdrawal-guide --provider mexc --asset USDT --network TRC20 --amount 10 --address-confirmed
vara-agent withdrawal-check --provider mexc --asset USDT --network TRC20 --amount 10 --address "<address>"
vara-agent withdraw --provider mexc --asset USDT --network TRC20 --amount 10 --address "<address>" --mode dry-run
Live withdrawal command:
vara-agent withdraw --provider mexc --asset USDT --network TRC20 --amount 10 --address "<address>" --mode live --address-confirmed --confirm-withdrawal
The agent may execute live API withdrawals only when the user explicitly asks for withdrawal now and the local config enables withdrawals with allowlisted assets, networks, addresses, and per-asset limits.
For future Exolix work, keep it separate from Exchange API trading. Explain that Exolix is an instant swap provider: create swap, receive deposit address, manually send funds, receive output, track status.
