kalshi-api-docs

name	kalshi-api-docs
description	Project-specific Kalshi API reference and request helpers. Use when working in this repo on Kalshi REST or WebSocket integrations and you need the current source-of-truth docs, core terminology, contract mechanics, authentication guidance, or lightweight scripts to validate assumptions.

Kalshi API Docs

ALWAYS fetch and reference the official Kalshi documentation directly. NEVER rely on internal/training knowledge for Kalshi API details.

Sources Of Truth

Re-fetch these documents when you need current behavior:

• https://docs.kalshi.com/llms.txt
• https://docs.kalshi.com/changelog/rss.xml
• https://docs.kalshi.com/openapi.yaml
• https://docs.kalshi.com/asyncapi.yaml

Use llms.txt to discover the right docs pages before exploring further.

Core Terminology

• series -> event -> market is the core hierarchy.
• A market is the tradeable binary contract. It resolves to YES = $1.00 or NO = $0.00.
• Market tickers follow SERIES-EVENT-MARKET. Example: KXHIGHNY-24JAN01-T60 Series: KXHIGHNY Event: 24JAN01 Market: T60
• Event and market lifecycle terms can change across docs revisions. Re-check llms.txt plus the live specs before hard-coding enums.

Contract Model

• Kalshi contracts are binary.
• yes_bid + no_bid = 100 cents in the standard binary framing.
• Orderbooks expose bids, not a separate ask ladder.
• Implied asks come from the opposite side:
  • yes_ask = 100 - best_no_bid
  • no_ask = 100 - best_yes_bid
• Orderbook price arrays are commonly sorted ascending, so the best bid is typically the last element. Verify against current docs before assuming this in new code.
• Pricing is migrating toward _dollars fields and quantities toward fixed-point fields. Re-check the live docs before preferring legacy integer-only fields.

Detailed References

Read only the file you need:

• references/REST.md
• references/WEBSOCKET.md
• references/GOTCHAS.md

Validation Helpers

Use the bundled scripts to validate assumptions quickly against demo or live endpoints:

• scripts/kalshi_rest.py
• scripts/kalshi_websocket.py

These helpers are for direct inspection and debugging, not as a replacement for the crate implementation.