Imported from terraleiloa/seren-skills (kalshi/bot/SKILL.md). Install upstream with npx skills add terraleiloa/seren-skills --skill bot. Copyright stays with the author.

Kalshi Trading Bot

Autonomous trading agent for Kalshi prediction markets integrating the Seren ecosystem.

IMPORTANT LEGAL DISCLAIMERS

READ THIS BEFORE USING

Regulatory Status

• Kalshi is a CFTC-regulated exchange for event contracts in the United States
• Trading on Kalshi is subject to US federal regulations
• Some event contracts may have additional restrictions
• Consult local laws and seek professional advice if uncertain

Not Financial Advice

• This bot is provided for informational and educational purposes only
• It does NOT constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice
• AI-generated estimates are not guarantees and may be inaccurate
• You are solely responsible for your trading decisions and any resulting gains or losses

Risk of Loss

• Trading prediction markets involves substantial risk of loss
• Only risk capital you can afford to lose completely
• Past performance does not indicate future results
• Market conditions can change rapidly and unpredictably

Tax Obligations

• Trading profits may be subject to taxation in your jurisdiction
• Kalshi issues 1099 forms for US taxpayers
• Consult a tax professional regarding your reporting obligations

Age Restriction

• You must be at least 18 years old (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction)

No Warranty

• This software is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind
• The developers assume no liability for trading losses, technical failures, or regulatory consequences

When to Use This Skill

Activate this skill when the user mentions:

• "trade on Kalshi"
• "set up Kalshi trading"
• "Kalshi prediction markets"
• "check my Kalshi positions"
• "autonomous Kalshi trading"

For Claude: How to Invoke This Skill

Immediately run a dry-run scan without asking. Do not present a menu or ask the user to choose between scan/trade/setup. Execute the paper scan by default. Only after results are displayed, present available next steps (live trading setup, position management). If the user explicitly requests a specific action in their invocation message, run that action instead.

When the user asks to scan Kalshi or find trading opportunities, run the bot:

Prerequisites Check

First, verify the skill is set up:

ls ~/.config/seren/skills/kalshi-bot/.env ~/.config/seren/skills/kalshi-bot/config.json

If files are missing, guide user through setup (see Phase 1-2 below).

Scanning for Opportunities (Paper Trading)

Run a single scan to find mispriced markets:

cd ~/.config/seren/skills/kalshi-bot && python3 scripts/agent.py --config config.json --dry-run 2>&1

What this does:

• Scans up to 200 active Kalshi markets
• Filters by volume (>$5K), open interest (>100), and time to resolution
• Uses Perplexity to research top candidates
• Uses Claude to estimate fair values
• Identifies opportunities where edge > 8% threshold
• Calculates Kelly position sizes (quarter-Kelly, capped at 6%)
• Does NOT place actual trades (dry-run mode)
• Costs ~$1 in SerenBucks per scan

How to present results to user:

1. Parse the JSON output at the end of stdout
2. Extract opportunities array with: ticker, question, side, price_cents, fair_value, edge, expected_value
3. Summarize in a table:

Found 3 opportunities:

| Market | Side | Price | Fair Value | Edge | Contracts | EV |
|--------|------|-------|------------|------|-----------|----|
| KXBTC-25APR-T100K | YES | 54c | 67% | 13% | 11 | $1.43 |
| KXFED-25MAY-RATE | NO | 40c | 28% | 12% | 8 | $0.96 |

4. Remind user these are paper trades -- no real orders placed
5. Suggest running setup if they want to enable live trading

Running Live Trading (Advanced)

Only if user has:

• Completed paper trading validation
• $100+ budget on Kalshi
• Real Kalshi API credentials (API key + RSA private key)

cd ~/.config/seren/skills/kalshi-bot && python3 scripts/agent.py --config config.json --yes-live --once

Setting Up Automated Scans via seren-cron

cd ~/.config/seren/skills/kalshi-bot && python3 scripts/setup_cron.py create --config config.json --schedule "0 */2 * * *" --dry-run

Then start the local pull runner:

python3 scripts/run_local_pull_runner.py --config config.json

Trade Execution Contract

When the user gives a direct exit instruction (sell, close, exit, unwind, flatten), execute the exit path immediately. Do not editorialize or argue against recovering remaining funds. If the user request is ambiguous, ask only the minimum clarifying question needed to identify the positions to exit.

Kalshi Order Execution Rules

• Use the Kalshi REST API directly via KalshiClient in scripts/kalshi_client.py
• All prices are in CENTS (1-99). Contracts pay $1.00 if correct, $0.00 if wrong
• For immediate sells, place a limit order at the best bid price
• RSA-PSS signing is required for all authenticated endpoints
• Auth headers: KALSHI-ACCESS-KEY, KALSHI-ACCESS-SIGNATURE, KALSHI-ACCESS-TIMESTAMP

Pre-Trade Checklist (Mandatory)

Before any live buy, sell, or unwind:

1. Fetch the live orderbook for the market ticker
2. Verify spread is acceptable (edge/spread ratio > 3x)
3. Verify Kalshi API credentials are configured and authentication works
4. Check portfolio balance has sufficient funds
5. If any check fails, fail closed with a concrete remediation message

Live Safety Opt-In

Default mode is --dry-run. Live trading requires:

• python scripts/agent.py --config config.json --yes-live
• or a seren-cron job created with --live flag

The --yes-live flag is a startup-only live opt-in. It is not a per-order approval prompt.

Overview

This skill helps users set up and manage an autonomous trading agent that:

1. Scans Kalshi for active prediction markets
2. Researches opportunities using Perplexity AI
3. Estimates fair value with Claude (Anthropic)
4. Identifies mispriced markets (edge > threshold)
5. Executes trades using Kelly Criterion for position sizing
6. Runs autonomously on seren-cron schedule
7. Monitors positions and reports P&L

Architecture

Pure Python Implementation

• Python agent calls Seren publishers via HTTP for research and LLM inference
• Kalshi REST API called directly with RSA-PSS request signing
• No third-party trading SDKs required
• Logs written to JSONL files
• Seren-cron stores the schedule, skill-local runner executes scripts/agent.py locally

Components:

• scripts/agent.py - Main trading loop (three-stage pipeline)
• scripts/seren_client.py - Seren API client (calls publishers)
• scripts/kalshi_client.py - Kalshi REST API client with RSA signing
• scripts/setup_cron.py - seren-cron local-pull schedule management
• scripts/run_local_pull_runner.py - Local seren-cron polling runner
• scripts/kelly.py - Kelly Criterion position sizing
• scripts/position_tracker.py - Position and P&L management
• scripts/logger.py - Trading logger (JSONL)
• scripts/risk_guards.py - Drawdown, aging, and auto-pause guards

Seren Publishers Used:

• perplexity - Perplexity AI research (via OpenRouter)

  • Model: sonar for fast research
  • Returns AI-generated summaries with citations
  • Used to research market questions before trading

• seren-models - Multi-model LLM inference (via OpenRouter)

  • 200+ models available (Claude, GPT, Gemini, Llama, etc.)
  • Used model: anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5
  • Estimates fair value probabilities from research

• seren-cron - Autonomous local-pull scheduling

  • Stores runner registration and cron schedules in Seren
  • Lets a skill-local polling process claim due work and run scripts/agent.py locally
  • Pause/resume/delete jobs and runners programmatically

Kalshi REST API (direct):

• Base URL: https://api.elections.kalshi.com/trade-api/v2
• Auth: RSA-PSS key signing per request
• Markets: GET /markets, GET /markets/{ticker}, GET /markets/{ticker}/orderbook
• Events: GET /events, GET /events/{event_ticker}
• Orders: POST /portfolio/orders, DELETE /portfolio/orders/{order_id}
• Positions: GET /portfolio/positions, GET /portfolio/balance
• Fills: GET /portfolio/fills

API Key Setup

Before running this skill, check for an existing Seren API key in this order:

1. Seren Desktop auth -- if running inside Seren Desktop, the runtime injects API_KEY automatically. Check: echo $API_KEY. If set, no further action needed.
2. Existing .env file -- check if SEREN_API_KEY is already set. If set, no further action needed.
3. Shell environment -- check if SEREN_API_KEY is exported. If set, no further action needed.

Only if none of the above are set, register a new agent account:

curl -sS -X POST "https://api.serendb.com/auth/agent" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name":"kalshi-bot"}'

Extract the API key from .data.agent.api_key -- shown only once. Write it to .env:

SEREN_API_KEY=<the-returned-key>

Do not create a new account if a key already exists. Creating a duplicate results in a $0-balance key.

Setup Workflow

Phase 1: Install Dependencies

cd kalshi/bot

# Check Python version (need 3.10+)
python3 --version

# Install dependencies
pip3 install -r requirements.txt

Phase 2: Configure Credentials

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env:

# Seren API key
SEREN_API_KEY=your_seren_api_key_here

# Kalshi API credentials (from https://kalshi.com/account/api)
KALSHI_API_KEY=your_kalshi_api_key_here
KALSHI_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH=/path/to/kalshi_private_key.pem

How to get Kalshi API credentials:

1. Log into kalshi.com
2. Navigate to Account > API Keys
3. Generate an API key and RSA key pair
4. Save the private key PEM file securely
5. Set KALSHI_API_KEY and KALSHI_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH in .env

Security Note:

• Never commit .env to git
• Keep RSA private key file secure (600 permissions)
• Credentials grant trading access to your Kalshi account

Phase 3: Configure Risk Parameters

cp config.example.json config.json

Edit config.json:

{
  "bankroll": 100.0,
  "mispricing_threshold": 0.08,
  "max_kelly_fraction": 0.06,
  "max_positions": 10
}

Parameter Guide:

bankroll

Total capital available for trading (in USD).

• Testing: $50-100
• Small: $100-500
• Medium: $500-2000

mispricing_threshold

Minimum edge required to trade (as decimal).

• Conservative: 0.10 (10%)
• Default: 0.08 (8%)
• Aggressive: 0.05 (5%)

max_kelly_fraction

Maximum percentage of bankroll per trade.

• Conservative: 0.03 (3%)
• Default: 0.06 (6%)
• Aggressive: 0.10 (10%)

Quarter-Kelly is applied automatically (raw Kelly / 4).

Usage

Paper Trading (Recommended Start)

python3 scripts/agent.py --config config.json --dry-run

Live Trading (After Validation)

python3 scripts/agent.py --config config.json --yes-live --once

Automated Scheduling

Create a cron schedule:

python3 scripts/setup_cron.py create --schedule "0 */2 * * *" --dry-run

Start the local runner:

python3 scripts/run_local_pull_runner.py --config config.json

Manage schedules:

python3 scripts/setup_cron.py list
python3 scripts/setup_cron.py pause --job-id <id>
python3 scripts/setup_cron.py resume --job-id <id>
python3 scripts/setup_cron.py delete --job-id <id>

Risk Management

Position Limits

• Maximum 10 simultaneous positions (configurable)
• Maximum 3 positions per event (diversification)
• Quarter-Kelly sizing (conservative)
• 6% max bankroll per trade

Safety Guards

• Drawdown detection: Alert when portfolio drops > 15%
• Position aging: Flag positions older than 72 hours
• Auto-pause: Pause cron job when SerenBucks balance is low
• Spread check: Reject trades where edge/spread ratio < 3x
• Extreme divergence: Reject when model disagrees > 50% with market

Kalshi-Specific Protections

• All prices verified in cents (1-99 range)
• Contract count validated before submission
• RSA signature verified for every authenticated request
• Dry-run is the default mode

Troubleshooting

"Seren API key is required"

Set SEREN_API_KEY in .env or ensure API_KEY is injected by Seren Desktop.

"Kalshi private key not configured"

Set KALSHI_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH in .env pointing to your RSA private key PEM file.

"Kalshi API error: 401"

API key or RSA signature is invalid. Re-generate credentials at kalshi.com/account/api.

"No markets found"

Kalshi API may be down, or all markets are filtered out. Check your min_volume and min_open_interest settings.

Low SerenBucks balance

Each scan costs ~$1 in SerenBucks (Perplexity research + Claude inference). Top up at console.serendb.com.

FAQ

Q: How much does it cost to run? A: ~$1 in SerenBucks per scan cycle (Perplexity + Claude calls). Scans every 2 hours = ~$12/day.

Q: What is the minimum bankroll? A: $50 recommended for paper trading. $100+ for live trading.

Q: How does pricing work on Kalshi? A: Prices are in CENTS (1-99). A YES contract at 54c costs $0.54 and pays $1.00 if the event occurs. A NO contract at 46c (100 - 54) costs $0.46 and pays $1.00 if the event does not occur.

Q: Is this legal? A: Kalshi is a CFTC-regulated exchange. Check your local regulations regarding event contracts.

Q: Can I lose more than my bankroll? A: No. Kalshi contracts have limited risk. Maximum loss per contract is the purchase price.