How to Set Up a Polymarket Trade Bot (Step-by-Step, 2026)

Setting up a Polymarket trade bot takes minutes if you follow the right order: connect safely, pick what to copy, size it, and verify. Here's the step-by-step for 2026.

1. Connect with non-custodial API keys

Generate scoped API keys (trade-only, revocable) and connect them to your bot. The bot should be able to place and cancel orders but never withdraw. If a tool needs your private key, stop.

2. Pick wallets to copy

From a leaderboard ranked on realized profit, win-rate and drawdown, shortlist one or two source wallets with consistent results — not a single lucky bet.

3. Configure sizing

• Divider: copy a fraction of the source's size (e.g. divide by 1,000).
• Max per leg: cap the dollar amount on any single order.
• Bankroll: the total you're willing to deploy.

4. Set risk controls

Turn on per-market caps, a daily-loss limit, a drawdown stop, and a slippage filter. Good bots ship these on by default.

5. Verify execution before scaling

Place a small test allocation and watch the per-trade timeline — feed lag, execution latency in milliseconds, fills, fees. Once it matches expectations, scale up. PolyMaster's setup simulator even back-tests your lag/exit/sizing before you commit.