> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.kalshi.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Perps API
> Getting started with Kalshi's perpetual-futures (perps) trading API
The **Perps API** is how you trade Kalshi's perpetual futures. **"Perps", "margin", and "perpetual futures" all refer to the same product.** The API surface uses *margin* throughout (endpoints under the `/margin` namespace, margin-prefixed fields), so these docs use *margin* for technical references. It mirrors the existing event contract API, so if you're already integrated there you're most of the way there: the margin endpoints follow the same patterns, authentication, and conventions, just under `/margin`.
## Connectivity
### REST API
| Environment | Base URL |
| ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Demo | `https://external-api.demo.kalshi.co/trade-api/v2/margin/` |
| Production | `https://external-api.kalshi.com/trade-api/v2/margin/` (rolling out member by member) |
Use the `external-api` hosts for perps REST. WebSocket and FIX use the separate perps hosts listed below.
### WebSocket API
| Environment | URL |
| ----------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Demo | `wss://external-api-margin-ws.demo.kalshi.co/trade-api/ws/v2/margin` |
| Production | `wss://external-api-margin-ws.kalshi.com/trade-api/ws/v2/margin` (rolling out member by member) |
### FIX API
The margin FIX gateway uses a **separate host** from event contract FIX.
| Environment | Type | Host |
| ----------- | ------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- |
| Demo | Order entry and drop copy | `margin-fix.demo.kalshi.co` |
| Demo | Market data | `margin-marketdata.fix.demo.kalshi.co` |
| Production | Order entry and drop copy | `margin-mm.fix.elections.kalshi.com` |
| Production | Market data | `margin-marketdata.fix.elections.kalshi.com` |
Available session types:
| Purpose | Port | TargetCompID |
| ------------------------------------ | ---- | ------------ |
| Order Entry (without retransmission) | 8228 | KalshiNR |
| Drop Copy | 8229 | KalshiDC |
| Order Entry (with retransmission) | 8230 | KalshiRT |
| Market Data | 8233 | KalshiMD |
## API Reference
The Perps API mirrors the event contract API (same auth, pagination, error format, and order lifecycle), so the conventions in [Making Your First Request](/getting_started/making_your_first_request) and [API Environments](/getting_started/api_environments) apply directly.
* **REST**: see the **REST** reference in this section.
* **WebSocket**: see the margin channels under **WebSockets** in this section.
* **FIX**:
* [Connectivity](/fix-margin/connectivity)
* [Authentication & Sessions](/fix-margin/authentication)
* [Order Entry](/fix-margin/order-entry)
* [Order Groups](/fix-margin/order-groups)
* [Market Data](/fix-margin/market-data)
* [Drop Copy](/fix-margin/drop-copy)
* [Listener Sessions](/fix-margin/listener-sessions)
* [Error Handling](/fix-margin/error-handling)
### REST API
**What's the same:** authentication, pagination, error format, and core order lifecycle (create, amend, decrease, cancel) all work identically, just under `/margin/*` instead of `/portfolio/*` and `/markets/*`.
**Margin-specific additions:** beyond the mirrored order, market, and order-group endpoints, margin adds endpoints for account balance and risk, funding (estimated and historical rates, plus payment history), fee tiers, subaccounts, and transfers between your event-contract and margin balances. See the **REST** reference for the full list. Two things to know up front: the event-contract ↔ margin transfer (`/portfolio/intra_exchange_instance_transfer`) is **not yet available** (enabled with the production rollout), and you can call `/margin/enabled` to check whether margin is on for your account in a given environment.
**Not available on margin:**
* Batch order operations (`BatchCreateOrders`, `BatchCancelOrders`)
* Queue positions
* Events, series, milestones, multivariate collections, structured targets
* RFQs and quotes
* Historical data endpoints
* Exchange schedule
### WebSocket API
**Same channels:** `orderbook_delta`, `ticker`, `trade`, `fill`, `user_orders`, `order_group_updates`
**Not available on margin:** `market_positions`, `market_lifecycle_v2`, `multivariate_market_lifecycle`, `multivariate`, `communications`
**Timestamp convention:** all timestamp fields in margin WebSocket payloads use Unix epoch milliseconds and an `_ms` suffix.
| Channel | Event contract | Margin |
| ----------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `orderbook_delta` | `ts` as RFC3339 datetime | `ts_ms` as Unix milliseconds |
| `ticker` | `ts` in Unix seconds and `time` as RFC3339 datetime | `ts_ms` (top level); nested `reference_price`/`settlement_mark_price`/`liquidation_mark_price` each carry `ts_ms`, and `funding_rate` carries `next_funding_time_ms` and `ts_ms` |
| `trade` | `ts` in Unix seconds | `ts_ms` in Unix milliseconds |
| `fill` | `ts` in Unix seconds | `ts_ms` in Unix milliseconds |
| `user_orders` | `created_time`, `last_update_time`, `expiration_time` as RFC3339 datetimes | `created_ts_ms`, `last_updated_ts_ms`, `expiration_ts_ms` as Unix milliseconds |
Margin WebSocket payloads no longer use RFC3339 timestamp strings. The `order_group_updates` channel already follows the same convention: its only timestamp field, `ts_ms`, is Unix epoch milliseconds.
### FIX API
API keys **should not be shared** between the event contract and margin FIX gateways.
**What's the same:** FIXT.1.1 / FIX50SP2 protocol, RSA key authentication, order lifecycle messages (NewOrderSingle, OrderCancelRequest, etc.), order groups, drop copy, and listener sessions all work the same way.
**Key differences:**
| | Event Contract FIX | Margin FIX |
| ----------------------------- | --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Pricing** | Integer cents (1–99) | Decimal dollars up to 4 decimal places |
| **Session types** | 6 (NR, RT, DC, PT, RFQ, MD) | 4 (NR, RT, DC, MD) |
| **RFQ / Quotes** | Supported | Not available |
| **Market settlement reports** | Supported (on KalshiRT) | Not available |
| **UseDollars (21005)** | Optional logon flag | Always enabled (margin uses fixed-point dollar pricing by default) |