Install

npm install -g context-markets-cli

This installs the context command globally.

Or run without installing:

npx context-markets-cli <command>

Getting started

The fastest way to get set up:

context setup

This walks you through:

1. Wallet -- generate a new wallet or import an existing private key
2. Save credentials -- persists to ~/.config/context/config.env (chmod 600)
3. Authorize -- links your CLI wallet to your Context account
4. Approve contracts -- checks ETH balance, approves on-chain (requires ETH on Base for gas)
5. Deposit USDC -- checks USDC balance, deposits into the exchange

If anything fails (no ETH, rate limit, etc.), you can re-run context setup -- it detects your existing config and picks up where you left off.

Manual setup

If you prefer to configure manually:

# Option 1: Environment variables
export CONTEXT_API_KEY="your-api-key"
export CONTEXT_PRIVATE_KEY="0x..."

# Option 2: Config file (created by `context setup`)
# ~/.config/context/config.env

Credentials are loaded in order: CLI flags > env vars > config file.

Need an API key? Visit context.markets or join our Discord.

Quick start

# Browse markets
context markets list --status active --limit 5

# Search for a market
context markets search "march madness"

# Get a link to a market
context markets link <market-id>

# View the orderbook
context markets orderbook <market-id>

# Place a limit order
context orders create --market <id> --outcome yes --side buy --price 45 --size 10

# Check your portfolio
context portfolio overview

# Interactive shell
context shell

Agent workflow

The CLI supports a fully non-interactive JSON mode for AI agents:

# 1. Generate wallet and save to config
context setup --output json --save
# -> { "status": "new_wallet", "address": "0x...", "privateKey": "0x...", "configPath": "..." }

# 2. Authorize CLI wallet as a signer on your Context account
context account authorize --output json
# -> { "requestId": "...", "authorizeUrl": "https://...", "status": "pending" }

# 3. Approve contracts (after funding wallet with ETH on Base)
context account setup --output json
# -> { "status": "approved", "usdcApprovalTx": "0x...", "operatorApprovalTx": "0x..." }

# 4. Deposit USDC
context account deposit 100 --output json
# -> { "status": "deposited", "amount_usdc": 100, "tx_hash": "0x..." }

# 5. Trade
context orders create --market <id> --outcome yes --side buy --price 45 --size 10 --output json

All commands accept --output json for structured output. When piped (non-TTY), JSON is the default.

Commands

Markets -- markets list . markets search . markets get . markets link . markets quotes . markets orderbook . markets simulate . markets price-history . markets oracle . markets oracle-quotes . markets request-oracle-quote . markets activity . markets global-activity . markets create

Orders -- orders list . orders mine . orders get . orders recent . orders simulate . orders create . orders market . orders cancel . orders cancel-replace . orders bulk-create . orders bulk-cancel . orders bulk

Portfolio -- portfolio overview . portfolio get . portfolio claimable . portfolio stats . portfolio balance . portfolio token-balance

Account -- account status . account authorize . account setup . account deposit . account withdraw . account mint-test-usdc . account mint-complete-sets . account burn-complete-sets . account gasless-approve . account gasless-deposit

Questions -- questions submit . questions status . questions submit-and-wait . questions agent-submit . questions agent-submit-and-wait

Other -- setup . guides . shell . profile

Run context <command> help or context <command> --help for details on any command.

Key concepts

• Prices are in cents (1-99). A price of 65 means $0.65 per share.
• Outcomes are yes or no. Each market is a binary question.
• Output auto-detects: tables in a terminal, JSON when piped. Override with --output json or --output table.
• Read-only commands only need CONTEXT_API_KEY. Trading commands also need CONTEXT_PRIVATE_KEY.
• Interactive shell (context shell) supports #N row references, next/back pagination, and all commands.
• Profiles let you manage multiple configurations (e.g., testnet vs mainnet).

Guides

Built-in guides are available in the CLI:

context guides              # List available guides
context guides trading      # View the trading guide

Documentation

• Command Reference -- full list of commands with flags and response shapes
• CLI Guide -- setup, authentication, and workflows
• Agent Workflows -- common patterns for AI agent integration

Ecosystem

| Package | Description | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------- | | context-markets | TypeScript SDK for trading | | context-markets-react | React hooks for market data and trading | | context-markets-mcp | MCP server for AI agents | | context-markets-cli | CLI for trading from the terminal | | context-skills | AI agent skill files | | context-plugin | Claude Code plugin |

License

MIT -- see LICENSE for details.