> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bravadotrade.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Copytrade API: Mirror a Leader Wallet's Fills
> Bravado's Copytrade API mirrors a leader trader's fills on a follower's wallet in real time, with configurable sizing modes and risk controls.
Copy trading on Bravado subscribes your wallet to a leader's trading activity so that every fill the leader receives is automatically mirrored on your account. The engine monitors the Polymarket CLOB in real time, when the leader's order fills, Bravado immediately executes an equivalent trade on your behalf, applying your configured sizing rules and risk controls before the order touches the market. All copy-trade configuration happens through endpoints under `/v2/trade/copytrade`.
Use **simulation mode** to paper-trade a leader's strategy before committing real capital. Simulation tracks all fills against live CLOB prices without executing on-chain transactions, giving you a realistic preview of how a strategy would have performed.
## Why Bravado over the native endpoints
There is no comparison to draw here: **Polymarket has no copy-trading**. Building it yourself means watching the chain for a leader's fills, deciding your size, and racing to execute before the price moves, then handling the case where you are short of collateral mid-mirror.
Bravado runs that as a managed subscription.
| | Building it yourself | Bravado Copytrade API |
| --------------- | ---------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| Fill detection | Poll or index the chain | Handled, mirrored as fills land |
| Sizing | Your own logic | Proportional, fixed, or capped, configured per subscription |
| Filters | Your own logic | Market, side, and size filters |
| Risk controls | Your own logic | Configurable, enforced before the order reaches the market |
| Testing | Trade real money to find out | Simulation mode, paper trades against live prices |
| Leader research | Build an indexer | [Data API](/products/data-api) on any public wallet |
Two things make it usable as a product rather than a script:
* **Any public wallet can be a leader.** They do not need a Bravado account, and are not notified. You can evaluate a candidate's full history first with the Data API, then subscribe.
* **You can paper-trade the strategy first.** Simulation runs the whole subscription against live prices without executing on-chain, so a follower can see how a leader would have performed for them before committing collateral.
## Fees
The Copytrade API charges **25 bips (0.25%) per side**, applied to both the maker and the taker on every mirrored fill.
| | Copytrade API |
| ----- | --------------- |
| Maker | 25 bips (0.25%) |
| Taker | 25 bips (0.25%) |
Basis points are hundredths of a percent, so 25 bips is 0.25% of notional. Fees are collected through **Bravado builder codes**, applied automatically to mirrored orders. No configuration is required to start copy trading.
Copy trading is priced above the [Trade API](/products/trade-api), which charges 10 bips per side. Orders you place directly are charged at the Trade API rate; fills mirrored by a copytrade subscription are charged at this rate.
If you need a custom setup running your own builder codes rather than Bravado's, reach out to **[support@bravadotrade.com](mailto:support@bravadotrade.com)** and the team will get you configured.
## How it works
The leader submits an order on Polymarket through any interface, the Bravado API, the Polymarket web app, or any other client.
Bravado's real-time fill monitor detects the on-chain order fill for the leader wallet and parses the trade details: market, outcome, side, size, and price.
The engine applies your subscription's sizing mode, market filters, and date filters to determine whether to copy the trade and at what size.
If the trade passes all filters, Bravado submits a market order on your wallet. The fill happens at the live CLOB price at execution time, which may differ slightly from the leader's fill price.
You control which direction to copy (buys only, sells only, or both), what size to trade, and which markets to include or exclude.
## Sizing modes
Sizing modes define how Bravado calculates the notional size of each copied trade. Buy-side and sell-side modes are configured independently.
| Mode | Side | Behavior |
| --------------------------- | ---- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `PCT_OF_LEADER_TRADE` | Buy | Trade a fixed percentage of the leader's notional spend |
| `PCT_OF_LEADER_TRADE` | Sell | Sell a fixed percentage of the leader's share quantity |
| `FIXED_USD_PER_TRADE` | Buy | Spend a fixed USDC amount on every copied buy, regardless of leader size |
| `PCT_OF_FOLLOWER_AVAILABLE` | Buy | Spend a percentage of your currently available pUSD balance |
| `MAX` | Sell | Sell your entire share balance in that outcome token |
| `PCT_OF_MAX` | Sell | Sell a percentage of your current share balance |
```json theme={null}
{
"leader_wallet": "0x3a2b1c4d5e6f7a8b9c0d1e2f3a4b5c6d7e8f9a0b",
"buy_sizing": {
"mode": "PCT_OF_LEADER_TRADE",
"value": 50
},
"sell_sizing": {
"mode": "MAX"
}
}
```
## Filters
Filters let you limit which of the leader's trades your subscription copies.
* **`market_ids_include`**: Only copy trades in the listed market IDs. All other markets are ignored.
* **`market_ids_exclude`**: Copy all trades except those in the listed market IDs. Useful for excluding specific markets while still following the leader broadly.
`market_ids_include` and `market_ids_exclude` are mutually exclusive, supply one or the other, not both.
* **`tags_include`**: Only copy trades in markets tagged with at least one of the listed tags (e.g., `["politics", "crypto"]`).
* **`tags_exclude`**: Skip trades in markets that carry any of the listed tags.
* **`copy_start_date`**: Ignore any leader fills before this ISO 8601 timestamp.
* **`copy_end_date`**: Stop copying leader fills after this timestamp. The subscription remains active but stops mirroring trades.
## Risk controls
Risk controls run on your existing copied positions after they fill. They do not affect the initial copy trade execution.
An array of `{ trigger_bps, portion_bps }` objects. When the outcome token price rises by `trigger_bps` basis points above your average cost, Bravado sells `portion_bps` of your remaining shares.
```json theme={null}
"take_profit_levels": [
{ "trigger_bps": 2000, "portion_bps": 5000 },
{ "trigger_bps": 5000, "portion_bps": 10000 }
]
```
An array of `{ trigger_bps, portion_bps }` objects. When the token price falls by `trigger_bps` basis points below your average cost, Bravado sells `portion_bps` of your remaining shares.
```json theme={null}
"stop_loss_levels": [
{ "trigger_bps": 3000, "portion_bps": 10000 }
]
```
`close_at_price`: automatically close the entire copied position when the token price reaches this decimal probability value (0.001–0.999).
```json theme={null}
"close_at_price": "0.85"
```
`max_hold_seconds`: automatically close the position after this many seconds, regardless of price. Useful for avoiding exposure to slow-resolving markets.
```json theme={null}
"max_hold_seconds": 86400
```
## Insufficient funds handling
If your wallet lacks sufficient pUSD to fully fund a copied buy at the configured size, the `buy_insufficient_usdc_action` field controls the fallback behavior:
| Value | Behavior |
| --------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| `BUY_MAX` | Execute the largest buy your available balance allows |
| `SKIP` | Skip the trade entirely and log it as unfunded |
Set this field at subscription creation time to avoid silent skips on underfunded accounts.
## Simulation mode
Simulation mode lets you paper-trade a leader subscription without executing any real on-chain transactions. All copied fills are recorded against live CLOB midpoint prices, giving you a realistic equity curve for the strategy.
Enable simulation at subscription creation:
```json theme={null}
{
"leader_wallet": "0x3a2b1c4d5e6f7a8b9c0d1e2f3a4b5c6d7e8f9a0b",
"is_simulation": true,
"buy_sizing": {
"mode": "FIXED_USD_PER_TRADE",
"value": 100
}
}
```
Simulation is the best way to evaluate a leader before committing real funds. Run a simulation for several days across different market conditions, then review the paper equity curve at `GET /v2/trade/copytrade/simulation` before switching `is_simulation` to `false`.
View your paper portfolio at any time:
```bash theme={null}
GET /v2/trade/copytrade/simulation
```
Reset the simulation to start a fresh evaluation:
```bash theme={null}
POST /v2/trade/copytrade/{id}/simulation/reset
```
Resetting clears all paper fills and restarts the equity curve from zero, useful when you change sizing or filter parameters and want a clean comparison.
## Subscription lifecycle
A copy-trade subscription moves through three statuses. Use `PATCH /v2/trade/copytrade/{id}/status` to transition between them.
```
ACTIVE → PAUSED → ACTIVE
ACTIVE → DISABLED
PAUSED → DISABLED
```
| Status | Behavior |
| ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `ACTIVE` | Copying leader fills in real time |
| `PAUSED` | Monitoring suspended; existing positions and risk controls remain active |
| `DISABLED` | Permanently stopped; cannot be re-activated |
Pause a subscription when you want to temporarily stop copying new trades without losing your configuration. Disable it only when you intend to permanently remove it.