Connect Hyperliquid

Archon trades through an API wallet: a separate key that your Hyperliquid account authorises to place orders on its behalf. You create it on Hyperliquid’s own site, with the wallet that owns your account. Archon never sees that wallet.

You will do this twice: once on testnet, where the money is pretend, and later on mainnet. The two networks are separate, and a key made on one does not work on the other.

Before you start

• Use the same wallet you trade Hyperliquid with. The API wallet is tied to whichever account was connected when you created it.
• If you signed in to Hyperliquid with an email address, Hyperliquid creates a different wallet address on testnet and on mainnet. Its docs suggest exporting the mainnet email wallet into a wallet extension and connecting that to testnet, so both use the same address.
• To get testnet USDC from the faucet, Hyperliquid requires that your address has deposited on mainnet at least once. The faucet then gives 1,000 mock USDC.

On testnet

1. Open Hyperliquid’s testnet and connect

Go to https://app.hyperliquid-testnet.xyz and connect your wallet, the same one you use on mainnet.

Screenshot to come: Hyperliquid testnet with a wallet connected, the account address visible at the top right

2. Claim testnet USDC

Open https://app.hyperliquid-testnet.xyz/drip and claim. Your balance should show 1,000 USDC within a minute. If the faucet refuses, see the faucet entry in Troubleshooting.

Screenshot to come: The testnet faucet page with the claim button

3. Open the API page

In the top menu, open More, then API.

Screenshot to come: The More menu open, with API highlighted

4. Create the API wallet

1. Type archon as the name. Using the same name later replaces this key, which is how you retire it.
2. Generate a new key on the page.
3. Choose how many days it stays valid. Archon cannot trade after it expires, and Archon Hosted will not accept a key that expires within a day. The dashboard warns you 14, 7, 3 and 1 days before it expires.
4. Authorise it. Your wallet asks you to sign: this is your main wallet approving the new key. It costs nothing.

Screenshot to come: The API page with the name filled in as archon, the generated address shown and the validity in days set

5. Copy the private key

Hyperliquid shows the new key’s private key once. Copy it. It starts with 0x and has 64 characters after that.

Screenshot to come: The private key shown after authorising, with its copy button

Copy the private key, not the address

The page shows two long values. The address of the API wallet has 40 characters after 0x; the private key has 64. Archon needs the private key, together with your account address, which is your main wallet’s address.

6. Give it to Archon

• Hosted: in the app, choose Archon runs it for you, then paste the private key and your account address. Before accepting it, the app asks Hyperliquid whether that key is approved for that account. It stores the key encrypted, and only uses it to trade.
• Self-hosted: paste both into your AI assistant when it asks for them, and nowhere else.

Screenshot to come: Archon's connect step with the account address and API key fields

Once connected, the dashboard shows your testnet balance within a few minutes.

On mainnet

After at least seven days on testnet without an incident, and only if you choose to:

1. Deposit USDC to your account on https://app.hyperliquid.xyz, if it is not funded already.
2. Repeat steps 3 to 5 on https://app.hyperliquid.xyz. Name it archon again. This is a new key for mainnet; the testnet one does not carry over.
3. Hosted: pay for a hosting pack, disconnect the testnet account from the dashboard, then connect again with the new key and choose mainnet. Self-hosted: give your assistant the new key and ask it to move the engine to mainnet.
4. Optional: approve Archon’s builder fee from the app. Hyperliquid will then add up to 0.01% of each order’s value as a fee to Archon. Until you approve it, the fee is zero and nothing else changes.

Start smaller

You can limit Archon to part of the account. Many people start with part of what they intend, watch a few weeks, and raise the limit later.

Retiring a key

To cut Archon off at any time, create a new API wallet on Hyperliquid with the same name. Hyperliquid deregisters the old one immediately, and Archon can no longer sign anything for your account. Your positions stay where they are, and you can manage them yourself in Hyperliquid’s app.

Account types

Archon works with both of Hyperliquid’s account modes, standard and unified. It reads your account value the way Hyperliquid does for each mode. Vaults and sub-accounts are not supported: connect the main account.

Common mistakes

What happened	What to do
The key was made on testnet and given to a mainnet account, or the other way round	Make a key on the network you want and connect that one
The key was made while a different wallet was connected to Hyperliquid	Reconnect the right wallet on Hyperliquid and make the key again
You pasted the API wallet’s address instead of its private key	Use the 64-character value. If it is gone, make a new key with the same name
The key has expired	Make a new one with the same name and connect it
You opened Hyperliquid with an email login	Testnet and mainnet give you different addresses; see “Before you start”

Troubleshooting lists the messages each of these produces.