Order types

The execution_type field on POST /v1/orders determines which price fields are required and how the order behaves once routed.

Summary

Execution type	Triggers on	Executes at	Required fields
`MARKET`	Submission	Next available price	—
`LIMIT`	Limit reached	At or better than limit	`limit_price`
`STOP`	Stop touched	Next available price after trigger	`stop_price`
`STOP_LIMIT`	Stop touched	At or better than limit	`stop_price`, `limit_price`
`TRAILING_STOP`	Trailed stop touched	Next available price	`trailing_amount`, `trailing_type`
`TRAILING_STOP_LIMIT`	Trailed stop touched	At or better than limit	`trailing_amount`, `trailing_type`, `limit_price`

MARKET

Immediate execution at prevailing price. Use for entries and emergency exits.

{
  "execution_type": "MARKET",
  "side": "BUY",
  "quantity": "1"
}

Market orders during illiquid sessions can fill far from the last trade. Consider LIMIT with an aggressive offset instead.

LIMIT

Rests at limit_price and fills only at that price or better.

{
  "execution_type": "LIMIT",
  "side": "SELL",
  "quantity": "1",
  "limit_price": "5325.50",
  "time_in_force": "GTC"
}

STOP

Becomes a market order when the trigger is reached.

For a SELL stop, stop_price must be below the current price.
For a BUY stop, stop_price must be above the current price.

{
  "execution_type": "STOP",
  "side": "SELL",
  "quantity": "2",
  "stop_price": "5290.00"
}

STOP_LIMIT

Becomes a limit order at limit_price when stop_price triggers. Avoids bad fills on fast markets but may not fill at all.

{
  "execution_type": "STOP_LIMIT",
  "side": "SELL",
  "quantity": "2",
  "stop_price": "5290.00",
  "limit_price": "5289.00"
}

TRAILING_STOP

Stop that follows price by trailing_amount.

trailing_type: "AMOUNT" — fixed absolute offset (e.g. 0.25 points).
trailing_type: "PERCENTAGE" — relative offset (e.g. 0.5 = 0.5%).

{
  "execution_type": "TRAILING_STOP",
  "side": "SELL",
  "quantity": "1",
  "trailing_amount": "0.25",
  "trailing_type": "AMOUNT"
}

TRAILING_STOP_LIMIT

Trailing stop that becomes a limit order on trigger. Combines drift protection with controlled fill price.

{
  "execution_type": "TRAILING_STOP_LIMIT",
  "side": "SELL",
  "quantity": "1",
  "trailing_amount": "0.50",
  "trailing_type": "AMOUNT",
  "limit_price": "5288.00"
}

Choosing a type

Goal	Recommended type
Get in now	`MARKET`
Get in at a specific price	`LIMIT`
Cap downside on a position	`STOP` (or `STOP_LIMIT` if slippage is the bigger risk)
Lock in profits as price moves favorably	`TRAILING_STOP`
Combined entry + exit	Order groups (OTO, OTOCO)

Overview

Orders

Fills

Positions

Trades

Balances

Realtime WebSocket

Summary

MARKET

LIMIT

STOP

STOP_LIMIT

TRAILING_STOP

TRAILING_STOP_LIMIT

Choosing a type

​Summary

​MARKET

​LIMIT

​STOP

​STOP_LIMIT

​TRAILING_STOP

​TRAILING_STOP_LIMIT

​Choosing a type

Summary

MARKET

LIMIT

STOP

STOP_LIMIT

TRAILING_STOP

TRAILING_STOP_LIMIT

Choosing a type