Skip to main content

Quick start

warning

The Silhouette API is currently in beta and under active development on testnet. More operations and features will be added soon.

This guide will walk you through making your first API call to the Silhouette exchange, from setting up prerequisites to checking your balance.

Prerequisites​

Before you can use the Silhouette API, you need to complete the following steps:

  1. You must have a wallet address on Hyperliquid's L1 testnet chain (HyperCore). This is your identity on the Silhouette platform.

  2. Since Silhouette is currently running on testnet, you'll need testnet USDC. Visit the Hyperliquid testnet faucet to obtain testnet funds for your HyperCore address.

  3. Use Hyperliquid's spotSend operation to transfer funds to the Silhouette testnet contract address to activate your account in Silhouette:

    0x2B065d0C4865a520bab6821C835a66B073e4e590
    warning

    This contract address is on the Hyperliquid testnet, not mainnet.

    warning

    You must deposit at least 5 USDC to activate your account.

    The spotSend operation transfers assets between addresses on the Hyperliquid network. Refer to the Hyperliquid documentation for details on executing this operation.

Quick Start​

Step 0: Meet the prerequisites​

Make sure you meet all the prerequisites before interacting with Silhouette.

Step 1: Obtain a bearer token​

warning

Anyone with your bearer token will have full access to your Silhouette account until it expires.

You need a bearer token to authenticate your API requests. The easiest way to obtain one is through the login assistant:

  1. Visit the login assistant
  2. Connect your Ethereum wallet
  3. Sign the authentication message
  4. Copy the bearer token provided

For detailed information about the authentication process, including manual authentication flow, see the authentication page.

Step 2: Make your first API call​

Now that you have a bearer token, you can make your first API call. Let's retrieve your account balance using the getBalances operation.

Request:

curl https://api.silhouette.exchange/v0 \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN_HERE" \
  -d '{
    "operation": "getBalances"
  }'

Replace YOUR_TOKEN_HERE with the bearer token you obtained in Step 1.

Expected response:

{
  "data": {
    "balances": [
      {
        "token": "USDC",
        "available": "1000000000",
        "availableFloat": "1000.0",
        "locked": "0",
        "lockedFloat": "0.0",
        "total": "1000000000",
        "totalFloat": "1000.0"
      }
    ]
  },
  "responseMetadata": {
    "timestamp": 1234567890,
    "requestId": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000"
  }
}

The balances array shows your available balance for each token. Note that balances are represented in the token's smallest unit (for USDC, this is micro-USDC, so the value "1000000000" represents 1,000 USDC).

You've successfully made your first API call! You can now explore other operations in the reference documentation.

Next steps​

  • Explore the authentication page for detailed information about SIWE authentication
  • Review the reference for all available API operations
  • Check the troubleshooting page if you encounter any issues