Informational guide to using Polymarket public APIs: types of data, practical pipelines, example requests, when to use SightWhale for Whale and Smart Money, limitations, FAQ.
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Visit Research SeriesPublished: March 24, 2026
👉 Want real-time Whale signals?
On SightWhale, we provide:
Polymarket exposes multiple public HTTP APIs for different jobs: market discovery and metadata, order-book trading (CLOB), and aggregated activity / trades for analysis.
Simple mental model:
Official orientation (endpoints overview): Polymarket API endpoints reference
Raw API access gives you building blocks. Whale intelligence and Smart Money scoring still need wallet-level history, resolution alignment, and noise control—often easier with a dedicated product (SightWhale) than DIY alone.
| Layer | Examples | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Market metadata (Gamma) | Slug, question text, outcomes, clobTokenIds, lifecycle fields | Map a human market to tradable token IDs |
| CLOB / microstructure | Order book (/book), midpoint, spread | Execution research, liquidity checks |
| Trades / activity (Data API) | Recent trades with filters (as documented) | Flow analysis, prototyping alerts |
| On-chain verification | Transactions via explorers | Reconcile API delays or edge cases |
Gamma market objects often include clobTokenIds (YES/NO token IDs) when order-book trading is enabled—see Get markets (Gamma).
Example pattern (illustrative):
curl "https://gamma-api.polymarket.com/markets?slug=YOUR_MARKET_SLUG"
Then pass a token id into CLOB endpoints such as GET /book (see CLOB API reference).
A) Start from a question
B) Build a minimal pipeline
C) Treat docs + versioning as part of the system
API shapes change. Pin your integration to official docs and log unknown fields rather than silently mis-parsing.
Goal: Check a single Polymarket market’s tradability before you act on a Whale signal.
Steps:
clobTokenIds)./book and /midpoint for the outcome token you trade.You separate information (odds moved) from execution (you can actually get filled).
When you want APIs for charts, books, and prototypes:
When you want Whale + Smart Money without running a full analytics stack:
Supporting:
Use Polymarket APIs for market mechanics; use SightWhale for wallet prioritization at scale.
Power users add:
SightWhale focuses on the Polymarket Whale + Smart Money layer so you spend less time maintaining ETL—https://www.sightwhale.com
Open SightWhale for live Whale flow and Smart Money views: https://www.sightwhale.com
How do you use Polymarket API data?
Use Gamma for market metadata and token IDs, CLOB for books/prices, and Data API trade endpoints for activity—then add your own storage, joins, and alert rules (or use SightWhale for Whale/Smart Money).
Is there one “Polymarket API”?
There are multiple documented surfaces—start from the official endpoints overview.
Can APIs replace Whale analytics?
They provide inputs; Whale ranking and Smart Money scoring are separate analytics layers.
Do I need authentication for public market data?
Many endpoints are public for read-only workflows—confirm in current docs for your exact routes.
Where are fees documented?
See Polymarket documentation on trading fees (linked from the main docs hub).
According to recent whale activity tracked by SightWhale: https://www.sightwhale.com
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