> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.strikelabs.app/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.strikelabs.app/readme.md).

# Strike

Strike is a cash-settled options exchange with a native Rust matching engine — price-time priority, integer micros end to end, no floating point where money moves. It lists options on equities, indices and crypto, with daily, weekly and monthly expiries. The book never closes: there is no opening auction, no halt, and no weekend. Every quote on the chain is a real resting order.

This documentation has two halves:

* [**Protocol**](/protocol/architecture.md) — how the venue works: the engine, [market structure](/protocol/market-structure.md) (series conventions, expiry cutoffs, settlement and the oracle's refusal semantics, margin), and [custody and the money lifecycle](/protocol/custody.md).
* [**API reference**](/api-reference/openapi.md) — the public `/v1` API: what a fund's engineer needs to go from nothing to deposit, trade, and withdraw. Start with the [Quickstart](/quickstart.md).

## Base URL

```
https://api.strikelabs.app
```

All responses are JSON. All requests that carry a body must send `content-type: application/json`.

## A first request

```bash
curl https://api.strikelabs.app/v1/meta
```

That is the listing universe with a live underlying price for each symbol. From a symbol you get its expiries from [`/v1/series`](/api-reference/info.md), and from an expiry you get the tradable chain from [`/v1/chain`](/api-reference/info.md).

## What this API is

Strike's own wire format on `https://api.strikelabs.app`. It is deliberately **not** Hyperliquid-compatible or a clone of any other venue's surface, so do not assume semantics carry over from one you already integrate with.

* **Reads** are JSON over HTTP, most of them unauthenticated.
* **Writes are signed** by a session key your wallet approved. One wallet prompt, then no prompts. See [Signing](/api-reference/signing.md).
* **Amounts on the wire are decimals**; amounts you *sign* are integer micros. That distinction causes most first-day 401s.
* **European, cash-settled, multiplier 1.0.** One contract is one underlying unit.
* **The book never closes.** No opening auction, no halt, no weekend, no holiday calendar.

## Custody, before you fund anything

**Strike holds your funds.** Deposits sit in a single Arbitrum vault whose **operator key can move every dollar in it to any address**, and nothing in the contract prevents that. Once an entitlement is committed, claiming it needs nobody's permission and no Strike server — but getting one committed requires the venue to agree. **This is not a trustless exit** and is not described as one anywhere in these docs. The full disclosure, including what the operator can and cannot do, is on the [custody page](/protocol/custody.md). Read it before wiring money.

## The contract

The public API is governed by [an OpenAPI contract](/api-reference/openapi.md), written against the venue's source rather than generated from a running server. A test walks it against the venue's real route table and fails the build if they disagree in either direction — a documented endpoint that does not exist, or a public endpoint nobody documented. The docs cannot drift silently.

***

Behaviour described here is what the venue does today, verified against its source — including the parts that are awkward. If a page reads as more reassuring than the code, the page is wrong; report it.


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.strikelabs.app/readme.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.