Place Orders
Open long and short positions on Hyperliquid with market or limit orders.
Overview
Placing orders is the core of perpetual trading. You can go long (profit when price goes up) or short (profit when price goes down) on any available asset. Orders are placed in USD by default, so you just specify the dollar amount you want to trade.
What you can do:
Open long or short positions at market price for instant execution
Place limit orders at a specific price you choose
Specify leverage on any order
Set position size in USD or contract units
Combine with stop-loss and take-profit in a single command
Market Orders
Market orders execute immediately at the best available price. Use these when you want in (or out) right now and don't mind paying the spread.
"Long $100 of BTC"
Opens a $100 long on BTC at market price
"Short $500 of ETH"
Opens a $500 short on ETH at market price
"Buy $200 of SOL perps"
Market long on SOL for $200
"Sell $1000 of BTC perps"
Market short on BTC for $1,000
"Go long ETH"
Opens an ETH long (you'll be asked for an amount)
When to use market orders:
You need to enter or exit a position immediately
The asset has good liquidity and a tight spread
Speed matters more than getting the exact price
When to use limit orders instead:
You want a specific entry price
The order book is thin and you want to avoid slippage
You want to earn maker rebates instead of paying taker fees
Limit Orders
Limit orders only execute at your specified price or better. They sit on the order book until the price is reached, gets cancelled, or expires.
"Long $500 of BTC at $95,000"
Limit buy, only fills if BTC drops to $95,000
"Short $200 of ETH at $3,800"
Limit sell, only fills if ETH rises to $3,800
"Buy SOL perps at $140, $1000 worth"
$1,000 limit long on SOL at $140
"Place a limit short on BTC at $100,000 for $2,000"
$2,000 limit short at $100k
"Bid $300 on DOGE perps at $0.15"
Limit long on DOGE at $0.15
Tip: Limit orders earn a maker rebate (0.01%) instead of paying the taker fee (0.035%). On a $10,000 trade, that's the difference between earning $1.00 and paying $3.50.
With Leverage
You can specify leverage on any order. If you don't specify, the current leverage setting for that asset is used.
"Long $1000 of BTC with 10x leverage"
10x long, $1,000 notional on $100 margin
"Short $5000 of ETH at 20x"
20x short, $5,000 notional on $250 margin
"5x long on SOL, $500"
5x leveraged long for $500 notional
"Max leverage long BTC $2000"
Uses maximum available leverage (up to 50x)
How leverage affects your margin:
$1,000
1x
$1,000
$1,000
$1,000
5x
$1,000
$200
$1,000
10x
$1,000
$100
$1,000
20x
$1,000
$50
Higher leverage means less margin used but higher liquidation risk. A 10x long gets liquidated at roughly a 10% price drop.
Combining Orders with TP/SL
You can attach stop-loss and take-profit levels to any order in a single command, so your risk is managed from the moment you enter.
"Long $500 ETH with stop at $3,200 and TP at $4,000"
Market long with automatic SL and TP
"Short $1000 BTC at $100k, stop $105k, take profit $90k"
Limit short with SL and TP attached
"Buy SOL perps $300 with a 5% stop loss"
Market long with stop-loss set 5% below entry
"10x long ETH $2000, SL at $3,100, TP at $3,800"
Leveraged long with full risk management
For more on stop-loss, take-profit, and conditional orders, see TP/SL & Conditionals.
Amount Specification
All orders are placed in USD by default. You just say the dollar amount and you're set.
"$100" or "100"
$100 notional value
"$5,000" or "5000"
$5,000 notional value
"0.5 BTC"
0.5 BTC in contract units (converted to notional)
"10 ETH worth"
10 ETH in contract units
Order Behavior
How Market Orders Fill
Market orders fill instantly against the order book. Your execution price depends on available liquidity:
Small orders on liquid assets (BTC, ETH, SOL) fill at or very near the displayed price
Large orders or illiquid assets may experience slippage as the order eats through multiple price levels
Always check the order book depth before placing large market orders
How Limit Orders Work
Limit orders sit on the order book until your price is reached:
Buy limits are placed below the current price (you want a cheaper entry)
Sell limits are placed above the current price (you want a higher entry for shorts)
Orders remain active until filled, cancelled, or expired based on your time-in-force setting
Default is GTC (good-till-cancelled), meaning the order stays open indefinitely
Partial Fills
Both market and limit orders can partially fill:
Market orders almost always fill completely on liquid assets
Limit orders may fill partially if there isn't enough volume at your price
Partial fills show up as individual fills in your trade history
Pro Tips
Use limit orders on entries when possible - You save on fees and get a better price
Always attach a stop-loss - Especially with leverage, protect your downside from the start
Check the order book before market orders - Know how much slippage to expect
Start small with leverage - 2-5x until you're comfortable with how positions move
Don't round-number your limits - Placing at $94,950 instead of $95,000 avoids the pile of orders at obvious levels
Combine entry + TP/SL in one command - Gets your risk management set the moment you enter
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