Ten minutes end to end. Viewing markets needs nothing at all — the wallet steps are only required when you want to place real orders.
Grab the Windows or macOS build. On Windows, SmartScreen will warn about an unknown publisher because the app is not yet code-signed — choose More info → Run anyway. On macOS, right-click the app and pick Open the first time.
PolyEdge loads live Polymarket markets straight away. Browse the categories down the left, or search. Click an event to open ladders for its outcomes. You can explore everything at this point without connecting anything.
Needed only for trading. PolyEdge signs orders locally — there is no PolyEdge account and no server that ever sees your details.
On Polymarket, open your profile menu → Settings → Export private key. Copy the key it shows you.
Treat this key like your bank password. Anyone who has it controls your funds. Only ever paste it into software you trust, and never share it with anyone — including us. We will never ask you for it.
Also from your Polymarket profile, copy your wallet address — the
0x… address that holds your funds. This is your
deposit wallet on current accounts.
Open ⚙ Settings in the top right and fill in:
• Private key — the key you exported.
• Account type — leave on
Polymarket account — deposit wallet unless you have a legacy
pre-migration account.
• Wallet address — the 0x… address
from your profile.
Save. The badge in the top bar switches to Trading ON and your positions appear at the bottom.
Each outcome gets its own ladder. Prices run down the middle; money sits either side.
Backing buys that outcome. The blue column shows what is available to back. Click a blue cell to place a back order at that price for your current stake.
Laying is betting against the outcome. PolyEdge does it by buying the opposing outcome at the complementary price, so you can lay without holding a position first.
The outer columns show your own unmatched orders at each price. Click one to cancel the orders sitting at that level.
A coloured bar under the ladder header shows shares held and average price, and your average entry is outlined on the price column so you can see it against the market.
Start small — Polymarket requires roughly $1 minimum per order.
Use the stake box or the preset buttons in the top bar. Your choice is remembered between sessions.
Click a blue Back cell to buy, or a pink Lay cell to lay. A message confirms whether the order filled straight away or is resting in the book.
Resting orders appear in the Mine column and under Open orders. Filled trades become a position, shown under the ladder and in the Positions tab.
Hit Trade out to sell the whole position at market. The button shows the profit or loss you are locking in before you click it.
Once you are comfortable clicking, these are what make PolyEdge quick.
Click ⌨ ARM in the top bar (or press A) to enable hotkeys — it starts disarmed so nothing fires by accident. Then hover a price and press:
B back · L lay · C cancel that level · Space trade out · 1–5 stake presets · Esc cancel everything in the market
All of these can be remapped in Settings.
The ¢ → Odds button switches the whole app between decimal odds and Polymarket cents. In odds mode the ladder runs Betfair-style with the bigger odds at the top.
The 📈 button on any ladder opens a chart underneath it, from 5 minutes to a day. The pop-out button gives it its own window for a second screen — it remembers where you put it.
Set up your event, ladders, charts and stake, then save it as a named workspace with the 💾 button. Switch between setups from the dropdown — handy for having one layout per sport or per match day.
Nobody legitimate will ever ask for your private key — not Polymarket, not us. If any person or website asks for it, it is a scam.
Place a couple of minimum-size trades first to get a feel for how fills work before you trade meaningful size.
Prediction markets can move fast and you can lose money. Only trade what you can afford to lose, and check it is legal where you live.