Hyperliquid TWAP Orders Explained: Duration, Suborders, Slippage and API

The short version: a Hyperliquid TWAP splits a large order into smaller suborders over a window you choose (5 minutes to 7 days). The exchange picks the interval from your size and duration (floor 30 seconds), each suborder has a 3% max slippage, the total notional must be at least $100, and you can randomize slice size by up to ±20%. If slices miss fills, later ones can catch up up to 3× the normal slice size — but the TWAP may still finish short of the full size.

What is a TWAP on Hyperliquid?

TWAP means time-weighted average price. Instead of dumping your full size into the book in one market order (and eating slippage and price impact), Hyperliquid breaks the parent order into many smaller child orders and sends them over time. That is the same idea institutional desks use on CEX and other perps venues; on Hyperliquid it is a first-class order type in the UI and via the exchange API.

It sits next to market, limit, stop, take, scale, chase and trailing stop in the official order types set. Use TWAP when size matters more than getting filled in one click — accumulating or distributing without advertising a huge IOC.

Rules that actually matter

Parameter	Value (official docs)
Running time	5 minutes to 7 days
Minimum total notional	$100
Suborder interval	Derived from size and duration; minimum 30 seconds
Suborder max slippage	3%
Randomize	Each sub-order size adjusted randomly up to ±20%
Catch-up cap	Later suborders ≤ 3× normal suborder size
Network upgrades	Like market orders, TWAP suborders do not fill in the post-only upgrade window

Optional UI controls from the docs: a trigger price so the TWAP only starts when mark reaches that level, and a max/min price that terminates the TWAP if mark hits that stop.

How Hyperliquid sizes the slices

During execution the TWAP aims at an execution target: (elapsed time / total time) × total size. Suborders go out on a fixed interval calculated from your size and duration inputs. Large size over a short window fires as often as every 30 seconds; smaller size over several days spaces slices further apart so each child stays meaningful.

Official worked examples:

• A $10,000 order over 1 hour → about 121 suborders of ~$83, every 30 seconds.
• A $10,000 order over 4 days → about 1,000 suborders of ~$10, roughly every 6 minutes.

Each suborder is capped at 3% slippage. If liquidity is thin and children only partially fill, the TWAP falls behind the target and tries to catch up later — but those catch-up children cannot exceed 3× the normal suborder size. If too many slices miss, the parent can end without reaching 100% of the requested size. Plan for that when you need a hard full fill.

When to use TWAP vs market, IOC or scale

• Market / IOC: you need immediacy and accept impact. Fine for small notional; painful for large clips in thin books.
• Limit / scale: you want maker prices and control of levels. Better when you can wait and manage the book yourself.
• TWAP: you want a mechanical, time-sliced path with a built-in impact budget (3% per child). Good for multi-hour or multi-day entries/exits, reducing the chance that one print moves mark against you.

TWAP does not replace risk controls. Pair it with sensible leverage, know your liquidation distance, and track real PnL after fees and funding in a read-only tracker like Hyperfolio.

Randomize: why ±20% exists

With randomize on, each sub-order size is adjusted randomly by up to ±20% of the original slice size. Predictable 30-second clips are easy for other algos to detect and lean against. Randomizing size (and the natural spacing the engine chooses) makes the footprint less regular. Average progress still aims at the same execution target; individual children vary.

API: place and cancel a TWAP

Signed actions go to POST https://api.hyperliquid.xyz/exchange (same path as ordinary orders). Place:

{
  "action": {
    "type": "twapOrder",
    "twap": {
      "a": 0,
      "b": true,
      "s": "1.0",
      "r": false,
      "m": 60,
      "t": true
    }
  },
  "nonce": 1700000000000,
  "signature": { }
}

Field meanings from the docs: a asset index (perps = index in meta.universe; spot = 10000 + spot index), b isBuy, s size, r reduceOnly, m minutes of duration, t randomize. A successful ack returns a running twapId (not a normal order id).

Cancel with twapCancel: a = asset, t = that twapId. For vaults or sub-accounts, sign with the master wallet and set vaultAddress. Bots usually run this from an API / agent wallet that can trade but not withdraw.

Note: third-party docs sometimes mention that builder fees attach to regular orders’ builder field; the TWAP wire shown in Hyperliquid’s exchange docs does not include that field. If you route through a frontend that charges builder fees, check how that frontend bills TWAP fills separately.

Worked planning example

Suppose you want to buy roughly $50,000 of a mid-cap perp over a quiet overnight window without one aggressive market print.

1. Set duration to 6 hours (360 minutes) → well inside the 5 min–7 day band.
2. Notional $50k > $100 minimum.
3. Expect intervals near the 30s floor if the engine needs many children, or longer if it spaces them to keep each child healthy.
4. Enable randomize if you care about footprint.
5. Optionally set a trigger so the TWAP only starts if mark dips to your level, and a max price to abort if the market runs away.
6. After it runs, reconcile fills, fees and funding in Hyperfolio (read-only, no keys) and apply referral code HYPERFOLIO for 4% off fees on your first $25M of volume — see the referral guide.

Tracking TWAP fills in your portfolio

Each child fill shows up like any other trade in userFills / UI history. Parent identity lives on the twapId channel. Hyperfolio at app.hyperfolio.fun is a free read-only PWA for Hyperliquid wallets: PnL, perps, Smart Money and multi-venue views without granting spend permissions. Useful after a multi-hour TWAP when you want closed PnL, fees and funding in one place instead of scrolling fills by hand.

FAQ

What is the minimum Hyperliquid TWAP size?

$100 total notional, per official order-types docs.

How long can a Hyperliquid TWAP run?

From 5 minutes up to 7 days.

What slippage do TWAP suborders allow?

Each suborder has a maximum slippage of 3%.

Can a TWAP finish without filling 100%?

Yes. If too many children fail to fill, catch-up is capped at 3× normal suborder size, so the parent may end incomplete.

Do TWAP suborders fill during a network upgrade?

No. Like normal market orders, they do not fill during the post-only period of a network upgrade.

TWAP vs scale orders?

Scale places a ladder of limits across a price range you pick. TWAP places time-sliced children aimed at a time-weighted execution target with a 3% per-child slippage cap.

Related guides

• Hyperliquid order types
• Slippage and price impact
• Fees and tiers
• API / agent wallets

Open Hyperfolio to track wallets after you run a TWAP, and use code HYPERFOLIO on Hyperliquid for a 4% fee discount on the first $25M of volume.