Dexter is a standalone Solana trading terminal. Follow creator activity, run trading sessions, launch tokens, and recover positions from one compact workspace. Pump.fun and PumpSwap market logic ships in a versioned Rust binding. You bring your wallet and RPCs; Dexter handles the terminal workflow.

Windows x64 · Python 3.10+ · tested on Python 3.12 · v3.1

Quick start

New checkout? Follow the download and installation guide.

Open a terminal in this repository:

python Dexter.py

First launch prepares .venv, installs the bundled market binding and Python dependencies, and creates your private .env from .env.example. An existing .env is preserved. Internet access is needed for the initial install; Rust and another repository are not needed to run the Windows build.

1. Open Settings → Quick Setup. Add your wallet key and HTTP/WebSocket RPCs.
2. Choose Check setup to check the wallet, providers, database and paths.
3. Choose Start Dexter to run your saved network, mode and strategy.

The default opens the home screen in simulate mode with mainnet sending locked. The bundled native wheel supports Windows x64. Linux/macOS need matching wheels; see platform support and binding builds.

Explore the home screen

Action	What it does
Start Dexter	Launches the trader using saved settings.
Positions	Opens tracked positions, pending recovery and manual exits.
Create token	Guides a Pump.fun launch or attaches an existing position.
Market data & tasks	Opens collector, creator analysis and per-run choices.
Settings	Puts everyday setup first, with strategy and advanced pages deeper.
Check setup	Checks readiness and prepares the configured local database.
Help	Opens scrollable mode, control and recovery guidance.

The header keeps network, mode, send status and wallet visible. Larger windows add balance and open-position count. Use arrows or j / k, Enter, shortcut letters, or click a row. / searches; Esc clears search, then returns. Long messages scroll with arrows, Page Up/Down and Home/End. Minimum size: 44 × 13; 80 × 24 is comfortable.

Built for the whole position

Capability	Behavior
Creator research	Collect activity, analyze creators and maintain a leaderboard.
Pump.fun + PumpSwap	Resolve the current venue when building a buy or sell.
Migration continuity	Keep the held amount and recovery record as the route changes to PumpSwap.
Token creation	Plan or execute a launch, with optional follow-up trading.
Recovery	Keep known signatures and unresolved positions available for reconciliation.
Operator tools	Inspect, replay, export and backtest through the CLI.

When a token migrates while held, Dexter refreshes its route for the next exit. A pending migration or uncertain RPC result keeps the position available for recovery. Closing Dexter preserves positions by default; automatic liquidation on shutdown is opt-in.

Make it yours

The first section of .env contains the everyday controls. The same choices are available in Settings → Quick Setup.

Setting	Purpose
PRIVATE_KEY	Your base58 Solana keypair.
HTTP_URLS / WS_URLS	Comma-separated providers in failover order, all on one network.
DEXTER_NETWORK	mainnet or devnet; devnet uses isolated devnet endpoints.
DEXTER_RUNTIME_MODE	read_only, paper, simulate or live.
AMOUNT_BUY_TL_1 / AMOUNT_BUY_TL_2	Buy size in USD notional, before fees and account rent.
DEXTER_START_ACTION	menu, trade, collector, analyze or doctor.
DEXTER_AUTO_SETUP	Prepare the Python environment on launch.
DEXTER_AUTO_DATABASE	Start or prepare the local database before runtime launch.

Optional HTTP_URL / WS_URL values override the primary providers. Leave them blank to use the first list entries. Shell environment values override file values; DEXTER_TRADING_PRIVATE_KEY can select a separate signer. Dexter reads its own configuration and never inherits another project's .env.

Set up PostgreSQL

The home screen opens without a database connection. Trading and data collection need PostgreSQL. If PostgreSQL 17 is installed, Check setup can prepare an isolated Dexter cluster and credentials under .dexter/, then check readiness:

python Dexter.py setup

If PostgreSQL binaries are missing, use Settings → Local database or:

python Dexter.py database-setup

Installation may request Windows administrator access. Dexter uses an available port in the 55432 range and keeps other clusters separate. To use your own database, set DATABASE_URL and, when schema bootstrap needs it, POSTGRES_ADMIN_DSN. Explicit database configuration is preserved. Set DEXTER_AUTO_DATABASE=false to manage database lifecycle yourself.

Choose an execution mode

Mode	Behavior
read_only	Observes without opening or closing positions.
paper	Runs strategy logic with local simulated positions and PnL.
simulate	Builds and simulates transactions without broadcasting trades.
live	Sends on devnet; mainnet requires both explicit gates below.

Real mainnet sending requires all three settings:

DEXTER_RUNTIME_MODE=live
DEXTER_ALLOW_MAINNET_LIVE=true
DEXTER_MAINNET_DRY_RUN=false

Trade caps, reserve floor, slippage, fees and strategy controls live in Settings and the advanced .env sections. A one-cent buy still incurs transaction fees and may require temporary token-account rent.

Troubleshooting

Check readiness without submitting a trade

python Dexter.py --diagnostics
python Dexter.py doctor --component trader
python Dexter.py verify-migration --network devnet

The migration command runs a deterministic harness. It checks position continuity and an exit through the migrated venue without waiting for a live migration.

Repair dependencies or bindings

python dexter_bootstrap.py --repair

Setup details go to .dexter/setup.log. Repair preserves .env and recovery files. For manual setup, use pip install -e ., install the matching wheel from bindings/wheels/, and set DEXTER_AUTO_SETUP=false.

Understand a WebSocket reconnect

HTTP and WebSocket providers are separate. Changing HTTP_URLS does not change the feed selected by WS_URLS. The connection log identifies the stream and provider host without printing RPC credentials.

Snapshot writes run periodically outside the receive path, and periodic SOL-price HTTP requests run off the event loop. Heartbeats remain enabled: the defaults are 20 seconds between pings, a 30-second pong deadline, and 15 seconds for subscription acknowledgement. The advanced overrides are:

DEXTER_WS_PING_INTERVAL_SECONDS=20
DEXTER_WS_PING_TIMEOUT_SECONDS=30
DEXTER_WS_SUBSCRIBE_TIMEOUT_SECONDS=15

Reconnect warnings include the reason, connection age, ping RTT and measured event-loop delay. Transport failures, rejected subscriptions and clean server closes rotate the provider pool. Cancellation and application processing errors leave healthy providers in place. See the WebSocket keepalive guide for how load and latency affect heartbeat deadlines.

Build with Dexter

Run the offline suite after preparing the environment:

.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m unittest discover -s tests

Protocol changes are maintained upstream and shipped as versioned dexter-market-sdk wheels. The binding guide records the pinned source, checksums and maintainer build/update workflow. Normal users update Dexter's packaged binding.

Repository hygiene: commit source, .env.example, docs and the public binding. For automated setup and source discovery, use the plain-text documentation index.

Private .env files, .venv/, .dexter/, dev/, logs, database data and recovery state are ignored. Start with your own local configuration after cloning.