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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bison.markets/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

For ease of integration, we currently recommend using the TypeScript SDK. If using the WebSocket API directly, you may find it useful to reference the TS SDK’s BisonClient source code.

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Overview

The Bison API provides real-time market and event data streams via WebSockets. This allows you to receive updates as they happen, rather than polling for updates at fixed intervals.

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Available WebSocket Endpoints

Bison provides three WebSocket endpoints for different use cases:

User Events

Receive updates about your orders, positions, and balances

Market Tickers

Stream live market data for all markets in an event

Orderbook Data

Get real-time orderbook snapshots and deltas

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Connection Pattern

All WebSocket endpoints follow the same connection pattern:
1

Establish Connection

Connect to the WebSocket endpoint using the wss:// protocol (or ws:// for local development).
2

Handle Messages

Listen for JSON-formatted messages containing real-time updates.
3

Send Heartbeats

Send ping messages every 30 seconds to keep the connection alive.
4

Handle Disconnection

Implement reconnection logic with exponential backoff if the connection drops.

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Heartbeat Mechanism

To keep connections alive, send a ping message every 30 seconds: 
{
  "type": "ping"
}
The server will respond with a pong message, but you don’t need to handle it explicitly. If you don’t send pings, the connection may be closed by the server.

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Reconnection Strategy

When a connection closes unexpectedly, implement exponential backoff for reconnection:
  1. First retry: 1 second delay
  2. Second retry: 2 seconds delay
  3. Third retry: 4 seconds delay
  4. Fourth retry: 8 seconds delay
  5. Fifth retry: 16 seconds delay
  6. Maximum retry: 30 seconds delay
After 5 failed attempts, you may want to alert the user or stop retrying.

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Error Handling

WebSocket connections can fail for various reasons. Implement proper error handling: 
function connectWithRetry(url, maxRetries = 5) {
  let retries = 0;
  let ws = null;
  
  function connect() {
    ws = new WebSocket(url);
    
    ws.onopen = () => {
      console.log("Connected");
      retries = 0; // Reset retry counter on success
      
      // Setup heartbeat
      const heartbeat = setInterval(() => {
        if (ws.readyState === WebSocket.OPEN) {
          ws.send(JSON.stringify({ type: "ping" }));
        } else {
          clearInterval(heartbeat);
        }
      }, 30000);
    };
    
    ws.onmessage = (event) => {
      const data = JSON.parse(event.data);
      // Handle messages
    };
    
    ws.onerror = (error) => {
      console.error("WebSocket error:", error);
    };
    
    ws.onclose = (event) => {
      console.log("Connection closed");
      
      // Attempt reconnection with exponential backoff
      if (retries < maxRetries) {
        const delay = Math.min(1000 * Math.pow(2, retries), 30000);
        retries++;
        
        console.log(`Reconnecting in ${delay}ms (attempt ${retries}/${maxRetries})`);
        
        setTimeout(connect, delay);
      } else {
        console.error("Max reconnection attempts reached");
      }
    };
  }
  
  connect();
  
  // Return disconnect function
  return () => {
    if (ws) {
      retries = maxRetries; // Prevent auto-reconnect
      ws.close();
    }
  };
}

// Usage
const disconnect = connectWithRetry(
  "wss://api.bison.markets/ws/evm/0xf39Fd6e51aad88F6F4ce6aB8827279cffFb92266"
);

// Later, to disconnect:
disconnect();

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Best Practices

1

Always Send Heartbeats

Send ping messages every 30 seconds to prevent connection timeouts.
2

Implement Reconnection

Use exponential backoff to reconnect after disconnections.
3

Handle Partial Updates

For orderbook data, start with the snapshot and apply deltas incrementally.
4

Validate Messages

Always parse and validate incoming JSON messages before processing.
5

Clean Up Resources

Clear intervals and close connections when you’re done listening.

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Next Steps

Explore the message formats for each WebSocket endpoint: