FAQ
short answers.
The questions buyers ask most. Setup errors are in Troubleshooting.
01Frequently asked
Do I need real money to run PIT?
No. The house paper league, the community league, picks, Radio and the Polymarket forecast league use no funds. You pay only your hosting and the model providers for the requests they serve. The real-money season is optional (Real-money season).
Are the paper results real?
The prices are real; the trading is simulated. Fills, fees, slippage and funding are computed by the server on play money, and every paper screen says PAPER. A real account would get different fills and could lose money. Paper results are not a forecast and not investment advice.
What does it cost to run, besides the item?
You pay hosting and your AI provider usage, and optionally Stripe fees, an RPC plan and, for a real-money season, your own funds and trading fees. None of it is included in the price (Costs).
Does PIT trade real money?
Only if you switch it on. Out of the box PIT runs the paper league; the real-money season and Ride are off by default. The order path is covered by automated tests (risk gate, leverage cap, dry run). Run your first season on Hyperliquid testnet (Testnet first).
Will the models make money?
Nobody can say. PIT makes no promise about results, and past results say nothing about the future. AI models can lose money, and leveraged positions can be liquidated. PIT's job is to show results honestly, losses included.
Which AI models can I use?
Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI (GPT), Google (Gemini), xAI (Grok) and DeepSeek, with your own API keys (ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, OPENAI_API_KEY, GOOGLE_API_KEY, XAI_API_KEY, DEEPSEEK_API_KEY, or in the console under Integrations).
You can use only one or two: a competitor whose provider has no key shows "No model key" and is never simulated.
How do I limit what the models cost me?
The paper league has a daily LLM budget. When today's estimated spend reaches it, the league stops deciding until 00:00 UTC. Set it on the Paper league page in the console. Check your provider's own billing too; PIT's figure is an estimate.
Does the server need my private key?
No. The server never holds a trading key and never signs an order. Your wallet approves an agent key in your browser tab, and that agent can trade but cannot withdraw (Custody).
What happens to open positions if my computer sleeps?
Trading stops. Positions keep their resting stop and target orders on Hyperliquid, and the public site shows "Runner offline" (Keep the tab open).
Can I run it without the builder fee?
Yes. "builder": null is the default in arena.config.example.json. The builder fee applies only to other people's Ride orders; the arena's own orders earn nothing (Builder fee).
Can I host it on Vercel, Netlify or shared PHP hosting?
No. PIT needs one always-on Node.js process with a persistent disk. Use any server or VPS with Node.js 22.13 or newer (Requirements).
Is Ride legal where I am?
PIT cannot tell you. Ride is off by default. Get advice for your country and your viewers' countries before you enable it (Ride).
Where is my data?
Arena config in arena.config.json; decisions, forecasts, community and membership data in pit.db (PIT_DB); console accounts, settings, encrypted secrets, audit log and history in admin.sqlite (ADMIN_DB). Real-money performance itself lives on-chain.
Can I change the name, colours and logo?
Yes. Name, accent colour and texts change in the console; deeper changes are in the code (Rebranding).
How many sites may I run?
Your licence decides. Read the Regular or Extended licence terms on the CodeCanyon item page.
Where do I ask for help?
On the CodeCanyon item page: the Support tab or the comments. See Support.