First run walkthrough
from install to a first real run.

01Before you begin

• A computer with Node.js 22.12+ and pnpm (Requirements).
• No accounts and no keys are needed for steps 1 to 7. No money moves until step 9, and only if you switch mainnet on.
• For step 8 (testnet): a browser wallet extension and a Hyperliquid testnet account with test USDC.

02Step 1: Install and start

1. Open a terminal in the project folderThe source folder of your download, the one that contains package.json.
2. Install, make a secret, start

   pnpm install
   openssl rand -hex 32                       # copy the 64-character answer
   ADMIN_SECRET_KEY=<your-secret> pnpm dev

   Keep this terminal open. Save the secret in your password manager: it protects the keys you will store later (Secrets and backups).
3. Check it runsOpen http://localhost:5180/: the landing page with live Hyperliquid prices.

More detail, and how to run it as a production server: Quick start and Installation.

03Step 2: Create the owner account

1. Find the setup codeWith no ADMIN_SETUP_TOKEN set (as in Step 1), it is in the terminal: a block that starts [admin] No owner account yet. followed by a code like XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX. Can't see it? Setup code not found.
2. Open the adminhttp://localhost:5180/admin. Enter the code (or the value of ADMIN_SETUP_TOKEN if you set one), your email and a password of at least 12 characters, then Create owner and sign in. Nobody can create the owner without one of the two.
3. Turn on two-factorSecurity & alerts → set up two-factor and keep the recovery codes somewhere safe.

04Step 3: Set your brand

1. Get startedThe setup wizard asks for the product name, the accent colour and a support email.
2. BrandAdd a tagline and upload your logo (PNG, SVG, WebP or JPEG up to 150 kB; uploads only, not links).
3. LegalReplace the default Risk notice (footer) with text your lawyer approves.
4. Landing pageHeadline, sub-headline, button label and FAQ.
5. CheckReload http://localhost:5180/ and /app: your name, colour and copy are there. No rebuild needed.

What else you can change without code, and what needs a rebuild: Rebranding.

05Step 4: Try a template

1. Open the deskhttp://localhost:5180/app. It opens in Paper mode in the Build workspace.
2. Pick a templateIn the strategy gallery, choose one (trend pullback, range breakout or RSI mean reversion; they are labelled Template — not AI) and press Load rules →.
3. Look at the rulesThe rules editor shows them as conditions (Visual) or as JSON. Change nothing yet.

06Step 5: Read the backtest

Open the Test workspace. The backtest runs by itself whenever the rules or the market change, on the most recent candles Hyperliquid serves (about 5,000). It charges the taker fee, slippage, real funding and your builder fee if one is on, and shows the older 70 % next to the recent 30 % and next to buy-and-hold.

Read it as history, not as a forecast. A strategy that only looks good in one part of the data is a warning sign.

07Step 6: Get a robustness grade

In Test, the robustness lab runs in the background (press Run lab or Re-run to repeat it). It gives a grade from A to F with plain reasons and a What to try list. Templates often score low: that is the lab doing its job.

Testnet and mainnet stay locked until the rules reach the minimum grade you set in Admin → Robustness lab (default C). Paper runs are always open.

08Step 7: A paper run

1. Open RunMode Paper, then Start paper run. Live prices, simulated fills, no wallet, no keys; the simulated balance is set in Admin → Trading.
2. Watch the Run logEvery decision appears there: no entry, signal ignored and why, orders, fills. Rules are checked once per closed candle, so on a 1h chart wait for the next hour.
3. Keep the tab openRules run only while the desk tab is open. Kill switch — flatten now stops the run.

09Step 8: Try testnet

Testnet is Hyperliquid's test network with test funds. It is on by default (Admin → Trading → Testnet trading). This is the first time real signed orders go to an exchange, without real money.

1. Prepare a testnet accountCreate or fund a Hyperliquid testnet account with test USDC, following Hyperliquid's own documentation.
2. Choose TestnetIn Run, switch the mode to Testnet.
3. Connect walletYour browser wallet asks to connect.
4. Authorise a trading keyThe desk creates a key in this tab and your wallet signs Hyperliquid's approval for it. The key can place and cancel orders and expires after the days set in the admin (default 7); Hyperliquid does not let it withdraw.
5. Approve the desk feeOnly if you turned a builder fee on. While testing, you can leave it off (why).
6. Acknowledge and startTick the four boxes, then Start on testnet. Each entry is sent with its stop and target, which rest on Hyperliquid.
7. Check on the exchangeCompare the Run log and the Journal with your testnet account on Hyperliquid's site. Try Kill switch — flatten now once.

10Step 9: Mainnet, only when you are ready

• You ran the same rules on testnet and understood every line of the Run log.
• Admin → Trading → Max notional per order and Risk caps are set to amounts you accept losing.
• Your own risk notice is in Legal; blocked countries are reviewed in Access.

1. Switch it onAdmin → Trading → Mainnet trading → on → Save changes. The change is in the audit log.
2. Start a runIn the desk, mode Mainnet: connect the wallet, authorise a key for mainnet, tick the four boxes, type the confirmation (for example BTC LIVE) and press Start live on mainnet.
3. Switch it off againat any time with the same switch; paper and testnet stay available.

11External accounts: what to do, and how to test meanwhile

Some features depend on an account with another company. Provider screens change, so follow each provider's own documentation for the clicks; this table says what THESIS needs from each and what you can test while you wait.

Who pays for each: Costs and services. THESIS ships with no builder address, no referral code and no keys of its own; all of them are empty until you fill them.