// GLOSSARY
Gamma API
Polymarket's public metadata API (gamma-api.polymarket.com): markets, events, slugs, condition IDs, and token IDs, no authentication required. The discovery layer you query before sending orders to the separate CLOB API at clob.polymarket.com.
Polymarket splits its API surface in two. The Gamma API
(gamma-api.polymarket.com) serves market and event metadata — questions,
slugs, categories, condition IDs, outcome token
IDs, volumes — and requires no authentication. The CLOB API
(clob.polymarket.com) handles books, quotes, and order placement.
Typical flow
- Search or filter markets on Gamma to find the event you care about.
- Extract the outcome token IDs from the market object.
- Query the CLOB API for the live book on those tokens, and place signed orders there.
A common beginner mistake is expecting one API to do both jobs — Gamma won't take orders, and the CLOB API is not where you browse metadata.
Contrast with Kalshi
Kalshi serves discovery and trading from one authenticated API
(api.elections.kalshi.com/trade-api/v2), with market data endpoints
readable without keys. The two architectures are compared side by side in
Kalshi API vs Polymarket API; endpoint
details can drift, so confirm against the venue docs.