Basket Create

Create a new prediction basket on PolyBaskets via vara-wallet.

Setup

MAINNET ONLY. Run vara-wallet config set network mainnet before anything else. NEVER switch to testnet — there are no contracts there.

vara-wallet config set network mainnet
BASKET_MARKET="0xea8373e8b4441ef6e95325c1044d23ebf615b43fdef60a48623836a15ca7a25a"
_PB="${POLYBASKETS_SKILLS_DIR:-skills}"
IDL="$_PB/idl/polymarket-mirror.idl"

Ensure you have a wallet and VARA for gas:

vara-wallet wallet list
vara-wallet balance

Finding Polymarket Markets

Search for active markets on Polymarket to use as basket items. Use order=volume24hr&ascending=false to get the most active markets, and add end_date_max to find markets ending soon:

# Fetch high-volume markets ending within 48 hours (fastest resolution)
# end_date_min=now filters out markets that already ended (closed=false does NOT filter these!)
curl -s "https://gamma-api.polymarket.com/markets?closed=false&order=volume24hr&ascending=false&end_date_min=$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)&end_date_max=$(date -u -v+48H +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)&limit=20"
# On Linux use: date -u -d '+48 hours' +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ

# Or fetch all active markets sorted by volume (still filter out ended ones!)
curl -s "https://gamma-api.polymarket.com/markets?closed=false&order=volume24hr&ascending=false&end_date_min=$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)&limit=20"

WARNING: closed=false does NOT mean the market hasn't ended. Markets past their endDate still appear. Always use end_date_min set to the current time, or check endDate > now before selecting a market.

Parse with jq:

# Show market id, question, YES/NO prices, and hours remaining
curl -s "https://gamma-api.polymarket.com/markets?closed=false&order=volume24hr&ascending=false&end_date_min=$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)&limit=20" \
  | jq '[.[] | {id, question, yes: (.outcomePrices | fromjson | .[0]), no: (.outcomePrices | fromjson | .[1]), endDate, liquidity}]'

CRITICAL: outcomePrices is a JSON-encoded string, not an array. The API returns "[\"0.52\", \"0.48\"]" (a string), not ["0.52", "0.48"] (an array).

• jq: .outcomePrices | fromjson | .[0] for YES price
• Python: json.loads(m['outcomePrices'])[0]
• Node.js: JSON.parse(m.outcomePrices)[0]
• Wrong: m['outcomePrices'][0] gives [ (first character of the string), NOT the price!

Important: poly_market_id is the numeric Polymarket ID (e.g. "540816"), not the hex conditionId. Use the id field from the API response.

The slug field is already included in every market response. Do NOT re-fetch markets to look up slugs — use the slug from the same response where you got the id. If you need details for a specific market ID, fetch it directly:

curl -s "https://gamma-api.polymarket.com/markets/540816"

Pre-Check

Most deployments run in CHIP-only mode. Check VARA status:

vara-wallet call $BASKET_MARKET BasketMarket/IsVaraEnabled --args '[]' --idl $IDL

If false (typical), create a "Bet" basket (CHIP lane).

If the user explicitly wants to spend native VARA freebet through FreebetLedger, IsVaraEnabled must be true and the basket must be created with asset kind "Vara". A native freebet cannot be spent on a "Bet" basket.

Validation Rules

Before sending the transaction, validate locally:

Create Basket

Arguments

CreateBasket(name: str, description: str, items: vec BasketItem, asset_kind: BasketAssetKind) -> u64

Each BasketItem:

{
  "poly_market_id": "540816",
  "poly_slug": "will-btc-hit-100k",
  "weight_bps": 5000,
  "selected_outcome": "YES"
}

• poly_market_id — the numeric Polymarket ID from the API id field (e.g. "540816"), NOT the hex conditionId
• weight_bps — weight in basis points. 50% = 5000, 30% = 3000, etc. All weights must sum to 10000 (= 100%)

Example: 3-item basket

vara-wallet --account agent call $BASKET_MARKET BasketMarket/CreateBasket --voucher $VOUCHER_ID \
  --args '[
    "AI Regulation Bundle",
    "Outcomes related to AI policy",
    [
      {
        "poly_market_id": "540816",
        "poly_slug": "ai-regulation-2025",
        "weight_bps": 4000,
        "selected_outcome": "YES"
      },
      {
        "poly_market_id": "540817",
        "poly_slug": "openai-ipo-2025",
        "weight_bps": 3500,
        "selected_outcome": "YES"
      },
      {
        "poly_market_id": "540818",
        "poly_slug": "eu-ai-act-enforcement",
        "weight_bps": 2500,
        "selected_outcome": "NO"
      }
    ],
    "Bet"
  ]' \
  --idl $IDL

Weights: 40% + 35% + 25% = 100% (4000 + 3500 + 2500 = 10000 bps).

Parse Result

The call returns a u64 basket ID:

RESULT=$(vara-wallet --account agent call $BASKET_MARKET BasketMarket/CreateBasket --voucher $VOUCHER_ID \
  --args '[...]' --idl $IDL)
BASKET_ID=$(echo $RESULT | jq -r '.result // .ok // .')
echo "Created basket: $BASKET_ID"

After Creation

• Verify: vara-wallet call $BASKET_MARKET BasketMarket/GetBasket --args "[$BASKET_ID]" --idl $IDL
• Place a bet: see ../basket-bet/SKILL.md
• Spend native VARA freebet on a Vara basket: see ../basket-freebet/SKILL.md
• Share the basket ID for others to bet on

Common Errors

See ../references/error-codes.md for all error variants.