← Back to Reflex

Setup Guide

Get Reflex running in about 5 minutes. No coding required.

Reflex is a Chrome extension that automates your trades on Kalshi crypto markets. You set your rules once — when to enter, when to take profit, when to cut losses — and the bot handles the timing for you while you do other things.

To use Reflex, you need three things:

1 Install the Reflex Extension

  1. Open Reflex on the Chrome Web Store
  2. Click the blue "Add to Chrome" button
  3. A small popup will ask you to confirm — click "Add extension"

Once installed, Reflex appears as a small icon in the top-right corner of Chrome. If you don't see it, click the puzzle-piece icon in the toolbar — it'll be in the dropdown list.

Tip: Click the puzzle-piece icon, find Reflex in the list, and click the pin icon next to it. That keeps the Reflex icon visible in your toolbar so it's easier to click.

2 Get Your Kalshi API Keys

API keys are how Reflex talks to your Kalshi account. They're like a special password that lets the bot place trades on your behalf — without giving it your actual login password.

  1. Open kalshi.com and log in
  2. Click your profile icon in the top-right corner
  3. Click Settings
  4. In the left sidebar, click API Keys
  5. Click the "Create API Key" button
  6. Give the key a name — something like "Reflex" works great
  7. Click Create

Two things will happen at this point:

  1. Kalshi will show you a Key ID on the page (a short string of letters and numbers — copy it or leave the page open)
  2. Your browser will automatically download a file ending in .txt. This is your private key.
Important: Kalshi only shows the private key file once. If you lose it or close the page without saving it, you'll have to delete the API key on Kalshi and create a new one. Save the file somewhere safe.
Where to save it: A password manager (1Password, Bitwarden, Apple Keychain) is ideal. A folder on your Desktop also works fine. Just don't email it to yourself or post it anywhere — anyone with this file can place trades on your account.

3 Sign In to Reflex

  1. Click the Reflex extension icon in your Chrome toolbar (the small "R" icon)
  2. A small window will pop up asking for your email
  3. Enter your email and click Continue
  4. Reflex will email you a 6-digit verification code — open your email, copy the code, and paste it back into the Reflex window
  5. Click Verify

You don't need to make a separate account password — Reflex sends a fresh code each time you sign in from a new device.

4 Connect Your Kalshi Account

Now we link the Kalshi API key you made in Step 2 to your Reflex account.

  1. After signing in, Reflex will show a screen asking for your Kalshi keys
  2. In the API Key field, paste the Key ID you got from Kalshi (the short string)
  3. Now open the .txt file you downloaded in Step 2 — double-click it, or open it with TextEdit (Mac) or Notepad (Windows)
  4. Inside the file you'll see something that looks like this:
-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY----- MIIEpAIBAAKCAQEA2Z3qX2BTLS4e... (many lines of random characters) ...kE8vGTTqFk4= -----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
  1. Select everything in the file — the easy way is to click anywhere in the text and press Cmd+A (Mac) or Ctrl+A (Windows), then Cmd+C / Ctrl+C to copy
  2. Click in the Private Key field in Reflex and paste with Cmd+V / Ctrl+V
  3. Click Connect Account
Make sure you copy everything: The first line -----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY----- and the last line -----END RSA PRIVATE KEY----- need to be included. Reflex won't accept the key without them.

If everything worked, you'll see your Kalshi balance appear in the Reflex popup. You're connected.

5 Try It Out

  1. Open a new tab and go to kalshi.com/markets
  2. Click into any of the crypto markets (BTC, ETH, SOL, or XRP) — these are the only markets Reflex supports right now
  3. You'll see a small Reflex button in the bottom-right corner of the page
  4. Click it to open the Reflex panel

From here you can configure your strategy and click Deploy Strategy to start it.

The first time you do this, we recommend leaving most settings on their defaults and starting with just 1 contract so you can see how the bot behaves with minimal risk.

Read the User Guide to learn what every setting does →

Troubleshooting

I clicked the Reflex icon and nothing happened

Try refreshing your Kalshi tab and clicking the icon again. If you just installed the extension, you may need to refresh the Kalshi page once for it to pick up the extension.

I can't find the private key file I downloaded

It's probably in your Downloads folder. The file name is whatever you named your API key (e.g., Reflex.txt). On Mac, it might have opened in TextEdit automatically — check your open windows.

I closed the Kalshi page before saving the private key

Unfortunately the file is gone. Go back to Settings → API Keys on Kalshi, delete the key you created, and create a new one. This time, save the downloaded file before closing anything.

"Invalid API Key" error when connecting

Two things to check:

"Invalid Private Key" error when connecting

The most common cause is that you didn't copy the entire file. Open the .txt file again and make sure you have:

If it still doesn't work, try generating a fresh API key on Kalshi and using the new file.

I see my balance — what now?

You're set up. Head to a Kalshi crypto market and try a small trade. Then read the User Guide to learn what each setting does.

Something else is wrong

Reach out in our Telegram community — we'll help you out directly.