Skills trade

Swap or trade tokens on Base network. Use when you or the user want to trade, swap, exchange, buy, sell, or convert between tokens like USDC, ETH, and WETH. Covers phrases like "buy ETH", "sell ETH for USDC", "convert USDC to ETH", "get some ETH".

install
source · Clone the upstream repo
git clone https://github.com/openclaw/skills
Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/
T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/openclaw/skills "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/0xrag/trade" ~/.claude/skills/openclaw-skills-trade && rm -rf "$T"
OpenClaw · Install into ~/.openclaw/skills/
T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/openclaw/skills "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.openclaw/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/0xrag/trade" ~/.openclaw/skills/openclaw-skills-trade && rm -rf "$T"
manifest: skills/0xrag/trade/SKILL.md
source content

Trading Tokens

Use the

npx awal@latest trade
command to swap tokens on Base network via the CDP Swap API. You must be authenticated to trade.

Confirm wallet is initialized and authed

npx awal@latest status

If the wallet is not authenticated, refer to the

authenticate-wallet
skill.

Command Syntax

npx awal@latest trade <amount> <from> <to> [options]

Arguments

ArgumentDescription
amount
Amount to swap (see Amount Formats below)
from
Source token: alias (usdc, eth, weth) or contract address (0x...)
to
Destination token: alias (usdc, eth, weth) or contract address (0x...)

Amount Formats

The amount can be specified in multiple formats:

FormatExampleDescription
Dollar prefix
'$1.00'
,
'$0.50'
USD notation (decimals based on token)
Decimal
1.0
,
0.50
,
0.001
Human-readable with decimal point
Whole number
5
,
100
Interpreted as whole tokens
Atomic units
500000
Large integers treated as atomic units

Auto-detection: Large integers without a decimal point are treated as atomic units. For example,

500000
for USDC (6 decimals) = $0.50.

Decimals: For known tokens (usdc=6, eth=18, weth=18), decimals are automatic. For arbitrary contract addresses, decimals are read from the token contract.

Options

OptionDescription
-c, --chain <name>
Blockchain network (default: base)
-s, --slippage <n>
Slippage tolerance in basis points (100 = 1%)
--json
Output result as JSON

Token Aliases

AliasTokenDecimalsAddress
usdcUSDC60x833589fCD6eDb6E08f4c7C32D4f71b54bdA02913
ethETH180xEeeeeEeeeEeEeeEeEeEeeEEEeeeeEeeeeeeeEEeE
wethWETH180x4200000000000000000000000000000000000006

IMPORTANT: Always single-quote amounts that use

$
to prevent bash variable expansion (e.g.
'$1.00'
not
$1.00
).

Examples

# Swap $1 USDC for ETH (dollar prefix — note the single quotes)
npx awal@latest trade '$1' usdc eth

# Swap 0.50 USDC for ETH (decimal format)
npx awal@latest trade 0.50 usdc eth

# Swap 500000 atomic units of USDC for ETH
npx awal@latest trade 500000 usdc eth

# Swap 0.01 ETH for USDC
npx awal@latest trade 0.01 eth usdc

# Swap with custom slippage (2%)
npx awal@latest trade '$5' usdc eth --slippage 200

# Swap using contract addresses (decimals read from chain)
npx awal@latest trade 100 0x833589fCD6eDb6E08f4c7C32D4f71b54bdA02913 0x4200000000000000000000000000000000000006

# Get JSON output
npx awal@latest trade '$1' usdc eth --json

Prerequisites

  • Must be authenticated (
    awal status
    to check)
  • Wallet must have sufficient balance of the source token

Error Handling

Common errors:

  • "Not authenticated" - Run
    awal auth login <email>
    first
  • "Invalid token" - Use a valid alias (usdc, eth, weth) or 0x address
  • "Cannot swap a token to itself" - From and to must be different
  • "Swap failed: TRANSFER_FROM_FAILED" - Insufficient balance or approval issue
  • "No liquidity" - Try a smaller amount or different token pair
  • "Amount has X decimals but token only supports Y" - Too many decimal places