Installation Guide

Get machine running on your VPS in under 10 minutes.

Prerequisites

Before installing, make sure you have:

• A Linux VPS — Ubuntu 22.04 recommended. Minimum 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM. A $6/month DigitalOcean droplet works perfectly.
• A Coinbase Advanced Trade account — verified identity with an API key (trading permissions enabled).
• A Kraken account (optional) — only needed for cross-exchange arbitrage.
• Your machine license key — emailed immediately after purchase.

Step 1: Create your VPS

Sign up at DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, or AWS Lightsail. Create an Ubuntu 22.04 droplet with at least 1 vCPU and 1 GB RAM. Choose a US East datacenter for lowest latency to Coinbase. Add your SSH key and connect:

ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP

Step 2: Run the installer

curl -sSL install.getmachine.io | bash

The installer will: install Docker if needed, prompt for your license key and exchange API credentials, configure capital allocation, pull the Docker image, and start all services.

Alternatively, use the web-based setup wizard for a guided experience.

Step 3: Access your dashboard

Once installation completes, open your browser:

http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:8080

You'll see live PnL, strategy performance cards, the trade feed, and system status.

Managing your installation

View logs

docker logs machine -f

Check strategy status

docker exec machine supervisorctl status

Stop machine

cd ~/.machine && docker compose down

Restart machine

cd ~/.machine && docker compose up -d

Exchange Setup

Connect Coinbase and optionally Kraken.

Coinbase Advanced Trade (required)

1. Go to the Coinbase Developer Platform
2. Create a new API key
3. Enable Trading permissions (View + Trade)
4. Do not enable withdrawal permissions — machine never needs them
5. Copy the API key and the private key (EC PEM format)
6. Enter them when the installer prompts, or paste into ~/.machine/.env

Kraken (optional)

1. Go to Kraken API Settings
2. Create a new API key
3. Enable Create & Modify Orders and Query Open Orders & Trades
4. Copy the key and private key
5. Enter them when the installer prompts

If you skip Kraken, the cross-exchange arbitrage strategy is disabled and capital redistributes automatically: 60% Market Making, 40% Triangular Arb.

Security notes

API keys are stored only on your server in ~/.machine/.env with restrictive file permissions (owner read/write only). Keys are never transmitted to machine servers. License validation sends only your license key — no trading data, no positions, no account info.

Dashboard Guide

Understanding your machine dashboard.

Accessing the dashboard

Your dashboard runs at http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:8080. It's served by nginx inside the container and updated in real-time via WebSocket.

Dashboard sections

Total PnL

Shows aggregate profit/loss across all active strategies, updated every 5 seconds. Displays total return percentage, trade count, and win rate.

Strategy cards

Each active strategy gets its own card showing individual PnL, number of trades, win rate, and current status (running, stopped, error).

Trade feed

Real-time log of individual trades with pair, side, amount, price, and profit/loss per trade.

Settings

View current configuration, toggle telemetry on/off, check for updates, and see system info (version, uptime, strategy allocation).

Securing the dashboard

The dashboard has no authentication by default. Restrict access using firewall rules:

ufw allow from YOUR_IP to any port 8080
ufw deny 8080

Market Making Strategy

Earn the bid-ask spread automatically.

How it works

Market making places simultaneous buy and sell limit orders around the current market price. When both sides fill, you earn the spread between them. machine targets liquid pairs (SOL/USDC, AVAX/USDC) on Coinbase Advanced Trade where spreads are consistent and maker rebates reduce costs.

Key parameters

The strategy automatically manages order spacing, position sizing, and inventory risk. It uses configurable bid/ask spreads and adjusts based on volatility. If inventory becomes too skewed (too much of one asset), the strategy widens the spread on one side to rebalance.

Default allocation

50% of your total capital when all three strategies are active. 60% with two strategies. 100% if running alone.

When it performs best

Sideways or low-volatility markets with consistent volume. High volatility can cause inventory imbalance, but the kill switch protects against extreme moves.

Triangular Arbitrage

Capture cross-rate inefficiencies on a single exchange.

How it works

Triangular arbitrage exploits price discrepancies between three related trading pairs. For example: USDC → BTC → ETH → USDC. If the cross-rate across these three pairs doesn't perfectly balance to 1.0, there's a profit opportunity. machine monitors these relationships continuously and executes all three legs in rapid sequence when the math works.

Default allocation

30% of total capital with all three strategies active. 40% with two strategies.

When it performs best

Periods of high volatility or rapid price movement, where exchange order books update at slightly different speeds and temporary mispricings appear.

Cross-Exchange Arbitrage

Buy low on one exchange, sell high on another.

How it works

Cross-exchange arbitrage monitors the same asset (BTC) across Coinbase and Kraken. When the price gap exceeds the combined fees on both exchanges, machine buys on the cheaper exchange and sells on the more expensive one, capturing the spread.

Requirements

This strategy requires both Coinbase and Kraken API keys. If you don't provide Kraken credentials, this strategy is automatically disabled and capital redistributes to Market Making (60%) and Triangular Arb (40%).

Default allocation

20% of total capital when all three strategies are active.

Capital Allocation

How machine distributes your capital across strategies.

Automatic allocation

machine automatically distributes capital based on which strategies are active:

Custom allocation

Override the defaults by editing your .env file:

MM_CAPITAL_PCT=0.50
TRI_CAPITAL_PCT=0.30
CE_CAPITAL_PCT=0.20

Restart after changing: cd ~/.machine && docker compose down && docker compose up -d

Environment Variables

Complete reference for ~/.machine/.env

Editing configuration

nano ~/.machine/.env
cd ~/.machine && docker compose down && docker compose up -d

Updates

Keeping machine up to date.

How updates work

Security patches are always free for all subscribers, even after cancellation. Feature updates (new strategies, dashboard improvements, exchange connectors) require an active subscription.

Updating

When a new version is available, your dashboard will show an update notification. You can update via:

bash ~/.machine/update.sh

Or click the "Update" button in the dashboard settings.

What happens on update

The updater pulls the latest Docker image, stops the current container, and starts the new one. Your configuration (.env) and data files are preserved since they live outside the container on a mounted volume.

Security

How machine protects your data and infrastructure.

API key storage

Exchange API keys are stored only in ~/.machine/.env on your server with file permissions set to 600 (owner read/write only). They are never transmitted to machine servers.

License validation

machine validates your license at startup and periodically thereafter. The only data sent is your license key — no trading data, account info, or API credentials. A 24-hour cache ensures your software keeps running even if the license server is temporarily unreachable.

Telemetry (optional)

machine collects anonymized performance statistics to display network-wide stats on the website. This includes: capital deployed, return %, trade count, win rate per strategy. It does not include: license keys, API keys, IP addresses, or any identifying information. Opt out anytime via TELEMETRY=off in your .env, the dashboard toggle, or by creating ~/.machine/.telemetry_optout.

Dashboard access

The dashboard runs on port 8080 with no built-in authentication. We strongly recommend restricting access via firewall rules to your IP only.

Software integrity

The Docker image uses multi-stage builds with compiled Python bytecode. File integrity checksums are verified on each boot. Application files are set to read-only permissions.

Common Errors

Quick fixes for the most frequent issues.

Dashboard not loading

# Check if container is running
docker ps

# Check container logs
docker logs machine --tail=50

# Verify port is open
curl http://localhost:8080/api/health

If the container isn't running, restart it: cd ~/.machine && docker compose up -d

Strategy not starting

# Check process status
docker exec machine supervisorctl status

# View strategy-specific logs
docker exec machine tail -100 /app/logs/market_making.log

Common causes: invalid API keys, insufficient exchange balance, or incorrect configuration values.

License validation failed

• Verify format: MCH-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX
• Check connectivity: curl -s https://license.getmachine.io/health
• machine caches validation for 24 hours — temporary outages won't stop your software

Exchange connection issues

• Double-check API keys in ~/.machine/.env
• Ensure trading permissions are enabled on the exchange
• Verify your VPS IP isn't blocked by the exchange

Docker issues

# Pull latest image
docker pull getmachinenow/machine:latest

# Remove and recreate container
cd ~/.machine && docker compose down && docker compose up -d

# Check disk space
df -h

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick answers to common questions.

General

Pricing & Billing

Technical

Privacy & Telemetry

What machine collects and how to opt out.

What we collect

If telemetry is enabled, machine sends anonymized performance data every 5 minutes: capital deployed, return percentage, trade count, and win rate per strategy. This data is identified by a random UUID with no link to your license key, IP address, or identity.

What we don't collect

License keys, API keys, exchange credentials, IP addresses, trading history, individual trade details, account balances, or any personally identifying information.

How to opt out

Three ways to disable telemetry:

• Set TELEMETRY=off in ~/.machine/.env
• Toggle it off in the dashboard Settings panel
• Create the file ~/.machine/.telemetry_optout

Full privacy policy

Read our complete Privacy Policy for full details.

Terms of Service

Key points from our terms.

Software license

machine is licensed, not sold. Your subscription grants a non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the software on one server for the duration of your subscription.

No refunds

All sales are final. Cancel anytime — billing stops at the end of your current period.

Not investment advice

machine is software. We do not provide investment advice, manage funds, or guarantee trading results. Cryptocurrency trading involves substantial risk of loss.

Updates

Security updates are always free. Feature updates require an active subscription. After cancellation, you keep your current version with security-only patches.

Full documents

• Terms of Service
• License Agreement (EULA)
• Risk Disclosure