> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.eluup.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Start a Trading Agent

> Activate an idle trading agent so it begins monitoring signals and executing trades on chain.

Start an idle trading agent. Once active, the agent begins subscribing to AI buy/sell signals and will automatically enter and exit positions on the configured chain according to its risk rules.

## Endpoint

```http theme={null}
POST /v1/agents/{agent_id}/start
```

## Path parameters

<ParamField path="agent_id" type="string" required>
  Unique identifier of the agent to start.
</ParamField>

## Example request

```bash theme={null}
curl -X POST "https://api.eluup.ai/v1/agents/agent_2vL9xQpW/start" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ELUUP_API_KEY"
```

## Response

Returns the agent object with its updated `status` set to `active`.

<ResponseField name="id" type="string">
  Unique agent identifier.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="status" type="string">
  `active` when the agent has started successfully.
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="started_at" type="integer">
  Unix timestamp when the agent transitioned to active.
</ResponseField>

### Example response

```json theme={null}
{
  "id": "agent_2vL9xQpW",
  "name": "Base Alpha Bot",
  "status": "active",
  "chain_id": 8453,
  "wallet_id": "wallet_1aB3cD5e",
  "started_at": 1716400000
}
```

<Warning>
  If the agent is already `active`, the API returns `409 Conflict`.
</Warning>