# Lighter Docs, Mapped: Where to Find the API, Fees, Points and Margin Docs

> A map of the official Lighter docs at docs.lighter.xyz: which page covers fees, the API, margin and liquidations, deposits, LIT and programs, checked Oct 26, 2026.

Source: https://lighterpedia.com/guides/getting-started/lighter-docs

The official Lighter documentation lives at **[docs.lighter.xyz](https://docs.lighter.xyz)**. That is where Lighter publishes its fee schedule, margin and liquidation rules, API reference and program terms. This page doesn't copy any of it. It is a map: one row per topic, linking the official page, saying what it covers, and pointing to the Lighterpedia guide that explains it in plain English.

Lighterpedia is an independent site and is not affiliated with Lighter. If anything here disagrees with the docs, the docs are right and this page is out of date.

The Lighter docs have four parts: **Learn** (how trading works), **Developers** (SDK and integration guides), **API Reference** (every endpoint) and **Programs** (referrals and partner schemes). Most trader questions are answered by three Learn pages: Trading Fees, Liquidations & LLP, and Funding.

## How the Lighter docs are organized
The docs run on GitBook and split into four top-level sections.

- Learn is the trader's manual: the technical architecture, LIT utility, trading fees, account types, order types, real-world asset and pre-IPO markets, public pools, contract specifications, liquidations, multi-asset margin, funding and self-trade prevention.
- Developers starts with a Get Started page for the Python SDK, then integration guides for API keys, signing transactions, market and account data, and deposits, transfers and withdrawals.
- API Reference documents each REST endpoint (system, account, orders, transactions, candlesticks, funding, bridge and more), plus the WebSocket channels and the Explorer API.
- Programs covers the referral program, the liquidity partner program, partner attribution and the points program for Lighter on Robinhood Chain.

Two shortcuts help if you want to search the docs or script against them. [docs.lighter.xyz/llms.txt](https://docs.lighter.xyz/llms.txt) lists every page with a link to its Markdown version, and adding `.md` to most docs URLs returns the page as plain Markdown.

## The map: official docs and the guide that explains each one
Every official link below returned HTTP 200 when we checked it on October 26, 2026.

| Topic and official doc | What it covers | Plain-English guide |
|---|---|---|
| **Fees and account types**: [Trading Fees](https://docs.lighter.xyz/trading/trading-fees) | Standard, Premium/Advanced and Plus accounts, the staked-LIT fee tiers, and latency per account type | [Lighter fees explained](/guides/fees/lighter-fees-explained) |
| **LIT token**: [LIT Utility](https://docs.lighter.xyz/about-lighter/lit-utility) | LIT staking, LLP access for stakers, the staking APR and protocol buybacks | [What is the LIT token](/ecosystem/what-is-the-lit-token) |
| **Margin and liquidations**: [Liquidations & LLP (Insurance Fund)](https://docs.lighter.xyz/trading/liquidations-and-llp-insurance-fund) | Initial, maintenance and close-out margin, and the liquidation waterfall from healthy to partial to full liquidation | [Is Lighter safe?](/privacy/is-lighter-safe-verifiable) (liquidation waterfall section) |
| **Funding**: [Funding](https://docs.lighter.xyz/trading/funding) | Hourly peer-to-peer funding payments and how the premium and rate are calculated | [Funding rate history](/markets/funding-rate-history) |
| **API**: [API Reference](https://docs.lighter.xyz/api) and [Developers: Get Started](https://docs.lighter.xyz/developers) | REST base URLs and chain IDs, every endpoint, WebSocket channels, SDK setup | [Lighter public API reference](/guides/trading/lighter-public-api-reference) |
| **Deposits and withdrawals**: [Deposits, Transfers and Withdrawals](https://docs.lighter.xyz/developers/integration-guides/deposits-transfers-and-withdrawals) | Depositing through Ethereum mainnet or a universal deposit address, deposit minimums, transfers and withdrawals | [Connect a wallet and deposit](/guides/getting-started/connect-wallet-deposit-lighter) |
| **Pre-IPO markets**: [Pre-IPO Markets](https://docs.lighter.xyz/trading/real-world-assets-rwas/pre-ipo-markets) | Internal pricing with no price caps, margin mode, the funding multiplier, and conversion after an IPO | [Lighter pre-IPO perps](/guides/trading/lighter-pre-ipo-perps) |
| **ZK architecture and Escape Hatch**: [Technical Architecture: Lighter Core](https://docs.lighter.xyz/about-lighter/technical-architecture-lighter-core) | How proofs and state settle on Ethereum, the sequencer, and the Escape Hatch | [ZK verifiability explained](/privacy/lighter-zk-verifiability-explained) |
| **Referrals**: [Referral Program](https://docs.lighter.xyz/programs/referral-program) | Referrer kickbacks on referred users' fees, the referee discount, weekly payouts and program rules | [Lighter referral code guide](/ecosystem/lighter-referral-code) |
| **Points**: [Programs](https://docs.lighter.xyz/programs) | The program index. On October 26, 2026 it listed Robinhood Chain points, referrals, liquidity partners and partner attribution | [Lighter points program](/ecosystem/lighter-points-program) |

The points row needs a caveat. Lighter used to publish its main points program at `/points-program`. That address now redirects to the Programs index, and the index lists only the Robinhood Chain points program, so our points guide is working from the earlier documentation until Lighter publishes a replacement.

## Which doc answers my question?
### How much does a trade on Lighter cost?
Start with [Trading Fees](https://docs.lighter.xyz/trading/trading-fees). It says Standard accounts pay no maker or taker fee on regular perpetual and spot orders, and 1 bp (0.01%) on TWAP and other advanced orders and on RFQ. Premium/Advanced and Plus accounts pay maker and taker fees, and Premium/Advanced fees fall as you stake more LIT. Our [fees guide](/guides/fees) puts the tiers side by side, and [what a zero-fee trade actually costs](/guides/fees/what-a-zero-fee-trade-actually-costs) covers the spread, slippage and gas that a 0% fee leaves in place.

### When does Lighter liquidate a position?
That is [Liquidations & LLP](https://docs.lighter.xyz/trading/liquidations-and-llp-insurance-fund). Each market sets three margin fractions (initial, maintenance and close-out), and the page explains what the exchange does as your account value drops through each one. Below initial margin you can only make trades that don't grow a position. Below maintenance, the engine cancels your open orders and starts closing positions. The leverage cap for each market is on its own page under [Lighter markets](/markets).

### How do I connect to the Lighter API?
Two places. [Developers: Get Started](https://docs.lighter.xyz/developers) covers installing the SDK and signing orders. The [API Reference](https://docs.lighter.xyz/api) lists the base URLs and every endpoint: mainnet REST runs at `https://mainnet.zklighter.elliot.ai` on chain ID 304. If you only need market data, our [public API reference](/guides/trading/lighter-public-api-reference) records what each read-only endpoint actually returned when we called it.

### Where do deposits and withdrawals get explained?
The developer guide [Deposits, Transfers and Withdrawals](https://docs.lighter.xyz/developers/integration-guides/deposits-transfers-and-withdrawals) is the reference, and it says your first credited deposit creates the account. It is written for integrators, though. For the click-by-click version, read how to [connect a wallet and deposit USDC on Lighter](/guides/getting-started/connect-wallet-deposit-lighter), and if a deposit hasn't arrived, see [Lighter deposit not showing](/troubleshooting/lighter-deposit-not-showing).

### What happens to my funds if Lighter goes offline?
The Escape Hatch section of [Technical Architecture: Lighter Core](https://docs.lighter.xyz/about-lighter/technical-architecture-lighter-core) answers this. Assets and the canonical state root sit in Ethereum contracts, and the data posted to Ethereum is enough to rebuild every user's balance, which is what lets you withdraw without the operator. Our [ZK verifiability explainer](/privacy/lighter-zk-verifiability-explained) walks through it without the cryptography.

## When this map was last checked
We checked every official link on this page against docs.lighter.xyz on **October 26, 2026**, using the docs sitemaps and the llms.txt index, and confirmed each returned HTTP 200. Lighter reorganizes its docs from time to time (the points and referral moves above both happened after our earlier guides were written), so if a link here lands somewhere unexpected, the docs have moved again.

New to Lighter? The step-by-step [guide to your first trade on Lighter](/guides/getting-started/how-to-trade-on-lighter) is the best place to start, and you can open the app at **[app.lighter.xyz](https://app.lighter.xyz/?referral=LIGHTERPEDIA)**.

## FAQ

### Where are the official Lighter docs?

At docs.lighter.xyz. It is a GitBook site with four main sections: Learn (fees, margin, funding, market rules, LIT), Developers (SDK setup and integration guides), API Reference (every REST endpoint plus WebSocket and Explorer API) and Programs (referrals, liquidity partners, partner attribution and Robinhood Chain points).

### Is Lighterpedia the official Lighter documentation?

No. Lighterpedia is an independent site and is not affiliated with Lighter. This page is a map that points to the official docs and to our plain-English guides. When the two disagree, the official docs win.

### Do the Lighter docs have a machine-readable index?

Yes. docs.lighter.xyz/llms.txt lists every page with a link to its Markdown version, and adding .md to most docs URLs returns the page as Markdown. That is the quickest way to search the docs or feed them to a script.

### Why does an old Lighter docs link land on a different page?

Lighter reorganized its docs. As of October 26, 2026 the old /points-program address redirects to the Programs section, and the referral program moved from /referral-program to /programs/referral-program. The old links still resolve, but they may no longer show the content they were cited for.