<!-- last-reviewed: 4dedc723753c1fb776766cd22ff56e5659d2bbb0 -->
# Transaction Bot - Agent Guide

Automation service that maintains liquidity alignment and tax enforcement for the KRAIKEN protocol.

## Responsibilities
- Monitor Ponder GraphQL metrics to detect when `recenter()` should be triggered.
- Track staking positions for overdue taxes and call `payTax()` when profitable.
- Expose a status endpoint (`GET /status`) for operational visibility.

## Architecture
- `service.js` - Main loop that polls the GraphQL endpoint, evaluates triggers, and submits transactions.
- `generateKey.js` - Utility for provisioning dedicated bot wallets.
- `package.json` scripts - `npm install`, `npm start`, and debug runs via `DEBUG=* npm start`.
- **ES Module**: This service uses `"type": "module"` and imports kraiken-lib as an ES module. All imports use ES module syntax (`import` instead of `require()`).
- **Node.js Compatibility**: Requires Node.js ≥14 with ES module support. The `__dirname` and `__filename` globals are not available; use `import.meta.url` with `fileURLToPath()` instead.

## Configuration
Set the following environment variables (automatically generated when the stack script is used):
```
ENVIRONMENT=BASE_SEPOLIA_LOCAL_FORK|BASE_MAINNET_LOCAL_FORK|BASE_SEPOLIA|BASE
PROVIDER_URL=<rpc-url>
PRIVATE_KEY=<hex-private-key>
LM_CONTRACT_ADDRESS=<liquidity-manager-address>
STAKE_CONTRACT_ADDRESS=<stake-contract-address>
GRAPHQL_ENDPOINT=<ponder-graphql-url>
# Optional: PORT=43069
```

## Operations
- Launch via `nohup ./scripts/dev.sh start &`; the script handles env injection and process supervision.
- For focused debugging, run `npm install` then `npm start` within `services/txnBot/` after the stack is already up.
- Monitor logs for transaction receipts and ensure gas pricing stays within acceptable bounds.

## Safety Checklist
- Use dedicated wallets and keep balances minimal.
- Rotate keys if compromise is suspected; update secrets before restarting the stack.
- Observe exponential backoff behaviour and avoid hammering RPC endpoints on failure.
