Normal MM

“Normal” market making on Drift means placing resting two-sided quotes on the decentralized orderbook (orderbook / DLOB) and earning maker rebates when takers trade against you. You can also participate in JIT when relevant. For protocol background, see Market Maker Participation and JIT FAQ.

Maker vs taker

Maker: provides liquidity (resting order), earns rebate.
Taker: removes liquidity (crosses spread), pays fee.

Always use post-only for maker quotes


import { PostOnlyParams } from "@drift-labs/sdk";

Class PostOnlyParamsReference ↗

TypeScript docs unavailable for PostOnlyParams.


import { OrderType, PositionDirection, PostOnlyParams } from "@drift-labs/sdk";
 
await driftClient.placePerpOrder({
  orderType: OrderType.LIMIT,
  marketIndex: 0,
  direction: PositionDirection.LONG,
  baseAssetAmount: driftClient.convertToPerpPrecision(1),
  price: driftClient.convertToPricePrecision(99),
  postOnly: PostOnlyParams.MUST_POST_ONLY,
});

Method DriftClient.placePerpOrderReference ↗

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default
`orderParams`	`OptionalOrderParams`
`txParams`	`TxParams`
`subAccountId`	`number`
`isolatedPositionDepositAmount`	`any`

Returns:

Promise<string>

Two-sided quotes (place in one tx)


import { MarketType, OrderType, PositionDirection, PostOnlyParams } from "@drift-labs/sdk";
 
await driftClient.placeOrders([
  {
    orderType: OrderType.LIMIT,
    marketType: MarketType.PERP,
    marketIndex: 0,
    direction: PositionDirection.LONG,
    baseAssetAmount: driftClient.convertToPerpPrecision(1),
    price: driftClient.convertToPricePrecision(99.5),
    postOnly: PostOnlyParams.MUST_POST_ONLY,
  },
  {
    orderType: OrderType.LIMIT,
    marketType: MarketType.PERP,
    marketIndex: 0,
    direction: PositionDirection.SHORT,
    baseAssetAmount: driftClient.convertToPerpPrecision(1),
    price: driftClient.convertToPricePrecision(100.5),
    postOnly: PostOnlyParams.MUST_POST_ONLY,
  },
]);

Method DriftClient.placeOrdersReference ↗

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default
`params`	`OrderParams[]`
`txParams`	`TxParams`
`subAccountId`	`number`
`optionalIxs`	`TransactionInstruction[]`
`isolatedPositionDepositAmount`	`any`

Returns:

Promise<string>

Quote around oracle


import { PRICE_PRECISION, convertToNumber } from "@drift-labs/sdk";
 
const oracle = driftClient.getOracleDataForPerpMarket(0);
const oraclePrice = convertToNumber(oracle.price, PRICE_PRECISION);
console.log(oraclePrice);

Method DriftClient.getOracleDataForPerpMarketReference ↗

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default
`marketIndex`	`number`

Returns:

OraclePriceData

Inventory-aware quoting (basic)

You can widen/tighten one side of your spread based on current inventory to reduce drift.


const user = driftClient.getUser();
const position = user.getPerpPosition(0);
console.log(position?.baseAssetAmount.toString());

Method User.getPerpPositionReference ↗

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default
`marketIndex`	`number`

Returns:

PerpPosition | undefined

JIT maker (on-chain “place-and-make”)

If you’re reacting to on-chain taker auctions, Drift exposes a helper that “places a maker order and fills against a taker” atomically.


// `takerInfo` comes from your taker discovery / order intake logic.
await driftClient.placeAndMakePerpOrder(makerOrderParams, takerInfo);

Method DriftClient.placeAndMakePerpOrderReference ↗

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default
`orderParams`	`OptionalOrderParams`
`takerInfo`	`TakerInfo`
`referrerInfo`	`ReferrerInfo`
`txParams`	`TxParams`
`subAccountId`	`number`

Returns:

Promise<string>

Risk management basics

Common MM guardrails:

position limits (max long/short)
minimum free collateral
health / leverage checks
cancel all orders on errors / volatility spikes


import { MarketType } from "@drift-labs/sdk";
 
await driftClient.cancelOrders(MarketType.PERP, 0);

Method DriftClient.cancelOrdersReference ↗

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default
`marketType`	`MarketType`
`marketIndex`	`number`
`direction`	`PositionDirection`
`txParams`	`TxParams`
`subAccountId`	`number`

Returns:

Promise<string>

For production patterns (subscription loops, throttling, priority fees), see Bot architecture patterns.