Schedule Cancel (Dead Man's Switch)

Schedule an automatic cancel-all operation at a future time as a safety feature if you lose connectivity or system access.

Endpoint

POST https://papi.synthetix.io/v1/trade

Requests

Request Format

Schedule Cancel

{
  "params": {
    "action": "scheduleCancel",
    "subAccountId": "1867542890123456789",
    "timeoutSeconds": 300
  },
  "nonce": 1704067200000,
  "expiresAfter": 1704067300,
  "signature": {
    "v": 28,
    "r": "0x1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef",
    "s": "0xabcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890"
  }
}

Cancel Dead Man's Switch

{
  "params": {
    "action": "scheduleCancel",
    "subAccountId": "1867542890123456789",
    "timeoutSeconds": 0
  },
  "nonce": 1704067200000,
  "signature": {
    "v": 28,
    "r": "0x1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef",
    "s": "0xabcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890"
  }
}

Request Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`params`	object	Yes	Request parameters wrapper
`params.action`	string	Yes	Must be `"scheduleCancel"`
`params.subAccountId`	string	Yes	SubAccount ID
`params.timeoutSeconds`	integer	Yes	Timeout in seconds; use `0` to cancel an existing schedule
`nonce`	integer (uint64)	Yes	Unix milliseconds timestamp, incrementing
`expiresAfter`	integer	No	Optional expiration timestamp in seconds
`signature`	object	Yes	EIP-712 signature object

Time Requirements

Minimum timeout: 5 seconds (timeoutSeconds >= 5)
Maximum timeout: 86400 seconds (24 hours)
Cancel schedule: set timeoutSeconds: 0

Response

Success Response - Scheduled

{
  "status": "ok",
  "response": {
    "isActive": true,
    "message": "dead-man-switch armed",
    "timeoutSeconds": 300,
    "triggerTime": 1704067500000
  },
  "request_id": "5ccf215d37e3ae6d",
  "requestId": "5ccf215d37e3ae6d",
  "timestamp": 1704067200123
}

Success Response - Cancelled

{
  "status": "ok",
  "response": {
    "isActive": false,
    "message": "dead-man-switch disabled",
    "timeoutSeconds": 0
  },
  "request_id": "5ccf215d37e3ae6d",
  "requestId": "5ccf215d37e3ae6d",
  "timestamp": 1704067200456
}

Error Response

{
  "status": "error",
  "error": {
    "code": "VALIDATION_ERROR",
    "message": "timeoutSeconds must be less than or equal to 86400"
  },
  "request_id": "5ccf215d37e3ae6d",
  "requestId": "5ccf215d37e3ae6d",
  "timestamp": 1704067200000
}

Code Examples

Schedule Cancel in 5 Minutes

{
  "params": {
    "action": "scheduleCancel",
    "subAccountId": "1867542890123456789",
    "timeoutSeconds": 300
  },
  "nonce": 1704067200000,
  "signature": {
    "v": 28,
    "r": "0x1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef",
    "s": "0xabcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890"
  }
}

Schedule Cancel in 1 Hour

{
  "params": {
    "action": "scheduleCancel",
    "subAccountId": "1867542890123456789",
    "timeoutSeconds": 3600
  },
  "nonce": 1704067200000,
  "expiresAfter": 1704067300,
  "signature": {
    "v": 28,
    "r": "0x1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef",
    "s": "0xabcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890"
  }
}

Dead Man's Switch Behavior

Automatic Trigger: All open orders are cancelled at the scheduled time
Single Use: Each schedule is used once and then removed
Overwrite: New schedule replaces existing one
Cancellation: Send timeoutSeconds: 0 to cancel an existing schedule

Use Cases

Trading Bot Safety: Cancel orders if bot loses connection
Manual Trading: Safety net for manual traders
Risk Management: Automatic order cancellation during volatile periods
Maintenance Windows: Clear orders before system maintenance

Validation Rules

nonce must be a timestamp in milliseconds and must be increasing
timeoutSeconds must be 0 (cancel) or between 5 and 86400 (inclusive)
Only one schedule can be active at a time; a new schedule overwrites the existing one
Must be signed by account owner or authorized delegate

Signing

All trading methods are signed using EIP-712. Each successful trading request will contain:

A piece of structured data that includes the sender address
A signature of the hash of that structured data, signed by the sender

For detailed information on EIP-712 signing, see EIP-712 Signing.

Nonce Management

The nonce system prevents replay attacks and ensures order uniqueness:

Use any positive integer as nonce
Each nonce must be greater than the previous one (incrementing)
Date.now() is a convenient option, not a requirement
If nonce conflicts occur, increment by 1 and retry

:::note SubAccountAction Exception SubAccountAction endpoints (getPositions, getOpenOrders, getOrdersHistory, getTrades, getFundingPayments, getSubAccount, getSubAccounts, getDelegatedSigners, getBalanceUpdates) do not require a nonce. Only the signature and optional expiresAfter parameters are needed. :::

Error Handling

Common error scenarios:

Error Code	Description	Retryable
`UNAUTHORIZED`	EIP-712 signature validation failed	No
`VALIDATION_ERROR`	Request validation failed	No
`MISSING_REQUIRED_FIELD`	Required field is missing	No
`INVALID_FORMAT`	Field format is invalid	No
`INVALID_VALUE`	Invalid parameter value	No
`RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED`	Too many requests in time window	Yes
`INSUFFICIENT_MARGIN`	Not enough margin for trade	No
`ORDER_NOT_FOUND`	Order does not exist	No
`OPERATION_TIMEOUT`	Operation timed out	Yes

Error	Description
`timeoutSeconds` too small	Must be 0 or at least 5
`timeoutSeconds` too large	Exceeds maximum of 86400 seconds
Request expired	`expiresAfter` timestamp has passed