BOTSOL — Solana arbitrage bot
Version 0.1.5

This bot runs on your own computer. Your private key is stored on this machine
and is never sent anywhere.


==============================================================
BEFORE YOU START — INSTALL NODE.JS
==============================================================

BOTSOL needs Node.js 20.19 or newer, OR 22.12 or newer.
Get the LTS build from https://nodejs.org

There is one gap that catches people out:

    20.19 and newer  ......  works
    22.0 to 22.11    ......  does NOT work
    22.12 and newer  ......  works

So if you are on the 22 line, you need 22.12 or later — 22.0 through 22.11
will not run BOTSOL even though they are newer than 20.19. Anything older
than 20.19, including any version 18, will not work either.

To check what you already have, open a terminal (Command Prompt on Windows)
and type:

    node --version


==============================================================
WINDOWS
==============================================================

1. Unzip this folder somewhere simple, such as C:\botsol
   Avoid the Desktop and OneDrive, and avoid folder names with spaces or
   accented characters.

2. Open a Command Prompt in that folder:
     - open the folder in File Explorer
     - click into the address bar at the top
     - type   cmd   and press Enter

3. In the black Command Prompt window, type:

       npm start

   and press Enter.

4. Your browser should open the BOTSOL setup page by itself. If it does not,
   look in the Command Prompt window for an address starting with
   http://127.0.0.1 — usually port 4790 — and copy that whole address into
   your browser. If something else on your PC is already using that port,
   BOTSOL quietly picks a free one, so use the address your own window shows.

5. Fill in the setup page: your licence key, your RPC address, and your wallet
   private key. Click Save. Nothing typed on that page is sent over the
   internet — it is written to a file on this PC and nowhere else.

6. Go back to the Command Prompt window. That is where the bot actually runs
   and where it prints what it is doing. Leave it open while the bot works.
   Press Ctrl+C in that window to stop the bot.


==============================================================
MAC
==============================================================

Do not use this folder on a Mac. Download the Mac app instead — it is a
separate download called "BOTSOL Bot" and it saves you every step above:

       https://botsol.ai/docs.html

1. Drag "BOTSOL Bot" into your Applications folder FIRST, before you open it.
   The app will not work properly if you run it straight from Downloads.

2. Open it from Applications by double-clicking it.

3. The app finds Node.js for you, walks you through the same setup page, and
   then asks whether to run in practice mode or live each time it starts.


==============================================================
THE DASHBOARD
==============================================================

Once the bot is running, its dashboard is at:

       http://127.0.0.1:4747

It does NOT open by itself. Type or paste that address into your browser
while the bot is running.

"Local only" means it is served on your machine alone — nobody else on the
internet can reach it, and nothing about your trading is published.

If you see "Dashboard could not start", something else is already using port
4747. The bot keeps trading normally; you just have no dashboard.


==============================================================
PRACTICE MODE AND REAL MONEY — READ THIS ON WINDOWS
==============================================================

BOTSOL starts in practice mode. It watches for opportunities and reports what
it WOULD have done, without sending any transaction and without spending
anything.

The Mac app asks you, every single time it starts, whether you want practice
mode or live — you have to type the word LIVE to trade real money.

WINDOWS DOES NOT ASK. There is no prompt. The only thing that decides it is
one line in the file named .env in this folder:

       DRY_RUN=true      practice mode — nothing is sent, nothing is spent
       DRY_RUN=false     LIVE — real transactions with real money

If that line is missing or blank, BOTSOL treats it as practice mode.

Leave it set to true until you have watched the bot run for a while and you
agree with what it says it would have done. When you are ready to trade for
real: open .env in Notepad, change the line to DRY_RUN=false, save the file,
and start the bot again.

The .env file is created for you when you finish the setup page, so it will
not exist until after your first run.


==============================================================
IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG
==============================================================

"npm is not recognized..."
    Node.js is not installed, or your Command Prompt was already open when
    you installed it. Close the window, open a new one, and try again.

"Cannot find module ..."
    Type   npm install   in the same window, wait for it to finish, then
    type   npm start   again.

"Setup timed out"
    The setup page sat unused for 30 minutes. Nothing was saved. Just run
    npm start again and it will show a fresh address.

BOTSOL needs a valid licence key to run. You can buy one at
https://botsol.ai


==============================================================
HELP
==============================================================

Full setup guide:   https://botsol.ai/docs.html
Email us:           support@botsol.ai

When you write in, please say which version you have (0.1.5), whether
you are on Windows or Mac, and copy in anything the black window printed.
