Rockfish is an arbitrage bot for the Stellar Decentralized Exchange (SDEX), built for traders who already hold Stellar assets and want software to watch for price differences between markets. It is free, open source under the MIT license, and lists Windows among its platforms alongside Linux. Before you install it, note one important point: the project has had no code updates since March 2019, and its latest release is a v1.0.0 release candidate.
That age matters for anyone who handles real money. A bot that has not changed in several years may not match current Stellar behavior, may depend on older libraries, and may have no one actively fixing bugs. Rockfish can still be useful as a learning tool or a starting point for study, but treat it as an experimental project rather than a maintained trading product. The rest of this page explains what it does, how to install it safely and where it fits among other tools.
What Arbitrage Means for a Stellar Trader
Arbitrage is the practice of exploiting a difference in price for the same asset between two places. Suppose one order book offers a token at a slightly lower price than another. A trader who buys in the cheaper book and sells in the pricier one captures the gap, minus costs.
The gap is usually small and short-lived. Transaction fees, network confirmation times and the time it takes to place orders can erase the difference before a trade completes. That is why arbitrage bots focus on speed and on careful accounting of costs. A spread that looks attractive on a screen may look very different once every cost is counted.
For a Stellar user, the relevant markets are the order books on the SDEX and sometimes other venues connected to the same assets. Rockfish is built around that single idea: watch for mismatched prices and act on them. Understanding this basic logic will help you judge whether the bot's behavior makes sense when you review its logs.
How the Stellar Decentralized Exchange Fits Into Stellar
The SDEX is an order book built into the Stellar network itself rather than a separate company's platform. Buy and sell offers are recorded on the blockchain, and matched trades settle as part of the network's ledger. Because of this design, anyone who understands the protocol can read the same market data that a bot uses.
This matters for how you think about a bot like Rockfish. The bot is not connecting to a single exchange account with its own database. It reads public offers and submits transactions that the network processes. Each action leaves a record on the ledger, which makes after-the-fact checking possible.
The design also means that a bot's quality depends on how well it keeps up with changing offers and on how it handles failed or partially filled transactions. Those details are where older code can fall behind newer network conditions.
Who Should Consider a Bot Like Rockfish?
Rockfish suits people who are comfortable with command-line tools and configuration files. Developers who want to study how an arbitrage bot is structured will find the open source code a useful reference. Traders who plan to build their own strategy on top of a working base may also find it worth reading.
It is a poor fit for someone who wants a polished interface, guided setup and vendor support. It is also not a good match for anyone who expects a turnkey money-making tool. Since the code has not been updated for several years, you would be responsible for testing, patching and monitoring it yourself.
A practical way to decide is to ask whether you would rather learn from the code or rely on an actively maintained product. If you want the first, Rockfish can be an educational project. If you want the second, look at the alternatives listed below.
Key features
Arbitrage on the SDEX
Access Through Third-Party Frontends
Ledger Hardware Wallet Support
Open Source Under the MIT License
Supported coins
The documentation names Stellar (XLM) as the network context for the bot. Because the SDEX is native to the Stellar blockchain, the bot's activity centers on assets traded there rather than on separate centralized exchanges.
How to install Rockfish on Windows
- 1
Get the Files From the Official Source
Open the project's GitHub repository at github.com/Reidmcc/rockfish and go to the Releases page. Download only from the official website or the GitHub repository, and choose the newest published release that includes a Windows package. If no Windows package appears, the project would need to be built from source, which is a developer task and outside the scope of this guide.
- 2
Verify the Download
Calculate the SHA-256 checksum of the downloaded file and compare it with the value published alongside the release. If the release includes a signature, check that as well. Do not run a file whose checksum does not match, and delete it if the mismatch cannot be explained.
- 3
Extract the Files to a Dedicated Folder
Unpack the archive into its own folder, not into a system directory such as Program Files. A separate folder makes the program easy to remove later. Keep it away from any folder that holds wallet backups, recovery notes or exported keys.
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Prepare Your Hardware Wallet
If you plan to use a Ledger device, set it up with the manufacturer's own software first and confirm that it works with a simple transfer. Read each transaction on the device screen before approving it. Never connect a wallet that you have not tested with small amounts.
How to use Rockfish
Rockfish is a command-line style tool, so the setup process is more involved than with a graphical trading terminal. Work through the steps below slowly, and treat the first sessions as a test of how the bot behaves rather than as a trading session.
- Read the README and configuration documentation in the repository before changing anything.
- Review the configuration file and set only the values you understand. Leave unfamiliar options at their defaults.
- Run the bot against the Stellar testnet first, if your configuration allows it, to see how it reads offers and logs decisions.
- Check the log output against the SDEX order book in a third-party frontend such as StellarX or Stellarport.
- When you move to real funds, start with an amount you could lose completely and connect a hardware wallet where possible.
- Keep a written record of each session, including configuration changes, errors and unexpected trades.
- Stop the bot immediately if prices, fees or transaction results look wrong, and investigate before restarting.
Pros & cons
- Free to use and published under the permissive MIT license
- Open source, so the logic for keys and orders can be read and audited
- Focused on arbitrage on the Stellar Decentralized Exchange
- Documented support for Ledger hardware wallets
- Useful as a study resource for developers building trading bots
- No code updates since March 2019, so it may not reflect current network conditions
- Latest release is a v1.0.0 release candidate rather than a stable release
- Windows support is likely but not clearly confirmed in the release files
- Narrow scope: it covers only Stellar arbitrage, not multi-exchange trading
- Setup requires comfort with configuration files and command-line tools
Is Rockfish safe?
Rockfish handles keys and orders, so treat it as software that can move real money. Its code has not been updated since 2019, which means you should assume known or unknown issues may remain unfixed. Download only from the project's GitHub repository or another official source, and verify the SHA-256 checksum or signature before running any file. Never enter your seed phrase on a third-party website, in a chat or in a configuration file shared with anyone else. Use a hardware wallet where possible, keep the bot's access limited, and never disable your antivirus protection entirely to make the program run.
- Official source only. Download from github.com/Reidmcc/rockfish. Ignore ads and lookalike domains.
- Check the SHA-256. Compare the installer hash with the value the developer publishes before running it.
- Never share your seed phrase. No developer, support agent or website — including CryptApps — will ever ask for it.
Alternatives
Rockfish is narrow by design. It targets arbitrage on the Stellar Decentralized Exchange and nothing else. Kelp is also built for the Stellar marketplace, but it works as a market making bot, placing and maintaining offers rather than hunting price gaps. If your interest is in quoting liquidity on Stellar, Kelp fits that purpose better.
Gunbot, ProfitTrailer and Moon Bot are broader trading bots aimed at centralized exchanges, with strategy tools that go well beyond a single arbitrage method. Elinesoft XTester and TestMyLogic focus on simulating and testing strategies before any live trading, which is a different job from running a bot. HaasOnline TradeServer is a professional platform for managing many bots.
The key difference is the combination of scope and maintenance. Rockfish is open source and specialized, while the tools above are generally broader and more actively developed.
Specifications
- Price
- Free
- Type
- Open source
- License
- MIT
- Latest version
- v1.0.0-rc
- Last update
- 20 Mar 2019
- Windows support
- Likely (builds for Windows; check releases)
- Source code
- github.com/Reidmcc/rockfish
Frequently asked questions
Rockfish can be run on Windows, but it handles keys and orders, so the risk is higher than with a simple utility. Its code has not changed since 2019, which adds uncertainty. Verify the SHA-256 checksum of any download, never share a seed phrase, and start with small amounts on a hardware wallet.
Yes, Rockfish is free and open source under the MIT license. The license allows you to use, study, modify and redistribute the code. Free software still carries operating costs for you, such as network activity and any hardware wallet you choose to buy.
The SDEX, or Stellar Decentralized Exchange, is an order book built into the Stellar blockchain. Buy and sell offers are recorded on the network, and matched trades settle as part of its ledger. Rockfish works with this market directly, which distinguishes it from bots that connect to centralized exchanges.
Yes, Rockfish lists Ledger among its supported hardware wallets. A hardware wallet keeps private keys on a separate device and requires you to confirm each transaction on its screen. Test the setup with small amounts before connecting any wallet that holds meaningful funds.
No, the project has had no code updates since March 2019, and its latest release is a release candidate. That means no one is currently fixing bugs or adapting the code to changes in the network. Treat it as a study project unless you are prepared to maintain it yourself.
An arbitrage bot looks for price differences between markets and trades to capture them. A market making bot places buy and sell offers and profits from the spread over time. Rockfish follows the first approach, while Kelp follows the second on the same Stellar marketplace.
Verdict
Rockfish is best suited to developers and technically confident traders who want to study an open source arbitrage bot for the Stellar Decentralized Exchange. It is free, transparent and narrowly focused. Its lack of updates since 2019 and its release-candidate status make it a risky choice for live funds. If you go ahead, test thoroughly and check the latest version on the official website before installing anything.