> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.turbine.exchange/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.turbine.exchange/features/market-tracking-order.md).

# Market Tracking Order

Every order you place on Turbine is a **Spread Order**. Instead of locking a fixed limit price, your order settles at a spread from the current market mid-price, and that price updates each batch to track the market. You choose how long to give it, and Turbine manages the spread.

<figure><img src="/files/iOlL8Mdzdfvnuw3vIpPf" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### How a Spread Order works

* **Tracks the market.** Each batch, Turbine re-fetches the market mid-price from the price oracle and resets your order's effective price to mid ± its current spread. Your order never goes stale.
* **Settles in batches.** All open orders for the same pair clear at one uniform price each batch. You either get your price or a better one, never worse. See [Batching Solver.](/features/batching-solver.md)
* **Lives until it fills.** Your order stays open until it settles, until you cancel it, or until its expiry. Because the price is never stale, your order can run for hours or days without sniping risk.
* **Pays the spread.** The spread is what you give up vs. the market mid-price. The more time you give Turbine, the tighter the spread it can settle at, and the better your price. With less time it settles closer to the baseline aggregator rate to make sure it fills. Patient orders can settle at zero or even negative spread, where you receive better than mid-price.

### Why it exists

Classical limit orders go stale as the market moves, and snipers pick them off. Market orders pay slippage and get front-run. A Spread Order eliminates both:

* Your price tracks the market, so it cannot go stale.
* Your order settles in batches behind the [Speedbump](/features/the-speedbump.md), so no one can race the oracle.
* Your open order stays inside Turbine's [Private Orderbook](/features/private-orderbook.md), so it cannot be front-run.

### How Turbine sets your spread

With Auto, you pick how long to wait and Turbine manages the spread for you over the order's lifetime. The spread starts deeply negative, so the order first tries to fill at prices well better than mid (chasing CoWs and Turbine LP), then widens through the order's lifetime to make sure it fills by your deadline. The more time you give it, the better the price it can find. See [Auto Mode](/trading/readme/auto-mode.md).

### Settlement outcomes

In every batch, your Spread Order can settle in three ways, ranked best to worst:

* **Coincidence of wants (CoW):** Your order matches an opposite-side order at zero spread. Both sides skip AMM fees and price impact. The longer your order stays open, the higher your chance of a CoW.
* **Turbine Pool:** A Market Tracking LP pool fills your order at its current mid-price plus its fee tier.
* **External on-chain liquidity:** Turbine routes your order over indexed AMMs. This is the fallback when no internal liquidity matches at your price.

In all three cases, the price you pay is bounded by your order's current spread.

#### See also

{% content-ref url="/pages/xi5YyZiGwS95iyNddZfr" %}
[The Speedbump](/features/the-speedbump.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/EgLMwAmgTx9vjQVwJixV" %}
[Batching Solver](/features/batching-solver.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/qx5qJXBUorCDUf5pIN8O" %}
[Private Orderbook](/features/private-orderbook.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}

{% content-ref url="/pages/qkFCCTf8zHaFoHbULz51" %}
[Auto Mode](/trading/readme/auto-mode.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.turbine.exchange/features/market-tracking-order.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.