testnet API returns invalid token indices causing IndexError

[KarolakTibia]

Bug Description

The testnet API (api.hyperliquid-testnet.xyz) returns spotMeta data with invalid token indices that cause an IndexError when initializing the Info class.

Error

IndexError: list index out of range

At hyperliquid/info.py:48:

base_info = spot_meta["tokens"][base]  # IndexError when base >= len(tokens)

Root Cause

The testnet spotMeta endpoint returns 1575 tokens but 19 universe entries have token indices >= 1575 (e.g., base: 1576, 1577, 1583).

Evidence

# API response analysis
tokens = 1575 elements (indices 0-1574)
bad_entries = [
  {'name': '@1441', 'base': 1576, 'quote': 0},
  {'name': '@1453', 'base': 1577, 'quote': 0},
  {'name': '@1455', 'base': 1583, 'quote': 0},
  # ... 16 more
]

Suggested Fix

Add bounds checking in info.py before accessing token indices:

tokens = spot_meta["tokens"]
tokens_len = len(tokens)
for spot_info in spot_meta["universe"]:
    base, quote = spot_info["tokens"]
    if base >= tokens_len or quote >= tokens_len:
        continue  # Skip invalid entries
    # ... rest of code

Workaround

I've implemented a local workaround that skips invalid entries, but a proper fix in the SDK would help all users.

Environment

• SDK version: latest (from pypi)
• Python 3.10
• Testnet only (mainnet works fine)

[pat-mok]

When will the SDK be updated to fix this issue? I am launching the bot test in vps. So a local fix is not suitable for me.

[XYTYX]

Getting the same error. In reality the issue is whoever messed it up not importing the correct tokens to testnet.

[bug-or-feature]

@KarolakTibia thanks for flagging this. What is your local workaround?

[KarolakTibia]

Here's our local workaround - we forked the hyperliquid/info.py module and added defensive error handling:

# PATCH: Handle testnet API gracefully - spot_meta may be malformed
if spot_meta is None:
    try:
        spot_meta = self.spot_meta()
    except Exception as e:
        # Testnet API sometimes returns malformed data - skip spot initialization
        spot_meta = None

if spot_meta is not None:
    try:
        for spot_info in spot_meta.get("universe", []):
            asset = spot_info["index"] + 10000
            self.coin_to_asset[spot_info["name"]] = asset
            self.name_to_coin[spot_info["name"]] = spot_info["name"]
            base, quote = spot_info["tokens"]
            # PATCH: Safe access to tokens array  
            if "tokens" in spot_meta and base < len(spot_meta["tokens"]) and quote < len(spot_meta["tokens"]):
                base_info = spot_meta["tokens"][base]
                quote_info = spot_meta["tokens"][quote]
                self.asset_to_sz_decimals[asset] = base_info["szDecimals"]
                name = f'{base_info["name"]}/{quote_info["name"]}'
                if name not in self.name_to_coin:
                    self.name_to_coin[name] = spot_info["name"]
    except (IndexError, KeyError, TypeError) as e:
        # Testnet API bug - skip spot initialization, perp trading still works
        pass

Key differences from the PR #277 fix:

1. We wrap the entire spot_meta() fetch in a try-except to handle malformed responses
2. We check bounds before accessing spot_meta["tokens"][base] and [quote]
3. We catch IndexError, KeyError, TypeError and gracefully skip spot initialization
4. Perp trading continues to work even when spot data is broken

This has been running in production on our testnet deployment for several days without issues.

[bug-or-feature]

Here's our local workaround - we forked the hyperliquid/info.py module and added defensive error handling:

thank you