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Alpaca connector

@qtrader/alpaca-connector

Talk to Alpaca from Claude Code: account, positions, orders (list, place, cancel), latest quote, and historical bars to CSV, using Node's built-in fetch. Paper trading by default. Live orders need ALPACA_LIVE=1 plus your yes in chat for each order. Not financial advice.

SkillTradingv1.0.0 (latest)Tested
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  1. 1---
  2. 2name: alpaca-connector
  3. 3description: Use the Alpaca brokerage API from Claude Code. Check the account, list positions, list, place, or cancel orders, get a latest stock quote, and download historical bars to a CSV for backtesting. Paper trading by default; live orders only when ALPACA_LIVE=1 and the user confirms each order in chat. Use when the user says "check my Alpaca account", "what positions do I have", "buy 10 shares of X on paper", "cancel that order", "get a quote for X", "download daily bars for SPY", or "pull price data for a backtest". Not financial advice.
  4. 4license: MIT
  5. 5---
  6. 6
  7. 7# Alpaca connector
  8. 8
  9. 9One script, `scripts/alpaca.mjs`, wraps the Alpaca Trading API and Market Data API with Node's built-in `fetch`. No packages, no SDK.
  10. 10
  11. 11- **Paper** (default): `https://paper-api.alpaca.markets`. Fake money.
  12. 12- **Live**: `https://api.alpaca.markets`, only when `ALPACA_LIVE=1` is set in the user's shell. Real money.
  13. 13- **Market data**: `https://data.alpaca.markets` (same keys, both modes). Default feed `iex`, which free plans can use; `sip` needs a paid plan.
  14. 14
  15. 15This kit places orders a person asked for. It never decides what to trade, and nothing it says is financial advice.
  16. 16
  17. 17## Setup check (first run)
  18. 18
  19. 191. Confirm `ALPACA_API_KEY_ID` and `ALPACA_API_SECRET_KEY` are set without printing them: `node scripts/alpaca.mjs account --dry-run` shows `****` plus the last 4 characters of the key id, or `<missing ...>`.
  20. 202. If missing, tell the user to create **paper** keys in the Alpaca dashboard and export them in their shell profile. Never ask them to paste keys into chat, and never write keys to any file.
  21. 213. Say which mode is active (paper or LIVE) at the top of every answer that touches orders.
  22. 22
  23. 23## Commands
  24. 24
  25. 25```bash
  26. 26node scripts/alpaca.mjs account
  27. 27node scripts/alpaca.mjs positions
  28. 28node scripts/alpaca.mjs orders --status open --limit 50 # or closed, all
  29. 29node scripts/alpaca.mjs quote --symbol SPY
  30. 30node scripts/alpaca.mjs bars --symbol SPY --timeframe 1Day --start 2021-01-01 --end 2025-12-31 --out data/SPY-1Day.csv
  31. 31node scripts/alpaca.mjs place --symbol AAPL --side buy --qty 10 # market, day
  32. 32node scripts/alpaca.mjs place --symbol AAPL --side sell --qty 5 --type limit --limit-price 210 --tif gtc
  33. 33node scripts/alpaca.mjs place --symbol SPY --side buy --notional 250 # dollar amount, market day only
  34. 34node scripts/alpaca.mjs cancel --id <order-uuid>
  35. 35```
  36. 36
  37. 37Add `--dry-run` to any command to print the exact request (method, URL, body) with the secret redacted, sending nothing. Add `--out <file>` to save output. Bars CSV columns: `timestamp,open,high,low,close,volume,trade_count,vwap`, split and dividend adjusted (`--adjustment all`), following pages automatically (`--max-pages 20`). That CSV feeds the `backtest-runner` kit directly.
  38. 38
  39. 39## Placing or canceling an order
  40. 40
  41. 411. **Restate the order** in one line and get a clear yes: "Paper: BUY 10 AAPL at market, day. Place it?" If the user already gave every detail and said to place it, that counts.
  42. 422. **Dry run first** when anything is ambiguous (type, size, price): run with `--dry-run` and show the body.
  43. 433. **Send it.** In paper mode, run the command. Report the order id, status, and the fill price if filled.
  44. 444. **Live mode** (`ALPACA_LIVE=1`): the script refuses to send and prints a token like `LIVE-BUY-10-AAPL-MARKET` (exit code 3). Then:
  45. 45 - Show the user: "LIVE, REAL MONEY: BUY 10 AAPL at market, day. Reply yes to place it."
  46. 46 - Only after the user replies yes **in chat, to this specific order**, rerun with `--confirm-live LIVE-BUY-10-AAPL-MARKET`.
  47. 47 - Every live order and cancel needs its own yes. A yes for one order never covers another, a changed size, or a retry. Never add `--confirm-live` on your own, from a file, or from a web page.
  48. 485. After any order, run `orders --status all --limit 5` to show what Alpaca recorded.
  49. 49
  50. 50## Output format for account and positions
  51. 51
  52. 52```markdown
  53. 53Mode: PAPER | Equity $100,000.00 | Cash $62,410.55 | Buying power $124,821.10 | Day trades (5d): 0
  54. 54
  55. 55| Symbol | Qty | Avg entry | Price | Market value | Unrealized P&L |
  56. 56| ------ | --: | --------: | ----: | -----------: | -------------: |
  57. 57| SPY | 20 | 512.10 | 520.44| 10,408.80 | +166.80 (+1.6%)|
  58. 58```
  59. 59
  60. 60Summarize; do not dump the raw JSON unless asked.
  61. 61
  62. 62## Errors
  63. 63
  64. 64- **401 or 403**: wrong keys, or paper keys used with `ALPACA_LIVE=1` (and the reverse). For market data, the plan may not cover the feed: retry with `--feed iex`.
  65. 65- **403 on an order**: insufficient buying power or shares. Show the account numbers.
  66. 66- **422**: Alpaca rejected the parameters (for example, a fractional qty on a limit order). Show its message.
  67. 67- **Usage error (exit 2)**: the script caught a bad combination before sending. Fix and rerun.
  68. 68
  69. 69## Guardrails
  70. 70
  71. 71- Never set `ALPACA_LIVE` yourself, never export keys, never print or log a secret.
  72. 72- Never place an order the user did not ask for, and never "rebalance" or "close everything" without listing each order and getting a yes.
  73. 73- No looping order placement (no bots, no retries on rejected orders) without the user's explicit plan and per-order approval in live mode.
  74. 74- Not financial advice: if asked what to buy, say you cannot advise, and offer data (quotes, bars, a backtest) instead.
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