Alpaca Trading

Trade stocks, ETFs, options, and crypto via Alpaca's REST API using curl. Full options support (buy/sell calls & puts, covered calls, cash-secured puts, spreads, exercise, contract lookup, option chain data). Manage orders, positions, watchlists, account activities, and portfolio history. Access real-time and historical market data for stocks, options, and crypto including quotes, bars, snapshots, news, screener (most active, top movers), and corporate actions. Use when the user mentions "buy," "sell," "trade," "options," "call," "put," "market data," "stock price," "stock quote," "portfolio," "account balance," "positions," "orders," "alpaca," "market clock," "watchlist," "top movers," "most active," or any stock/crypto/options trading task. No external CLI binary required — uses curl + jq directly.

Alpaca Trading Skill

Trade and manage portfolios via Alpaca's REST API using scripts/alpaca.sh.

Setup

Required env vars

Variable	Purpose
APCA_API_KEY_ID	Alpaca API key
APCA_API_SECRET_KEY	Alpaca API secret

Optional env vars

Variable	Default	Purpose
APCA_API_BASE_URL	https://paper-api.alpaca.markets	Trading endpoint. Set to https://api.alpaca.markets for live
APCA_DATA_API_BASE_URL	https://data.alpaca.markets	Market data endpoint

Paper trading is the default. Always confirm with the user before switching to live.

Helper script

Source scripts/alpaca.sh from this skill directory. Usage:

bash

alpaca METHOD PATH [JSON_BODY]
# Market data:
ALPACA_DATA=1 alpaca METHOD PATH

Quick Reference

Account & portfolio

bash

alpaca GET /v2/account                                          # balance, equity, buying power
alpaca GET /v2/account/configurations                           # trading config
alpaca GET '/v2/account/portfolio/history?period=1M&timeframe=1D'  # portfolio chart
alpaca GET '/v2/account/activities?activity_types=FILL,DIV'     # trade/dividend history
alpaca GET /v2/clock                                            # market open/closed
alpaca GET '/v2/calendar?start=2026-03-01&end=2026-03-31'       # trading days

Orders — Equities & Crypto

bash

# Market buy (by qty or dollar amount)
alpaca POST /v2/orders '{"symbol":"AAPL","qty":"10","side":"buy","type":"market","time_in_force":"day"}'
alpaca POST /v2/orders '{"symbol":"AAPL","notional":"1000","side":"buy","type":"market","time_in_force":"day"}'

# Crypto (24/7)
alpaca POST /v2/orders '{"symbol":"BTC/USD","qty":"0.001","side":"buy","type":"market","time_in_force":"gtc"}'

# Limit / stop / stop-limit / trailing stop / bracket / OTO / OCO — see references/api.md

# List / get / replace / cancel
alpaca GET /v2/orders
alpaca GET /v2/orders/ORDER_ID
alpaca PATCH /v2/orders/ORDER_ID '{"qty":"20","limit_price":"190.00"}'
alpaca DELETE /v2/orders/ORDER_ID
alpaca DELETE /v2/orders                                        # cancel ALL

Orders — Options

bash

# Buy call (Level 2+)
alpaca POST /v2/orders '{"symbol":"AAPL260418C00260000","qty":"1","side":"buy","type":"market","time_in_force":"day"}'

# Sell covered call (Level 1+, must own 100 shares per contract)
alpaca POST /v2/orders '{"symbol":"AAPL260418C00270000","qty":"1","side":"sell","type":"limit","limit_price":"2.00","time_in_force":"day"}'

# Buy/sell puts, cash-secured puts, spreads (Level 3) — see references/api.md

# Exercise option
alpaca POST /v2/positions/AAPL260418C00260000/exercise

# Look up contracts
alpaca GET '/v2/options/contracts?underlying_symbols=AAPL&expiration_date_gte=2026-04-01&type=call&limit=10'
alpaca GET /v2/options/contracts/AAPL260418C00260000

Positions

bash

alpaca GET /v2/positions                                        # all open
alpaca GET '/v2/positions?asset_class=us_option'                # options only
alpaca GET /v2/positions/AAPL                                   # single equity
alpaca GET /v2/positions/NVDA260417C00220000                     # single option
alpaca DELETE /v2/positions/AAPL                                # close
alpaca DELETE '/v2/positions/AAPL?qty=5'                        # close partial
alpaca DELETE '/v2/positions?cancel_orders=true'                # close ALL

Market data — Stocks

bash

ALPACA_DATA=1 alpaca GET /v2/stocks/AAPL/snapshot               # quote + trade + bar
ALPACA_DATA=1 alpaca GET '/v2/stocks/snapshots?symbols=AAPL,MSFT,GOOGL'  # multi-snapshot
ALPACA_DATA=1 alpaca GET '/v2/stocks/AAPL/bars?timeframe=1Day&start=2026-03-01&limit=30'
ALPACA_DATA=1 alpaca GET /v1beta1/screener/stocks/most-actives
ALPACA_DATA=1 alpaca GET '/v1beta1/screener/stocks/movers?top=10'
ALPACA_DATA=1 alpaca GET '/v1beta1/news?symbols=AAPL&limit=5'

Market data — Options

bash

ALPACA_DATA=1 alpaca GET '/v1beta1/options/snapshots/AAPL?feed=indicative&limit=10'  # option chain
ALPACA_DATA=1 alpaca GET '/v1beta1/options/bars?symbols=NVDA260417C00220000&timeframe=1Day&limit=10'
ALPACA_DATA=1 alpaca GET '/v1beta1/options/quotes/latest?symbols=NVDA260417C00220000'
ALPACA_DATA=1 alpaca GET '/v1beta1/options/trades/latest?symbols=NVDA260417C00220000'
# feed: indicative (free/delayed) or opra (subscription required)

Market data — Crypto

bash

ALPACA_DATA=1 alpaca GET '/v1beta3/crypto/us/latest/quotes?symbols=BTC/USD'
ALPACA_DATA=1 alpaca GET '/v1beta3/crypto/us/bars?symbols=BTC/USD&timeframe=1Day&limit=30'
ALPACA_DATA=1 alpaca GET '/v1beta3/crypto/us/snapshots?symbols=BTC/USD,ETH/USD'

Corporate Actions

bash

ALPACA_DATA=1 alpaca GET '/v1/corporate-actions?symbols=AAPL&types=cash_dividend'
# Types: forward_split, reverse_split, cash_dividend, stock_dividend, spin_off, etc.

Assets & Watchlists

bash

alpaca GET /v2/assets/AAPL                                      # asset info
alpaca GET '/v2/assets?status=active&attributes=has_options'     # options-enabled stocks
alpaca GET /v2/watchlists                                       # list watchlists
alpaca POST /v2/watchlists '{"name":"Tech","symbols":["AAPL","MSFT","GOOGL"]}'

Full API reference

Read references/api.md for complete endpoint documentation including:

• All order types (limit, stop, stop-limit, trailing stop, bracket, OCO, OTO)
• Order field reference (side, type, time_in_force, order_class)
• Watchlist CRUD
• Options contracts
• Historical bars/trades/quotes with all query params
• Crypto endpoints
• Market calendar

Safety Rules

1. Default to paper trading. Never set APCA_API_BASE_URL to live without explicit user confirmation.
2. Show the order JSON before submitting. Let the user confirm symbol, qty, side, and type.
3. Check market clock before placing orders — stocks only trade during market hours (9:30-16:00 ET) unless extended_hours: true on limit orders.
4. Verify buying power via GET /v2/account before large orders.
5. Never provide financial advice. Present data; let the user decide.
6. Warn about irreversible actions — closing all positions, canceling all orders.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Fix
HTTP 401	Check APCA_API_KEY_ID / APCA_API_SECRET_KEY are set and valid
HTTP 403	Paper keys on live URL or vice versa; check APCA_API_BASE_URL
HTTP 422 (insufficient qty)	Check buying power, fractional support, or symbol validity
HTTP 429	Rate limited — wait and retry; Alpaca allows 200 req/min
Order rejected outside hours	Add "extended_hours":true (limit orders only) or wait for market open
jq: command not found	Script falls back to python3 -m json.tool; install jq for better output