dvcrn Alpaca Trading Skill
Trade stocks and crypto programmatically via Alpaca's API.
Setup
Requires API credentials stored in environment or config:
# Set environment variables
export ALPACA_API_KEY="your-api-key"
export ALPACA_SECRET_KEY="your-secret-key"
export ALPACA_PAPER="true" # "true" for paper, "false" for live
Or store in ~/.openclaw/credentials/alpaca.json:
{
"apiKey": "your-api-key",
"secretKey": "your-secret-key",
"paper": true
}
Quick Reference
Get Quote
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py quote AAPL
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py quote AAPL,TSLA,NVDA
Get Bars (Historical Data)
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py bars AAPL --timeframe 1Day --limit 10
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py bars AAPL --timeframe 1Hour --start 2026-02-01
Check Account
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py account
List Positions
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py positions
Place Orders
# Market order
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py order buy AAPL 10
# Limit order
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py order buy AAPL 10 --limit 150.00
# Stop order
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py order sell TSLA 5 --stop 200.00
# Stop-limit order
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py order sell TSLA 5 --stop 200.00 --limit 195.00
# Skip price validation (use with caution)
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py order buy AAPL 10 --limit 999.00 --force
Order Guardrails:
- Symbol validation — Rejects invalid/unknown tickers
- Buying power check — Blocks orders exceeding available funds, shows max shares
- Duplicate detection — Warns if you have open orders for same symbol/side
- Price validation — Warns if limit price is worse than market
- Market hours check — Detects pre-market, after-hours, and closed sessions
- Pre-market (4:00 AM - 9:30 AM ET): Option to place pre-market order
- After-hours (4:00 PM - 8:00 PM ET): Option to place after-hours order
- Closed: Warns order will queue until market open
- Cost confirmation — Shows total cost and requires confirmation
Use --force to skip all confirmation prompts (use with caution).
List Orders
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py orders
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py orders --status open
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py orders --status closed --limit 20
Cancel Order
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py cancel ORDER_ID
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py cancel all # Cancel all open orders
Get News
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py news AAPL
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py news AAPL,TSLA --limit 5
Watchlist
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py watchlist list
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py watchlist create "Tech Stocks" AAPL,MSFT,GOOGL
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py watchlist add WATCHLIST_ID NVDA
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py watchlist delete WATCHLIST_ID
Stream Live Data (Websocket)
# Stream trades (default)
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py stream AAPL
# Stream quotes
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py stream AAPL,TSLA --type quotes
# Stream bars (1-min)
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py stream NVDA --type bars
# Stream all data types
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py stream AAPL --type all
Press Ctrl+C to stop streaming.
Price Alerts
# Add alert - notify when INTU drops below $399
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py alert add --symbol INTU --price 399 --condition below
# Add alert - notify when AAPL goes above $300
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py alert add --symbol AAPL --price 300 --condition above
# List active alerts
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py alert list
# Check alerts (used by cron)
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py alert check
# Remove an alert
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py alert remove --alert_id ABC123
# Clear all alerts
python3 scripts/alpaca_cli.py alert clear
Alerts are stored in ~/.openclaw/data/alpaca-alerts.json.
Script Location
All commands use: scripts/alpaca_cli.py (relative to this skill directory)
API Reference
See references/api.md for detailed API documentation and response formats.
Safety Notes
- Always confirm with user before placing real trades
- Paper trading (
ALPACA_PAPER=true) recommended for testing - Check buying power before large orders
- Verify order details before submission