Alpaca Trading Skill Execute trades and manage portfolios through the apcacli command-line tool for Alpaca's Trading API. Installation apcacli is a Rust CLI. Install it cross-platform: macOS (Homebrew) brew install rustup rustup-init -y source " $HOME /.cargo/env" cargo install apcacli Linux curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh -s -- -y source " $HOME /.cargo/env" cargo install apcacli Windows Download and run rustup-init.exe Open a new terminal, then: cargo install apcacli Environment Variables export APCA_API_KEY_ID = 'your-key-id' export APCA_API_SECRET_KEY = 'your-secret-key'

For live trading (default is paper):

export APCA_API_BASE_URL='https://api.alpaca.markets'

Overview

You are an expert in using

apcacli

for command-line stock trading. Your goal is to help users trade stocks, ETFs, options, and crypto efficiently through Alpaca's API while emphasizing safety and best practices.

How to Use This Skill

When helping users with trading tasks:

Safety First

Always recommend paper trading for new users or when testing

Verify Commands

Show the exact command before executing trades

Check Prerequisites

Confirm market hours, account balance, and valid symbols

Explain Order Types

Help users choose the right order type for their needs

Risk Management

Suggest stop losses and position sizing

What This Skill Does

apcacli

is a Rust-based CLI for interacting with Alpaca's trading platform. It provides:

Trading

Submit, modify, and cancel orders for stocks, ETFs, options, and crypto

Portfolio Management

View positions, P/L, and account information

Market Data

Access asset information and market clock status

Account Activity

Track trading history and account changes

Real-time Streaming

Monitor account and trade events When to Use This Skill Use this skill when the user wants to: Execute trades (buy/sell stocks, ETFs, options, crypto) Check portfolio positions and performance View or manage orders (open, filled, cancelled) Get account balance and buying power Access market data and asset information Monitor account activity and events Check if the market is open Set up stop losses or trailing stops Automate trading workflows with scripts Common trigger phrases: "Buy 10 shares of AAPL" "Show my open positions" "What's my account balance?" "List all my orders" "Cancel order [ID]" "Is the market open?" "Show my portfolio performance" "Set a stop loss on my position" "Close all my positions" When NOT to use this skill: User wants GUI-based trading (direct them to web interface) User asks for financial advice (you provide tools, not recommendations) User wants to trade instruments not supported by Alpaca User doesn't have apcacli installed (help them install it first) Installation & Setup Install apcacli

Using Cargo (Rust package manager)

cargo install apcacli

Verify installation

apcacli --help Requirements: Rust 1.71 or newer Alpaca account (paper or live trading) Alpaca API credentials Configure Environment Variables For Paper Trading (Recommended for testing): export APCA_API_KEY_ID = 'your_paper_key_id' export APCA_API_SECRET_KEY = 'your_paper_secret_key'

Paper trading is the default, no need to set APCA_API_BASE_URL

For Live Trading: export APCA_API_BASE_URL = 'https://api.alpaca.markets' export APCA_API_KEY_ID = 'your_live_key_id' export APCA_API_SECRET_KEY = 'your_live_secret_key' Get API Credentials: Sign up at https://alpaca.markets/ Navigate to your dashboard Generate API keys (paper or live) Export the environment variables Core Commands Account Information View account details: apcacli account get Shows account status, cash balance, buying power, equity, and margin information. View account activity: apcacli account activity Displays recent account activity including trades, dividends, and transfers. Update account configuration: apcacli account config < options

Modify account settings (use --help for available options). Order Management Submit a market order:

Buy with dollar amount

apcacli order submit buy AAPL --value 1000

Buy specific quantity

apcacli order submit buy AAPL --quantity 10

Sell shares

apcacli order submit sell TSLA --quantity 5 Submit a limit order:

Buy at specific price

apcacli order submit buy MSFT --quantity 10 --limit-price 420

Sell at specific price

apcacli order submit sell NVDA --quantity 20 --limit-price 850 Submit advanced orders:

Stop order

apcacli order submit sell AAPL --quantity 10 --stop-price 180

Stop-limit order

apcacli order submit sell TSLA --quantity 5 --stop-price 800 --limit-price 795

Trailing stop order (percentage)

apcacli order submit sell NVDA --quantity 10 --trail-percent 5 List all orders: apcacli order list Shows all orders with their status (open, filled, cancelled, etc.). Get specific order details: apcacli order get < ORDER_ID

Displays comprehensive order information including timestamps, pricing, and status. Cancel an order: apcacli order cancel < ORDER_ID

Cancels a pending order by its ID. Cancel all orders: apcacli order cancel-all Cancels all open orders. Position Management List all open positions: apcacli position list Shows all open positions with: Quantity and entry price Current market value Daily P/L (with percentage) Total P/L (with percentage) Color-coded profit/loss Get specific position: apcacli position get < SYMBOL

Displays detailed information for a specific position. Close a position:

Close entire position

apcacli position close < SYMBOL

Close partial position

apcacli position close < SYMBOL

--quantity 5 Close all positions: apcacli position close-all Closes all open positions. Asset Information List available assets: apcacli asset list Shows all tradeable assets. Get asset details: apcacli asset get < SYMBOL

Displays asset information including exchange, class, and tradability status. Search for assets: apcacli asset search < QUERY

Searches for assets matching the query. Market Data Check market clock: apcacli market clock Shows current market status (open/closed), next open time, and next close time. Streaming (Real-time Events) Stream account updates: apcacli stream account Monitors real-time account events including order updates and fills. Stream trade updates: apcacli stream trades Monitors real-time trade events for your positions. Best Practices Safety & Risk Management Start with Paper Trading - Always test strategies with paper trading first Use Limit Orders - Avoid market orders in volatile conditions for better price control Verify Symbols - Double-check ticker symbols before executing trades Review Before Executing - Use apcacli order get to verify order details Set Stop Losses - Protect positions with stop orders Check Account Balance - Ensure sufficient buying power before trading Monitor Positions - Regularly review P/L with apcacli position list Effective Usage Check help for any command - Use apcacli --help for detailed options Save order IDs - Store returned order IDs to track and manage orders later Use environment variables - Keep credentials secure in environment variables, never hardcode Verify market hours - Check apcacli market clock before placing orders Review activity regularly - Monitor account activity for unexpected changes Common Workflows Simple stock purchase:

1. Check account balance

apcacli account get

2. Verify asset is tradeable

apcacli asset get AAPL

3. Check market is open

apcacli market clock

4. Submit market order

apcacli order submit buy AAPL --value 1000

5. Verify position

apcacli position list Limit order with monitoring:

1. Submit limit order

apcacli order submit buy MSFT --quantity 10 --limit-price 420

2. Save the returned ORDER_ID

3. Check order status

apcacli order get < ORDER_ID

4. If needed, cancel

apcacli order cancel < ORDER_ID

Portfolio review:

1. View all positions

apcacli position list

2. Check account summary

apcacli account get

3. Review recent activity

apcacli account activity Close position with stop loss:

1. Check current position

apcacli position get AAPL

2. Set trailing stop to protect profits

apcacli order submit sell AAPL --quantity 10 --trail-percent 5

3. Monitor the order

apcacli order list Command Reference Quick Guide Task Command View account apcacli account get Account activity apcacli account activity Buy stock (market) apcacli order submit buy SYMBOL --value AMOUNT Buy stock (limit) apcacli order submit buy SYMBOL --quantity N --limit-price PRICE Sell stock apcacli order submit sell SYMBOL --quantity N List all orders apcacli order list Get order details apcacli order get ORDER_ID Cancel order apcacli order cancel ORDER_ID Cancel all orders apcacli order cancel-all List positions apcacli position list Get position apcacli position get SYMBOL Close position apcacli position close SYMBOL Close all positions apcacli position close-all List assets apcacli asset list Get asset info apcacli asset get SYMBOL Check market status apcacli market clock Stream account events apcacli stream account Stream trades apcacli stream trades Order Types & Parameters Basic Order Parameters --quantity N - Number of shares to trade --value AMOUNT - Dollar amount to invest (for market orders) --limit-price PRICE - Limit price for limit orders --stop-price PRICE - Stop price for stop orders --trail-percent N - Trailing stop percentage --trail-amount AMOUNT - Trailing stop dollar amount Order Types Market Order - Executes immediately at current market price apcacli order submit buy AAPL --quantity 10 Limit Order - Executes only at specified price or better apcacli order submit buy AAPL --quantity 10 --limit-price 185 Stop Order - Converts to market order when stop price is reached apcacli order submit sell AAPL --quantity 10 --stop-price 180 Stop-Limit Order - Converts to limit order when stop price is reached apcacli order submit sell AAPL --quantity 10 --stop-price 180 --limit-price 179 Trailing Stop - Stop price follows market by specified percentage or amount

Percentage-based

apcacli order submit sell AAPL --quantity 10 --trail-percent 5

Dollar-based

apcacli order submit sell AAPL

--quantity

10

--trail-amount

10

Important Notes

Requirements

apcacli binary must be installed

- Install via

cargo install apcacli

Environment variables must be set

-

APCA_API_KEY_ID

and

APCA_API_SECRET_KEY

are required

Alpaca account

- Active paper or live trading account

Rust 1.71+

- Required for installation from source

Trading Limitations

Paper vs Live

Default is paper trading; set

APCA_API_BASE_URL

for live trading

Market hours

Most trades only execute during market hours (9:30 AM - 4:00 PM ET)

Pattern Day Trading (PDT)

Accounts under $25k have PDT restrictions

Buying power

Limited by account equity and margin requirements

Order restrictions

Some order types may not be available for all securities

Crypto trading

May have different rules and trading hours

Data & Performance

API rate limits

Alpaca has request limits to prevent abuse

Real-time data

May require active data subscription

Command output

Results formatted with color coding for easy reading

Order IDs

Save returned order IDs for tracking and management

Network dependency

Requires internet connection to Alpaca's API Troubleshooting Environment Variables Not Set

Error: "Missing APCA_API_KEY_ID"

Solution: Export required environment variables

export APCA_API_KEY_ID = 'your_key' export APCA_API_SECRET_KEY = 'your_secret' Command Not Found

Error: "apcacli: command not found"

Solution: Install apcacli

cargo install apcacli

Verify installation

which apcacli API Authentication Failed Verify API credentials are correct Check if using correct endpoint (paper vs live) Ensure API keys haven't been revoked Confirm account status is active Order Rejected Verify market is open (for stocks) Check sufficient buying power Confirm symbol is valid and tradeable Review order parameters (price, quantity) Check for any account restrictions Position Not Found Verify symbol is correct Ensure position is actually open Check if position was closed previously Confirm you're using the right account (paper vs live) Advanced Features Shell Completion Generate shell completion for faster command entry:

Install completion script

cargo run --bin = shell-complete

apcacli.bash source apcacli.bash

Now you can use tab completion

apcacli order < TAB

Streaming for Monitoring Use streaming commands to monitor account activity in real-time:

Terminal 1: Monitor account events

apcacli stream account

Terminal 2: Execute trades

apcacli order submit buy AAPL --value 1000

Watch the fill notification appear in Terminal 1

Scripting & Automation Combine apcacli with shell scripts for automated strategies:

!/bin/bash

Example: Daily portfolio check script

echo "=== Daily Portfolio Report ===" echo "" echo "Account Status:" apcacli account get echo "" echo "Open Positions:" apcacli position list echo "" echo "Recent Activity:" apcacli account activity Additional Resources apcacli Repository : https://github.com/d-e-s-o/apcacli Alpaca Documentation : https://docs.alpaca.markets/ Alpaca API Reference : https://docs.alpaca.markets/reference/ Paper Trading Dashboard : https://app.alpaca.markets/paper/dashboard/overview apca Crate (Underlying Library) : https://github.com/d-e-s-o/apca Safety Reminders ⚠️ IMPORTANT : Always start with PAPER TRADING to test without risk Review all order details before execution Never share your API credentials Use limit orders for better price control Set stop losses to manage risk Verify environment variables are set correctly (paper vs live) Double-check symbols and quantities Monitor positions regularly Credits apcacli created by d-e-s-o Built on the apca Rust crate for Alpaca API interactions.