Integration · Payments

Connect Claude & ChatGPT to Alpaca

Ask your AI about buying power, open positions or today's orders in your Alpaca trading account. It can read your account, positions, orders, activities and portfolio history, look up assets and option contracts, check whether the market is open, cancel an open order and keep your watchlists up to date. It works with paper and live accounts.

Connect Alpaca free

Free plan, no credit card. Takes about a minute.

Try asking

“How much buying power do I have right now?”
The AI reads your account and returns status, cash, buying power, equity and portfolio value.
“Which positions are down the most?”
It lists open positions with quantity, average entry price, market value and unrealized profit or loss.
“Which orders are still open?”
It lists orders with status open, with symbol, side, type and quantity.

What your AI can do

Account and positions

Read account status, cash, buying power and equity, open positions, portfolio history and account activities like fills, dividends and fees.

Orders

List and read orders with their fill price and status, and cancel open orders.

Assets, market and watchlists

Look up assets and option contracts, check the market clock and calendar, and create, update and read watchlists.

“Cancel my open order for TSLA.”
It finds the order and cancels it. Orders that are already filled cannot be cancelled.
“Is the market open, and when does it close today?”
It reads the market clock and gives the next open and close times.
“Add NVDA and AMD to my tech watchlist.”
It finds the watchlist and updates its list of symbols.

19 tools for Alpaca

These tools are switched on when you connect. You can switch any of them off, or require your approval before it runs.

cancel_orderDeletesCancel an open order by `order_id`. Orders that are already filled cannot be cancelled.
create_watchlistChanges dataCreate a watchlist with a `name` and an optional list of `symbols`.
get_accountGet the connected Alpaca trading account: status, cash, buying power, equity and portfolio value.
get_assetGet one asset by symbol or ID, including whether it is tradable, shortable and fractionable.
get_market_calendarList market trading days with open and close times, optionally up to an `end` date.
get_market_clockGet the market clock: whether the US market is open now and the next open and close times.
get_option_contractGet one option contract by symbol or ID, with strike, expiration and type.
get_orderGet one order by `order_id`, with its type, quantity, fill price and status.
get_portfolio_historyGet portfolio value and profit/loss over time, set by `period` (e.g. 1M) and `timeframe` (e.g. 1D).
get_positionGet the open position for one `symbol_or_asset_id` (e.g. AAPL).
get_watchlistGet one watchlist by `watchlist_id`, with its symbols.
list_account_activitiesList account activities such as fills, dividends, fees and transfers, filtered by `activity_types`, date or range.
list_assetsList tradable assets, filtered by `status`, `asset_class` (us_equity, crypto, us_option) or exchange.
list_option_contractsList option contracts for `underlying_symbols`, filtered by type, strike price range and expiration dates.
list_ordersList orders, filtered by `status` (open, closed, all), symbols, side, date range (`after`/`until`) and limit.
list_positionsList all open positions with quantity, average entry price, market value and unrealized profit/loss.
list_watchlistsList the account's watchlists.
remove_watchlist_symbolDeletesRemove one `symbol` from a watchlist by `watchlist_id`.
update_watchlistChanges dataRename a watchlist or replace its `symbols` list by `watchlist_id`.

Set up in three steps

1
Pick the app
Create a free PipMCP account and choose Alpaca from the app list.
2
Paste your key
Enter three things: your Alpaca Trading API address, your API key ID and your API secret key. In the Alpaca dashboard, pick your paper or live account and generate API keys there. Paper and live accounts have separate keys. Use https://paper-api.alpaca.markets for paper trading or https://api.alpaca.markets for live.
3
Add the link to your AI
You get a personal MCP link. Add it to Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor:
1. Click your name, then Settings › Connectors › Add custom connector.
2. Paste your link as the Remote MCP server URL.
3. Switch it on from the + menu in a chat.

Questions

What can the AI do in Alpaca?

The AI can read your account, positions, orders, account activities, portfolio history, assets, option contracts, watchlists and the market clock and calendar. It can cancel open orders, create and update watchlists and remove a symbol from a watchlist. The Alpaca tools in PipMCP do not place new orders.

Does the AI see my Alpaca API keys?

No. Your Alpaca API key ID and secret key are encrypted at rest and never shown to the AI. After you save them, they are not shown again, not even to you. The AI only sees the results of the tools it calls.

Can I control what the AI is allowed to do?

Yes. You choose which tools are switched on, so you can start read-only. Cancelling an order cannot be undone, and it can require your approval before it runs. Every tool call is logged.

Does it work with ChatGPT?

Yes. In ChatGPT go to Settings › Apps & Connectors › Advanced and turn on Developer mode, then add your PipMCP link. Developer mode needs a paid ChatGPT plan: Plus, Pro, Business or Enterprise. The same link also works in Claude (Settings › Connectors › Add custom connector), Cursor and other MCP clients.

What does it cost?

PipMCP has a free plan with no credit card required. Paid plans bill per completed task. You also need your own Alpaca account.

Can I use a paper trading account?

Yes. Generate API keys for your paper account in the Alpaca dashboard and use the address https://paper-api.alpaca.markets. Paper and live accounts have separate keys, so you can try everything on paper before you connect a live account.