alpaca-trade-api

library3.2.0pypypiunverified

DEPRECATED. alpaca-trade-api (3.2.0) is the old Alpaca Python SDK — deprecated in 2022, no new features, no patches. The official replacement is 'alpaca-py' (pip install alpaca-py). LLMs heavily trained on alpaca-trade-api tutorials since it dominated for years. New projects must use alpaca-py. alpaca-trade-api still installs and partially works but uses the old v1/v2 API patterns.

payments communication

pip install alpaca-py

github ↗package ↗homepage ↗

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

tested against v3.2.0 · pip install

no network on importno background threads

Install × environment matrix

Each cell = how many times install + import succeeded across repeated harness runs. Partial = flaky.
glibc = Debian/Ubuntu slim · musl = Alpine Linux

musl

py 3.10–3.950 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 0.0s · import 0.000s · 269.3MB

glibc

py 3.10–3.950 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 11.9s · import 0.000s · 329MB

306MB installed

● package 306MB

Code

Verified usage

Verified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.

alpaca-py (replacement — recommended)

✓ # pip install alpaca-py from alpaca.trading.client import TradingClient from alpaca.trading.requests import MarketOrderRequest from alpaca.trading.enums import OrderSide, TimeInForce client = TradingClient( api_key='YOUR_API_KEY', secret_key='YOUR_SECRET_KEY', paper=True # paper trading ) # Get account account = client.get_account() print(account.portfolio_value) # Place market order order_data = MarketOrderRequest( symbol='AAPL', qty=1, side=OrderSide.BUY, time_in_force=TimeInForce.DAY ) order = client.submit_order(order_data)

✗ # Deprecated — do not use for new projects import alpaca_trade_api as tradeapi api = tradeapi.REST( key_id='YOUR_API_KEY', secret_key='YOUR_SECRET_KEY', base_url='https://paper-api.alpaca.markets' ) account = api.get_account()

alpaca-trade-api deprecated 2022. No new features or patches. Import pattern changed — new SDK has separate clients: TradingClient, StockHistoricalDataClient, StockDataStream.

alpaca-py (replacement for alpaca-trade-api) — trading and market data.

# pip install alpaca-py from alpaca.trading.client import TradingClient from alpaca.trading.requests import MarketOrderRequest, GetAssetsRequest from alpaca.trading.enums import OrderSide, TimeInForce, AssetClass from alpaca.data.historical import StockHistoricalDataClient from alpaca.data.requests import StockBarsRequest from alpaca.data.timeframe import TimeFrame from datetime import datetime # Trading client trading = TradingClient( api_key='YOUR_KEY', secret_key='YOUR_SECRET', paper=True # paper trading account ) # Account info account = trading.get_account() print(f'Portfolio: ${account.portfolio_value}') # Place order order = trading.submit_order(MarketOrderRequest( symbol='TSLA', qty=1, side=OrderSide.BUY, time_in_force=TimeInForce.DAY )) print(f'Order {order.id}: {order.status}') # Historical data data_client = StockHistoricalDataClient('YOUR_KEY', 'YOUR_SECRET') bars = data_client.get_stock_bars(StockBarsRequest( symbol_or_symbols='AAPL', timeframe=TimeFrame.Day, start=datetime(2024, 1, 1) )) print(bars['AAPL'][-1].close)

Debug

Known issues

breakingalpaca-trade-api deprecated 2022. No new features or bug fixes. Official replacement is 'alpaca-py' (pip install alpaca-py).

fix

pip install alpaca-py; from alpaca.trading.client import TradingClient

affects: all

breakingalpaca-py has completely different import structure. No more tradeapi.REST(). Separate clients for trading, market data, and streaming.

fix

TradingClient for orders/account. StockHistoricalDataClient for historical data. StockDataStream for live data.

affects: all

gotchaPaper trading URL no longer needed explicitly. Pass paper=True to TradingClient instead of base_url='https://paper-api.alpaca.markets'.

fix

TradingClient(api_key=..., secret_key=..., paper=True)

affects: alpaca-py

gotchaalpaca-py orders require typed request objects (MarketOrderRequest, LimitOrderRequest) — not plain dicts.

fix

from alpaca.trading.requests import MarketOrderRequest; trading.submit_order(MarketOrderRequest(...))

affects: alpaca-py

gotchaAPI calls result in 'Unauthorized' (HTTP 401) if API Key ID or Secret Key are incorrect or missing when initializing `TradingClient`. This typically manifests as an `APIError: {"message": "unauthorized."}` exception.

fix

Ensure you are using valid API Key ID and Secret Key for your Alpaca account. Double-check environment variables or the `api_key` and `secret_key` parameters passed directly to `TradingClient`.

affects: alpaca-py

gotchaThe `alpaca-py` library, particularly modules like `alpaca.data`, may implicitly depend on `pytz`, which is not always automatically installed as a direct dependency during `pip install alpaca-py`.

fix

pip install pytz

affects: alpaca-py

Upgrade

Version history

3.2.0latest on PyPI

Audit

Dependencies

No dependency data recorded yet.

Agent activity

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Resources

githubhttps://github.com/alpacahq/alpaca-trade-api-python ↗

packagehttps://pypi.org/project/alpaca-trade-api/ ↗

homepagehttps://alpaca.markets ↗