Alpaca Trading Bot

A real-time algorithmic trading bot that uses the Alpaca API to execute stock trades based on technical indicators like MACD, EMA (200), and PSAR.

🎥 Demo

The demo video provides a walkthrough of the Alpaca trading bot in action, featuring:

• Real-time stock price monitoring
• Buy and sell operations based on technical indicators
• Detailed logging of trade results
• Profit and loss calculation for each trade

🏗️ Architecture Summary

Architecture

• Node.js for backend logic
• Alpaca API for stock trading integration
• Technical Indicators (MACD, EMA, PSAR)
• WebSocket for real-time market data updates
• Paper trading environment for testing strategies

🚀 Features

Real-Time Trading

• Uses Alpaca's WebSocket to subscribe to live stock data and make trades based on indicators:
  • MACD: Used for trend-following signals.
  • EMA (200): Used as a long-term trend indicator.
  • PSAR: Provides buy or sell signals based on the stock’s trend.

Buy and Sell Logic

• Buy Signal: When the stock price is above both EMA-200 and PSAR, and the MACD line crosses above the signal line.
• Sell Signal: When the price reaches the target profit or stop loss for each trade.

Order Execution

• Limit Orders: When the quantity is greater than 0, the bot submits a limit order at a specified price.
• Market Orders: Executes at the best available market price when conditions are met.

Logging and Trade Tracking

• Logs each transaction and calculates the profit or loss percentage for each trade.

🛠️ Technical Stack

Core Technologies

• Node.js
• Alpaca API for stock trading
• Technical Indicators library (MACD, EMA, PSAR)
• dotenv for environment variable management
• Lodash for utility functions

Key Dependencies

• @alpacahq/alpaca-trade-api: Alpaca trading API
• technicalindicators: Technical indicators for trading strategies
• lodash: Utility library
• dotenv: Environment variable management

📦 Project Structure

AlpacaTradingBot/
├── index.js                 # Main trading bot logic
├── .env                     # Environment variables (API keys)
├── package.json             # Project dependencies and scripts
└── README.md                # Project documentation

🚀 Deployment

Prerequisites

1. Alpaca Account with paper trading API credentials.
2. Node.js (v14 or higher) environment.
3. Set up an .env file with your API_KEY and SECRET_API_KEY.

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/your-repository/AlpacaTradingBot.git

2. Install the dependencies:

   npm install

3. Create a .env file with your Alpaca API credentials:

   API_KEY=your_api_key_here
   SECRET_API_KEY=your_secret_api_key_here

4. Start the bot:

   node index.js

Configuration

• The stock symbol (stock) is set to AAPL by default. To change the stock, modify the stock variable in index.js:

  let stock = "AAPL"; // Change to your desired stock symbol

🔧 Technical Notes

• The bot trades 10 stocks per order by default. You can adjust the quantity in the script.
• Real-time data is processed with 1-minute bars (candles).
• The bot operates in a paper trading environment to test strategies without real money involved.

📊 Performance Metrics

• Execution Speed: Instant market data processing
• Order Handling: Real-time market orders and limit orders
• Cost Optimization: Paper trading environment for risk-free testing

🔒 Security

• API Key Management: Secure handling of API keys through environment variables
• No real money is used in paper trading

💰 Cost Optimization

• No real trading costs, as the bot operates in paper trading mode.
• Alpaca's API is free for paper trading accounts.

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

📧 Contact

Project Link: https://github.com/your-repository/AlpacaTradingBot