alpaca-py
The Official Python SDK for Alpaca APIs
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. Alpaca-py is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, low install friction, and a permissive license. It is the official SDK for Alpaca's APIs and is well-suited for anyone building trading or investment applications that need to interact with Alpaca's services. The OOP design and pydantic validation reduce errors compared to raw HTTP calls.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires an Alpaca account and API keys (trading, market data, or broker keys depending on which APIs you use); Python 3.10 or later.
- Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel distribution.
- Actively maintained with a recent release (3 days old) and steady repository activity.
License · maintenance · safety
Apache-2.0 (permissive) — Apache-2.0 is permissive; you can use, modify, and distribute alpaca-py freely in commercial or private projects with minimal restrictions.
last release 2026-08-11 (3 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-14 · 1,460 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 1,969,763 downloads/mo, #3,399 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install alpaca-py
from alpaca.trading.client import TradingClient
from alpaca.trading.requests import MarketOrderRequest
from alpaca.trading.enums import OrderSide, TimeInForce
trading_client = TradingClient('api-key', 'secret-key')
order = trading_client.submit_order(
MarketOrderRequest(
symbol="BTC/USD",
qty=0.0001,
side=OrderSide.BUY,
time_in_force=TimeInForce.DAY
)
)- Specific latency or throughput characteristics of WebSocket and SSE streaming connections.
- Whether all asset classes (stocks, crypto, options) are equally mature or if some are newer.
- Real-world performance under high-frequency trading or large data volume scenarios.
What it is and what it does
Alpaca-py is the official Python SDK that wraps Alpaca's REST, WebSocket, and SSE APIs into a unified, object-oriented interface. It lets you build trading applications, stream live market data, and manage brokerage accounts programmatically. The library uses pydantic for runtime data validation and provides separate client classes for different asset classes and API products—TradingClient for orders, StockHistoricalDataClient for historical data, BrokerClient for account management, and specialized data stream clients for real-time feeds.
The package depends on msgpack, pandas, pydantic, pytz, requests, sseclient-py, and websockets to handle serialization, data frames, validation, time zones, HTTP requests, server-sent events, and WebSocket connections. It's designed for developers building algorithmic trading strategies, robo-advisors, or full brokerage experiences. Request models (e.g., MarketOrderRequest, CryptoBarsRequest) enforce schema validation before sending to Alpaca's servers, reducing runtime errors.
Use it for
- Build algorithmic trading strategies that automatically submit orders and stream live market data for stocks, crypto, or options.
- Create a robo-advisor or investment app that manages multiple brokerage accounts under your control via the Broker API.
- Backtest trading strategies using historical bar data from Alpaca's market data API for multiple asset classes.
- Stream real-time market data (quotes, bars, trades) via WebSocket or SSE for live dashboards or monitoring systems.
- Validate and parse trading order data from JSON payloads using pydantic-backed request models before execution.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
Alpaca-py is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, low install friction, and a permissive license. It is the official SDK for Alpaca's APIs and is well-suited for anyone building trading or investment applications that need to interact with Alpaca's services. The OOP design and pydantic validation reduce errors compared to raw HTTP calls.
Install
alpaca-py on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel distribution. Actively maintained with a recent release (3 days old) and steady repository activity. Supports Python 3.10 through 3.14.
Requires an Alpaca account and API keys (trading, market data, or broker keys depending on which APIs you use); Python 3.10 or later.
License in practice
Apache-2.0 is permissive; you can use, modify, and distribute alpaca-py freely in commercial or private projects with minimal restrictions.
Quickstart
pip install alpaca-py
from alpaca.trading.client import TradingClient
from alpaca.trading.requests import MarketOrderRequest
from alpaca.trading.enums import OrderSide, TimeInForce
trading_client = TradingClient('api-key', 'secret-key')
order = trading_client.submit_order(
MarketOrderRequest(
symbol="BTC/USD",
qty=0.0001,
side=OrderSide.BUY,
time_in_force=TimeInForce.DAY
)
)Verify before relying
- Specific latency or throughput characteristics of WebSocket and SSE streaming connections.
- Whether all asset classes (stocks, crypto, options) are equally mature or if some are newer.
- Real-world performance under high-frequency trading or large data volume scenarios.
Package facts
| License | Apache-2.0 permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release <4.0.0,>=3.10.0 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 7 packagesmsgpackpandaspydanticpytzrequestssseclient-pywebsockets |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 3 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 1,969,763 / month, #3,399 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | License :: OSI Approved :: Apache Software LicenseProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14 |
Evidence: alpaca_py-0.44.0-py3-none-any.whl
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