Broker API
Interactive Brokers API: questions and answers
7 questions about the Interactive Brokers API, each answered from the Interactive Brokers record on this site and nothing else.
Risk warning: CFDs and spread bets are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You can lose money on these products, and each provider publishes its own loss figure under FCA rules. You should consider whether you understand how they work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Automated and API trading can amplify losses through bugs, connectivity failures and runaway orders.
An answer here is the record's own wording, cut at the end of a sentence, or a list of names read from records. An answer that opens with the word Unverified has no dated source behind it. Where this page and the provider's own documentation differ, the documentation wins. Nothing here recommends a broker.
Interactive Brokers API questions
Does Interactive Brokers have an API?
Yes. This register records Interactive Brokers as having its own API (TWS API (TCP socket), REST (Client Portal Web API) and WebSocket), with availability marked as active. TWS API (socket via TWS or IB Gateway), and a single IBKR Web API that IBKR is folding Client Portal Web API, Digital Account Management and the Flex Web Service into.
IBKR TWS API documentation, introductionchecked
The Interactive Brokers API record. The same question for every record.
Does Interactive Brokers have a demo or paper trading API?
Partial: paper trading accounts are supported and the Web API is logged in to with a separate paper username; demo accounts cannot subscribe to data.
IBKR Web API documentation, using a paper accountchecked IBKR Web API v1.0 documentation, requirements and limitationschecked
The Interactive Brokers record's full wording. The same question for every record.
What are Interactive Brokers's API rate limits?
The limits register holds 6 limit records for the Interactive Brokers API, each with its own scope: Global requests a second (Web API), Historical market data requests, Market data snapshot requests a second, Order and trade list requests, Session validation requests a minute and Session keep alive requests a second.
ibkrcampus.comchecked interactivebrokers.comchecked
Interactive Brokers API rate limits in full, each with its scope. The same question for every record.
How do I authenticate with the Interactive Brokers API?
TWS API: local socket to a TWS or IB Gateway the user has logged in to by hand.
IBKR TWS API documentation, the IB Gatewaychecked IBKR Web API documentation, limitations of the Client Portal Gatewaychecked IBKR Web API v1.0 documentation, introductionchecked Client Portal API documentation, use cases (IBKR GitHub pages)checked
The Interactive Brokers record's full wording. The same question for every record.
Does Interactive Brokers support streaming or WebSocket prices?
TWS API is event driven over the socket.
IBKR Web API v1.0 documentation, websockets introductionchecked IBKR Web API v1.0 documentation, websocket market data requestchecked IBKR Web API v1.0 documentation, websocket historical market data requestchecked IBKR Campus: Web API documentationchecked
The Interactive Brokers record's full wording. The same question for every record.
Is there an official Python library for Interactive Brokers?
The Interactive Brokers record marks one Python library as official: TWS API (ibapi). It also lists as community, not official: ib_async and ibeam.
TWS API (ibapi)checked
Every library in the Interactive Brokers record. The same question for every record.
Does Interactive Brokers have an MCP server?
The MCP server register on this site holds 1 server for Interactive Brokers. Published by the provider itself: Interactive Brokers MCP connector.
Interactive Brokers MCP connectorchecked
The MCP server directory, with what each server can do. The same question for every record.
Not recorded here
The Interactive Brokers record cannot answer these questions yet, so they are not asked above. That is a gap in this dataset. It says nothing either way about Interactive Brokers.
- What does the most referenced Interactive Brokers error mean? Not recorded here
Where to go next
- The Interactive Brokers API record in full: every field with its source
- Answers for every broker and platform API
- Which retail brokers have a public trading API?
- Which broker APIs have a demo environment?
- What are the rate limits of each broker API?
- How does each broker API authenticate?
- Which broker APIs stream prices?
- Which broker APIs have an official Python library?
- Which broker APIs have an MCP server?
- What does each API's most referenced error mean?
Other brokers
In order of name. The order is not a ranking.