Capital.com API POST /api/v1/session

POST/api/v1/sessionversion v1Session

Log in with your API key, login identifier and API key password. The CST and X-SECURITY-TOKEN tokens come back in the response headers.

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.

Independent and unofficialopen-api.capital.comchecked 12 Oct 2026

Confirmed on the official reference. Limited to 1 request per second per API key. Tokens stay valid for 10 minutes after last use. You need 2FA switched on before you can generate an API key. Method, path and request parameters were re-read on open-api.capital.com on 12 Oct 2026 and agree with this record; the mock reply was not compared field by field.

Parameters

Name	In	Type	Description
identifierrequired	body	string	Your Capital.com login identifier. Placeholder only: never enter it on this site.
passwordrequired	body	string	The custom password you set for the API key. Placeholder only: never enter it on this site.
encryptedPassword	body	boolean	True only if you encrypted the password with the key from GET /api/v1/session/encryptionKey. Default false.

Authentication headers

Name	Type	Description
X-CAP-API-KEYrequired	string	Your API key from Settings > API integrations. Placeholder only: never paste a real key into this site.

Request

Written from the method, path and parameters recorded on this page, against the demo host. Not executed against a live or demo account. Credentials are read from environment variables on your own machine and are never entered on this site. The request builder writes these same snippets, from the same record.

This call takes a request body. The samples send it as JSON with a Content-Type of application/json (in Python, passing json= sets that header) and a placeholder for each of the 2 body fields the record marks as required. Each placeholder has to be replaced with a real value before the request can succeed.

Python

# Set CAPITAL_API_KEY, CAPITAL_IDENTIFIER, CAPITAL_PASSWORD as environment variables first. Never paste real values into code.
# Optional and not shown: body fields encryptedPassword.
import os
import requests

BASE_URL = "https://demo-api-capital.backend-capital.com"  # the demo host
headers = {
    "X-CAP-API-KEY": os.environ["CAPITAL_API_KEY"],
}
body = {"identifier": os.environ["CAPITAL_IDENTIFIER"], "password": os.environ["CAPITAL_PASSWORD"]}
resp = requests.post(BASE_URL + "/api/v1/session", headers=headers, json=body, timeout=10)
resp.raise_for_status()
print(resp.json())

JavaScript

// Set CAPITAL_API_KEY, CAPITAL_IDENTIFIER, CAPITAL_PASSWORD as environment variables first. Never paste real values into code.
// Optional and not shown: body fields encryptedPassword.
// Run as a module, for example a .mjs file, on a Node version that has fetch built in.
const BASE_URL = "https://demo-api-capital.backend-capital.com"; // the demo host
const res = await fetch(BASE_URL + "/api/v1/session", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "X-CAP-API-KEY": process.env.CAPITAL_API_KEY,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({"identifier": process.env.CAPITAL_IDENTIFIER, "password": process.env.CAPITAL_PASSWORD}),
});
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${res.status}`);
console.log(await res.json());

curl

# Set CAPITAL_API_KEY, CAPITAL_IDENTIFIER, CAPITAL_PASSWORD as environment variables first. Never paste real values into code.
# Optional and not shown: body fields encryptedPassword.
curl -X POST "https://demo-api-capital.backend-capital.com/api/v1/session" \
  -H "X-CAP-API-KEY: $CAPITAL_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{\"identifier\": \"$CAPITAL_IDENTIFIER\", \"password\": \"$CAPITAL_PASSWORD\"}"

Response

A mock response. The values are invented, so check field names against the official reference.

{
  "_mock": true,
  "accountType": "CFD",
  "accountInfo": {
    "balance": 1000,
    "deposit": 1000,
    "profitLoss": 0,
    "available": 1000
  },
  "currencyIsoCode": "USD",
  "currencySymbol": "$",
  "currentAccountId": "MOCK-ACCOUNT-001",
  "streamingHost": "wss://api-streaming-capital.backend-capital.com/",
  "accounts": [
    {
      "accountId": "MOCK-ACCOUNT-001",
      "accountName": "Mock USD",
      "preferred": true,
      "accountType": "CFD"
    }
  ],
  "clientId": "MOCK-CLIENT-01",
  "timezoneOffset": 1,
  "hasActiveDemoAccounts": true,
  "hasActiveLiveAccounts": false,
  "trailingStopsEnabled": false
}

Response schema, HTTP 200

Every field this site's OpenAPI file for Capital.com declares for this response.

Field	Type	Description
accountType	string	Not recorded
accountInfo	object	Not recorded
balance	number	Not recorded
deposit	number	Not recorded
profitLoss	number	Not recorded
available	number	Not recorded
currencyIsoCode	string	Not recorded
currencySymbol	string	Not recorded
currentAccountId	string	Not recorded
streamingHost	string	Not recorded
accounts	array of objects	Not recorded
accountId	string	Not recorded
accountName	string	Not recorded
preferred	boolean	Not recorded
accountType	string	Not recorded
clientId	string	Not recorded
timezoneOffset	integer	Not recorded
hasActiveDemoAccounts	boolean	Not recorded
hasActiveLiveAccounts	boolean	Not recorded
trailingStopsEnabled	boolean	Not recorded

Unverifiedno source opened This schema is not sourced to a page of the provider's own that we opened, so check field names against the official reference.

Limits that apply at Capital.com

Limit	Value	Scope	Source
Headline limit	10/s per user	user	open-api.capital.comchecked 18 Sep 2026

Capital.com API errors you may meet

All Capital.com API error codes, including 18 more not listed here.