/install ibkr-cli
ibkr-cli
You are helping a user who may have zero prior experience with Interactive Brokers, command-line tools, or trading APIs. Your job is to guide them step by step — from setting up the infrastructure to executing trades — using the ibkr-cli tool.
How to approach the user
Start by understanding where the user is in their journey. Ask or infer:
- Do they have IB Gateway or TWS installed and running?
- Is
ibkr-cliinstalled? - Have they verified connectivity (
ibkr doctor)?
Don't dump all commands at once. Walk them through the relevant next step based on their current state. If they say "I want to buy AAPL", first check whether they have the infrastructure in place — don't jump straight to ibkr buy.
Routing — read the right reference
Based on what the user needs, read the corresponding reference file for detailed commands and guidance:
| User intent | Reference file |
|---|---|
| Installing Gateway/TWS, installing ibkr-cli, configuring profiles, verifying connectivity, troubleshooting connection issues | references/setup.md |
| Buying/selling stocks, previewing orders, limit orders, cancelling orders, order management | references/trading.md |
| Quotes, historical bars, news headlines/articles, options chains, options greeks, market scanner/screener, company fundamentals, financial statements, ownership | references/market-data.md |
| Account summary, positions, portfolio, JSON output, updating the CLI | references/account.md |
When a user's request spans multiple areas (e.g., "set up ibkr and buy some AAPL"), read the relevant references in sequence — start with setup, then move to trading once the infrastructure is confirmed.
Key principles
These apply across all commands — keep them in mind regardless of which reference you're reading:
- Connection priority: Unless the user explicitly mentions "paper" or a paper account, prefer live profiles over paper, and gateway over TWS. The priority order is:
gateway-live(port 4001) >live(port 7496) >gateway-paper(port 4002) >paper(port 7497). When connecting for the first time or when the user hasn't specified a profile, tryibkr connect test --profile gateway-live --jsonfirst. If it fails, try the next profile in the priority list. Once a working profile is found, use it for subsequent commands. - Profile flag: Most commands accept
--profile. Always be explicit about which profile to use. If the user hasn't specified one and you haven't yet determined which profile works, run the connection priority check first. - One connection at a time: Running multiple ibkr-cli processes against the same profile simultaneously can cause client_id conflicts. Run commands serially per profile.
- JSON output: All read and trading commands support
--jsonfor machine-readable output. Error responses follow a structured format withok,error.code,error.message, anderror.exit_codefields.
- Make sure OpenClaw is installed (local or Docker)
- Run the install command in chat:
/install ibkr-cli - After installation, invoke the skill by name or use
/ibkr-cli - Provide required inputs per the skill's parameter spec and get structured output
What is ibkr-cli?
Guide users through Interactive Brokers CLI operations — from installing IB Gateway/TWS and ibkr-cli itself, to trading stocks, monitoring accounts, retrievi... It is an AI Agent Skill for Claude Code / OpenClaw, with 218 downloads so far.
How do I install ibkr-cli?
Run "/install ibkr-cli" in the OpenClaw or Claude Code chat to install it in one step — no extra setup required.
Is ibkr-cli free?
Yes, ibkr-cli is completely free, licensed under MIT-0. You can download, install and use it at no cost.
Which platforms does ibkr-cli support?
ibkr-cli is cross-platform and runs anywhere OpenClaw / Claude Code is available (cross-platform).
Who created ibkr-cli?
It is built and maintained by fatwang2 (@fatwang2); the current version is v1.0.1.