AI Trading Agent with MCP (Model Context Protocol)

Build an autonomous AI trading agent that can execute real trades, analyze options, and monitor macroeconomic conditions—all through natural language conversation.

🎯 What This Project Does

This repository contains OpenAPI specifications that enable AI assistants (Claude, ChatGPT, etc.) to:

• Execute trades via Alpaca (stocks, ETFs, options)
• Analyze options chains with Greeks via Tradier
• Monitor macroeconomic conditions via FRED (Federal Reserve data)

Using Workato's MCP connector, these specs become MCP servers that AI can call as tools.

🏗️ Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     USER CONVERSATION                        │
│           "Buy $5000 of NVDA" or "Check the yield curve"    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │
                              ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    CLAUDE / CHATGPT                          │
│              AI reasoning and decision making                │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │
                              ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    MCP PROTOCOL LAYER                        │
│           Standardized tool calls via Workato                │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │
              ┌───────────────┼───────────────┐
              ▼               ▼               ▼
┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐
│     ALPACA      │ │     TRADIER     │ │      FRED       │
│   Trading API   │ │   Options API   │ │   Economic API  │
│                 │ │                 │ │                 │
│ • Orders        │ │ • Options Chains│ │ • Yield Curve   │
│ • Positions     │ │ • Greeks        │ │ • Unemployment  │
│ • Portfolio     │ │ • Historical    │ │ • Inflation     │
│ • Account       │ │ • Quotes        │ │ • GDP           │
└─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘

📁 Repository Contents

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

1. Workato Account - Sign up for Workato (MCP connector required)
2. Alpaca Account - Sign up for Alpaca (free paper trading)
3. Tradier Account - Sign up for Tradier (free sandbox)
4. FRED API Key - Get free key

Step 1: Set Up Alpaca

1. Create account at alpaca.markets
2. Go to Paper Trading dashboard
3. Generate API keys (Key ID + Secret Key)
4. Note: Use paper-api.alpaca.markets for testing

Step 2: Set Up Tradier

1. Create account at developer.tradier.com
2. Get your Sandbox Access Token from dashboard
3. Note: Use sandbox.tradier.com for free delayed data

Step 3: Set Up FRED

1. Go to FRED API Keys
2. Request a free API key (instant approval)

Step 4: Import to Workato

For each API:

1. In Workato, go to App Connections → Create Connection
2. Select HTTP connector with OpenAPI option
3. Upload the corresponding .yaml file
4. Configure authentication:

Step 5: Create MCP Server

1. In Workato, go to MCP Servers → Create Server
2. Add your HTTP connections as tools
3. Publish the MCP server
4. Copy the MCP server URL

Step 6: Connect to Claude

In Claude.ai:

1. Go to Settings → Integrations → MCP Servers
2. Add your Workato MCP server URL
3. Authorize the connection
4. Start chatting!

💬 Example Conversations

Trading with Alpaca

User: What's my current portfolio value?

Claude: [Calls Alpaca:Get_Account]
Your portfolio is worth $99,595.06 with $43,581 buying power.
You have 24 open positions.

User: Buy $5000 of NVDA

Claude: [Calls Alpaca:Create_Order]
✓ Bought 26.3 shares of NVDA at $190.15
Order filled. Total cost: $5,001.95

Options Analysis with Tradier

User: What covered calls can I sell on SOFI?

Claude: [Calls Tradier:Get_Option_Chains with greeks=true]

Here are the best opportunities for SOFI (current price $26.92):

| Strike | Expiry | Premium | Delta | Annual Return |
|--------|--------|---------|-------|---------------|
| $29    | Feb 20 | $1.38   | 0.40  | 48.4%         |
| $30    | Feb 20 | $1.10   | 0.34  | 38.3%         |
| $28    | Feb 20 | $1.72   | 0.47  | 60.0%         |

Recommendation: The $29 strike offers the best risk/reward balance.

Macro Analysis with FRED

User: What's the current macro environment?

Claude: [Calls FRED:Get_Series_Observations for T10Y2Y, VIXCLS, DFF, UNRATE]

📊 Market Regime Check (January 2026)

| Indicator | Value | Signal |
|-----------|-------|--------|
| Yield Curve (10Y-2Y) | +0.64% | ✅ Normal |
| VIX | 14.49 | ✅ Low volatility |
| Fed Funds Rate | 4.33% | 🟡 Restrictive |
| Unemployment | 4.1% | ✅ Healthy |

Regime: RISK-ON
Current conditions favor growth assets.

📊 Available Tools

Alpaca (Trading)

Tradier (Options)

FRED (Macro)

🔑 Key FRED Series

⚠️ Important Disclaimers

• Paper Trading Only: Start with paper trading to test your setup
• Not Financial Advice: This is an educational project
• Options Risk: Options trading involves substantial risk
• API Limits: Be aware of rate limits on all APIs
• Data Delays: Tradier sandbox has 15-minute delayed data

🔧 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

401 Unauthorized (Alpaca)

• Check API key format (needs both Key ID and Secret)
• Verify using correct base URL (paper vs live)
• Ensure headers are named correctly

422 Unprocessable Entity (Alpaca Orders)

• Don't send empty stop_loss or take_profit for simple orders
• Use either qty OR notional, not both
• Check market hours for day orders

400 Bad Request (Tradier)

• Verify Bearer token format
• Check symbol format for options

No Data (FRED)

• Add file_type=json to requests
• Check series_id spelling (case-sensitive)

📚 Resources

• Alpaca API Docs
• Tradier API Docs
• FRED API Docs
• Workato MCP Docs
• MCP Protocol Spec

🤝 Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Submit a pull request

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Anthropic for Claude and MCP
• Alpaca for commission-free trading API
• Tradier for options data API
• FRED for economic data
• Workato for MCP server hosting

Built with ❤️ by the AI Trading Agent community

Remember: Always test with paper trading before using real money!