Alpaca

mcp-alpaca

Alpaca MCP — real-time US stock market data via the Alpaca Market Data API

Part of Pipeworx — an MCP gateway connecting AI agents to 1679+ live data sources.

Tools

Tool	Description
alpaca_snapshot	Real-time US stock snapshot with extended-hours coverage: latest trade price, bid/ask quote, today's OHLCV, previous close, change and change % vs previous close, plus the latest minute bar with its VWAP — during pre-market and after-hours the minute bar IS the live extended-hours price. Answers "pre-market price of OKTA", "overnight change %", "after-hours volume and high/low". Multiple symbols comma-separated (max 20). BYOK Alpaca (free account), real-time IEX feed. Example: alpaca_snapshot({ symbols: "OKTA,AAPL", _apiKey: "key_id:secret_key" })
alpaca_bars	Historical US stock OHLCV bars with per-bar VWAP and trade count. Timeframes 1Min/5Min/15Min/1Hour/1Day; intraday bars include pre-market and after-hours sessions on the IEX feed. Each bar: {t, o, h, l, c, v, vwap, trades}. Use start/end ISO timestamps or a lookback shorthand like "2h", "5d". Multiple symbols comma-separated (max 20). BYOK Alpaca (free account). Example: alpaca_bars({ symbols: "AAPL", timeframe: "5Min", lookback: "1d", _apiKey: "key_id:secret_key" })
alpaca_intraday_vwap	Current session VWAP for US stocks — is the price above or below VWAP right now? Fetches today's 1-minute bars from 04:00 ET (pre-market included), computes the cumulative volume-weighted average price, and compares it to the latest trade. Returns current_price, session_vwap, above_vwap, and session volume per symbol. Answers "current VWAP for BLK, AAPL, RHI, CTAS — above or below?" in one call. Multiple symbols comma-separated (max 20). BYOK Alpaca (free account), real-time IEX feed. Example: alpaca_intraday_vwap({ symbols: "BLK,AAPL,RHI,CTAS", _apiKey: "key_id:secret_key" })

Quick Start

Add to your MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alpaca": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/alpaca/mcp"
    }
  }
}

What this endpoint actually serves

tools/list at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/alpaca/mcp returns the tools in the table above plus the shared Pipeworx meta-tools — ask_pipeworx, discover_tools, search_within, remember/recall and the rest of the gateway-wide set. So the tool count you see is larger than this table: a single-pack endpoint currently lists roughly 30 shared tools alongside the pack's own. The connection's initialize response states its exact scope, and is the authoritative answer for a given day.

This is deliberate, not multiplexing by accident. The meta-tools are what let a scoped connection answer a question this pack does not cover — via ask_pipeworx, which routes across the whole catalog — without you adding a second MCP server. There is currently no way to mount a pack endpoint without them; if the extra schemas cost you more context than the routing is worth, connect to the full gateway once rather than to several pack endpoints.

Or connect to the full Pipeworx gateway to get every pack's tools listed directly, instead of just this one's:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pipeworx": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Both URLs reach the same gateway and the same 1679+ data sources. The only difference is which pack's tools are listed directly; ask_pipeworx reaches all of them from either one.

No MCP client? Call it over HTTP

This pack takes your own API key (_apiKey) — we don't front one for it, so there's no curl here that would run without it. Inspect any tool: GET https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/alpaca_snapshot. Find one: POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/search_packs with {"query":"..."}.

Standalone (no gateway account)

This package also runs as a local stdio MCP server — no Pipeworx account, no gateway round-trip:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alpaca": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@pipeworx/mcp-alpaca"]
    }
  }
}

Or run it directly to confirm it starts:

npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-alpaca

It speaks MCP over stdin/stdout and answers initialize/tools/list/tools/call for only this pack's tools — none of the shared meta-tools the gateway connection above adds. Same source, same tools, no ask_pipeworx routing.

Using with ask_pipeworx

Instead of calling tools directly, you can ask questions in plain English — this works on the pack endpoint above as well as on the full gateway:

ask_pipeworx({ question: "your question about Alpaca data" })

The gateway picks the right tool and fills the arguments automatically.

More

• Docs and guides
• pipeworx.io

License

MIT