IB_MCP

[!Note]

Project Status

This project is currently under active development. Features may be incomplete, and breaking changes may occur.

Motivation

This project is built exclusively on the Interactive Brokers Web API, and this is a deliberate design choice. While the TWS API is powerful, the Web API provides a more modern and flexible foundation for the goals of this project.

TWS API MCP vs. WEB API MCP?

Why not using the TWS API? The short answer is that the WEB API is planned to be more comprehensive. By more comprehensive I mean, it brings account management, specifically reporting, into the same place. The two other important reasons are: 1. The Web API is standalone. It does not require you to run the TWS desktop software or IB Gateway. 2. Model context protocols (MCPs) are easier to build on top of HTTPS communication rather than TCP/IP sockets.

If it is more comprehensive why not using just the WEB API? Three reasons: 1. WEB API is in beta (see Limitations) 2. TWS is faster and more reliable for trading. 3. TWS has some trading functionalities that the WEB API does not have.

While other projects act as a "bridge" to make the TWS API look like a web API, they introduce an unofficial, third-party dependency. This project avoids that risk by using the official IBKR Web API directly, ensuring better long-term stability and support.

In summary:

• If you need fast and reliable trading go with TWS API
• If you need a more comprehensive and cloud ready solution go with the WEB API

For a more detailed, side-by-side breakdown, please see the TWS vs. Web API Comparison section.

Table of Contents

• Table of Contents
• Overview
• Docker Desktop Setup
  • Limitations of Multi-Container Setup
  • Session Management
• Future Work
• Endpoints Status
• TWS vs WEB comparison
• Limitations
• Architecture
  • 📦 Interactive Brokers Client Portal Gateway Docker Container
    • 🔧 What This Container Does
  • 📦 Interactive Brokers Routers Generator Docker Container [WIP]
  • 📦 IB MCP Server Docker Container
    • 🔧 What This Container Does
• References
• Contributing
• License

Overview

This project provides an Interactive Brokers (IB) API interface using the Model Context Protocol (MCP). There are several ways to interact with Interactive Brokers, like the TWS API, the WEB API, Excel RTD and FIX among others. This project is built on top of Interactive Brokers WEB API.

This development uses the retail authentication process which is managed using the Client Portal Gateway, a small Java program used to route local web requests with appropriate authentication.

Docker Desktop Setup

See a quick walkthrough in YOUTUBE

1. Clone the repo, set env variables and build the images

   # Clone the repository
   git clone https://github.com/rcontesti/IB_MCP.git
   
   # Navigate to the project directory
   cd IB_MCP
   
   # Copy the .env.example file to .env and edit as needed
   cp .env.example .env
   
   # Build the image
   docker compose up --build -d
   
   

2. Auth with your IB account and credentials to: After the image is up and running, navigate to https://{GATEWAY_BASE_URL}:{GATEWAY_PORT}⁠ (e.g.: https://localhost:5055/) to login. You will also find the login path in the logs of the API gateway container: If successful you should be redirected to a URL that reads: "Client login succeeds".

3. Add the MCP server config file to your VS Code settings.json.

   Given the following environment parameters

   MCP_SERVER_HOST=0.0.0.0
   MCP_SERVER_PORT=5002
   MCP_SERVER_PATH=/mcp
   MCP_TRANSPORT_PROTOCOL=streamable-http
   

   the VS Code MCP server snippet in settings.json would look like:

   {
     ...
       },
       "chat.mcp.discovery.enabled": true,
       "mcp": {
           "inputs": [],
           "servers": {
               "time": {
               "command": "docker",
               "args": ["run", "-i", "--rm", "mcp/time"]
               },
               "ib-web": {
                   "type": "http",
                   "url": "http://localhost:5002/mcp/",
               }
           }
       },
       "workbench.colorTheme": "Tomorrow Night Blue"
   }
   

   Alternatively, you can create a .vscode/mcp.json file at the root of your project with the following content:

   {
       "servers": {
           "ib-mcp-server": {
               "type": "http",
               "url": "http://localhost:5002/mcp/"
           }
       },
       "inputs": []
   }
   

   Check Use MCP servers in VS Code (Preview) for further reference.

4. Start the MCP in Copilot

Limitations of Multi-Container Setup

• Users must log in through the browser on the same machine as Client Portal Gateway in order to authenticate.
• All API Endpoint calls must be made on the same machine where the Client Portal Gateway was authenticated.
• None of the endpoints beginning with /gw/api, /oauth, or /oauth2 are supported for use in the Client Portal Gateway.

Session Management

The additional /iserver/auth/ssodh/init endpoint is used to subsequently reopen a brokerage session with the backend, through which you can access the protected /iserver endpoints.

Sessions will time out after approximately 6 minutes without sending new requests or maintaining the /tickle endpoint at least every 5 minutes.

In order to prevent the session from timing out, the endpoint /tickle should be called on a regular basis. It is recommended to call this endpoint approximately every minute.

If the brokerage session has timed out but the session is still connected to the IBKR backend, the response to /auth/status returns ‘connected’:true and ‘authenticated’:false. Calling the /iserver/auth/ssodh/init endpoint will initialize a new brokerage session.

Future Work

• Automatically generate endpoints

  • Currently the IB REST API (2.16.0) OpenAPI specification fails validation, and the automated router generation feature is currently failing to generate routers. You can try to validate yourself here:

  • https://oas-validation.com/

  • https://editor.swagger.io/

  The spec currently has 351 errors. Therefore, router endpoints are currently being built manually, and their status is updated upon completion.

  • Due to issues with the official OpenAPI specification and the IB team's current focus, automated router generation is not feasible at this time, and routers are being built manually.

• Add OAuth

Endpoints Status

Endpoints are currently manually built.

👉 See the full list of API Endpoints Staus

TWS vs WEB comparison

• TWS API (Trader Workstation API): The legacy, powerhouse API. It's extremely powerful, fast, and feature-rich, but it's also more complex and requires you to run the TWS desktop software or the IB Gateway on a machine continuously.
• Web API (Client Portal API): The modern, developer-friendly RESTful API. It's much easier to use, works over standard HTTPS, and is standalone (no desktop software needed). However, it is less performant and has fewer features than the TWS API.

Comparison Table

| Feature | TWS API | Web API (Client Portal API) | | :------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Technology | TCP/IP Socket, Proprietary binary protocol | RESTful, HTTPS, JSON format | | Dependency | Requires TWS or IB Gateway to be running | Standalone (does not require TWS/Gateway) | | Ease of Use | Steep learning curve, complex | Much easier, standard for web developers | | Performance | Very high speed, low latency. Ideal for high-frequency data and fast order execution. | Slower due to HTTPS overhead. Not for HFT. | | Functionality | Extremely comprehensive. Access to virtually every feature in TWS, including complex order types, combos, alg