Req.setRequestHeader key_header_name, key_id Secret_header_name = 'APCA-API-SECRET-KEY' Secret_key = 'VNyUcm79KKHfbURQoctKNhSkaYBgEKbit8aI0Q9B' The skeleton should look like this: Sub authenticated_test()ĭim key_id, key_header_name, secret_key, secret_header_name, liveURL, paperURL As String Otherwise, using the object is relatively straightforward.

The only important part not immediately obvious from the code skeleton is that you must enable the Microsoft XML, v6.0 reference in the VBA editor. We will use the HTTP request object we set up in the previous article. Let’s set up a code skeleton first so the outline is clear. Now that we’ve got the key generation out of the way, we can dive into the code. However, if any of your programs use the current key, they will break (except the open, public-facing API portion). If it does disappear and you don’t know it, you can always generate another key. Mine is just stored in my VBA code modules, which is good a place as any. Since the key will disappear, you need to record it somewhere. This is meant to protect your account from any malicious persons who might happen to stumble upon your open browser. As stated under the light orange box, Alpaca will hide your secret key from the web browser once you refresh or go to another page. The orange box will be your secret key, which you will also need when making requests. When you first start, you should also have a secret key available, but if you don’t you can press “Regenerate Key”, which will give you a new key and secret key. This is the key you will need when you send your requests. The red rectangles should be the same for you, but your Paper Trading API Key ID (blue box) should be different. Once you’ve signed up for a paper trading account, you should see something like this: Key ID & Secret Key We’ll use the paper account for these two tutorials (the GET and the POST tutorials). The paper trading account has $100,000 (as default amount and can be reset to any dollar amount) to practice trading, test strategies, and generally play around without risking real money.

You do not have to commit any capital since it is not a live trading account. If you don’t have an account, fortunately, the company allows anyone to sign up for a paper trading account.

Excel vba rest api