Docs & help
Everything you need, in plain English.
Set up your node, connect your broker, and know exactly what the safety switches do.
Get running in three steps
STEP 1
Generate an API key
Head to your dashboard home and hit Generate my key. It's shown in full exactly once — copy it somewhere safe.
STEP 2
Run the installer
Paste this into a terminal on the machine you want to trade from:
$ curl -sL https://forkmyalpha.com/install.sh | bash -s -- --token sk_live…
STEP 3
Add your broker keys
Paste your Alpaca or IBKR keys into ~/.forkmyalpha/.env on your machine. This file never leaves your machine — we never see those keys.
The safety switches
These run on your machine, not on our goodwill. Defaults are conservative.
Connection failsafe
If your node loses its connection for 24 hours, it closes all positions automatically.
Max drawdown limit
Set a max drawdown (e.g. 5%). The node stops buying if it's breached.
Manual review mode
Flip one toggle and every trade asks for your [Y/N] before it goes out.
Emergency disconnect
One click revokes your API key and halts the signal feed to your node.
Common snags
My node says "Unauthorized API key"→
Your key was revoked or regenerated. Create a fresh one from your dashboard home, paste it into ~/.forkmyalpha/.env on your machine, and restart the node.
The logs say "Broker credentials invalid"→
Double-check your Alpaca or IBKR keys in ~/.forkmyalpha/.env. If your config says ENVIRONMENT=paper, make sure you're using paper-trading keys, not live ones.
System status says my engine is offline→
That check runs from your browser against localhost:8003 — so it only passes on the machine where the node is actually running. If you're on a different computer, that's expected.
Building something custom?
The full REST & WebSocket reference lives in the API docs — the one place we let the jargon run free.