Alpaca Official MCP Server Evaluation¶

Created: 2025-11-29 Status: EVALUATION COMPLETE Decision: WAIT AND EVALUATE - No immediate action needed

Executive Summary¶

Alpaca Markets released an official MCP server (alpacahq/alpaca-mcp-server) that enables natural language trading through Claude Code, Cursor, and other MCP clients. This document evaluates whether to adopt it vs. maintaining our current custom implementation.

Recommendation: Keep current implementation for stocks, evaluate Alpaca MCP for options/crypto expansion.

1. Alpaca MCP Server Overview¶

Official Repository¶

GitHub: https://github.com/alpacahq/alpaca-mcp-server
Stars: 365+ (as of Nov 2025)
License: MIT
Maintained by: Alpaca Markets (official)

Installation¶

# One-command install
uvx alpaca-mcp-server init

# Claude Code integration
claude mcp add alpaca --scope user --transport stdio uvx alpaca-mcp-server serve \
  --env ALPACA_API_KEY=your_key \
  --env ALPACA_SECRET_KEY=your_secret

Features (43 Tools)¶

Category	Tools
Account	get_account_info, get_all_positions, get_open_position
Orders	place_stock_order, place_crypto_order, place_option_market_order, cancel_order, get_orders
Market Data	get_stock_bars, get_stock_quotes, get_stock_latest_quote, get_stock_snapshot
Options	get_option_contracts, get_option_latest_quote, get_option_snapshot, exercise_options_position
Crypto	get_crypto_bars, get_crypto_quotes, get_crypto_latest_quote, get_crypto_snapshot
Portfolio	get_portfolio_history, close_position, close_all_positions
Market Info	get_calendar, get_clock, get_corporate_actions
Watchlists	create_watchlist, get_watchlists, update_watchlist, delete_watchlist

2. Current Implementation Comparison¶

Your Tools (Custom)¶

File	Lines	Purpose
`tools/portfolio_fetcher.py`	~200	Fetch positions from Alpaca + Schwab
`tools/alpaca_mcp_server.py`	~300	FastMCP wrapper for Alpaca API
`tools/execute_alpaca_live.py`	~150	Order execution scripts
`unified_api/services.py`	596	TradingService (simulated)
`trading_agents/`	~2000	Multi-strategy automation

Total custom trading code: ~3,200 lines

Feature Comparison¶

Feature	Your Implementation	Alpaca MCP
Stock Trading	✅ Full (market, limit, stop)	✅ Full (+ trailing stop)
Options Trading	❌ Not implemented	✅ Full (single + multi-leg)
Crypto Trading	❌ Not implemented	✅ Full (market, limit, stop-limit)
Fractional Shares	❌ Not implemented	✅ Supported
Historical Data	✅ Basic (via yfinance)	✅ Full (bars, quotes, trades)
Real-time Quotes	❌ Limited	✅ Full (snapshot, latest)
Portfolio History	❌ Manual tracking	✅ Built-in
Corporate Actions	❌ Not implemented	✅ Dividends, splits, earnings
Schwab Support	✅ Yes	❌ No (Alpaca only)
Paper-First Rule	✅ Enforced	🟡 Manual (env var)
Risk Management	✅ Custom (stop losses, position sizing)	❌ Manual
Memory Integration	✅ Full (Qdrant, lessons, decisions)	❌ None
Multi-Strategy	✅ Full (3 active strategies)	❌ None

3. Integration Architecture¶

Option A: Full Replacement (NOT RECOMMENDED)¶

Claude Code → mcp__alpaca__* tools (direct)

Pros: - Less code to maintain - Official support from Alpaca - Options + crypto immediately available

Cons: - Lose Schwab integration - Lose risk management enforcement - Lose memory system integration - Trading logic moves to prompts (less auditable)

Option B: Hybrid (RECOMMENDED for Future)¶

Claude Code → Your Trading Agents → Alpaca MCP (for options/crypto)
                                 → Current API (for stocks + Schwab)

Pros: - Keep existing stock trading infrastructure - Add options/crypto via Alpaca MCP - Maintain risk management and paper-first rules - Keep memory integration

Cons: - Two systems to manage - More complexity

Option C: Keep Current (RECOMMENDED Now)¶

Current: Claude Code → tools/portfolio_fetcher.py → Alpaca REST API
                     → trading_agents/ → Custom automation

Pros: - Already working for stocks - Full control over risk management - Memory system integration - Schwab support

Cons: - No options/crypto support - Manual historical data management

4. Decision Matrix¶

Factor	Weight	Current	Alpaca MCP	Winner
Stock trading	30%	9/10	9/10	Tie
Options support	15%	0/10	10/10	Alpaca MCP
Crypto support	10%	0/10	10/10	Alpaca MCP
Risk management	20%	10/10	2/10	Current
Memory integration	15%	10/10	0/10	Current
Multi-broker (Schwab)	10%	10/10	0/10	Current

Weighted Score: - Current: 7.7/10 - Alpaca MCP: 5.8/10

Winner for now: Keep current implementation

5. When to Revisit¶

Trigger: Options Strategy (Week 3 Roadmap)¶

If implementing options trading becomes a priority: 1. Evaluate Alpaca MCP for options-only integration 2. Keep current stock trading infrastructure 3. Add Alpaca MCP as second MCP server

Trigger: Crypto Strategy (Week 4 Roadmap)¶

If implementing crypto trading becomes a priority: 1. Same hybrid approach as options 2. Alpaca MCP handles crypto execution 3. Your agents handle strategy logic

Not Recommended¶

Full replacement of current system
Abandoning Schwab integration
Moving risk management to prompts

6. Quick Reference: Alpaca MCP Setup (If Needed Later)¶

Claude Code Integration¶

# Install
uvx alpaca-mcp-server init

# Add to Claude Code
claude mcp add alpaca --scope user --transport stdio uvx alpaca-mcp-server serve \
  --env ALPACA_API_KEY=$ALPACA_PAPER_API_KEY \
  --env ALPACA_SECRET_KEY=$ALPACA_PAPER_SECRET_KEY

Manual Config (~/.claude/settings.json)¶

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alpaca": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["alpaca-mcp-server", "serve"],
      "env": {
        "ALPACA_API_KEY": "your_key",
        "ALPACA_SECRET_KEY": "your_secret"
      }
    }
  }
}

Example Natural Language Commands¶

"What's my current account balance?"
"Buy 5 shares of AAPL at market"
"Show me TSLA option contracts expiring next month"
"Place a bull call spread on SPY"
"Get my portfolio history for the last week"

7. Sources¶

8. Appendix: Tool List Comparison¶

Alpaca MCP Tools (43 total)¶

Account & Positions (3) - get_account_info - get_all_positions - get_open_position

Assets (2) - get_asset - get_all_assets

Corporate Actions (1) - get_corporate_actions

Portfolio (1) - get_portfolio_history

Watchlists (6) - create_watchlist - get_watchlists - update_watchlist_by_id - get_watchlist_by_id - add_asset_to_watchlist_by_id - remove_asset_from_watchlist_by_id - delete_watchlist_by_id

Market Calendar & Clock (2) - get_calendar - get_clock

Stock Market Data (7) - get_stock_bars - get_stock_quotes - get_stock_trades - get_stock_latest_bar - get_stock_latest_quote - get_stock_latest_trade - get_stock_snapshot

Crypto Market Data (8) - get_crypto_bars - get_crypto_quotes - get_crypto_trades - get_crypto_latest_quote - get_crypto_latest_bar - get_crypto_latest_trade - get_crypto_snapshot - get_crypto_latest_orderbook

Options Market Data (3) - get_option_contracts - get_option_latest_quote - get_option_snapshot

Trading Orders (3) - get_orders - place_stock_order - place_crypto_order - place_option_market_order

Position Management (4) - cancel_all_orders - cancel_order_by_id - close_position - close_all_positions - exercise_options_position

Your Current Tools¶

portfolio_fetcher.py - fetch_alpaca_portfolio(use_paper) - fetch_schwab_portfolio() - get_all_positions() - get_account_summary()

alpaca_mcp_server.py (FastMCP) - get_account() - get_positions() - place_market_order() - place_limit_order() - cancel_order()

trading_agents/ - MicroCapMomentum agent - RSIOversold agent - FinancialServicesScorer agent

Last Updated: 2025-11-29 Next Review: When options/crypto strategy becomes priority