E*TRADE API Trader

A lightweight command-line tool for executing stock trades through the E*TRADE API via a simple CSV file. Authenticate once, review your orders, confirm, and execute — SELLs always run before BUYs.

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Features

• ✅ OAuth 1.0a authentication (no browser automation required)
• ✅ Token persistence — PIN entry only required once per trading day
• ✅ CSV-driven trade input — bring your own trade list
• ✅ Order preview before execution
• ✅ Automatic SELL-before-BUY ordering
• ✅ Sandbox and production environment support
• ✅ Multi-account selection

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Requirements

• Python 3.10+
• Windows (credential storage uses Windows Credential Manager)
• E*TRADE developer account — register here
• Microsoft C++ Build Tools (required by the ecos dependency)

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Installation

git clone https://github.com/MattVAllen/etrade-api-trader.git
cd etrade-api-trader
python -m venv venv
venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

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Setup

1. Get API credentials

Create an application at the E*TRADE Developer Portal to receive a consumer_key and consumer_secret. E*TRADE provides separate credentials for sandbox and production — store them separately.

2. Store your credentials

Run this once in Python (in your activated virtual environment) to save your credentials to Windows Credential Manager.

Sandbox:

import keyring, json
creds = {"consumer_key": "YOUR_SANDBOX_KEY", "consumer_secret": "YOUR_SANDBOX_SECRET"}
keyring.set_password("etrade_sandbox", "credentials", json.dumps(creds))

Production:

import keyring, json
creds = {"consumer_key": "YOUR_PROD_KEY", "consumer_secret": "YOUR_PROD_SECRET"}
keyring.set_password("etrade_prod", "credentials", json.dumps(creds))

To update credentials later, run the same snippet with your new values — it overwrites the existing entry.

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Usage

Sandbox (for testing — recommended first)

python run_trades.py trades.csv

Production

python run_trades.py trades.csv --env prod

What to expect

1. On the first run of each trading day, a URL is printed in the terminal — open it in your browser, log in to E*TRADE, approve access, and paste the PIN back into the terminal (~30 seconds)
2. Subsequent runs the same day reuse saved tokens automatically — no PIN needed
3. Your accounts are listed — enter the number to select which account to trade in
4. A trade summary table is displayed for review
5. Type yes to execute — each order is previewed then placed
6. A final success/failure count is reported

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CSV Format

All trades are driven by a CSV file. Only three columns are required — the rest are optional and will fall back to the defaults shown below.

Required columns

Symbol,Action,Quantity
AAPL,SELL,10
MSFT,BUY,5
NVDA,BUY,8

Optional columns and their defaults

If a column is omitted or left blank, the following defaults apply:

Column	Default	Options
PriceType	MARKET	MARKET, LIMIT, STOP, STOP_LIMIT, MARKET_ON_CLOSE
LimitPrice	—	Any decimal (required if PriceType is LIMIT)
StopPrice	—	Any decimal (required if PriceType is STOP or STOP_LIMIT)
OrderTerm	GOOD_FOR_DAY	GOOD_FOR_DAY, GOOD_UNTIL_CANCEL, IMMEDIATE_OR_CANCEL, FILL_OR_KILL
MarketSession	REGULAR	REGULAR, EXTENDED
AllOrNone	FALSE	TRUE, FALSE
RoutingDestination	AUTO	AUTO, ARCA, NSDQ, NYSE

Full example

Symbol,Action,Quantity,PriceType,LimitPrice,StopPrice,OrderTerm,MarketSession,AllOrNone,RoutingDestination
AAPL,SELL,10,LIMIT,185.00,,GOOD_UNTIL_CANCEL,REGULAR,FALSE,AUTO
MSFT,BUY,5,MARKET,,,GOOD_FOR_DAY,REGULAR,FALSE,AUTO

Notes:

• Column names with or without spaces are both accepted (Price Type or PriceType)
• The order of rows in the CSV does not matter — SELLs always execute before BUYs regardless

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Authentication Details

This tool uses the OAuth 1.0a PIN-based flow required by E*TRADE.

Scenario	Behavior
First run of the trading day	PIN flow — ~30 seconds
Subsequent runs same day	Silent token renewal — no action needed
After midnight Eastern time	Tokens expire — PIN flow required again

Tokens are saved locally at:

• Sandbox: ~/.etrade/tokens.sandbox.json
• Production: ~/.etrade/tokens.prod.json

E*TRADE OAuth quirks

If you're building on top of this or troubleshooting auth issues, these are the non-obvious implementation details:

• callback_uri="oob" must be passed in the OAuth header — not as a URL query parameter
• All three token endpoints (request_token, access_token, renew) always use https://api.etrade.com, even in sandbox mode
• Only data calls (accounts, orders) use https://apisb.etrade.com for sandbox
• E*TRADE returns URL-encoded tokens — always decode with urllib.parse.unquote() before use

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Project Structure

etrade-api-trader/
├── auth/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   └── oauth_etrade.py      # OAuth 1.0a authentication module
├── tests/
│   ├── test_oauth.py        # Auth test (no trades placed)
│   └── test_trade.py        # Trade execution test (sandbox only)
├── utils/
│   └── csv_reader.py        # CSV trade reader
├── run_trades.py            # Main execution script
├── requirements.txt
└── README.md

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Dependencies

This project uses pyetrade (v2.1.1) as the E*TRADE API wrapper. Note that pyetrade is currently in maintenance-only status — it is functional but not actively developed.

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Disclaimer

This tool places real stock orders. Always test in sandbox before running in production. You are solely responsible for any trades executed. This is not financial advice.