Trading with IbkrApi

This guide covers how to perform trading operations using the IbkrApi library, including placing orders, modifying orders, and retrieving order status.

Finding Contracts

Before placing an order, you need to find the contract you want to trade:

# Search for a stock by symbol
symbol = "AAPL"
{:ok, contracts} = IbkrApi.ClientPortal.Contract.search_by_symbol(symbol)

# Process the search results
contracts |> Enum.each(fn contract ->
  IO.puts("Contract: #{contract.symbol}")
  IO.puts("Description: #{contract.description}")
  IO.puts("Contract ID: #{contract.conid}")
  IO.puts("---")
end)

# Get the contract ID for use in orders
contract_id = List.first(contracts).conid

Placing Orders

Market Order

To place a simple market order:

# Define the order parameters
order_params = %{
  acctId: "U1234567",  # Replace with your account ID
  conid: 265598,       # Contract ID for the instrument
  orderType: "MKT",    # Market order
  side: "BUY",         # BUY or SELL
  quantity: 100,       # Number of shares/contracts
  tif: "DAY"           # Time in force
}

# Place the order
{:ok, order_response} = IbkrApi.ClientPortal.Order.place_order(order_params)

# Get the order ID for future reference
order_id = order_response.order_id
IO.puts("Order placed with ID: #{order_id}")

Limit Order

For a limit order with a specific price:

limit_order_params = %{
  acctId: "U1234567",
  conid: 265598,
  orderType: "LMT",    # Limit order
  side: "BUY",
  quantity: 100,
  price: 150.25,       # Limit price
  tif: "DAY"
}

{:ok, order_response} = IbkrApi.ClientPortal.Order.place_order(limit_order_params)

Stop Order

For a stop order:

stop_order_params = %{
  acctId: "U1234567",
  conid: 265598,
  orderType: "STP",    # Stop order
  side: "SELL",
  quantity: 100,
  auxPrice: 145.50,    # Stop price
  tif: "GTC"           # Good Till Canceled
}

{:ok, order_response} = IbkrApi.ClientPortal.Order.place_order(stop_order_params)

Checking Order Status

To check the status of your orders:

# Get all live orders
{:ok, orders} = IbkrApi.ClientPortal.Order.get_live_orders()

# Process the orders
orders |> Enum.each(fn order ->
  IO.puts("Order ID: #{order.order_id}")
  IO.puts("Status: #{order.status}")
  IO.puts("Contract: #{order.symbol}")
  IO.puts("Side: #{order.side}")
  IO.puts("Quantity: #{order.quantity}")
  IO.puts("---")
end)

Modifying Orders

To modify an existing order:

# Order ID from the original order placement
order_id = "1234567890"

# New parameters for the order
modified_params = %{
  acctId: "U1234567",
  conid: 265598,
  orderType: "LMT",
  side: "BUY",
  quantity: 150,       # Updated quantity
  price: 148.75,       # Updated price
  tif: "DAY"
}

{:ok, modified_response} = IbkrApi.ClientPortal.Order.modify_order(order_id, modified_params)

Canceling Orders

To cancel an order:

order_id = "1234567890"
{:ok, cancel_response} = IbkrApi.ClientPortal.Order.cancel_order(order_id)

if cancel_response.success do
  IO.puts("Order successfully canceled")
else
  IO.puts("Failed to cancel order: #{cancel_response.error}")
end

Retrieving Executions

To get information about executed trades:

# Get executions for a specific account
account_id = "U1234567"
{:ok, executions} = IbkrApi.ClientPortal.Trade.get_executions(account_id)

# Process the executions
executions |> Enum.each(fn execution ->
  IO.puts("Execution ID: #{execution.execution_id}")
  IO.puts("Symbol: #{execution.symbol}")
  IO.puts("Side: #{execution.side}")
  IO.puts("Quantity: #{execution.quantity}")
  IO.puts("Price: #{execution.price}")
  IO.puts("Time: #{execution.time}")
  IO.puts("---")
end)

Order Types and Parameters

Interactive Brokers supports a wide range of order types. Here are some common ones:

Time in Force Options

Error Handling

All trading operations should include proper error handling:

case IbkrApi.ClientPortal.Order.place_order(order_params) do
  {:ok, response} ->
    IO.puts("Order placed successfully: #{response.order_id}")
    
  {:error, %ErrorMessage{code: code, message: message}} ->
    IO.puts("Error placing order: #{message}")
    
    # Handle specific error codes
    case code do
      "10001" -> IO.puts("Insufficient funds")
      "10020" -> IO.puts("Contract not found")
      _ -> IO.puts("Unknown error")
    end
end

Best Practices

1. Validate contract information before placing orders
2. Start with small orders when testing new strategies
3. Implement proper error handling for all trading operations
4. Check order status after placement to ensure it was accepted
5. Use paper trading accounts for testing and development
6. Respect API rate limits to avoid being temporarily blocked

Related Resources

• Getting Started
• Authentication
• Account Management
• API Reference