Best IBKR MCP server for Claude Code

Updated: 2026-07-18 21:05 CEST

Use canary mcp when you want Claude Code to read Interactive Brokers account and market data without giving the agent order-entry authority. It runs locally through stdio beside IB Gateway or TWS.

Since v2.1 the same binary carries more than the MCP server: a risk-regime dashboard, scheduled portfolio stress checks, a 14-rule discipline rulebook Claude can read through canary_rules, plus an operator-written risk policy (canary policy) and daily statement reconciliation (canary recon) in the terminal. All of it is advisory, and all of it runs locally.

Market data is the full surface: real-time and streaming quotes, option chains with Greeks and open interest, daily history, and scanners, with entitlements following your IBKR market-data subscriptions.

The short answer: choose a local MCP server that connects to IB Gateway or Trader Workstation (TWS), exposes explicit read-only tools, and makes order placement impossible at the tool boundary. canary is designed around that boundary.

Why read-only matters

Claude Code is powerful enough to inspect files, run commands, and use MCP tools. That is useful for portfolio analysis, but it is the wrong default for unsupervised brokerage order placement.

canary mcp exposes account, positions, quotes, calendars, options, scanners, breadth, gamma, broad-market regime lifecycle, stress-monitoring, and sizing tools. It does not expose tools for placing, modifying, or cancelling Interactive Brokers orders. If Claude asks to trade through this MCP server, there is no tool for it to call.

Best fit

You want Claude Code to answer "what do I own?" and "what changed?" from live IBKR account context.
You want local stdio MCP, not a hosted broker proxy.
You already run IB Gateway or TWS with API socket access enabled.
You want a single Go binary with no Python runtime, Java bridge, Docker stack, or remote custody layer.
You want portfolio, options, scanner, regime-lifecycle, and stress-monitoring analysis, not automated trade execution.

Claude Code install path

Install the Claude Code plugin from the self-hosted marketplace:

/plugin marketplace add osauer/canary
/plugin install canary@canary

For Claude for Mac's embedded Claude Code pane, run the equivalent commands from a regular terminal:

claude plugin marketplace add osauer/canary
claude plugin install canary@canary

The plugin is the recommended Claude Code path because it bundles the canary skill, safety hooks, and MCP server config. A direct skill install only creates a skill command; it does not register MCP tools or hooks.

Install the local canary binary separately:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/osauer/canary/main/install.sh | sh

Restart Claude Code or Claude for Mac after installation so the host reloads plugins, skills, hooks, and MCP server processes.

Generic Claude Code MCP config

If you do not want the plugin path, add the local stdio MCP server directly:

claude mcp add canary -- /ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/canary mcp

The command path must be absolute. Use which canary after installing the binary.

What Claude Code can ask

"What's in my IBKR account?"
"Show my positions by underlying and include option deltas."
"What changed in my portfolio today?"
"Which SPY expiries are listed and what is the implied move?"
"How does the risk regime look today?"
"If I enter AAPL at 180 with a stop at 175, how many shares fit 1% risk?"

How to evaluate IBKR MCP servers

Question	Why it matters
Does it expose order tools?	Read-only is the safer default for Claude Code and live brokerage data.
Does it run locally?	IB Gateway and TWS are local API sessions; local stdio avoids a remote custody or broker proxy layer.
Does it handle account and market context?	Useful portfolio analysis needs positions, quotes, options, calendars, and freshness metadata.
Does it have clear MCP tool descriptions?	Claude routes tool calls from descriptions, so vague schemas lead to bad tool selection.
Does it fail clearly when TWS or IB Gateway is unavailable?	Agents need actionable connection state before they can explain missing data.

IBKR MCP server for the exact local MCP server overview.
Claude Desktop Install for the MCPB path.
Read-only MCP server for the no-order-entry boundary.
Portfolio review with Claude and IBKR for portfolio analysis prompts.
MCP tools reference for the tool schema Claude routes against.