Claude Desktop install for Interactive Brokers

Updated: 2026-08-10 08:25 CEST

Follow this path on a Mac to use Claude Desktop with Interactive Brokers through canary. The MCP Bundle (.mcpb) packages the canary MCP server for Claude Desktop. It does not install Interactive Brokers software or enable broker API access for you.

Once it is installed, Claude can read the account, portfolio and market context that your local IBKR session and subscriptions make available. It can also read the daily brief and the advisory rulebook verdict.

Search results may also show IBKR Desktop, the Interactive Brokers trading platform. That is a different product. This page covers Claude Desktop using the local canary mcp server through IB Gateway or TWS.

What the download installs

The MCPB installs a canary extension in Claude Desktop. On a Mac, the bundle carries both Apple Silicon and Intel binaries, and Claude runs the bundled server locally over stdio.

It does not install Claude Desktop, IB Gateway or TWS, and it brings no IBKR account or market-data entitlements. All of these must be in place on the Mac before Claude can read account or market context.

Download canary.mcpb

Mac prerequisites

• Claude Desktop installed on the Mac.
• IB Gateway 10.37 or newer, or Trader Workstation (TWS), installed and running locally.
• An IBKR Pro account with TWS API access. IBKR Lite does not include TWS API access.
• API socket access enabled in IB Gateway or TWS.
• Market-data permissions for the account and market inputs you expect Canary to include.

Install steps in Claude Desktop

1. Start IB Gateway or TWS and log in to the account you want Claude to read.
2. Confirm that API socket access is enabled in the IBKR app. Canary finds the default local ports on its own.
3. Download canary.mcpb with the button above.
4. Open the downloaded .mcpb file with Claude Desktop, drag it into the app or use Settings > Extensions > Advanced settings > Install Extension.
5. Review the extension details and approve the install in Claude Desktop.
6. Quit Claude Desktop completely with Command-Q and reopen it. Claude then starts the bundled canary MCP server.

First checks

With Claude Desktop relaunched and IB Gateway or TWS still running, open a new chat and ask a simple account or market question:

What is in my IBKR account?

If Claude reports that the gateway is unreachable, leave Claude open and check that IB Gateway or TWS is logged in with API access enabled. Then quit Claude Desktop completely and reopen it.

What Claude can ask through Canary

• "What's in my IBKR account?"
• "Show my AAPL exposure, including option deltas."
• "What does the technical picture for SPY look like?"
• "Read today's brief and summarise what needs attention."
• "Which rulebook findings are failing or unknown right now?"
• "What orders filled this week?"

Claude receives structured account and market data from canary mcp. It receives no order-entry tool.

Shell-managed alternative

Most Claude Desktop users on a Mac should use the MCPB above. Choose the shell-managed path only if you want one shared binary for Claude Desktop, Cursor, Continue, Zed and the terminal:

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

Restart Claude Desktop after upgrading the binary, because an MCP host keeps the spawned server process until it exits. An MCPB install carries its own embedded binary. To update it, download and reinstall the latest canary.mcpb.

References

• IBKR MCP server for an overview of the local MCP server.
• Interactive Brokers MCP server for the full project setup.
• MCP tools reference for the tool schema Claude chooses from.