IBKR MCP server

Updated: 2026-08-27 20:48 CEST

canary mcp is a local MCP server for Interactive Brokers portfolio analysis and trading research. It connects Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Zed, Continue, and other stdio MCP hosts to the machine already running IB Gateway or Trader Workstation (TWS).

Canary adds a local daemon, command line, daily brief, discipline rulebook, operator-written risk policy, and Action Queue around that MCP connection. The available data depends on the trader's IBKR subscriptions and current market session; unavailable or stale inputs stay visible instead of being presented as current.

Install the Claude Desktop MCP Bundle or the canary binary, run it beside the local IBKR session, and use its read-only tools for status, account, positions, option strategies, technical evidence, broker-reporting status, retrospective Edge review, the daily brief, rules, proposals, opportunities, settings, readiness, and order-lifecycle reads. The MCP surface has no resources, order-preview tools, settings-write tools, or order-entry tools.

Best fit

• You want an IBKR MCP server that works locally through stdio.
• You already run IB Gateway or TWS and want Claude or another agent to analyze account and market context.
• You want a single Go binary instead of a Python bridge, Java jar, hosted broker proxy, or remote custody layer.
• You want portfolio intelligence, market research, risk checks, and controlled trading-workflow analysis before any separate execution step.

Install

Claude Desktop users should start with the MCP Bundle:

open https://github.com/osauer/canary/releases/latest/download/canary.mcpb

Open the .mcpb file with Claude Desktop, then fully quit and relaunch Claude while IB Gateway or TWS is running locally.

Claude Code users can install the plugin, which carries the canary skill, hooks, and MCP server config, then install the local binary:

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

Shell, Cursor, Continue, Zed, and generic MCP users can install the binary:

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

Generic MCP configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canary": {
      "command": "/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/canary",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

What the MCP server exposes

• Canary's assembled daily brief through canary_brief, without signing off or changing process state.
• Account summary, buying power, cash, margin, daily P&L, positions, option legs, and Greek coverage.
• Named-symbol trend, relative strength, ATR, and liquidity evidence with explicit data quality.
• Daemon-composed market, session, source-health, rulebook, proposal, and opportunity evidence.

The full schema is in the MCP tools reference.

For a scheduled brief workflow that preserves source health, freshness, warning codes, and the Action Queue, use examples/canary_portfolio_stress_prompt.md.

Current execution boundary

The standard bundled CLI and MCP server expose read-only analysis. They do not expose tools for previewing, placing, modifying, cancelling, or exercising Interactive Brokers orders. Separately, each release publishes a clearly marked canary-trading binary for constrained opt-in CLI and app order management; the MCP surface remains read-only.

Related pages

• Interactive Brokers MCP server for the broader setup guide.
• IBKR MCP TWS setup for a TWS-oriented install.
• IB Gateway MCP server for headless Gateway-oriented setup.
• Claude Desktop Interactive Brokers setup for the Claude MCPB path.
• Canary with Claude Code for plugin setup and safety boundaries.
• Portfolio review with Claude and IBKR for a prompt-driven portfolio review workflow.
• Read-only MCP server for the current safety boundary.