IBKR MCP server

Updated: 2026-10-05 22:11 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 that already runs IB Gateway or Trader Workstation (TWS).

Around that connection, Canary adds a local daemon, a command line, the daily brief, a discipline rulebook, a risk policy you write yourself and the Action Queue. The data you see depends on your IBKR subscriptions and the current market session. Missing or stale inputs stay visible and are never presented as current.

Install the Claude Desktop MCP Bundle or the canary binary and run it beside your local IBKR session. Its read-only tools cover status, account, positions, option strategies, technical evidence, broker reporting, FX and lending reports, borrowing and short-interest research, the retrospective Edge review, the daily brief, rules, a policy check, proposals, opportunities, settings, readiness and order-lifecycle reads. The MCP server has no resources, order-preview tools, settings-write tools or order-entry tools.

Best fit

You want an IBKR MCP server that runs locally over stdio.
IB Gateway or TWS already runs, and you want Claude or another agent to analyse account and market context.
You prefer one Go binary to a Python bridge, Java jar, hosted broker proxy or remote custody layer.
You want portfolio analysis, market research, risk checks and a controlled review of your trading workflow 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 quit Claude completely and relaunch it while IB Gateway or TWS runs locally.

Claude Code users can install the plugin, which carries the canary skill, hooks and MCP server config, and then 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.
Trend, relative strength, ATR and liquidity evidence for named symbols, with data quality stated.
Market, session, source-health, rulebook, proposal and opportunity evidence, composed by the daemon.

The full schema is in the MCP tools reference.

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

Current execution boundary

The standard bundled CLI and MCP server offer read-only analysis. Neither has tools to preview, place, modify, cancel or exercise Interactive Brokers orders. Each release also publishes a separate, clearly marked canary-trading binary for constrained, opt-in order management in the CLI and app. The MCP server remains read-only.

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.

IBKR MCP server

Best fit

Install

What the MCP server exposes

Current execution boundary

Related pages