WebSocket Messages

The Trading API uses WebSocket connections for real-time event streaming. This reference documents all message types exchanged between your strategy and the Trading API.

Message Format

All messages use JSON with an internally-tagged format. The type field identifies the message type:

{"type": "ping", "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:30:00Z"}
{"type": "order", "event": "ORDER_FILLED", "order": {...}}

Client to Server Messages

Your strategy sends these messages to the Trading API.

Pong

Response to a server ping heartbeat. Send this to keep the connection alive.

{
  "type": "pong"
}

EventAck

Acknowledge processed events. Required for backtest mode (Tektii Engine — controls time simulation), optional when using the Trading Gateway (paper or live).

Field	Type	Description
`type`	string	Always `"event_ack"`
`correlation_id`	string	Unique ID for tracking this acknowledgment
`events_processed`	string[]	List of event IDs that were processed
`timestamp`	integer	Unix timestamp (milliseconds) when events were processed

{
  "type": "event_ack",
  "correlation_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
  "events_processed": ["evt_123", "evt_124"],
  "timestamp": 1700000000000
}

Server to Client Messages

The Trading API sends these messages to your strategy.

Ping

Server heartbeat. Respond with a pong message to keep the connection alive.

{
  "type": "ping",
  "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:30:00Z"
}

Order Events

Order state changes. Sent when orders are created, modified, filled, cancelled, or rejected.

Field	Type	Description
`type`	string	Always `"order"`
`event`	OrderEventType	Type of order event
`order`	Order	Current state of the order
`timestamp`	datetime	Event timestamp
`parent_order_id`	string?	Parent order ID for bracket/OCO child orders

OrderEventType values:

Value	Description
`ORDER_CREATED`	New order submitted
`ORDER_MODIFIED`	Order parameters changed
`ORDER_CANCELLED`	Order cancelled by user or system
`ORDER_REJECTED`	Order rejected by provider
`ORDER_FILLED`	Order completely filled
`ORDER_PARTIALLY_FILLED`	Some quantity filled
`ORDER_EXPIRED`	Order expired based on time_in_force
`BRACKET_ORDER_CREATED`	Bracket order (with SL/TP) created
`BRACKET_ORDER_MODIFIED`	Bracket order modified

{
  "type": "order",
  "event": "ORDER_FILLED",
  "order": {
    "id": "ord_abc123",
    "symbol": "AAPL",
    "side": "BUY",
    "order_type": "MARKET",
    "quantity": "100",
    "filled_quantity": "100",
    "remaining_quantity": "0",
    "average_fill_price": "150.25",
    "status": "FILLED",
    "time_in_force": "GTC",
    "created_at": "2025-01-15T10:30:00Z",
    "updated_at": "2025-01-15T10:30:01Z"
  },
  "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:30:01Z"
}

Position Events

Position state changes. Sent when positions are opened, modified, or closed.

Field	Type	Description
`type`	string	Always `"position"`
`event`	PositionEventType	Type of position event
`position`	Position	Current state of the position
`timestamp`	datetime	Event timestamp

PositionEventType values:

Value	Description
`POSITION_OPENED`	New position opened
`POSITION_MODIFIED`	Position quantity or P&L changed
`POSITION_CLOSED`	Position fully closed

{
  "type": "position",
  "event": "POSITION_OPENED",
  "position": {
    "id": "pos_xyz789",
    "symbol": "AAPL",
    "side": "LONG",
    "quantity": "100",
    "average_entry_price": "150.25",
    "current_price": "150.50",
    "unrealized_pnl": "25.00",
    "realized_pnl": "0",
    "opened_at": "2025-01-15T10:30:01Z",
    "updated_at": "2025-01-15T10:30:01Z"
  },
  "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:30:01Z"
}

Account Events

Account balance and margin changes.

Field	Type	Description
`type`	string	Always `"account"`
`event`	AccountEventType	Type of account event
`account`	Account	Current account state
`timestamp`	datetime	Event timestamp

AccountEventType values:

Value	Description
`BALANCE_UPDATED`	Cash balance changed (deposit, withdrawal, trade)
`MARGIN_WARNING`	Approaching margin limit
`MARGIN_CALL`	Margin limit exceeded, liquidation may occur

{
  "type": "account",
  "event": "BALANCE_UPDATED",
  "account": {
    "balance": "10000.00",
    "equity": "10500.00",
    "margin_used": "2000.00",
    "margin_available": "8500.00",
    "unrealized_pnl": "500.00",
    "currency": "USD"
  },
  "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:30:01Z"
}

Candle Events

OHLCV bar/candlestick data for market analysis.

Field	Type	Description
`type`	string	Always `"candle"`
`bar`	Bar	The bar data (includes symbol, provider, timeframe, OHLCV)
`timestamp`	datetime	Event timestamp (when event was emitted)

{
  "type": "candle",
  "bar": {
    "symbol": "AAPL",
    "provider": "alpaca",
    "timeframe": "1h",
    "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:00:00Z",
    "open": "150.00",
    "high": "151.50",
    "low": "149.75",
    "close": "151.25",
    "volume": "1234567"
  },
  "timestamp": "2025-01-15T11:00:00Z"
}

Quote Events

Real-time bid/ask price updates.

Field	Type	Description
`type`	string	Always `"quote"`
`quote`	Quote	The quote data (includes symbol, provider, bid/ask/last)
`timestamp`	datetime	Event timestamp (when event was emitted)

{
  "type": "quote",
  "quote": {
    "symbol": "AAPL",
    "provider": "alpaca",
    "bid": "150.20",
    "bid_size": "100",
    "ask": "150.25",
    "ask_size": "200",
    "last": "150.22",
    "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:30:00.123Z"
  },
  "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:30:00.123Z"
}

Trade Events

Individual trade/fill execution notifications.

Field	Type	Description
`type`	string	Always `"trade"`
`event`	TradeEventType	Type of trade event
`trade`	Trade	The executed trade
`timestamp`	datetime	Event timestamp

TradeEventType values:

Value	Description
`TRADE_FILLED`	Trade execution completed

{
  "type": "trade",
  "event": "TRADE_FILLED",
  "trade": {
    "id": "trd_def456",
    "order_id": "ord_abc123",
    "symbol": "AAPL",
    "side": "BUY",
    "quantity": "100",
    "price": "150.25",
    "commission": "0.50",
    "commission_currency": "USD",
    "is_maker": false,
    "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:30:01Z"
  },
  "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:30:01Z"
}

Connection Events

Connection state changes with the Gateway or its upstream broker.

Field	Type	Description
`type`	string	Always `"connection"`
`event`	ConnectionEventType	Type of connection event
`broker`	string?	Upstream broker/provider identifier (e.g. `"alpaca-paper"`). Present on `BROKER_*` variants.
`error`	string?	Error message when the event indicates a failure or unexpected disconnect
`gap_duration_ms`	integer?	Outage duration in milliseconds. Present on `BROKER_RECONNECTED`.
`timestamp`	datetime	Event timestamp (ISO 8601 UTC)

ConnectionEventType values:

Value	Description
`CONNECTED`	Strategy successfully connected to the Gateway
`DISCONNECTING`	Gateway connection is being closed
`RECONNECTING`	Attempting to reconnect after connection loss
`BROKER_DISCONNECTED`	Upstream broker link dropped
`BROKER_RECONNECTED`	Upstream broker link restored after an outage; `gap_duration_ms` reports the gap
`BROKER_CONNECTION_FAILED`	Initial broker connect failed, or a reconnect attempt failed terminally

{
  "type": "connection",
  "event": "CONNECTED",
  "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:30:00Z"
}

{
  "type": "connection",
  "event": "BROKER_RECONNECTED",
  "broker": "alpaca-paper",
  "gap_duration_ms": 4200,
  "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:31:04Z"
}

Rate Limit Events

Notifications about API rate limits.

Field	Type	Description
`type`	string	Always `"rate_limit"`
`event`	RateLimitEventType	Type of rate limit event
`requests_remaining`	integer	Requests remaining in current window
`reset_at`	datetime	When the rate limit window resets
`timestamp`	datetime	Event timestamp

RateLimitEventType values:

Value	Description
`RATE_LIMIT_WARNING`	Approaching rate limit
`RATE_LIMIT_HIT`	Rate limit exceeded, requests will be rejected

{
  "type": "rate_limit",
  "event": "RATE_LIMIT_WARNING",
  "requests_remaining": 10,
  "reset_at": "2025-01-15T10:31:00Z",
  "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:30:55Z"
}

Data Staleness Events

Emitted when the Gateway detects that upstream market-data freshness for one or more symbols has crossed a threshold. Useful for pausing or resuming trading logic that depends on live quotes.

Field	Type	Description
`type`	string	Always `"data_staleness"`
`event`	DataStalenessEventType	`STALE` when data goes stale, `FRESH` when it recovers
`symbols`	string[]	Affected symbols
`stale_since`	datetime?	Timestamp (ISO 8601 UTC) when data first went stale. Present on `STALE`.
`broker`	string?	Upstream broker/provider identifier, when the staleness is scoped to a specific provider
`timestamp`	datetime	Event timestamp (ISO 8601 UTC)

DataStalenessEventType values:

Value	Description
`STALE`	Upstream data freshness fell below the configured threshold
`FRESH`	Upstream data freshness has recovered

{
  "type": "data_staleness",
  "event": "STALE",
  "symbols": ["AAPL", "MSFT"],
  "stale_since": "2025-01-15T10:30:00Z",
  "broker": "alpaca-paper",
  "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:30:05Z"
}

{
  "type": "data_staleness",
  "event": "FRESH",
  "symbols": ["AAPL", "MSFT"],
  "broker": "alpaca-paper",
  "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:31:12Z"
}

Error Events

Error notifications from the server.

Field	Type	Description
`type`	string	Always `"error"`
`code`	WsErrorCode	Error code
`message`	string	Human-readable error message
`details`	any?	Additional error details
`timestamp`	datetime	Event timestamp

WsErrorCode values:

Value	Description
`INVALID_MESSAGE`	Malformed message received
`INTERNAL_ERROR`	Internal server error
`POSITION_UNPROTECTED`	A position is open without its configured bracket protection (stop-loss or take-profit) attached
`LIQUIDATION`	Position was forcibly liquidated by the broker or risk engine
`OCO_DOUBLE_EXIT`	Both legs of an OCO group fired before the cancel for the second leg reached the broker

{
  "type": "error",
  "code": "INVALID_MESSAGE",
  "message": "Failed to parse message: unexpected token at position 15",
  "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:30:00Z"
}

Event Subscription

Event subscriptions are configured at startup via environment variables, not through WebSocket messages. Configure the SUBSCRIPTIONS environment variable to specify which events your strategy receives.