🚀 Trading Bot Step-by-Step Start Guide

Follow these steps to set up and start your Alpaca paper trading bot using FastAPI and Docker Compose.

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1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/pilotwaffle/trading-bot.git
cd trading-bot

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2. Prepare Your .env File

• Copy and paste the following example, or edit your existing .env file with your Alpaca Paper Trading API keys:

# .env
ALPACA_API_KEY=YOUR_ALPACA_PAPER_API_KEY
ALPACA_API_SECRET=YOUR_ALPACA_PAPER_API_SECRET

# Compatibility (recommended)
ALPACA_PAPER_API_KEY=YOUR_ALPACA_PAPER_API_KEY
ALPACA_PAPER_SECRET_KEY=YOUR_ALPACA_PAPER_API_SECRET
ALPACA_SECRET_KEY=YOUR_ALPACA_PAPER_API_SECRET

# Dashboard Authentication
APP_USER_ID=admin
APP_PASSWORD=admin123

# Optional settings
DEBUG=true
LOG_LEVEL=INFO

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3. (Optional) Review and Edit Configuration

• You can adjust APP_USER_ID, APP_PASSWORD, or logging settings in .env as needed.

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4. Install Docker and Docker Compose

• Get Docker Desktop for Windows/Mac, or use your package manager for Linux.
• Verify installation:

docker --version
docker compose version

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5. Build and Start the Bot with Docker Compose

docker compose up --build

• This will:
  • Build the Docker image using your repo's Dockerfile
  • Load environment variables from .env
  • Expose FastAPI at http://localhost:8000

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6. Access the Trading Bot Dashboard/API

• Open your browser at: http://localhost:8000
• The FastAPI docs are available at: http://localhost:8000/docs
• Login with credentials set in .env (APP_USER_ID / APP_PASSWORD).

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7. (Optional) View Logs and Data

• Logs are written to logs/ (mounted from the container).
• Trading data is stored in data/ if your bot writes to this folder.

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8. Stopping the Bot

• In your terminal, press Ctrl+C to stop.
• Or, to fully stop and clean up containers:

docker compose down

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9. Updating the Bot

• Pull the latest code and rebuild:

git pull
docker compose up --build

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Troubleshooting

• Check logs in the logs/ directory for errors.
• Make sure your .env has your correct Alpaca paper trading keys.
• For Docker issues, try restarting Docker Desktop or running with sudo on Linux.

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FAQ

Q: Do I need to install Python packages manually?
A: No, Docker handles all requirements for you.

Q: Can I run without Docker?
A: Yes! Just create a virtual environment, install requirements.txt, and run python main.py.
But Docker is recommended for reproducibility.

Q: Can I trade live?
A: Not by default—this setup is for Alpaca paper trading only. For live trading, you must update your .env and possibly code.

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That’s it! Your trading bot is ready to go.

Happy (paper) trading! 🎉