Article
Broker API Keys: What Each One Actually Asks For
Every broker asks for something different before it will give you chart data. Some want nothing, some want a key, some want a key plus a session token that expires daily. Here they are side by side.
Broker documentation tends to describe its own auth as if it were the only one, so the amount of work varies far more than anyone expects until they have connected two or three. One venue needs nothing at all. Another needs a key, a CST and a security token. A third needs you to register your own application first. This is the comparison, grouped by what you actually have to go and fetch.
The Six Models, Easiest First
Grouped by what you hand over. The effort is mostly front-loaded except where noted.
| What you provide | Who wants it | One-time or recurring |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing | Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, OKX, Bybit | Neither. There is no credential |
| An API key | Massive (formerly Polygon.io), Finnhub, Twelve Data, Alpha Vantage, FMP, EODHD, Marketstack | One-time |
| A key ID and secret | Alpaca | One-time |
| An access token | OANDA, Saxo, Upstox, Dhan, Fyers | One-time, but tokens can expire |
| A refresh token | Questrade | One-time. It rotates itself afterwards |
| A key and session token | Zerodha, Angel One, ICICI Direct, Kotak Securities | Recurring. Session tokens are typically daily |
| A key, CST and security token | IG Markets | Recurring |
| OAuth files | Interactive Brokers | One-time, with more setup than most |
| Your own registered app | Charles Schwab | One-time, with an approval step |
Nothing At All
Five crypto venues publish market data openly, so there is no credential in the first place: Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, OKX and Bybit. No account, no key, no permission scopes.
This is the only group with genuinely zero setup, and it is worth knowing about if you are evaluating tools and do not want to create an account before you have decided anything. Detail at Crypto Charts With No API Key: Binance, Coinbase, Kraken.
A Single API Key
The most common model, and the least trouble. Create an account with the data vendor, generate a key, paste it once. It does not expire on a schedule, so you set it up and forget it.
Massive, Finnhub, Twelve Data, Alpha Vantage, Financial Modeling Prep, EODHD and Marketstack all work this way. What differs between them is coverage and price, not effort. Massive is the vendor formerly called Polygon.io, so if you already hold a Polygon key it is the same account.
Tokens That Expire
This is the group people underestimate, because the initial setup looks the same as an API key while the daily experience does not.
Zerodha, Angel One, ICICI Direct and Kotak Securities issue a session token alongside your key, and session tokens are typically valid for a trading day. That means a login step you repeat rather than a setup you finish. IG Markets is similar, with a key plus a CST and a security token.
Access-token brokers sit in between. OANDA, Saxo, Upstox, Dhan and Fyers give you a token that lasts longer but can still expire. Questrade is the neatest of the lot: you provide a refresh token once and it rotates itself from then on.
- If you chart daily, a session-token broker means a daily reconnect.
- If you chart occasionally, it barely matters.
- Nothing about this is MyLinedChart's choice. It is how the broker issues credentials.
The Two With Real Setup
Interactive Brokers and Charles Schwab ask for more than the rest, for different reasons.
IBKR wants OAuth files, which is a genuine configuration exercise rather than a paste. It also has a second route entirely: run Trader Workstation or IB Gateway and read from it locally, which is the only connection here that needs a separate process running beside the app.
Schwab wants you to register your own application with Schwab and go through their approval. That is a wait rather than a difficulty, and it is between you and Schwab.
In both cases you are using your own credentials with your own broker relationship. MyLinedChart registers nothing on your behalf and has no commercial arrangement with any provider on this page.
Where the Credentials Live
Whatever the model, the credential is stored on your device, in the operating system's own credential store, and is sent only to the provider you chose. It does not pass through MyLinedChart servers, because there is no MyLinedChart server in the path at all.
That is also why there is no account to set up with us before connecting one. The connection is between your machine and your provider.
Next Step
If you have not picked a provider yet and want to try the tool first, start with one of the five that need nothing. If you already pay for a broker or data feed, connect that one instead and use what you are already buying.
Full list at Data provider fit, or see what a plan covers at Pricing.
FAQ
Which broker is the least work to connect?
The five crypto venues, because there is no credential at all. After that, any single-API-key data vendor: create an account, generate a key, paste it once, and it does not expire on a schedule.
Which ones do I have to reconnect regularly?
The session-token brokers, mainly Zerodha, Angel One, ICICI Direct and Kotak Securities, plus IG Markets. Session tokens are typically valid for a trading day, so daily charting means a repeated login step. Questrade is the opposite: one refresh token that rotates itself.
Does MyLinedChart have a deal with any of these providers?
No. You use your own credentials with your own broker or data relationship. We register nothing on your behalf, resell no data, and take no cut of what you pay a provider.
Where is my key stored?
On your device, in the operating system's credential store, and it is sent only to the provider you chose. It never passes through our servers.
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