Configuration

StockBud is configured through environment variables. All settings can be placed in a .env file in the project root.

Required Variables

These must be set for StockBud to function:

Variable	Description	Example
`ALPACA_API_KEY`	Your Alpaca API key	`PKABC123...`
`ALPACA_SECRET_KEY`	Your Alpaca secret key	`xyz789...`

Alpaca Settings

Variable	Description	Default
`ALPACA_BASE_URL`	Alpaca API endpoint	`https://paper-api.alpaca.markets`
`ALPACA_DATA_URL`	Alpaca data endpoint	`https://data.alpaca.markets`

For live trading, change ALPACA_BASE_URL to https://api.alpaca.markets. Only do this when you're ready to trade with real money.

AI Provider Settings

Optional integrations for enhanced AI analysis:

Variable	Description	Required For
`OPENAI_API_KEY`	OpenAI API key	AI analysis features
`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`	Anthropic API key	Claude-based analysis
`PERPLEXITY_API_KEY`	Perplexity API key	Research queries

Database Settings

Variable	Description	Default
`SUPABASE_URL`	Supabase project URL	Optional
`SUPABASE_KEY`	Supabase anon key	Optional
`FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID`	Firebase project	Optional

Server Settings

Variable	Description	Default
`STOCKBUD_PORT`	Server port (for HTTP mode)	`8080`
`STOCKBUD_LOG_LEVEL`	Logging verbosity	`INFO`
`STOCKBUD_DEMO_MODE`	Enable demo mode with mock data	`0`

Example `.env` File

# === Required ===
ALPACA_API_KEY=your_alpaca_api_key
ALPACA_SECRET_KEY=your_alpaca_secret_key
 
# === Alpaca Config ===
# Paper trading (default)
ALPACA_BASE_URL=https://paper-api.alpaca.markets
 
# Live trading (uncomment when ready)
# ALPACA_BASE_URL=https://api.alpaca.markets
 
# === AI Providers (optional) ===
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
# ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
# PERPLEXITY_API_KEY=pplx-...
 
# === Database (optional) ===
# SUPABASE_URL=https://xxx.supabase.co
# SUPABASE_KEY=eyJ...
 
# === Server ===
STOCKBUD_LOG_LEVEL=INFO
# STOCKBUD_DEMO_MODE=1

Feature Flags

Enable or disable specific features:

Variable	Description	Default
`STOCKBUD_ENABLE_TRADING`	Allow trade execution	`true`
`STOCKBUD_ENABLE_ALERTS`	Enable price alerts	`true`
`STOCKBUD_ENABLE_ANALYTICS`	Track usage analytics	`false`

Per-Client Configuration

When running StockBud for multiple AI clients, you can override settings per-client in the MCP configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "stockbud-paper": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "python", "scripts/start/stockbud_main.py"],
      "env": {
        "ALPACA_BASE_URL": "https://paper-api.alpaca.markets"
      }
    },
    "stockbud-live": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "python", "scripts/start/stockbud_main.py"],
      "env": {
        "ALPACA_BASE_URL": "https://api.alpaca.markets"
      }
    }
  }
}

Validation

Check your configuration is valid:

uv run python scripts/validate/check_config.py

This will verify:

✅ Required variables are set
✅ Alpaca credentials work
✅ Optional services are reachable

Configuration

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