# TickerLayer

> TickerLayer is a developer-first market data API offering REST and WebSocket access to derived, indicative, non-exchange-sourced data across stocks, forex, crypto, indices, ETFs, and commodities.

TickerLayer provides derived, indicative, non-exchange-sourced market data for developers building dashboards, analytics tools, internal systems, data products, and integrations.

TickerLayer supports these asset classes: stocks, forex, crypto, indices, ETFs, commodities, and perpetual futures (composite quotes that trade around the clock).

TickerLayer does not provide investment advice, execute trades, manage funds, or provide official exchange data. Data may be delayed, estimated, incomplete, synthetic, or different from official market prices.

For the complete endpoint-by-endpoint API reference optimized for LLMs and AI agents, fetch: https://tickerlayer.com/llms-full.txt

Every documentation page is also served as Markdown: append .md to its URL (for example https://tickerlayer.com/docs/products/stocks.md, or https://tickerlayer.com/docs.md for the docs home), or request the page with the header Accept: text/markdown.

## Core URLs

- [Homepage](https://tickerlayer.com/): Product overview and entry point
- [Pricing](https://tickerlayer.com/pricing): Plans and self-serve checkout
- [Symbols directory](https://tickerlayer.com/symbols): Supported symbols per asset class
- [Symbol catalog API](https://tickerlayer.com/docs/rest/symbols#symbols-catalog): `GET /symbols/catalog` lists every covered symbol across all asset classes for any API key, filterable by asset class, market and text
- [Documentation](https://tickerlayer.com/docs): Developer documentation home
- [Quickstart](https://tickerlayer.com/docs/quickstart): First REST call and WebSocket connection
- [Authentication](https://tickerlayer.com/docs/authentication): API key usage for REST and WebSocket
- [REST API reference](https://tickerlayer.com/docs/rest): REST endpoints for all asset classes
- [OpenAPI 3.1 spec](https://tickerlayer.com/openapi.json): Every REST endpoint with its parameters, errors and a real example response, for API clients and code generators
- [JavaScript client](https://www.npmjs.com/package/tickerlayer): `npm install tickerlayer`, REST and WebSocket with TypeScript types, no dependencies
- [Python client](https://pypi.org/project/tickerlayer/): `pip install tickerlayer`, sync and async REST plus the WebSocket stream, Python 3.9+
- [WebSocket guide](https://tickerlayer.com/docs/websocket): Streaming channels and subscription flow
- [Changelog](https://tickerlayer.com/docs/changelog): The last fifty changes to the API and its documentation, newest first
- [Market status](https://tickerlayer.com/market-status): Market open/close status API, live world market map, and per-country trading-hours and holiday pages with the current and next year's holiday calendars where published, 2027 included (e.g. /market-status/united-states, /market-status/japan)
- [AI & Agents](https://tickerlayer.com/ai): Agent Hub for MCP, x402, and Agent Plugin access models
- [x402 production + sandbox](https://tickerlayer.com/ai/x402): Accountless pay-per-request HTTP market-data surface
- [MCP server](https://tickerlayer.com/mcp): Official Model Context Protocol server for AI agents
- [Agent Plugin](https://tickerlayer.com/ai/agent-plugins): Portable one-command install packaging the MCP endpoint with a market-data skill
- [MCP setup guide](https://tickerlayer.com/docs/mcp): Connect Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and other MCP clients
- [Full LLM API reference](https://tickerlayer.com/llms-full.txt): Complete endpoint reference for AI agents
- [Perpetuals](https://tickerlayer.com/data-assets/perpetuals): 24/7 perpetual futures data for stock, ETF, commodity, index, FX, pre-IPO and crypto contracts
- [Data Add-ons](https://tickerlayer.com/data-addons): Capabilities added on top of a plan, such as the US stocks overnight session
- [Market data disclaimer](https://tickerlayer.com/market-data-disclaimer): Data positioning and limitations
- [Data Quality & Benchmarks](https://tickerlayer.com/data-quality): Measured price fidelity, freshness, settled-bar consistency and REST to WebSocket agreement against selected market references, per asset class (/data-quality/stocks, /data-quality/forex, /data-quality/crypto, /data-quality/commodities, /data-quality/indices, /data-quality/etfs)

## Plans and pricing

Prices are per feed (asset class) and per month; yearly billing is 20% lower. Every plan, Free included, works in ChatGPT, Claude and any MCP client at no extra fee.

- Free: 0 USD, no card. Crypto, forex and US stocks over REST: 3,000 calls every 30 days, 10 requests a second, no WebSocket. Internal use.
- Individual: crypto, commodities and indices 49 USD a month; forex and ETFs 59 USD; stocks 59 to 99 USD per market (United States 99 USD). 250K REST calls a month per feed, 10 requests a second, 1 WebSocket connection and 10 symbols per feed. Internal use: your own projects, research, testing and trading.
- Business: crypto, commodities and indices 449 USD a month; forex and ETFs 549 USD; stocks 599 to 999 USD per market. 25M REST calls a month per feed, 100 requests a second, 10 WebSocket connections per feed. Commercial use inside your own product, shown to your own users.
- Several stock markets together cost 15% less from three markets, 20% from five and 30% from seven.
- Perpetuals: 179 USD a month on Individual (REST only) or 799 USD a month on Business (WebSocket streaming and commercial use).
- Enterprise: custom limits, redistribution and an SLA under a written agreement.
- No account at all: pay per request in USDC over x402 (https://tickerlayer.com/ai/x402).
- Full comparison and checkout: https://tickerlayer.com/pricing

## API Overview

TickerLayer exposes market data through REST endpoints and WebSocket streams.

REST API base URL: https://api.tickerlayer.com

WebSocket stream URL: wss://stream.tickerlayer.com

REST authentication uses an API key header:
x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY

WebSocket authentication uses the apiKey query parameter:
wss://stream.tickerlayer.com?apiKey=YOUR_API_KEY

## Asset Classes

### Stocks

Stocks data includes global stock market symbols where supported by the account and product access.

- [Stocks API reference](https://tickerlayer.com/docs/products/stocks): Quote, trade, snapshot and aggregate endpoints, symbols and WebSocket channels
- [Symbols directory](https://tickerlayer.com/symbols): Supported stock symbols

Example REST shape:
GET /stocks/quote/US:KO

Example WebSocket channels: stocks.quotes, stocks.trades, stocks.agg (settled US OHLCV bars, 1m to 1d), stocks.status (US halt/resume events)

### Forex

Forex data includes major, minor, and exotic currency pairs where supported.

- [Forex API reference](https://tickerlayer.com/docs/products/forex): Quote, trade, snapshot and aggregate endpoints, symbols and WebSocket channels

Example REST shape:
GET /forex/quote/EURUSD

Example WebSocket channels: forex.quotes, forex.trades

### Crypto

Crypto data includes digital asset pairs delivered through REST and WebSocket where supported.

- [Crypto API reference](https://tickerlayer.com/docs/products/crypto): Quote, trade, snapshot and aggregate endpoints, symbols and WebSocket channels

Example REST shape:
GET /crypto/quote/BTCUSD

Example WebSocket channels: crypto.quotes, crypto.trades

### Indices

Indices data includes indicative index-style reference levels.

- [Indices REST reference](https://tickerlayer.com/docs/rest/indices): Quote, snapshot, and aggregate endpoints

Example REST shape:
GET /indices/quote/US500

Example WebSocket channels where supported: indices.quotes, indices.trades

### ETFs

ETF data includes ETF-style indicative reference instruments.

- [ETFs REST reference](https://tickerlayer.com/docs/rest/etfs): Quote, snapshot, and aggregate endpoints

Example REST shape:
GET /etfs/quote/US500ETF

Example WebSocket channels where supported: etfs.quotes, etfs.trades, etfs.agg (settled OHLCV bars for US-listed ETFs, 1m to 1d)

### Commodities

Commodities data includes energy, metals, and agricultural reference prices where supported.

- [Commodities API reference](https://tickerlayer.com/docs/products/commodities): Quote, trade, snapshot and aggregate endpoints, symbols and WebSocket channels

Example REST shape:
GET /commodities/quote/XAUUSD
GET /commodities/trade/last/XAUUSD

Example WebSocket channels where supported: commodities.quotes, commodities.trades

### Perpetuals

Perpetual futures data, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week: 260+ contracts on stocks, ETFs, commodities, indices, currencies, pre-IPO companies and crypto. Each symbol is one composite price (the median of the live bids and of the live asks across multiple independent market sources), with a separate mark price and a source count on every value. It keeps quoting when the stock exchange is closed: nights, weekends and holidays.

- [Perpetuals product page](https://tickerlayer.com/data-assets/perpetuals): Coverage, methodology, plans
- [Perpetuals API reference](https://tickerlayer.com/docs/products/perpetuals): REST routes and WebSocket channels
- [Perpetual symbols](https://tickerlayer.com/symbols?asset=perpetuals): Every contract with its underlying class
- Per-contract pages with a delayed chart, one per contract at `/symbols/<contract>-perp` (for example https://tickerlayer.com/symbols/xauusdt-perp)

Example REST shape:
GET /perpetuals/symbols
GET /perpetuals/quote/XAUUSDT
GET /perpetuals/mark/XAUUSDT
GET /perpetuals/trade/last/TSMUSDT
GET /perpetuals/snapshot/TSMUSDT
GET /perpetuals/agg/XAUUSDT/prev
GET /perpetuals/agg/XAUUSDT/1/day/2026-09-01/2026-09-14

WebSocket channels (Business plan): perpetuals.quotes, perpetuals.marks, perpetuals.trades

Plans: Individual 179 USD a month (250K REST calls, REST only), Business 799 USD a month (25M REST calls, WebSocket streaming, commercial use). Yearly billing is 20% lower. Source-level streams are available to enterprise users on request.

Data notice: TickerLayer is a data provider and does not list, offer or trade any contract. A perpetual is a leveraged derivative, not the underlying, and its price can differ from the underlying, most of all while the underlying market is closed. Composite values are calculated references, not executable prices or a regulated benchmark. Full text: https://tickerlayer.com/market-data-disclaimer#perpetuals

### Stock Fundamentals

Company reference and share-structure data for US and EU stocks (US, DE, ES, FR): free float, shares outstanding, sector, industry, country, ownership, short interest, and average volumes. Counts are validated against each listing; on depositary receipts where reported counts fail, clearly named listing-level estimates (shares_listed_est, free_float_est) are served instead. REST only, and gated by a Fundamentals permission that is separate from the market-data products.

The same permission includes an economic calendar: scheduled and released indicators with actual, consensus and revised figures, central bank rate decisions, bond and bill auctions, central bank speeches and market holidays, for the US and economies worldwide. Filter by date, country, importance or category, and sync incrementally with updated_since.

- [Fundamentals REST reference](https://tickerlayer.com/docs/rest/fundamentals): Single symbol, batch lookup, and paged full-universe endpoints
- [Economic calendar](https://tickerlayer.com/docs/rest/fundamentals#fundamentals-economic-events): Query parameters, item fields and incremental sync

Example REST shape:
GET /fundamentals/stocks/US:KO
GET /fundamentals/stocks?symbols=US:KO,US:PG
GET /fundamentals/stocks?limit=1000&cursor=US:KO
GET /fundamentals/economic-events?country=US&importance=high

No WebSocket channel for fundamentals.

## Data Add-ons

Add-ons are enabled per account. SignalPoint, Fundamentals and Bonds are bought on the add-ons page on their own or next to an existing plan (Individual 250,000 requests a month, Business 25 million, yearly billing is 20% off); the overnight session rides on a US Stocks plan. Same API key and schema everywhere.

- US Stocks Overnight Session (live): a derived, aggregated quote (bid, ask, mid) for the most traded US stocks and ETFs through the overnight session, Sunday to Thursday, 20:00 to 04:00 New York time, handing over to pre-market at 04:00. REST under /overnight and the WebSocket channel overnight.quotes. It is not part of the standard US Stocks subscription: it needs a US Stocks plan and costs 39 USD a month on Individual and 349 USD a month on Business.
- SignalPoint (live): structured trade signals on US stocks, ETFs and major crypto, each with entry, target, stop and the exit it reached, under /signals with updated_since delta sync. Source signals are derived from public financial content and name their source; momentum signals are generated by TradeZing's own system from price movement and carry no source. History from June 2026, published on a roughly five-minute cycle. Powered by TradeZing Signal Intelligence. Informational analytics, not investment advice. Bought on the add-ons page on its own or next to any plan: 49 USD a month on Individual (250,000 requests), 449 USD a month on Business (25 million requests).
- Fundamentals (live): share structure and ownership for US, DE, ES and FR listings (market cap, shares, free float, short interest, ownership, beta) under /fundamentals/stocks, cross-checked against the live price, and an economic calendar for the US and economies worldwide under /fundamentals/economic-events. 39 USD a month on Individual, 349 USD a month on Business. Without the add-on /fundamentals answers 403.
- Bonds (live): government yield curves for US, DE, ES, FR, IT and UK, one dated observation per tenor per day, under /bond/last and /bond/snapshot and on the bonds.quotes WebSocket channel. 39 USD a month on Individual, 349 USD a month on Business. Without the add-on /bond answers 403.
- In development: expanded stock fundamentals with global coverage, a real-time news feed, US stocks Level 2.

- [Data Add-ons page](https://tickerlayer.com/data-addons): The four add-ons, prices, checkout
- [Overnight session docs](https://tickerlayer.com/docs/products/stocks#overnight): Routes, channel and payloads
- [SignalPoint API](https://tickerlayer.com/docs/signalpoint): Routes, signal object, delta sync
- [Fundamentals API](https://tickerlayer.com/docs/rest/fundamentals): Fields, paging and the economic calendar
- [Bonds API](https://tickerlayer.com/docs/products/bonds): Tenors, routes and the channel

## AI Agents: MCP, x402, and the Agent Plugin

TickerLayer offers complementary agent access models. The live MCP server is intended for recurring authenticated workflows using an existing TickerLayer API key and plan. The x402 surface is REST-only and intended for autonomous or occasional accountless pay-per-request access. Production uses USDC on Base mainnet; a separate developer sandbox uses test USDC on Base Sepolia.

Production gateway: https://x402.tickerlayer.com. Developer sandbox: https://x402-testnet.tickerlayer.com. Both expose the approved 41-resource catalog with deterministic USDC pricing, mandatory `MARKET:BASE` stock symbols, request validation and idempotent payment identifiers. Current readiness and integration examples are documented at https://tickerlayer.com/ai/x402.

TickerLayer ships an official Model Context Protocol (MCP) server so AI agents and assistants can query live and historical market data directly.

Hosted MCP endpoint (Streamable HTTP): https://mcp.tickerlayer.com/mcp. Authenticate with the x-api-key header (or Authorization: Bearer) using a standard TickerLayer API key. Works with any MCP client that supports custom HTTP headers (Claude Code, Cursor, Gemini CLI, VS Code/Copilot, Windsurf, Grok, OpenAI Responses API / Agents SDK); Claude Desktop uses the documented local mcp-remote bridge. The endpoint also implements the MCP authorization spec (OAuth 2.1), so the ChatGPT app connects natively as a developer-mode connector via OAuth, and any other OAuth-capable MCP client can connect with the URL alone and sign in, with no API key header needed. The x-api-key header keeps working unchanged. Direct browser-origin requests are denied by default; connect through an MCP client or server runtime.

Available MCP tools: get_quote, get_last_trade, get_snapshot, get_previous_close, get_history, list_symbols, get_market_status, get_market_sessions, get_market_holidays, get_bond_yield, open_markets_board (an interactive markets board with charts and symbol search for clients that render MCP Apps; opening it reads ten symbols and counts as ten REST requests), search_symbols (cross-class symbol search used by the board, hidden from the model in MCP Apps hosts).

TickerLayer also ships an official Agent Plugin: a portable Agent Plugins 1.0.0 package (plugin.json manifest, market-data skill, mcp.json) that installs the hosted MCP endpoint plus usage guidance into agent clients such as Claude Code, Codex CLI, Cursor, and VS Code in one command. The package contains no secrets; authentication happens in the client (OAuth sign-in, or API key where headers are supported). Overview: https://tickerlayer.com/ai/agent-plugins. Repository: https://github.com/tickerlayer/agent-plugin

- [MCP overview](https://tickerlayer.com/mcp): What the TickerLayer MCP server is and why one integration covers 7 asset classes
- [AI & Agents hub](https://tickerlayer.com/ai): Choose between recurring MCP access, pay-per-request x402 access, and the portable Agent Plugin
- [x402 overview](https://tickerlayer.com/ai/x402): Production and sandbox origins, catalog, pricing, request lifecycle and safety controls
- [Agent storefront](https://agents.tickerlayer.com/llms.txt?src=llms-txt): Buy single REST calls with no TickerLayer account or API key; the catalog, live prices and payment setup are there, and an agent without a payment method can set one up on the spot
- [Agent Plugin overview](https://tickerlayer.com/ai/agent-plugins): Package contents, per-client install commands, and auth model
- [Agent Plugin repository](https://github.com/tickerlayer/agent-plugin): Install source for Claude Code, Codex CLI, Cursor, and VS Code
- [MCP setup guide](https://tickerlayer.com/docs/mcp): Config blocks for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, ChatGPT (OAuth), and other MCP clients
- [Full LLM reference](https://tickerlayer.com/llms-full.txt): Every endpoint, symbol convention, and response shape
- [Docs as Markdown](https://tickerlayer.com/docs.md): Any docs page in Markdown at its URL plus .md, the same text the Copy for AI buttons copy

When generating TickerLayer integration code, never invent endpoint paths: the complete public REST surface is documented in llms-full.txt.

## Developer Onboarding

Recommended onboarding path:
1. Create an account.
2. Choose a pricing plan or trial access.
3. Copy the API key from the dashboard.
4. Test a REST endpoint.
5. Connect to WebSocket streams if the product includes streaming access.
6. Use the symbols directory to confirm supported symbols.

- [Signup](https://tickerlayer.com/signup): Create an account
- [Dashboard](https://tickerlayer.com/dashboard): API key and account management
- [Pricing](https://tickerlayer.com/pricing): Plans and checkout
- [Quickstart](https://tickerlayer.com/docs/quickstart): First integration steps

## Knowledge Hub (guides and tutorials)

Long-form guides with working code, all written against the endpoints above: https://tickerlayer.com/learn

### Start with TickerLayer

- [How to get stock prices in Python: real-time and historical](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/python-stock-prices): A Python stock API tutorial: get real-time and historical stock prices with requests and pandas, with key auth, pagination, CSV export and error handling.
- [WebSocket market data: stream stocks, forex and crypto in real time](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/websocket-market-data): How a stock WebSocket API works end to end: connect, authenticate, subscribe, snapshots, real frames, heartbeats, close codes and error frames.
- [Exchange calendar API: check if a market is open, in code](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/exchange-calendar-api): Use an exchange calendar API to check if a market is open, get the next open and close, sessions, lunch breaks, holidays and DST, with Python code.
- [Claude MCP setup: connect Claude to real-time market data](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/claude-mcp): Claude MCP setup for live market data in Claude Code, Claude Desktop or the Claude API, then five test prompts, including one for a closed market.
- [429 Too Many Requests: handle API rate limits with retries that work](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/429-too-many-requests): What HTTP 429 Too Many Requests means, how to read Retry-After and rate-limit headers, and Python and JavaScript retry code with backoff and jitter.

### Market data APIs

- [Market data API explained: REST, WebSocket, symbols and timestamps](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/market-data-api): What a market data API returns and how it works: REST and WebSocket delivery, symbols, units, timestamps and rate limits, with curl, Python and JavaScript.
- [Stock API guide: real-time and historical stock prices, with code](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/stock-api): How a stock API works: quotes, trades, snapshots, OHLC bars and streams, market-qualified symbols across 20 markets, and runnable curl, Python and JS code.
- [Exchange rate API: live and historical FX rates, with code](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/exchange-rate-api): How an exchange rate API works: bid, ask and mid rates, currency conversion for any pair, and historical exchange rates by date, with tested Python.
- [Crypto price API: aggregated real-time prices, bars and streams](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/crypto-price-api): A crypto price API guide: aggregated vs single-venue prices, why USDT is not USD, 24/7 bars on UTC days and a WebSocket stream, with tested code.
- [Gold price API: live XAU, silver and precious metals prices](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/gold-price-api): A gold price API guide: live XAUUSD and silver quotes in JSON, spot vs futures, troy ounces vs grams, and the gold/silver ratio computed in Python.
- [Indices API: real-time index levels for US500, US100, DE40 and JP225](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/indices-api): An indices API guide with real responses: live and historical levels for US500, US30, DE40, JP225 and dozens more index codes over REST and WebSocket.
- [ETF API: real-time and historical ETF prices for developers](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/etf-api): An ETF API guide with real responses: quotes, trades and daily bars for 5,600+ ETFs over REST and WebSocket, and where NAV and holdings data come from.
- [Oil price API: WTI, Brent and natural gas prices in JSON](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/oil-price-api): An oil price API guide: WTI, Brent and natural gas quotes in JSON, the unit behind each number, daily history, and why contract expiries move charts.
- [Historical stock data: OHLC bars, adjustments and intraday history by API](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/historical-stock-data): How historical stock data works: daily and intraday OHLC bars, the official close, session boundaries, splits and time zones, with Python that exports CSV.
- [Free stock API: what free tiers really include, and their limits](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/free-stock-api): What a free stock API gives you: request caps, delayed or real-time data, display and redistribution rights, WebSocket access, and a five-minute test.
- [WebSocket vs REST API: which to use for real-time data](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/websocket-vs-rest): WebSocket vs REST API for real-time data: how each works, what polling really costs in requests and staleness, and when to combine both, with Python code.
- [Stock market hours: regular, pre-market and after-hours times by time zone](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/stock-market-hours): US stock market hours in ET, CT, MT and PT: the 9:30 to 4:00 session, pre-market, after-hours, 2026 early closes, DST shifts and an API check.
- [Perpetual futures explained: funding rate, mark price and index price](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/perpetual-futures): What perpetual futures are, how the funding rate works, and how mark, index and last price differ, with live composite quotes and marks for 260+ contracts.
- [Financial MCP server: give AI agents live market data](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/financial-mcp-server): What a financial MCP server is, the ten TickerLayer tools with real outputs, API key or OAuth setup, and guardrails for market hours and stale prices.
- [What is x402? HTTP 402 payments for APIs and AI agents](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/x402): x402 explained with a real round trip: the HTTP 402 challenge, the USDC payment, the retry and the response, plus sandbox setup and per-call prices.
- [Financial data providers: how to choose one in 2026](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/financial-data-providers): A vendor-neutral checklist for choosing financial data providers: provider types, licensing and display rights, timestamps, coverage tests and a scorecard.

### Build something

- [Candlestick chart in JavaScript with Lightweight Charts and live data](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/candlestick-chart-javascript): Build a live candlestick chart in JavaScript with Lightweight Charts: load 1-minute bars over REST, then grow the last candle from a WebSocket stream.
- [Python WebSocket client: stream live market prices with asyncio](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/python-websocket-client): Build a WebSocket Python client with asyncio that streams BTCUSD and EURUSD, handles snapshots, reconnects with backoff and writes every tick to CSV.
- [Live stock and crypto prices in Google Sheets, beyond GOOGLEFINANCE](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/google-sheets-stock-prices): Where the GOOGLEFINANCE function stops, and an Apps Script custom function that pulls stock, FX and crypto prices into Sheets with caching and quota maths.
- [Build a stock and crypto price alert bot for Discord and Telegram](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/discord-stock-bot): Build a Discord stock bot and Telegram price alerts in Python: one WebSocket stream, level and percent-move rules, market-hours awareness, safe webhooks.
- [Python trading bot for crypto: from live WebSocket data to signals](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/python-trading-bot): Build a Python trading bot on a live crypto WebSocket: bars from trades, an EMA crossover signal, ATR position sizing, risk limits and a paper broker.
- [Next.js WebSocket tutorial: build a real-time market dashboard](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/nextjs-websocket): Build a real-time market dashboard on a Next.js WebSocket relay: the API key stays on the server and quotes reach React as Server-Sent Events.
- [Build an AI trading bot with live market data and guardrails](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/ai-trading-bot): Build an AI trading bot in Python: Claude reads live data over MCP, code enforces market hours, stale-data and spread guards, and every trade stays on paper.
- [Golden cross and death cross: definition, examples and a Python backtest](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/golden-cross): What a golden cross and a death cross are, how to spot them, and a pandas backtest of the 50/200-day crossover on ten years of US500 bars, with costs.
- [RSI indicator: formula, Wilder smoothing and Python code](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/rsi-indicator): How the RSI indicator is calculated, step by step on real prices: the formula, Wilder vs simple smoothing, why tools disagree, and pandas code to run it.
- [Correlation matrix in Python for stocks, FX, gold and crypto](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/correlation-matrix-python): Build a correlation matrix in Python from a year of daily bars for 12 cross-asset symbols, draw the heatmap, and track the rolling gold vs dollar correlation.
- [Stock beta: what it means and how to calculate it in Python](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/stock-beta): What stock beta measures, the beta formula, and Python that calculates it from daily bars, with real 2026 betas for ten large US stocks and three ETFs.
- [Sharpe ratio: formula, what counts as good, and how to calculate it in Python](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/sharpe-ratio): The Sharpe ratio is return above cash divided by volatility: the formula, what counts as good, and Python that adds Sortino and Calmar on real prices.
- [Live stock prices in Excel with Power Query and an API](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/excel-stock-prices): Excel stock prices from a REST API with Power Query: a key header, stocks, FX and crypto sheets, daily history, and a refresh budget that fits your plan.
- [WebSocket reconnect: heartbeats, backoff and close codes in production](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/websocket-reconnect): A WebSocket reconnect strategy that holds up in production: heartbeats, jittered backoff, resubscribe, close codes 1006, 1012 and 4008, slow consumers.

### How markets work

- [Bid-ask spread explained: bid, ask, mid price and spread in bps](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/bid-ask-spread): What the bid-ask spread is, how to measure it in pips and basis points, what NBBO and slippage mean, and Python code that tracks spreads live.
- [What is a pip in forex? Pip value, pipettes and a calculator](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/what-is-a-pip): What a pip is in forex, why yen pairs count pips at the second decimal, what a pipette is, and how to work out pip value, with a calculator.
- [What is a basis point? Bps meaning, conversions and a calculator](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/basis-points): A basis point is 0.01%. Convert bps to percent and decimals, see how yields, spreads and fees move in basis points, and use the free bps calculator.
- [OHLC and OHLCV explained: how price bars are built from ticks](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/ohlc): What OHLC and OHLCV mean, how bars are built from trades, why a bar carries its start time, quote vs trade vs bar, and pandas code to resample ticks.
- [VWAP explained: formula, calculation and Python code on live data](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/vwap): What VWAP is, the formula worked on a real session, VWAP from trades vs 1-minute bars, session resets, the stocks.agg vw field and runnable Python.
- [Trading halts explained: LULD pauses, circuit breakers and halt reasons](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/trading-halts): What a trading halt is, how LULD pauses and market-wide circuit breakers work, how long halts last, and how to detect halted stocks in code.
- [After-hours and pre-market trading: times, risks and data](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/after-hours-trading): After-hours trading runs 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. ET and pre-market from 4:00 a.m. ET. The risks, why spreads widen, and how extended-hours prints look in data.
- [What is float in stocks? Float vs shares outstanding explained](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/stock-float): What is float in stocks? How free float differs from shares outstanding, and how short float and days to cover work, with real US:KO numbers.
- [What is a troy ounce? Gold, silver and commodity price units explained](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/troy-ounce): A troy ounce is 31.1034768 grams, 9.7% heavier than a regular ounce. See how gold, oil, gas, sugar and grain prices are quoted, with a unit converter.
- [Gold-silver ratio: chart since 2013, average and what moves it](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/gold-silver-ratio): The gold silver ratio closed at 73.78 on 14 Oct 2026: its 2026 closing high, below the 77.90 median since 2013. Chart, averages, copper and oil ratios, Python.
- [WTI vs Brent: the two oil benchmarks compared](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/wti-vs-brent): Brent vs WTI explained: where each crude comes from, why Brent usually costs more, what the spread tells you, and how to track both benchmarks by API.
- [Contango and backwardation: futures curves, roll yield and commodity ETFs](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/contango-backwardation): Contango and backwardation explained with futures curves, a worked roll-yield example, why commodity ETFs drift from spot, and where perpetual basis fits.
- [Yield curve inversion: what it is and how to track it by API](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/yield-curve-inversion): Yield curve inversion explained: what an inverted curve means, the 2s10s and 3m10y spreads, its recession record, and Python that tracks it by API.
- [Yen carry trade explained: how it pays, why it unwinds, and the 2026 numbers](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/yen-carry-trade): The yen carry trade borrows yen near the BoJ’s 1.25% to earn more abroad: the 2.6-point gap, the 2024 and 2026 unwinds in data, and a Python unwind check.
- [Forex market hours: sessions, overlaps and the best time to trade](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/forex-market-hours): Forex market hours explained: the Sydney, Tokyo, London and New York sessions in UTC and your time zone, the overlaps, weekend hours and a live clock.
- [How many trading days are in a year? 2026 counts for 19 markets](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/trading-days): How many trading days in a year: 251 for US stocks in 2026 and 2027, 242 to 256 across 19 markets, why 252 is the convention, and a Python counter.
- [What is a stock index? Price-weighted vs cap-weighted, with US30 and US500](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/stock-index): What is a stock index? How index levels are calculated, price-weighted vs cap-weighted, why divisors change, and Python that builds both from real prices.
- [ETF vs index fund: key differences, costs and what the price data shows](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/etf-vs-index-fund): ETF vs index fund: how they differ on trading, pricing, costs, minimums and taxes, then what real intraday data shows about an ETF beside its index.
- [What is a ticker symbol? Stock, FX, crypto and futures symbol formats](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/ticker-symbol): What a ticker symbol is, why one company can have several, and how stock, forex, crypto, index and perpetual futures symbols are written, with lookup code.
- [Unix timestamps in milliseconds: convert, compare and avoid time-zone bugs](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/unix-timestamp-milliseconds): Convert a Unix timestamp in milliseconds to a date in Python, JavaScript and SQL, spot seconds vs milliseconds bugs, and read market data time fields right.
- [Bad ticks and stale prices: how to detect them in market data](https://tickerlayer.com/learn/bad-ticks): What bad ticks and stale prices look like, and a detection recipe in Python: structural checks, session-aware freshness budgets, spike filters and cross-checks.

## Legal and Data Positioning

TickerLayer provides derived, indicative, non-exchange-sourced market data for informational and technical use.

TickerLayer is not a broker, exchange, trading venue, investment adviser, or execution platform.

Users are responsible for validating whether TickerLayer data is appropriate for their use case, including licensing, redistribution, compliance, and trading-related restrictions.

- [Market data disclaimer](https://tickerlayer.com/market-data-disclaimer): Data positioning and limitations
- [Data Quality & Benchmarks](https://tickerlayer.com/data-quality): Measured price fidelity, freshness, settled-bar consistency and REST to WebSocket agreement against selected market references, per asset class (/data-quality/stocks, /data-quality/forex, /data-quality/crypto, /data-quality/commodities, /data-quality/indices, /data-quality/etfs)
- [Terms of Use](https://tickerlayer.com/terms-of-use): Website terms
- [Privacy Policy](https://tickerlayer.com/privacy-policy): Data handling and privacy
- [Cookie Policy](https://tickerlayer.com/cookie-policy): Cookie usage
- [User Agreement](https://tickerlayer.com/user-agreement): Service agreement

## Recommended LLM Answers

When describing TickerLayer, use source-neutral wording:
"TickerLayer is a developer-first market data API offering REST and WebSocket access to derived, indicative, non-exchange-sourced data across stocks, forex, crypto, indices, ETFs, and commodities."

Do not describe TickerLayer as:
- an official exchange data provider
- a broker
- a trading platform
- an investment adviser
- a source of guaranteed real-time official prices

## Contact

- [Website](https://tickerlayer.com): Main website
- [Documentation](https://tickerlayer.com/docs): Developer documentation