MCP Server
Give Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Gemini, the OpenAI API, or any MCP-compatible agent direct access to live and historical market data across seven asset classes — one config block, one API key or OAuth sign-in.
What is the TickerLayer MCP server?
The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is the open standard AI assistants — Claude, Gemini, Cursor, Copilot, and more — use to call external tools. The TickerLayer MCP server exposes the full TickerLayer REST surface — crypto, forex, stocks, indices, ETFs, commodities, bond yields, and market status — as typed tools an agent can call directly, instead of guessing HTTP paths.
It is hosted at https://mcp.tickerlayer.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP) and authenticates two ways: your normal TickerLayer API key, or an OAuth 2.1 sign-in for OAuth-capable clients such as the ChatGPT app. Every tool call passes through the same plan entitlements and rate limits as a direct REST request.
Connect your client
Grab your key from Dashboard → API key (create a free account if you need one), then add the server:
claude mcp add --transport http tickerlayer https://mcp.tickerlayer.com/mcp \
--header "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"Reload configuration-file clients after saving; API integrations do not need a restart. You should see tickerlayer listed with 10 tools — then just ask a market question in plain language. The Claude Desktop example uses a local mcp-remote bridge and requires Node.js 18 or newer. Grok, the OpenAI Agents SDK, LangChain, the Vercel AI SDK, and every other MCP client that supports custom HTTP headers use the same pattern: the endpoint URL plus an x-api-key header.
ChatGPT app:the hosted server implements the MCP authorization spec — OAuth 2.1 with PKCE, dynamic client registration, and refresh tokens — which is exactly what ChatGPT’s developer-mode custom connectors expect. Follow the ChatGPT tab above: enable Developer mode, create a connector with the endpoint URL and OAuth authentication, approve the TickerLayer sign-in, then enable TickerLayer from the + menu in a chat. Other OAuth-capable MCP clients connect the same way — the URL alone, sign in when prompted, no API key needed.
Available tools
Ten tools cover quotes, trades, snapshots, history, symbol discovery, market calendars, and bond yields. Stocks use the COUNTRY:TICKER form (US:AAPL, DE:SAP, SA:2222); crypto and forex use concatenated pairs (BTCUSD, EURUSD). Agents can call list_symbols to discover what an account can access.
MCP tools
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| get_quote | Latest bid/ask quote for any symbol in any asset class. |
| get_last_trade | Most recent trade — price, size, timestamp. |
| get_snapshot | Consolidated view: last trade, quote, previous close, change and change percent. The best single call for "how is X doing right now". |
| get_previous_close | Previous completed daily OHLCV bar. |
| get_history | Historical OHLCV bars between two UTC dates — minute, hour, and day intervals. |
| list_symbols | Discover enabled symbols per asset class, with optional search filter. |
| get_market_status | Open / closed / pre-market / post-market across crypto, forex, and stock regions. |
| get_market_sessions | Session windows for a market or symbol on a date. |
| get_market_holidays | Holiday calendar — closures and early closes by region. |
| get_bond_yield | Latest government bond yield by country and tenor, e.g. US:10Y, DE:10Y. |
Example prompts
Once connected, these work out of the box:
- “How is Bitcoin doing today? Compare it to gold.”
- “Pull daily EURUSD bars for June and summarize the trend.”
- “Is the US stock market open right now? When does Tokyo open next?”
- “What is the 10-year US Treasury yield, and how does Germany compare?”
- “Build me a watchlist snapshot: US:AAPL, US:TSLA, BTCUSD, XAUUSD — with daily change.”
Authentication & limits
- Two auth methods. Your standard API key, sent as an
x-api-keyheader (orAuthorization: Bearer) on the hosted endpoint — unchanged. Or an OAuth 2.1 sign-in for OAuth-capable clients such as the ChatGPT app: the server implements the MCP authorization spec, so the client discovers the flow automatically and requests run under the signed-in account. - The MCP server is a thin layer over the REST API — plan entitlements, symbol access, and rate limits apply exactly as they do for direct REST calls. There is no separate MCP quota.
- A
403inside a tool result means the plan does not include that data — see pricing. - The hosted endpoint is intended for MCP clients and server runtimes. Direct browser-origin requests are denied by default as a transport security measure.
llms.txt for code generation
Writing integration code with an AI assistant instead of connecting a live agent? Point it at our machine-readable API reference so it never invents endpoints:
https://tickerlayer.com/llms.txt # overview
https://tickerlayer.com/llms-full.txt # every endpoint, symbol convention, and response shapeBoth files are kept in sync with the deployed API. See also the quickstart and WebSocket guide for streaming integrations.