Connection

Open one native WebSocket to the stream host. Authentication is part of the upgrade URL. After a successful handshake the first application message is always a ready frame.

Open .md

Connect URL

The stream host is wss://stream.tickerlayer.com. Pass your raw API key, URL-encoded, as the apiKey query parameter (Authentication). To try it before wiring a client, use the live panel on the WebSocket overview.

const ws = new WebSocket(
  "wss://stream.tickerlayer.com/?apiKey=" + encodeURIComponent(rawKey)
);

Custom path

The path defaults to /. An account given a custom stream path adds it before the query string, for example wss://stream.tickerlayer.com/stream?apiKey=….

Upgrade outcomes

Status	Meaning
`101 Switching Protocols`	Connected. The first frame is ready.
`401`	Missing or invalid `apiKey`, or a key not entitled for WebSocket. A plain HTTP response; no frames are sent.
`403`	The key exists but the `ws` surface is not enabled for this account.
`429`	A global or per-account connection limit; the account limit answers with `WS_CONNECTION_LIMIT_EXCEEDED`. With reserved connections it can also say the remaining slots are reserved while the account is below its total.

Reserved connections per key

Your connection allowance is shared by every API key on the account. In the dashboard's Manage API keys panel you can reserve part of it for one key, so a critical consumer such as an oracle feed or a production service survives reconnect storms or leaks in your other environments.

Reserved slots: A key with N reserved slots can always open at least N connections, whatever your other keys hold. Keys without a reservation share the rest.
When the shared part is full: Connects from keys without a reservation get WS_CONNECTION_LIMIT_EXCEEDED even below the account total, and the message says the remaining slots are reserved.
Changes: Apply to new connections within a few seconds and never close open sockets. Reservations can never add up to more than the account allowance.

Ready frame

Sent right after a successful upgrade. Wait for it before any subscribe.

{
  "type": "system",
  "event": "ready",
  "ts": 1743512400000
}

Connections in the dashboard

The Connections page, opened from the WebSocket usage card on your dashboard, lists the account's open WebSocket connections and the ones that ended in the last 7 days, with the source IP and country, the API key, how long each stayed open and how it ended. Times are in UTC.

Live: Each open connection with its symbols and channels.
Last 7 days: Each ended connection and how it ended: a close from your client with its code, a drop without a close frame, no reply to ping (4008), a reconnect request from the server (1012), or an access change on the account.
By IP: Connections per source address, with the ones that closed within 10 seconds in the last 24 hours. An address you do not recognize is a reason to regenerate that key.
Reconnect loops: Three or more connections in a row from one address and key that each closed within 10 seconds show as one row. Keep one long-lived connection per service and back off between retries (Disconnects).