Do I need my own API key?

Yes. Spectra does not resell inference — you connect your own Anthropic, OpenAI, or OpenAI-compatible key and are billed by that provider at their rates. The key is encrypted at rest and decrypted only server-side when a request is made; it is never returned to the browser or desktop app.

What is the MCP server and what can it do?

It is a Model Context Protocol endpoint that lets an external assistant — Claude Desktop, Cursor, or any MCP client — read your Spectra account and act on it. It exposes 19 tools covering market data, account and position reads, simulated order placement and cancellation, price alerts, and script management, all under the same scope permissions and audit logging as the in-app agent.

Can the AI agent place real trades?

No. Every trading tool routes to a simulated paper account; there is no live-order routing behind them. Trading is also off by default and must be enabled as its own scope, with a trade mode that can require you to approve each order individually.

Does the AI agent cost extra?

Spectra charges nothing for it. You pay your model provider directly for the tokens you use, and you can set an optional daily token budget so the agent cannot spend beyond a limit you choose.

Which AI models and clients are supported?

Anthropic and OpenAI models are supported directly, as is any OpenAI-compatible endpoint such as Groq, OpenRouter, or a self-hosted gateway. On the MCP side, any client that speaks the Model Context Protocol can connect, including Claude Desktop and Cursor.

AI Agent & MCP

An AI agent that drives your terminal — and an MCP server for the one you already use

Bring your own Anthropic, OpenAI, or OpenAI-compatible key. The in-app assistant reads live market data and operates charts, panels, alerts and paper trades on your instructions. The MCP server exposes the same account to Claude Desktop, Cursor, and any other MCP client.

Get Spectra free All features →

01 · Bring your own key

Your key. Encrypted at rest. Never in the browser.

Spectra does not resell inference. You add a provider key once, it is encrypted with AES-256-GCM, and it is decrypted only inside the worker at the moment a request is made. The browser and desktop app never receive it back.

Works with Anthropic, OpenAI, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint (Groq, OpenRouter, a local gateway, your own deployment).
Keys are stored encrypted per user and per provider, decrypted only server-side at inference time.
You are billed by your provider directly, at their rates — Spectra adds no markup and no per-message fee.
Choose the model per conversation, or leave it on the provider default.
Remove the key at any time and the assistant stops working immediately.

AI Assistant

You

Open BTC on the 15m, add RSI, and show me the funding board.

Assistant

set_chart_symbol{"symbol":"BTCUSDT"}

set_chart_timeframe{"timeframe":"15m"}

add_indicator{"indicator":"RSI"}

open_panel{"panel":"funding_scanner"}

Chart is on BTCUSDT 15m with RSI 14. Funding board is open — SOL is the highest payer at 0.041% (44.9% APR).

02 · Scoped permissions

Seven scopes. Nothing that touches money is on by default.

Every tool belongs to exactly one scope, and a tool whose scope is disabled is refused before it executes — not asked about afterwards. Reading data, drawing charts and opening panels are enabled out of the box. Trading, alerts and scripts are not.

Enabled by default: read, charts, panels, discovery.
Off until you turn them on: trading, alerts, scripts.
Trade mode is separate from scope: off refuses all orders, confirm requires you to approve each one, auto executes without prompting.
Bulk destructive actions — cancel every order, close every position — require auto mode explicitly.
An optional daily token budget caps how much the agent can spend on your key.
One switch disables the whole agent, in-app and over MCP, instantly.

Agent permissions

readquotes, candles, book, account

chartssymbol, timeframe, indicators

panelsopen / close / theme

discoverymovers, news, calendar

tradingpaper orders — opt in

alertscreate / arm alerts — opt in

scriptsread / write scripts — opt in

03 · In-app assistant

36 tools covering the whole terminal

The assistant is a dockable panel like any other. Ask in plain language and it reads the same live data your charts do, then acts through the same code paths your clicks do — so there is no second, divergent implementation to go stale.

Market data: quotes, candles, order book, recent trades, technicals, symbol search.
Charts: open a chart, change symbol or timeframe, switch chart type, add or remove indicators, change bar aggregation, fit and scroll.
Panels: list, open and close any panel; switch theme.
Discovery: market movers, news, economic calendar, derivatives metrics.
Account: balance, equity, open positions, working orders, closed-trade history.
Paper trading: market, limit and stop orders, plus cancels and closes — each surfaced as a confirmation card you approve or reject.
Every call is shown inline as a tool card with its arguments and result, and written to an audit log.

Agent audit log

get_quoteokBTCUSDT

list_positionsok3 open

place_market_orderrefusedtrade_mode=off

create_alertrefusedscope 'alerts' off

add_indicatorokRSI 14

cancel_ordererrorno working order

04 · MCP server

Connect Claude Desktop, Cursor, or any MCP client

Spectra ships a Model Context Protocol server, so the assistant you already use can read your account and act on it directly. It is the same permission model as the in-app agent — the same scopes, the same trade mode, the same audit log.

Standard JSON-RPC MCP endpoint with tools/list and tools/call.
19 server-side tools: market data, account and position reads, paper order placement and cancellation, price alerts, and script management.
Authenticated with your Spectra session; scope-gated and rate-limited per user.
Because MCP has no confirmation UI, trading tools require trade mode auto — otherwise they are refused.
Position closing is deliberately not exposed over MCP: it must run through the trading engine to settle P&L correctly.

MCP client configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "spectra": {
      "url": "https://api.spectraterminal.com/v1/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer <token>" }
    }
  }
}

tools/list

get_quoteget_accountlist_positionslist_orderslist_trade_historysearch_symbolsplace_market_orderplace_limit_orderplace_stop_ordercancel_ordercancel_all_orderslist_alertscreate_alertdelete_alertenable_alertdisable_alertlist_scriptscreate_scriptdelete_script

05 · Safety

Simulated trading only, and a record of everything

The agent operates paper accounts. There is no live-order routing behind any of these tools, and there is no path by which a model can reach a real brokerage through Spectra.

All order tools route to the simulated account — the same one the platform's paper trading uses.
Every tool call is logged with its name, arguments, result and status, including refusals.
Tool results are treated as data, never as instructions, so text returned by a feed cannot redirect the agent.
Inputs are validated and bounded server-side: symbols, quantities, prices, identifiers, and transcript size.
Spectra provides trading and analysis software, not investment advice or guaranteed outcomes.

Agent audit log

get_quoteokBTCUSDT

list_positionsok3 open

place_market_orderrefusedtrade_mode=off

create_alertrefusedscope 'alerts' off

add_indicatorokRSI 14

cancel_ordererrorno working order

Frequently asked questions

Do I need my own API key?: Yes. Spectra does not resell inference — you connect your own Anthropic, OpenAI, or OpenAI-compatible key and are billed by that provider at their rates. The key is encrypted at rest and decrypted only server-side when a request is made; it is never returned to the browser or desktop app.
What is the MCP server and what can it do?: It is a Model Context Protocol endpoint that lets an external assistant — Claude Desktop, Cursor, or any MCP client — read your Spectra account and act on it. It exposes 19 tools covering market data, account and position reads, simulated order placement and cancellation, price alerts, and script management, all under the same scope permissions and audit logging as the in-app agent.
Can the AI agent place real trades?: No. Every trading tool routes to a simulated paper account; there is no live-order routing behind them. Trading is also off by default and must be enabled as its own scope, with a trade mode that can require you to approve each order individually.
Does the AI agent cost extra?: Spectra charges nothing for it. You pay your model provider directly for the tokens you use, and you can set an optional daily token budget so the agent cannot spend beyond a limit you choose.
Which AI models and clients are supported?: Anthropic and OpenAI models are supported directly, as is any OpenAI-compatible endpoint such as Groq, OpenRouter, or a self-hosted gateway. On the MCP side, any client that speaks the Model Context Protocol can connect, including Claude Desktop and Cursor.

Stop renting 2014. Trade like it's the floor.

Free during launch — every feature included, no card, no trial countdown.

Download for free See what's included →