Connect Alpaca to NickAI
Use an Alpaca paper connection to inspect a stock workflow with virtual funds. NickAI's paper exchange and Alpaca paper trading are separate destinations; select the account you intend to test in every relevant node.
Add a paper connection
- Open your Alpaca paper account and generate its API key and secret. Follow Alpaca's paper trading instructions ↗ for the account setup. Paper and live accounts use separate keys.
- In NickAI, open Settings > Credentials and add an Alpaca credential.
- Enter the API Key and API Secret in the credential form. Keep them out of prompts, workflow text, and reports.
- Enable Paper Trading and give the connection a name that makes its account mode clear.
- Select that connection in the workflow's portfolio and exchange-order nodes. Keep the workflow inactive while reviewing its settings.
Inspect a first workflow
The VIX Regime SPY/BND Allocation ↗ design reads market data and an Alpaca portfolio, calculates target weights, checks drift, and produces a report. Review the template's settings as configuration examples, not portfolio recommendations.
- Confirm symbols, data availability, lookback, and timezone.
- Check the portfolio and order nodes use the same intended paper account.
- Review account balances and supported order settings before a manual test.
- Open the execution log and inspect each node result. A submitted order and a filled order are different states.
- Test the no-action branch as well as the action branch. Inspect each receipt if the workflow submits multiple orders.
Paper execution has simulation limits and does not establish future live behavior. Review a live account's permissions and execution settings separately before changing the connection.