Broker setup
What a broker is and why Raxx needs one
A brokerage account is where your funds are held and where buy and sell orders are routed. Raxx does not hold funds, custody assets, or execute orders directly. Instead, Raxx evaluates your strategy rules, determines whether an entry or exit condition is met, and sends the resulting order to the broker you have connected.
The broker executes the order. The money stays at your broker at all times.
This means:
- Raxx never has access to your funds. It can only send orders on your behalf, within the permission scope you granted during the authorization step.
- If you disconnect Raxx, it stops sending orders. Your broker account and any open positions are not affected.
- If you revoke Raxx's API access from your broker's dashboard, Raxx loses the ability to send orders immediately.
What kind of broker works with Raxx
Raxx supports US equities and options trading. Any broker you connect must offer an API that supports:
- Read access to account positions and balances
- Order placement for equities and options on your behalf
Paper trading: Brokers that offer a paper-trading sandbox let you test and verify your strategy before routing live orders. Raxx paper-trading mode works with a paper account at your broker — orders are evaluated against real market data and logged, but no capital is placed at risk.
Before you connect
You need an active account at the Raxx-default broker before connecting. If you do not have one:
- Open an account directly through your broker's website. Raxx does not open brokerage accounts on your behalf.
- Enable paper-trading mode in your broker account settings. Paper trading is available to all accounts and lets you test your Raxx strategy without placing real orders.
- Generate API credentials in your broker account. Most brokers call this an API key or developer token — check your broker's documentation for the exact steps.
Return here once your broker account is active and you have API credentials ready.
Connecting your broker account
- Log in to Raxx and go to Settings → Broker connection.
- Select Connect broker.
- Enter your API credentials in the fields provided. Raxx uses these credentials to authorize itself against your broker's API. The credentials are stored encrypted in Raxx's systems; your broker password is never requested or stored.
- Select Test connection. Raxx verifies that the credentials are valid and that it can read your account information.
- When the test passes, the connection status on the Settings page updates to Connected.
If the test fails, see Troubleshooting connection failures below.
Verifying the connection
After connecting, the broker connection status on Settings → Broker connection shows one of four states:
- Connected — Raxx can read your positions and balances and place orders. Live trading is available.
- Read-only — Raxx can read your account but order placement is restricted. Check that your API credentials include order-placement permissions in your broker account settings.
- Expired — The API credentials have expired or been revoked. Use the Reconnect button to re-enter current credentials.
- Disconnected — No connection is established, or the connection was removed. Select Connect broker to set up a new connection.
Credential security
Raxx stores your broker API credentials encrypted at rest. The credentials are used only to communicate with your broker's API on your behalf — they are not shared with any third party.
You can revoke Raxx's access to your broker account at any time by:
- Deleting or rotating the API credentials in your broker account settings (this immediately stops Raxx from placing orders), or
- Removing the connection in Raxx Settings → Broker connection and selecting Disconnect (this removes the credentials from Raxx's store).
Revoking access at the broker level takes effect immediately regardless of what is configured in Raxx.
What Raxx does not request: Raxx requests only read access to positions and balances, and the ability to place orders on your behalf. It does not request funds-transfer permissions, account-management permissions, or the ability to withdraw funds.
Reconnecting after expiry
API credentials expire periodically. Expiry policies vary by broker — some credentials expire on a fixed schedule, others expire when you rotate them manually or when you reset your broker account password.
When credentials expire, Raxx stops placing orders and shows a Reconnect prompt on the dashboard and on the Settings → Broker connection page.
To reconnect:
- Generate new API credentials in your broker account.
- Go to Raxx Settings → Broker connection.
- Select Reconnect.
- Enter the new credentials and select Test connection.
- When the test passes, the status returns to Connected and order routing resumes.
No strategies need to be re-activated after reconnecting. Raxx resumes evaluating your active strategies against the new credentials immediately.
Disconnecting your broker
Go to Settings → Broker connection and select Disconnect. This removes your stored API credentials from Raxx and stops Raxx from sending any further orders.
Disconnecting does not:
- Close your broker account.
- Affect any positions already open at your broker.
- Cancel open orders that Raxx placed before the disconnect.
Any open positions remain at your broker as placed. You manage them directly through your broker's platform after disconnecting Raxx.
Multiple broker accounts
Raxx supports one broker connection per account. If you need to switch to a different broker account:
- Go to Settings → Broker connection and select Disconnect.
- Select Connect broker and enter the credentials for the new account.
Only one connection is active at a time. Switching connections stops order routing on the old account and begins routing on the new one as soon as the new connection is verified.
Troubleshooting connection failures
If the connection test fails:
| Symptom | Likely cause | Steps to resolve |
|---|---|---|
| "Invalid credentials" | API key or secret entered incorrectly | Re-enter the credentials exactly as shown in your broker account. Check for leading or trailing spaces. |
| "Insufficient permissions" | API key does not include order-placement permission | In your broker account, edit the API key's permissions to include order placement and re-run the connection test. |
| "Account not found" | Credentials belong to a different account type (e.g., a test environment) | Verify you are using credentials from a live or paper-trading account, not a sandbox credential set. |
| "Connection timeout" | Broker API temporarily unavailable | Wait a few minutes and retry. Check your broker's status page for any ongoing outages. |
For issues not listed here, see Troubleshooting for a full step-by-step diagnostic guide.
Next steps
- Getting started — full onboarding walkthrough including account creation and strategy setup.
- Core concepts — how Raxx enforces your rules and what the execution model does.
- Troubleshooting — step-by-step guidance for connection problems and order issues.
- FAQ — common questions about data handling, security, and support.
If your connection issue is not resolved by these guides, open a ticket at support@raxx.app with your account email and a description of the error message you saw.