R API to the Interactive Brokers Trader Workstation (TWS).

Description

This software is in no way affiliated, endorsed, or approved by Interactive Brokers or any of its affiliates. It comes with absolutely no warranty and should not be used in actual trading unless the user can read and understand the source.

IBrokers is a pure R implementation of the TWS API. At present it is only able pull data from the Interactive Brokers servers via the TWS. Future additions will include more API access, including live order handling, and better management across R sessions.

Possible real-time charting via the quantmod package may be incorporated into future releases.

Changes to move to version 0.1-0 have made this API implementation much more robust on all platforms. Many new error-checking calls have been incorporated, as well as a more reliable event-loop to capture the data from the TWS.

The underlying socket connections are pure R. This was a design decision to maximize cross-platform availability, as well as a recognition that historical data requests, or any requests while in a single threaded R session, must be non-threaded.

Recent additions include reqMktData to handle live market data from one or more symbols, reqMktDepth to capture market depth for one or more symbols, and reqRealTimeBars to recieve 5 second real time bars. Each of these functions have been implemented with optional user defined callback handlers to allow for R code to interact with the API while receiving data from the TWS.

Please report any and all bugs/experiences to the maintainer so they can be corrected or incorporated into future versions.

Additionally, beta testers are needed to make this a viable alternative for IB-API interaction. Don't be shy.

Details

The current API methods supported are:

twsConnect: Establish TWS connection
twsDisconnect: Close TWS connection
isConnected: Check connection
setServerLogLevel: Set logging level

twsAccountUpdates: Get Account Details
reqIds: Request next available ID
reqCurrentTime: The TWS server time in seconds since the epoch
reqHistoricalData: Fetch historical data
reqMktData: Receive real-time market data
reqMktDepth: Receive real-time order book depth
reqRealTimeBars: Receive 5 second OHLCVWC bar data

Experimental support:
placeOrder: Place a live order to the TWS
cancelOrder: Cancel a pending order on the TWS

Author(s)

Jeffrey A. Ryan

Maintainer: Joshua M. Ulrich <josh.m.ulrich@gmail.com>

References

Interactive Brokers: https://www.interactivebrokers.com

Examples

## Not run: 
IBrokersRef()       # IBrokers Reference Card in PDF viewer

tws <- twsConnect() # make a new connection to the TWS
reqCurrentTime(tws) # check the server's timestamp

contract <- twsEquity('IBKR','SMART','ISLAND') # equity specification

reqHistoricalData(tws,contract) # request historical data
twsDisconnect(tws)  # disconnect from the TWS

## End(Not run)

TWS Orders

Description

Place or cancel an order to the TWS.

Usage

placeOrder(twsconn, Contract, Order)

cancelOrder(twsconn, orderId)

Arguments

Details

As described by the official Interactive Brokers (tm) documentation. Caveat Emptor!!

Value

Called for its side effect of placing or cancelling an order on the TWS. This also returns the orderId used for placeOrder. An additional side-effect is that a variable .Last.orderId will be created or updated in the GlobalEnv as well.

Note

Orders via the API are quite complicated, or at least can be. It is strongly advised to only proceed with trading real money after one understands not only all the R code in this package, but the official API as well. If you are more comfortable clicking shiny buttons in a GUI, it is probably better that you keep clicking the buttons and not pretend to program.

Not for the faint of heart. All profits and losses related are yours and yours alone. If you don't like it, write it yourself.

Author(s)

Jeffrey A. Ryan

References

Official Place Order API: https://interactivebrokers.github.io/tws-api/classIBApi_1_1EClient.html#aa6ff6f6455c551bef9d66c34d1c8586c

See Also

twsContract twsOrder reqIds

Examples

## Not run: 
tws <- twsConnect()
id <- reqIds(tws)

placeOrder(tws, twsSTK("AAPL"), twsOrder(id))
cancelOrder(tws, id)

## End(Not run)

Internal TWS-API MSG and ERR List

Description

Internal List of MSG Codes and Undocumented (Experimental) Functions

Calculate Option Values

Description

Using the IB API, calculates the implied volatility or option price given parameters.

Usage

calculateImpliedVolatility(twsconn, 
                           Contract, 
                           optionPrice, 
                           underPrice, 
                           reqId = 1)

calculateOptionPrice(twsconn, 
                     Contract, 
                     volatility, 
                     underPrice, 
                     reqId = 1)

Arguments

Details

Both calls will use the IB described method for calculation. See the official API for documentation.

Value

A numeric value corresponding to the request

Author(s)

Jeffrey A. Ryan

References

https://interactivebrokers.github.io/tws-api/classIBApi_1_1EClient.html#a04c5d248c1036dd72435cc1edc7c58e2 https://interactivebrokers.github.io/tws-api/classIBApi_1_1EClient.html#a7afa53b655542e74ede683e1de2b2fc4

eWrapper Closure For Message Processing

Description

Create an eWrapper closure to allow for custom incoming message management.

Usage

eWrapper(debug = FALSE, errfile=stderr())

eWrapper.data(n)

eWrapper.MktData.CSV(n=1)
eWrapper.RealTimeBars.CSV(n=1)

Arguments

Details

IBrokers implements an eWrapper scheme similar to that provided by the official Java API.

The general idea is that each real-time data capture function must manage all incoming signals correctly, while allowing for the end user to create custom handlers for each specific event.

Internal to the reqRealTimeBars, reqMktData, and reqMktDepth functions is a single call to the CALLBACK routine passed to it. By default this is twsCALLBACK (see also). A standard argument to this callback is an eventWrapper — which is an instance of eWrapper.

eWrapper is an R closure that contains a list of functions to manage all incoming message type, as found in .twsIncomingMSG. Each message has a corresponding function in the eWrapper designed to handle the particular details of each incoming message type.

There is also an embedded environment in which data can be saved and retrieved via a handful of accessor functions mimicking the standard R tools.

The data environment is .Data, with accessor methods get.Data, assign.Data, and remove.Data.

These methods can be called from the closure object eWrapper$get.Data, eWrapper$assign.Data, etc.

The basic eWrapper call simply produces a visually informative display of the incoming stream. E.g. bidSize data would be represented with a bidSize label, instead of the internal TWS code(s) returned by the TWS.

By creating an instance of an eWrapper, accomplished by calling it as a function call, one can then modify any or all the particular methods embedded in the object.

This allows for rapid customization, as well as a built in assurance that all incoming messages will be handled appropriately without additional programmer time and resources.

An example of this ability to modify the object is given in the eWrapper.MktData.CSV code. This object produces output deisgned to be space efficient, as well as easily read back into any R session as a standard CSV file.

Setting debug=NULL will cause empty function objects to be created within the eWrapper object returned. This object can be treated as a template to implement only the methods that are needed. By default, all functions silently return the entire message they would normally parse. This includes empty functions created by setting debug to NULL.

eWrapper.data() allows for data states to be maintained from call to call, as an xts history of updates/messages is stored within the object. This is designed to minimize calling overhead by removing unneeded function calls from each message parsed.

Additional, but creating methods that update the internal environment of the eWrapper object, it is possible to maintain a snapshot of last k values for any field of interest. This is directly applicable to implementing an automated strategy from within a custom twsCALLBACK method.

Value

A list of functions [and optionally data] to be used for the eventWrapper argument to reqMktData and reqMktDepth

Note

It is possible to also attach data to the closure object, allowing for a single in-memory object to contain current top of book data. This is exemplified in the eWrapper.MktData.CSV code, and can be extended in the user's own direction.

Author(s)

Jeffrey A. Ryan

See Also

twsCALLBACK, processMsg

Examples

myWrapper <- eWrapper()

str(myWrapper)

# remove tickPrice action
myWrapper$tickPrice <- function(msg, timestamp, file, ...) {}

# add new tickPrice action
myWrapper$tickPrice <- function(msg, timestamp, file, ...) { cat("tickPrice",msg) }

# add new data into the object, and retrieve
myWrapper$assign.Data("myData", 1010)
myWrapper$get.Data("myData")

## Not run: 
tws <- twsConnect()
reqMktData(tws, twsSTK("SBUX"))
reqMktData(tws, twsSTK("SBUX"), eventWrapper=myWrapper)
twsDisconnect(tws)

## End(Not run)

Exercise Options Contracts

Description

Send message to exercise option contracts.

Usage

exerciseOptions(twsconn, 
                contract, 
                exerciseAction = 1, 
                exerciseQuantity = 1, 
                account = "", 
                override = 0, 
                tickerId = 1)

Arguments

Details

Exercise option contract.

Value

Called for its side-effect.

Note

exch=‘SMART’ is not valid in exerciseOptions calls. See the official API for further details.

Author(s)

Jeffrey A. Ryan

References

https://interactivebrokers.github.io/tws-api/classIBApi_1_1EClient.html#aad70a7b82ad3b5e7ae3e9f0b98dc2a5b

Main TWS-API Event Manager

Description

Function to manage all incoming messages from the TWS in a consistent manner.

This is used within the context of an event loop (often twsCALLBACK) and allows for custom processing by message type via the eWrapper argument.

Usage

processMsg(curMsg, con, eWrapper, timestamp, file, twsconn, ...)

Arguments

Details

This is used internally within the context of a larger infinite listener/loop.

The basic process involves one or more requests to the TWS for data/action, followed by a call to twsCALLBACK. Inside of the CALLBACK is a loop that fetches the incoming message type, and calls processMsg at each new message.

processMsg internally is a series of if-else statements that branch according to a known incoming message type. The eWrapper object is a closure containing a data environment that is static and a collection of callback functions for each type of incoming data.

This eWrapper function can be defined at multiple points prior to the use within processMsg, to allow for access to data outside of the processMsg call, as well as facilitate custom handling in an efficient manner.

Value

Called for its side-effects.

Note

The entire mechanism (twsCALLBACK -> processMsg -> eWrapper) is modeled after the official API.

Author(s)

Jeffrey A. Ryan

References

Interactive Brokers: https://www.interactivebrokers.com/

See Also

twsCALLBACK, eWrapper

Request Account Updates

Description

Request and view account details from Interactive Brokers

Usage

reqAccountUpdates(conn, 
                  subscribe = TRUE,
                  acctCode = "1",
                  eventWrapper = eWrapper(), 
                  CALLBACK=twsCALLBACK, 
                  ...)

.reqAccountUpdates(conn, subscribe = TRUE, acctCode = "1")

twsPortfolioValue(x, zero.pos=TRUE, ...)

Arguments

Details

By default, for non-FA accounts, this returns the current login's account information.

This main version returns a list of objects as returned by the TWS. .reqAccountUpdates sends the request to subscribe or cancel, but returns immediately. This is designed to be used within a larger custom callback routine, where the eventWrapper object passed to processMsg (see also) keeps trace of the portfolio updates in a consistent manner.

twsPortfolioValue extracts into a data.frame commonly used fields from all positions held. There are currently methods for the the default returned object of reqAccountUpdates.

Author(s)

Jeffrey A. Ryan

References

Interactive Brokers API: https://www.interactivebrokers.com

Examples

## Not run: 
  tws <- twsConnect()

  reqAccountUpdates(tws)        # this will return a AccountUpdate object
  .reqAccountUpdates(tws)       # this will return immediately

  .reqAccountUpdates(tws, FALSE)  # cancel the request
  cancelAccountUpdates(tws)     # the same

  twsDisconnect(tes)

## End(Not run)

Request Contract Details From TWS

Description

Returns an object (a list of class twsContractDetails objects) of IB contract details relating to a particular IB tradeable product.

Usage

reqContractDetails(conn,
                   Contract,
                   reqId = "1",
                   verbose = FALSE,
                   eventWrapper = eWrapper(),
                   CALLBACK = twsCALLBACK, ...)

Arguments

Details

Returns a list of details for the product specified. See the TWS API for specifics at this point.

Value

A twsContractDetails object, or list of the same.

Author(s)

Jeffrey A. Ryan

References

Interactive Brokers https://www.interactivebrokers.com/

See Also

twsContract

Examples

## Not run: 
tws <- twsConnect()
reqContractDetails(tws, twsEquity("QQQQ"))

# retrieve all QQQQ contracts as a list
reqContractDetails(tws, twsOption(local="", right="", symbol="QQQQ"))
# retrieve only calls
reqContractDetails(tws, twsOption(local="", right="C", symbol="QQQQ"))
# retrieve only puts
reqContractDetails(tws, twsOption(local="", right="P", symbol="QQQQ"))

opt.details <- lapply(c("MSFT","AAPL"),
                      function(x) {
                                    reqContractDetails(tws,
                                      twsOption(local="", right="",
                                                symbol=x))
                                  } )

length(opt.details) #number of symbols passed e.g. 2
sapply(opt.details, length) # contracts per symbol

## End(Not run)

Request The Current TWS Time

Description

Returns the current time from the TWS server, expressed as seconds since 1970-01-01 GMT.

Usage

reqCurrentTime(twsconn)

Arguments

Value

Seconds since 1970-01-01 GMT

Author(s)

Jeffrey A. Ryan

References

Interactive Brokers https://www.interactivebrokers.com

Examples

## Not run: 
tws <- twsConnect()
reqCurrentTime(tws)

## End(Not run)

Request Historical Data From TWS

Description

Makes a request to the Interactive Brokers Trader Workstation (TWS), and returns an xts object containing the results of the request if successful.

Usage

reqHistoricalData(conn,
                  Contract,
                  endDateTime,
                  barSize = "1 day",
                  duration = "1 M",
                  useRTH = "1",
                  whatToShow = "TRADES", 
                  timeFormat = "1",
                  tzone = "",
                  verbose = TRUE,
                  tickerId = "1",
                  eventHistoricalData,
                  file)

reqHistory(conn, Contract, barSize, ...)

Arguments

Details

The reqHistory function is a simple wrapper to request maximal history from IB. It is meant to be used directlty, or as a template for new wrappers.

All arguments should be character strings. Attempts will be made to coerce, but should not be relied upon.

The endDateTime argument must be of the form 'CCYYMMDD HH:MM:SS TZ'. If not specified the current time as returned from the TWS server will be used. This is the preferred method for backfilling data. The ‘TZ’ portion of the string is optional.

Legal barSize values are ‘1 secs’,‘5 secs’,‘15 secs’, ‘30 mins’,‘1 min’,‘2 mins’, ‘3 mins’,‘5 mins’,‘15 mins’, ‘30 mins’,‘1 hour’,‘1 day’, ‘1 week’,‘1 month’,‘3 months’, and ‘1 year’.

Partial matching is attempted, but it is best to specify the barSize value exactly as they are given above. There is no guarantee from the API that all will work for all securities or durations.

The duration string must be of the form ‘n u’ where ‘n’ is an integer and ‘u’ is one of: ‘S’ (seconds), ‘D’ (days), ‘W’ (weeks), ‘M’ (months), or ‘Y’ (year). For example, ‘1 W’ would return one week of data. At present the limit for years is 1.

useRTH takes either ‘1’ or ‘0’, indicating the request to return only regular trade hour data, or all data, respectively.

whatToShow can be any one of the following, though depending on the overall request it may not succeed. ‘TRADES’, ‘MIDPOINT’, ‘BID’, ‘ASK’, ‘BID_ASK’.

time.format should simply be left alone. :D

eventHistoricalData accepts a user function to process the raw data returned by the TWS. This consists of a character vector that includes the first five elements of header information, with the fifth element specifying the number of rows in the results set. Passing NULL to eventHistoricalData will return the raw character vector. If nothing is specified, an xts object is returned.

The eventHistoricalData function, if any, is called after all data has been received by the client.

The file argument calls write.table to produce output suitable to reading in by read.csv. The file argument is passed to the write.table call, and if an empty string will return the output to the console.

The hasGaps column is converted automatically from (true,false) to 1 or 0, respectively.

Value

Returns an xts object containing the requested data, along with additional information stored in the objects xtsAttributes, unless callback or file is specified.

Note

The rules for historical data requests are somewhat vague. Not all symbols have data, and those that do may only be available with specific combinations of barSize and duration arguments. At present the only way to know is to try the combination in question.

There is a strictly enforced 10 seconds between request pacing rule implemented by the TWS. Keep this in mind. IBrokers currently does not manage this for the user via reqHistoricalData, though reqHistory does.

Author(s)

Jeffrey A. Ryan

References

Interactive Brokers https://www.interactivebrokers.com

See Also

twsContract, twsConnect

Examples

## Not run: 
tws <- twsConnect()
contract <- twsEquity('QQQQ','SMART','ISLAND')

# by default retreives 30 days of daily data
reqHistoricalData(tws, Contract=contract)

# by default retreives a year of 1 minute bars
Sys.sleep(10) # mandatory 10s between request to avoid IB pacing violation
reqHistory(tws, Contract=contract)


## End(Not run)

Request Next Valid Id

Description

Get the next valid order ID for use with the TWS.

Usage

reqIds(conn, numIds = 1)

Arguments

Details

twsconn objects maintain the next valid id inside of the object, returning the current id, and incrementing by 1 with each call to reqIds.

For twsconn objects, reqIds and .reqIds results are identical.

Value

A character representation of the next numeric ID.

Note

The TWS will keep track of order ids across connection ids and sessions. The values may be reset only as outlined by the official TWS documentation. IBrokers simply records and manages the data as recieved from the TWS upon initial connection. Each connection id will have a different order id associated with it.

Author(s)

Jeffrey A. Ryan

Managed Accounts

Description

A single username can handle more than one account. As mentioned in the Connectivity section, the TWS will automatically send a list of managed accounts once the connection is established. The list can also be fetched via the IBApi.EClient.reqManagedAccts method. For an individual account, this call works as well and returns a single account.

Usage

reqManagedAccts(twsconn)

Arguments

Value

Individual account: a string containing a single account number. For a FamilyAccount it returns a string with a ',' separated list of available accounts.

Author(s)

J.W. de Roode

References

Interactive Brokers https://www.interactivebrokers.com

Examples

## Not run: 
tws <- twsConnect()
reqManagedAccts(tws)

## End(Not run)

Stock Contract Search

Description

Starting in API v973.02 and TWS v964, a function reqMatchingSymbols is available to search for stock contracts. The input can be either the first few letters of the ticker symbol, or for longer strings, a character sequence matching a word in the security name. For instance to search for the stock symbol 'IBKR', the input 'I' or 'IB' can be used, as well as the word 'Interactive'. Up to 16 matching results are returned.

Usage

reqMatchingSymbols(twsconn, pattern)

Arguments

Value

dataframe: conId, symbol, secType, primaryExchange, currency, derivateSecTypes

Author(s)

J.W. de Roode

References

Interactive Brokers https://www.interactivebrokers.com

Examples

## Not run: 
tws <- twsConnect()
reqMatchingSymbols(tws, pattern="IB")

## End(Not run)

Request Market Data Feed from TWS

Description

Allows for streaming market data to be handled in R.

Usage

reqMktData(conn, 
           Contract,
           tickGenerics = "100,101,104,106,165,221,225,236",
           snapshot = FALSE,
           tickerId = "1",
           timeStamp = "%Y%m%d %H:%M:%OS",
           playback = 1,
           file = "",
           verbose = TRUE,
           eventWrapper = eWrapper(),
           CALLBACK = twsCALLBACK, ...)

cancelMktData(conn,tickerId)

Arguments

Details

This function provides R level access to market data streams as returned by the TWS API. The Interactive Brokers documentation should be reference for the exact meaning of the returned data.

timeStamps is unique to the R API in that each incoming signal will be marked with a (potentially) unique timestamp. Alternatively it is possible to pass a formatting string for use in format(Sys.time()). To suppress the time stamp set the argument to NULL. This is not sent by the TWS - merely prepended to the output by R.

Callbacks, via CALLBACK and eventWrapper are designed to allow for R level processing of the real-time data stream.

Each message recieved (each update to the market data) will invoke one the appropriately names eWrapper callback, depending on the message type. By default when nothing is specified, the code will call the default method for printing the results to the screen via cat.

Note that the use of the argument file will be passed to these cat calls, and therefore it will be possible to use the functionality of cat directly - e.g. piping output or writing to a connection. The simplest use of file would be to specify the name of a file to append the output of the stream to.

The CALLBACK argument is used for more control of the incoming results. This requires user-level error checking as well as TWS API interaction. It is here for advanced use and until documented should be left alone.

Value

The real-time market data from the TWS.

Note

As R is single threaded - this request will run until interupted by an error or by user action. Both will clean up after themselves when appropriate.

Author(s)

Jeffrey A. Ryan

References

Interactive Brokers API: https://interactivebrokers.github.io/tws-api/index.html

See Also

twsCALLBACK, eWrapper, twsConnect, twsContract

Examples

## Not run: 
tws <- twsConnect()
contract <- twsEquity("QQQQ","SMART","ISLAND")
reqMktData(tws, contract)

# write to an open file connection
fh <- file('out.dat',open='a')
reqMktData(tws, contract, file=fh)
close(fh)

## End(Not run)

Request Market Data Type from TWS

Description

Set the market data type with TWS

Usage

reqMktDataType(conn, mktDataType = 3)

Arguments

Details

This function sets the market data type that will be returned by TWS when reqMktData is called.

1

Real-time: Live data is streamed back in real time. Market data subscriptions are required to receive live market data.

2

Frozen: Market data is the last data recorded at market close. Frozen data requires TWS/IBG v.962 or higher and the same market data subscriptions necessary for real time streaming data.

3

Delayed: Market data 15-20 minutes behind real-time (depending on the exchange). Automatically use delayed data if user does not have a real-time subscription. Ignored if real-time data is available.

4

Delayed-frozen: Requests delayed "frozen" data for users without market data subscriptions.

Value

NULL (invisibly)

Author(s)

Joshua M. Ulrich

References

Interactive Brokers API: https://interactivebrokers.github.io/tws-api/index.html

See Also

twsConnect, reqMktData

Examples

## Not run: 
tws <- twsConnect()
contract <- twsEquity("QQQQ","SMART","ISLAND")
# set market data type to 'delayed'
reqMktDataType(tws, 3)
reqMktData(tws, contract)

## End(Not run)

Request Market Depth Feed from TWS

Description

Allows for streaming market depth (order book) data to be handled in R.

Usage

reqMktDepth(conn, 
            Contract,
            tickerId = "1",
            numRows = "20",
            timeStamp = TRUE,
            playback = 1,
            file = "",
            verbose = TRUE,
            eventWrapper = eWrapper(),
            CALLBACK = twsCALLBACK, ...)

cancelMktDepth(conn,tickerId)

Arguments

Details

This function provides R level access to book data as returned by the TWS API. The Interactive Brokers documentation should be reference for the exact meaning of the returned data.

timeStamps is unique to the R API in that each incoming signal will be marked with a (potentially) unique timestamp. Alternatively it is possible to pass a formatting string for use in format(Sys.time()). To suppress the time stamp set the argument to NULL.

Callbacks, via eventUpdateMktDepth, eventUpdateMktDepthL2, or CALLBACK are designed to allow for R level processing of the real-time data stream.

The first two correspond to actions based upon the actual signal recieved. These may be user-defined functions taking the appropriate arguments. Each message recieved (each update to the market depth) will invoke one of these callbacks. By default when nothing is specified, the code will call the default method for printing the results to the screen via cat.

Note that the use of the argument file will be passed to these cat calls, and therefore it will be possible to use the functionality of cat directly - e.g. piping output or writing to a connection. The simplest use of file would be to specify the name of a file to append the output of the stream to.

The CALLBACK argument is used for more control of the incoming results. This requires user-level error checking as well as TWS API interaction. It is here for advanced use and until documented should be left alone.

Value

The book depth.

Note

As R is single threaded - this request will run until interupted by an error or by user action. Both will clean up after themselves when appropriate.

Author(s)

Jeffrey A. Ryan

References

Interactive Brokers API: https://interactivebrokers.github.io/tws-api/index.html

See Also

twsConnect,twsContract

Examples

## Not run: 
tws <- twsConnect()
contract <- twsEquity("QQQQ","SMART","ISLAND")
reqMktDepth(tws, contract)

# write to a file
reqMktDepth(tws, contract, file='out.dat')

## End(Not run)

Subscribe or Unsubscribe To News Bulletins

Description

Subscription start and end methods for the API.

Usage

reqNewsBulletins(twsconn, allMsgs=TRUE)

cancelNewsBulletins(twsconn)

Arguments

Details

Calling reqNewsBulletins will start a subscription via the API. This will continue and incoming messages will be handled by eWrapper ‘updateNewBulletin’ method. Bulletins are cancelled by calling the cancel version.

Value

Called for its side-effects.

Note

This is not “news” per se, it is a subscription to the API bulletins.

Author(s)

Jeffrey A. Ryan

References

https://interactivebrokers.github.io/tws-api/classIBApi_1_1EClient.html#a286458a8be7d3b37f0d94fe61bf717fa

Request Real Time Bars from TWS

Description

Allows for streaming real-time bars to be handled in R

Usage

reqRealTimeBars(conn,
                Contract,
                whatToShow = "TRADES", 
                barSize = "5",
                useRTH = TRUE,
                playback = 1,
                tickerId = "1",
                file = "",
                verbose = TRUE,
                eventWrapper=eWrapper(),
                CALLBACK=twsCALLBACK,
                ...) 

cancelRealTimeBars(conn, tickerId)

Arguments

Details

This function provides R level access to real time (5 second) bars returned by the TWS API. The Interactive Brokers documentation should be reference for the exact meaning of the returned data.

If the conn is a connection of data to be played back all other arguments are ignores, except for playback, which is a multiplier of the bar size in seconds. To force all data to be read without pause set this to 0.

Callbacks, via eventRealTimeBars and CALLBACK are designed to allow for R level processing of the real-time data stream.

eventWrapper allows for direct manipulation of the actual signal recieved. These may be user-defined functions taking the appropriate arguments. Each message recieved (each new bar) will invoke one of this callback. By default when nothing is specified, the code will call the default method for printing the results to the screen via 'cat'.

Note that the use of the argument 'file' will be passed to these 'cat' calls, and therefore it will be possible to use the functionality of 'cat' directly - e.g. piping output or writing to a connection. The simplest use of file would be to specify the name of a file, or open connection to append the output of the stream to.

The 'CALLBACK' argument is used for more control of the incoming results. This requires user-level error checking as well as TWS API interaction. It is here for advanced use and until documented should be left alone.

Value

The real-time bar data requested.

Note

As R is single threaded - this request will run until interupted by an error or by user action. Both will clean up after themselves when appropriate.

Author(s)

Jeffrey A. Ryan

References

Interactive Brokers TWS API https://interactivebrokers.github.io/tws-api/index.html

See Also

twsConnect,twsContract,eWrapper

Examples

## Not run: 
tws <- twsConnect()
contract <- twsEquity("QQQQ","SMART","ISLAND")
reqRealTimeBars(tws, contract)

# write to an open file connection
fh <- file('out.dat',open='a')
reqRealTimeBars(tws, contract, file=fh)
close(fh)

## End(Not run)

Enable API Logging Via TWS

Description

Set level of API logging to be done by TWS.

Usage

setServerLogLevel(conn, logLevel = 2)

Arguments

Details

Calling this function will set the logging level for the current connection according to the following table:

1. 1:SYSTEM (least detail)

2. 2:ERROR (default)

3. 3:WARNING

4. 4:INFORMATION

5. 5:DETAIL (most detail)

See TWS documentation for further details.

Value

This function is called for its side-effects.

Note

The online documentation warns of performance overhead when setting logLevel=5.

Author(s)

Jeffrey A. Ryan

References

TWS API Logging https://interactivebrokers.github.io/tws-api/support.html#tws_logs https://interactivebrokers.github.io/tws-api/classIBApi_1_1EClient.html#a62ed6f4f391c86743c566d44c29dae48

Internal Data Callback Routine

Description

twsCALLBACK is the primary function that is called after a request for data is sent. Within this call messages are recieved from the TWS, processed, and further actions can be handled.

Usage

twsCALLBACK(twsCon, eWrapper, timestamp, file, playback = 1, ...)

Arguments

Details

This function is used as the primary management tool within all data calls built into IBrokers.

It works as is, or can be modified to manage unique data and trading requirements.

The general logic of the function is to recieve the header to each incoming message from the TWS. This then gets passed to the processMsg function, along with the eWrapper object.

The eWrapper object can maintain state data (prices), and has functions for managing all incoming message types from the TWS.

Once the processMsg call returns, another cycle of the infinite loop occurs.

If the eWrapper object is used to maintain state information, it is possible to access this information from outside of the processMsg call, and thus be able to apply trade logic based upon the data acquired from the TWS.

An example will soon be available in the vignettes included in the package.

Value

No value is returned. This function is called for its side effects.

Author(s)

Jeffrey A. Ryan

See Also

eWrapper

Establish, Check or Terminate a Connection to TWS or IBG

Description

Functions to initiate, check, or disconnect from the Trader Workstation (TWS) or IB Gateway (IBG).

Usage

twsConnect(clientId = 1, host = 'localhost', 
           port = 7496, verbose = TRUE, timeout = 5,
           filename = NULL, blocking=.Platform$OS.type=="windows")
ibgConnect(clientId = 1, host = 'localhost', 
           port = 4001, verbose = TRUE, timeout = 5,
           filename = NULL, blocking=.Platform$OS.type=="windows")

twsDisconnect(twsconn)

isConnected(twsconn)
is.twsConnection(x)
is.twsPlayback(x)

Arguments

Details

Returns a twsConnection object for use in subsequent TWS API calls. Attempting to create another connection to the server with the same clientId will result in an error.

If filename is set to a file containing data recorded in the standard TWS format - calls using this connection will playback the recorded data.

While the IBrokers package is fully cross-platform, the behavior of sockets varies by operating system implementation. In general, setting blocking=TRUE on Windows (the default on Windows) results in more consistent and reliable connections. This option is only exposed to enable debugging of platform differences and optimization - and is not intended to be altered except in those cases.

Value

A twsconn object.

Note

While it is not strictly required to disconnect via twsDisconnect it is probably advisable.

If not set options(digits.secs=6) will be called internally to properly represent on screen the R based timestamps.

Author(s)

Jeffrey A. Ryan

References

Interactive Brokers: https://www.interactivebrokers.com

Examples

## Not run: 
tws <- twsConnect()
twsDisconnect(tws)

## End(Not run)

TWS API Utility Functions

Description

General API utility functions.

Usage

twsConnectionTime(con)

serverVersion(con)

Arguments

Details

This is simply extracted from the twsConnection object. No API request is made.

Value

The requested value.

Author(s)

Jeffrey A. Ryan

References

Interactive Brokers LLC https://www.interactivebrokers.com/

See Also

twsConnect

Examples

## Not run: 
twsConnectionTime(con)
serverVersion(con)

## End(Not run)

Create a twsContract

Description

Create, test, and coerce a twsContract for use in API calls.

Usage

twsContract(conId,
            symbol,
            sectype,
            exch,
            primary,
            expiry,
            strike,
            currency,
            right,
            local,
            multiplier,
            combo_legs_desc,
            comboleg,
            include_expired,
            secIdType = "",
            secId = "",
            tradingClass = ""
            )

is.twsContract(x)

as.twsContract(x, ...)

Arguments

Details

These are directly from the TWS API. See that help until I can find time to fill in this one.

More useful for specific requests are twsEquity, twsOption, twsBond, twsFuture, and twsCurrency.

Value

A twsContract object.

Author(s)

Jeffrey A. Ryan

References

Interactive Brokers: https://www.interactivebrokers.com

See Also

reqHistoricalData

Examples

contract <- twsContract(0,"AAPL","STK","SMART","ISLAND",
                        "","0.0","USD","","","",NULL,NULL,"0")

Create a twsCurrency

Description

Create a twsCurrency for use in API calls.

Usage

twsCurrency(symbol,
            currency='USD',
            exch='IDEALPRO',
            primary='',
            strike='0.0',
            right='',
            local='',
            multiplier='',
            include_expired='0',
            conId=0)

Arguments

Details

A wrapper to twsContract to make ‘currency/FX’ contracts easier to specify.

twsCASH is an alias.

Value

A twsContract object.

Author(s)

Jeffrey A. Ryan

References

Interactive Brokers: https://www.interactivebrokers.com

See Also

reqHistoricalData, twsContract

Examples

currency <- twsCurrency("EUR")

Create a twsEquity

Description

Create a twsEquity for use in API calls.

Usage

twsEquity(symbol,
          exch="SMART",
          primary,
          strike='0.0',
          currency='USD',
          right='',
          local='',
          multiplier='',
          include_expired='0',
          conId=0)

Arguments

Details

A wrapper to twsContract to make ‘equity’ contracts easier to specify.

twsSTK is an alias.

Value

A twsContract object.

Author(s)

Jeffrey A. Ryan

References

Interactive Brokers: https://www.interactivebrokers.com

See Also

reqHistoricalData, twsContract

Examples

equity <- twsEquity("AAPL","SMART","ISLAND")

Create a twsFuture Contract

Description

Create a twsFuture contract for use in API calls.

Usage

twsFuture(symbol,
          exch,
          expiry,
          primary='',
          currency='USD',
          right='',
          local='',
          multiplier='',
          include_expired='0',
          conId=0)

Arguments

Details

A wrapper to twsContract to make ‘futures’ contracts easier to specify.

twsFUT is an alias.

Value

A twsContract object.

Author(s)

Jeffrey A. Ryan

References

Interactive Brokers: https://www.interactivebrokers.com

See Also

reqHistoricalData, twsContract

Examples

future <- twsFuture("NQ","GLOBEX","200803")

Create a twsContract for Options

Description

Create a twsContract for use in API calls.

Usage

twsOption(local,
          expiry="",
          strike="",
          right="",
          exch="SMART",
          primary="",
          currency='USD',
          symbol='',
          multiplier="100",
          include_expired='0',
          conId=0)

Arguments

Details

A wrapper to twsContract to make ‘option’ contracts easier to specify.

Some of the optionable parameters are contingent on the request being made. Refer to the TWS documentation for details.

twsOPT is an alias.

Value

A twsContract object.

Note

Option contracts on the TWS have certain rules which are different than standard data requests.

The local symbol is required. This can be found on the main TWS screen under contract details, or via the web at https://www.interactivebrokers.com

Since the local symbol is required, all other values are redundant. It is best to simply specify the local name and let the TWS manage the lookup.

The expiry needs to be either of class Date to be coerced to a string of format ‘CCYYMM’, or provided in that format.

Historical requests cannot be for a barSize=‘1 D’ or less frequent.

barSize must be "1 min" per Interactive Brokers API.

Author(s)

Jeffrey A. Ryan

References

Interactive Brokers: https://www.interactivebrokers.com

See Also

reqMktData, twsContract

Examples

opt <- twsOption("QQQAS",expiry="200901", strike="45.0", right="C")

Create twsOrder Object

Description

Create twsOrder object for placeOrder API call.

Usage

twsOrder(orderId,
         action = "BUY", 
         totalQuantity = "10", 
         orderType = "LMT",
         lmtPrice = "0.0", 
         auxPrice = "0.0",
         tif = "",
         outsideRTH = "0",
         openClose = "O",
         origin = .twsOrderID$CUSTOMER,
         ocaGroup = "",
         account = "",
         orderRef = "",
         transmit = TRUE,
         parentId = "0",
         blockOrder = "0",
         sweepToFill = "0",
         displaySize = "0",
         triggerMethod = "0",
         hidden = "0",
         discretionaryAmt = "0.0",
         goodAfterTime = "",
         goodTillDate = "",
         faGroup = "", 
         faMethod = "",
         faPercentage = "",
         faProfile = "",
         shortSaleSlot = "0",
         designatedLocation = .twsOrderID$EMPTY_STR,
         ocaType = "0",
         rule80A = "",
         settlingFirm = "",
         clearingAccount = "",
         clearingIntent = "",
         allOrNone = "0",
         minQty = "",
         percentOffset = "",
         eTradeOnly = "0",
         firmQuoteOnly = "0",
         nbboPriceCap = "",
         auctionStrategy = "0",
         startingPrice = "",
         stockRefPrice = "",
         delta = "",
         stockRangeLower = "",
         stockRangeUpper = "",
         overridePercentageConstraints = "0",
         volatility = "",
         volatilityType = "",
         deltaNeutralOrderType = "",
         deltaNeutralAuxPrice = "",
         continuousUpdate = "0",
         referencePriceType = "",
         trailStopPrice = "",
         basisPoints = "",
         basisPointsType = "",
         scaleInitLevelSize = "",
         scaleSubsLevelSize = "",
         scalePriceIncrement = "",
         notHeld = FALSE,
         algoStrategy = "",
         algoParams = NULL,
         whatIf = FALSE,
         clientId = "",
         permId = "",
         exemptCode = "-1",
         hedgeType = "",
         hedgeParam = "",
         optOutSmartRouting = FALSE,
         scaleTable = "",
         activeStartTime = "",
         activeStopTime = "",
         trailingPercent = "",
         deltaNeutralConId = "0",
         deltaNeutralSettlingFirm = "",
         deltaNeutralClearingAccount = "",
         deltaNeutralClearingIntent = "",
         deltaNeutralOpenClose = "",
         deltaNeutralShortSale = "0",
         deltaNeutralShortSaleSlot = "0",
         deltaNeutralDesignatedLocation = "",
         scalePriceAdjustValue = "0",
         scalePriceAdjustInterval = "0",
         scaleProfitOffset = "0",
         scaleAutoReset = "0",
         scaleInitPosition = "0",
         scaleInitFillQty = "0",
         scaleRandomPercent = "0",
         smartComboRoutingParams = NULL,
         smartComboRoutingParamsCount = "0",
         orderComboLegs = NULL,
         orderComboLegsCount = "0",
         comboLegs = NULL,
         comboLegsCount = "0",
         orderMiscOptions = NULL
         )

Arguments

Details

Read the API documentation, code, and experiment with the paper accounts. And good luck!

Value

Called for its side-effects.

Note

Documentation is far from complete on this topic. Experiment and share your experiences.

Author(s)

Jeffrey A. Ryan

References

Order API: https://interactivebrokers.github.io/tws-api/order_management.html

See Also

placeOrder

Create ScannerSubscription

Description

Create an object for use with reqScannerSubscription and .reqScannerSubscription.

Usage

twsScannerSubscription(numberOfRows = -1, 
                       instrument = "", 
                       locationCode = "", 
                       scanCode = "", 
                       abovePrice = "", 
                       belowPrice = "", 
                       aboveVolume = "",
                       averageOptionVolumeAbove = "",
                       marketCapAbove = "", 
                       marketCapBelow = "", 
                       moodyRatingAbove = "", 
                       moodyRatingBelow = "", 
                       spRatingAbove = "", 
                       spRatingBelow = "", 
                       maturityDateAbove = "", 
                       maturityDateBelow = "", 
                       couponRateAbove = "", 
                       couponRateBelow = "", 
                       excludeConvertible = "", 
                       scannerSettingPairs = "", 
                       stockTypeFilter = "")

Arguments

Details

By necessity, design, or otherwise - scanner data is difficult to correctly use at the API level. The valid values and some small examples are returned by the API using the related reqScannerParameters function. The XML returned by that call isn't very clear in its value or purpose though.

Value

A (potentially) valid twsScannerSubscription object for reqScannerSubscription calls.

Note

Further documentation will be forthcoming. Users are encouraged to email use cases to make for better documentation.

Author(s)

Jeffrey A. Ryan

References

https://interactivebrokers.github.io/tws-api/classIBApi_1_1ScannerSubscription.html

See Also

reqScannerSubscription,

Examples

scnr <- twsScannerSubscription(numberOfRows=10,
                               instrument="STK",
                               locationCode="STK.US.MAJOR",
                               scanCode="TOP_PERC_GAIN",
                               aboveVolume=0,
                               marketCapAbove=1e8,
                               scannerSettingPairs="Annual,true",
                               stockTypeFilter="ALL")
scnr