MCP server

Expose all Kraken CLI commands as tools for AI agents via the built-in Model Context Protocol server

kraken-cli ships a built-in Model Context Protocol server over stdio. It exposes all 151 CLI commands as structured tools that any MCP-compatible AI agent can call — Claude, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf, and others.

The MCP server is part of the CLI binary. Install the CLI first.

Quickstart

kraken mcp

This starts the server with the default safe service set: market (public data), account (read-only), and paper (paper trading). No credentials required for market and paper.

Client setup

Claude Code

Run once to register the server for your user:

claude mcp add --scope user kraken -- kraken mcp -s market,account,paper

For all services including live trading:

claude mcp add --scope user kraken -- kraken mcp -s all

Verify it is registered:

claude mcp list

Claude Desktop

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kraken": {
      "command": "kraken",
      "args": ["mcp", "-s", "market,account,paper"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop to pick up the change.

Cursor

Create or edit ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global) or .cursor/mcp.json in your project:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kraken": {
      "command": "kraken",
      "args": ["mcp", "-s", "market,account,paper"]
    }
  }
}

Reload the Cursor window after saving.

VS Code (Copilot)

Create or edit .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace:

{
  "servers": {
    "kraken": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "kraken",
      "args": ["mcp", "-s", "market,account,paper"]
    }
  }
}

Windsurf

Edit ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kraken": {
      "command": "kraken",
      "args": ["mcp", "-s", "market,account,paper"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Windsurf to apply.

Services

Pass -s <services> to control which command groups are exposed. Multiple services are comma-separated.

Service	Auth	Risk level	What it exposes
market	No	None	Ticker, orderbook, trades, OHLC, spreads
account	Yes	Read-only	Balances, open orders, trade history, positions
paper	No	None	Spot paper trading (live prices, no real capital)
futures-paper	No	None	Futures paper trading
trade	Yes	Dangerous	Place, amend, and cancel live Spot orders
futures	Mixed	Dangerous	Futures order entry and market data
earn	Yes	Dangerous	Staking allocations and deallocations
funding	Yes	Dangerous	Withdrawals and transfers
subaccount	Yes	Dangerous	Subaccount creation and transfers
auth	No	Read-only	Credential validation
all	Mixed	Mixed	All of the above

Default (no -s flag): market, account, paper.

Dangerous tools

Tools marked dangerous (order placement, withdrawals, transfers) require the calling agent to pass acknowledged: true in the tool input unless the server was started with --allow-dangerous. This gives you a confirmation gate at the tool level without relying on the agent’s judgment alone.

# Require per-call acknowledgement for dangerous tools
kraken mcp -s all

# Disable the acknowledgement gate (use in trusted, controlled environments only)
kraken mcp -s all --allow-dangerous

Authentication

Set credentials as environment variables before starting the server:

export KRAKEN_API_KEY="your-key"
export KRAKEN_API_SECRET="your-secret"
kraken mcp -s market,account,trade

Or use the CLI config file (set up once with kraken setup). The server inherits credentials from the CLI’s standard resolution order.

What agents can do

With the default safe service set, an agent can:

• Query live prices, orderbooks, and recent trades for any pair
• Check account balances and open orders
• Place and cancel paper trades against live prices
• Stream real-time market data

With trade added, an agent can place, amend, and cancel live orders. With funding, it can initiate withdrawals. Scope services to the minimum your workflow requires.

Safety notes

• The MCP server runs locally over stdio and is not exposed as a network service
• Use minimum-permission API keys scoped to what the agent actually needs
• The default service set (market, account, paper) is read-only for live funds
• Treat agent sessions with live trading scope the same as a logged-in user session
• Set position size limits and pair allowlists at the API key level on Kraken’s settings page

Agent resources

The CLI ships supplementary resources for agent integration:

Resource	Purpose
AGENTS.md	Full integration guide with patterns and constraints
CONTEXT.md	Runtime context injected at session start
agents/tool-catalog.json	All 151 commands with parameter schemas in machine-readable form
agents/error-catalog.json	9 error categories with retry guidance
skills/	50 pre-built workflow packages for common trading tasks
CLAUDE.md	Claude-specific guidance for the CLI