Getting started

Setup is one time. After it, everything is a question to your agent.

  1. 1. Install DeltaForge

    Download DeltaForge below, then open the installer to place it in your Applications folder.

    On first launch, macOS asks for keychain access. Allow it: this keeps the API keys you enter into the app secure.

    Download for Apple siliconDownload for Intel-based Mac

    Not sure which Mac you have? Apple menu → About This Mac. The chip line tells you.

  2. 2. Connect your brokerage

    1. Open the Store tab and go to the Account subtab. Enter your email and click Send sign-in code, then enter the code that is emailed to you and click Sign in.

      DeltaForge Store tab on the Account subtab, with an email address entered and the Send sign-in code button.

    2. On the Browse subtab, select the broker integration you want, Interactive Brokers (IBKR) or Schwab, and click Subscribe. Brokerage and data connections are free, so subscribing costs nothing. It also adds the Data Foundation and FRED bundles.

      Store Browse subtab with Interactive Brokers selected. The Dependencies section lists the free Data Foundation and FRED bundles that subscribing adds, above the Subscribe button.

    3. After subscribing, click Install. Installing also installs its dependency plugins from the Data Foundation and FRED bundles.

      Store Browse subtab with Interactive Brokers selected after subscribing. The Dependencies section lists Data Proxy, DuckDB Store, and FRED Provider under You already have, above the Install button.

  3. 3. Configure your brokerage connection

    Follow the steps for the brokerage plugin you installed.

    Interactive Brokers (IBKR)

    1. Start a TWS or IB Gateway session and keep it running.

    2. In TWS, open Configuration → API → Settings:

      • Check "Enable ActiveX and Socket Clients".
      • Check "Prepare DailyPnL when downloading positions."
      • Set "Encode API messages, instrument names" to "ASCII 7 (Python, Java...)".
      • Choose a Socket port (7496 in the example). You will enter it in the app.
      • Set "Master API client ID" to the Client ID you will enter in the app.
      • Leave "Send market data in lots for US stocks for dual-mode API clients" unchecked. Volume must NOT be sent in lots for any data type.
      • Leave "Send volumes in lots from all market data sources for US stocks" unchecked.
      TWS Trader Workstation Configuration on API Settings, with Enable ActiveX and Socket Clients and Prepare DailyPnL checked, Encode API messages set to ASCII 7, Socket port 7496, Master API client ID 1, and both send-in-lots options unchecked.

    3. In TWS, open Configuration → Volatility and Analytics and note the "Volatility units" setting, for example Daily (business days).

      TWS Trader Workstation Configuration on Volatility and Analytics, with Volatility units set to Daily (business days).

    4. In the app, open the Settings tab and select IBKR Market Data Provider in the Plugins list. Under Historical Data, set IV Mode to match the TWS Volatility units (daily if TWS is set to daily). Under IBKR Connection, enter the Client ID (the same as the TWS Master API client ID), the Host (127.0.0.1 when TWS runs on the same Mac), and the Port (the TWS Socket port). Check Enabled, then click Save.

      DeltaForge Settings tab with IBKR Market Data Provider selected, showing IV Mode set to daily under Historical Data, and Client ID 1, Enabled checked, Host 127.0.0.1, and Port 7496 under IBKR Connection, with the Save button at the top.

    Schwab

    1. Sign in to the Schwab Developer Portal (https://developer.schwab.com/login) and create an Individual developer app. Set its Callback URL to https://127.0.0.1:<port> (8182 in the example) and wait until its Status is Ready For Use. Copy its Client ID and Client Secret.

      Schwab Developer Portal App Details with Status Ready For Use, Callback URL https://127.0.0.1:8182, and masked Client ID and Client Secret.

    2. In the app, open the Settings tab and select Schwab Market Data Provider in the Plugins list:

      • Under Schwab API Credentials, click Set next to Client ID, paste it into "Enter secret value", and click Save.
      • Do the same for Client Secret.
      • Under Schwab Connection, set Callback Port to the port in your callback URL.
      • Check Enabled, then click Save.

      Only the plugin a setting belongs to can read its secret. Secrets are stored securely in the macOS Keychain.

      Enter secret value dialog with a masked value in the input field and Cancel and Save buttons.DeltaForge Settings tab with Schwab Market Data Provider selected, showing Client ID and Client Secret set, Callback Port 8182, and Enabled checked.

    3. Open the Schwab Status Panel: click + in the tab bar, then Ungrouped → Schwab Status Panel.

      The + tab menu expanded to Ungrouped, with Schwab Status Panel highlighted.

    4. Click Re-authenticate, then Open Schwab login (or click Copy URL and paste it into your browser).

      Schwab Status Panel with Auth Re-auth Required, the Open Schwab login and Copy URL buttons, and the Schwab sign-in URL.

    5. Log in with your Schwab brokerage login, NOT your Schwab Developer Portal login. Accept the terms; Schwab asks for this on every login.

      Schwab Log In page with Login ID and Password fields.

    6. Your browser then opens the app's local callback at 127.0.0.1 and warns "Your connection is not private". This is expected: the callback server runs locally on your Mac with a self-signed certificate. Click Advanced, then Proceed to 127.0.0.1 (unsafe).

      Browser warning Your connection is not private for 127.0.0.1, expanded to show the Proceed to 127.0.0.1 (unsafe) link.

    7. When you see "Authorization complete", close the tab and return to the app. The Schwab Status Panel shows Auth Authenticated and Connection Connected. After you restart the app, you sign in again.

      Schwab Status Panel with Auth Authenticated and Connection Connected.

  4. 4. Set up the Data Proxy

    Open the Settings tab and select Data Proxy in the Plugins list. Under Data Routing, set Default Provider to user.ibkr_provider for IBKR or user.schwab_provider for Schwab, then click Save.

    The Data Proxy defines and enforces a consistent data format across the app and routes each kind of request to the provider you choose. For example, you can take stock data from IBKR and options data from Schwab.

    Settings tab with Data Proxy selected in the Plugins list. The Data Routing group shows Default Provider set to user.ibkr_provider and an empty Override Account Balance field, with a Save button and Last updated text.

  5. 5. Add your free FRED API key

    Get a free FRED API key from FRED (https://fred.stlouisfed.org/docs/api/api_key.html). Then open the Settings tab, select FRED Data Provider in the Plugins list, and under FRED API Credentials click Set next to API Key. Paste your key and save it.

    Settings tab with FRED Data Provider selected. The FRED API Credentials group shows API Key Not set with a Set button.

  6. 6. Ask your agent

    Install your coding agent (Claude Code, Codex, or OpenCode) on your Mac first. Then open the Agent tab and click the kind of Agent you want to run. Ask it a question about your account, such as what is driving your P&L today, or why a position is moving.

    It can also build any plugin you want, such as a yield curve built on data from the FRED provider. The Agent can install the plugin it builds, take screenshots, and interact with it, so it can test its own work.

    The Agent tab showing the About the Agent box, a Standalone checkbox, and Select an Agent buttons for Claude, Codex, OpenCode, and ConsoleClaude Code running in the Agent tab with the prompt: Make me a FRED yield curve plugin

  7. 7. What the Agent can use

    Every Agent you launch from the Agent tab is connected to the app's MCP server and gets the same tools and skills, whether it runs Claude Code, Codex, or OpenCode.

    MCP tools

    These tools are built into the app. Installed plugins add no tools of their own: the Agent reaches every installed plugin's data through the generic plugin and data tools below.

    Discover plugins and data

    list_plugins
    Lists every installed plugin with its version, runtime, and the kinds of data it publishes or accepts.
    describe_kind
    Shows the fields and meaning of one plugin's data kind, plus the reply it answers with.
    list_frontend_atoms
    Lists the app state values a frontend plugin can subscribe to.
    list_design_tokens
    Lists the app's theme colors and style tokens a frontend plugin can use.

    Read and request data

    publish_to_kind
    Sends a request to a plugin and returns its reply.
    read_state
    Reads the latest data one plugin published for one kind.
    list_state_family
    Reads the latest data for every kind one plugin publishes.
    get_plugin_status
    Reads a plugin's current status and message, or lists every plugin's status.
    list_settings
    Lists each plugin's settings and the app's global preferences with current values; secrets show only whether they are set.

    Install and manage plugins

    install_plugin
    Installs a plugin, or a group of plugins that depend on each other, from a source folder.
    upgrade_plugin
    Upgrades an installed plugin to a new version.
    upgrade_plugin_group
    Upgrades every plugin in a group together.
    uninstall_plugin
    Uninstalls a plugin, or its whole group. Built-in plugins and plugins shipped with the app are refused.
    generate_bindings
    Regenerates a plugin's typed code after a data schema change, without a full install.
    prepare_workspace
    Sets up a plugin folder for local type-checking and tests against the app's SDK.

    Plugin store

    list_store_catalog
    Lists every store bundle and feature with its price and installed or update status.
    get_store_listing
    Shows one store listing's plugins, what you already own, and the price of the rest.

    See the app

    list_panels
    Lists the open panels by tab name and panel id.
    capture_screenshot
    Takes a screenshot of the whole app or one panel. By default you approve each capture first.

    Use the app

    ui_snapshot
    Reads the app's buttons, fields, and other controls as an accessibility tree.
    ui_click
    Clicks a control in the app.
    ui_type
    Types text into a field in the app.
    ui_key
    Presses a key or keyboard shortcut in the app.
    ui_scroll
    Scrolls over a control or point in the app.
    ui_hover
    Moves the mouse over a control to open tooltips and hover menus.

    Agent skills

    plugin-authoring
    How to write, build, test, install, and uninstall a plugin: manifest, runtimes, SDK, and common mistakes.
    topic-discovery
    How to find which plugins are installed, which data kinds each one owns, and which accept requests.
    chart-styling
    How to draw charts in a frontend plugin with the app's theme colors.
    cli-setup
    How to connect an agent CLI running outside the app to DeltaForge's MCP server.
Next: sync market data to the analytics database