AutoScanTrade requirements
AutoScanTrade runs on your own Windows PC and connects to your own accounts. Before you buy, check that you have four things: a Windows PC, enough screens, Alpaca's Algo Trader Plus data plan for the scanner, and a broker account with API access to place your trades. The same applies to the full desk and to Lite.
- Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit) with Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge installed.
- Two screens at the very least, and three are better. The desk does not fit on one screen.
- An Alpaca account with Algo Trader Plus, $99 a month, paid to Alpaca, for real-time data from all US exchanges.
- A broker account with API trading turned on, and its API keys. At launch that is Alpaca or TradeZero.
- A steady, wired internet connection.
Your PC
AutoScanTrade is a Windows program. It does not run on a Mac, on Linux or on a phone, and it does not run in a web browser. The figures below are our guidance for a smooth desk during the busiest minutes of the day, when the scanner is handling the most data.
| Part | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | Windows 10, 64-bit | Windows 11, 64-bit. Microsoft stopped free security updates for Windows 10 in October 2025. |
| Processor | 4 cores from 2018 or later (Intel Core i5, AMD Ryzen 5) | A recent 8-core or larger processor (Intel Core i7, Core Ultra 7 or 9, AMD Ryzen 7 or 9). Speed per core matters more than the number of cores. |
| Memory | 8 GB | 16 GB or more |
| Storage | An SSD with 5 GB free | An NVMe SSD with 20 GB free, for logs and trade records that grow every day |
| Browser | Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge. The chart opens in its own Chrome or Edge window, served from your own PC. | |
| Screen size | 1600 × 900 per screen. Below that the desk switches to a compact layout. | 2560 × 1440 or larger per screen |
| Internet | Steady broadband, 10 Mbit/s or more | Wired Ethernet, not Wi-Fi, 50 Mbit/s or more, with a phone hotspot ready as a backup |
| Power | Sleep turned off while you trade | A desktop PC, or a laptop on mains power, with a small UPS (battery backup) for the PC and router |
| Clock | Windows set to update the time and time zone automatically. The desk works out the US session from your PC's clock. | |
Stop losses, targets and trailing stops are managed by AutoScanTrade while it is running and connected. They are not orders resting at your broker. A PC that sleeps, restarts for an update or loses its connection is a PC that is not watching your positions. Turn sleep off, set Windows Update to restart outside market hours, and keep your broker's own platform open. Risk warning and terms
Screens: a trading station with more than one
AutoScanTrade will not fit on one screen. The main window alone is built for a wide screen: it opens up to 2900 × 1300 pixels and will not shrink below 1180 × 760 on a full-size screen. Around it you will want room for these windows:
- the chart, which opens in its own window, 1360 × 820 to start with;
- the trade ladder, and the open and closed trade windows;
- your broker's own trading platform, which should stay open as your backup whenever the desk is connected to a live account.
| Station | Screens | How it lays out |
|---|---|---|
| Recommended | Three screens of 27 inches at 2560 × 1440, or one 49-inch super-ultrawide (5120 × 1440) plus one 27-inch screen | The desk on the wide screen (or across one 27-inch), chart and ladder on the next, your broker's platform on the third |
| Workable | Two screens of 27 inches at 2560 × 1440 | The desk on one, chart, ladder and your broker's platform shared on the other |
| Minimum | Two screens of 24 inches at 1920 × 1080 | Works, with more windows overlapping. Expect to move windows around. |
| Laptop | The laptop screen plus at least one external screen | Below 1600 × 900 the desk uses its compact layout. Fine for checking in; not what we recommend for trading. |
Check that your PC can drive the number of screens you plan: count its display outputs (HDMI, DisplayPort, USB-C with display support). Recent Intel Core Ultra and AMD Ryzen processors drive three or four screens from their built-in graphics, so a separate graphics card is not needed for AutoScanTrade.
Market data: Alpaca Algo Trader Plus, $99 a month
The scanner needs real-time prices and volume from every US exchange, from 4:00 in the morning to 8:00 in the evening New York time. AutoScanTrade gets them from Alpaca's market data service, on your own Alpaca account.
| Alpaca plan | Basic (free) | Algo Trader Plus ($99 a month) |
|---|---|---|
| Real-time coverage | IEX exchange only | All US stock exchanges |
| Live symbols at once | 30 | Unlimited |
| Historical requests | 200 a minute, and not the latest 15 minutes | 10,000 a minute, no restriction |
| Works with AutoScanTrade | No. One exchange and 30 symbols cannot cover the market. | Yes, required |
Plan details as published by Alpaca on 11 October 2026. Alpaca sets the price and may change it; check Alpaca's market data page.
- Open an account at alpaca.markets. Alpaca opens accounts in many countries; check that yours is one of them.
- In Alpaca's dashboard, subscribe to Algo Trader Plus. You pay Alpaca directly. It is not part of the AutoScanTrade price.
- Create an API key (a key ID and a secret) and enter it in AutoScanTrade when it asks. The key is stored on your PC only.
A broker account with API access, to place your trades
AutoScanTrade sends your orders straight from your PC to your own broker account, through the broker's API, using your own API keys. We never hold your money, your positions or your keys, and your orders do not pass through our servers.
| Broker | Requirements |
|---|---|
| Alpaca | Your Alpaca trading account and its API keys. The same Alpaca login gives you the data plan above, so many traders keep everything in one place. |
| TradeZero | A TradeZero account with API trading turned on. TradeZero asks you to sign its API Trading Agreement, and its own account minimums and fees apply. |
| Other brokers | More are being added. The desk's BROKER window lists every broker it knows, with the ones that can place orders marked. |
Your broker's own rules apply to everything you do through AutoScanTrade: its fees and commissions, minimum balance, margin, short-selling locates and day-trading rules. Check them with your broker before you trade.
AutoScanTrade opens in PAPER mode, which simulates fills and sends nothing to your broker. You still need the Algo Trader Plus data plan for the scanner, but you can learn the desk before any real order goes out. Paper results are not live results.
Checklist before you buy
- A Windows 10 or 11 PC (64-bit) with Chrome or Edge, SSD, 8 GB of memory or more.
- Two or three screens, 2560 × 1440 recommended.
- Wired internet, sleep turned off during trading, Windows clock set automatically.
- An Alpaca account with Algo Trader Plus ($99 a month, paid to Alpaca) and its API key.
- A broker account with API trading (Alpaca or TradeZero at launch) and its API keys.
- Your broker's own trading platform installed, to keep open beside the desk.
- You have read the risk warning and terms.
Questions about your setup? Write to contact@autoscantrade.com.