# Alpaca trading: run tested strategies in Alpaca

> Connect your own Alpaca account, paper or live, and run a backtested strategy there. It trades only the balance you give it. No code. Free while we build.

Written by [Tactfolio research team](https://tactfolio.com/about/editorial-policy.md), published 2026-10-16, updated 2026-10-16.

Alpaca is a US broker that lets software place trades through an API. An API
is a way for one program to talk to another. Tactfolio connects to your Alpaca
account with your own API keys and runs one of your strategies there, on paper
or with real money.

- Test a strategy on decades of daily prices first, then run the same rules
  in Alpaca.
- Use an Alpaca paper account to practice, or a live account for real orders.
- Each strategy trades only the starting balance you give it. Your other
  holdings in Alpaca stay untouched.
- Tactfolio never uses margin or short selling, even though Alpaca offers
  both.
- You don't write code. You build the rules in a visual builder, or with an AI
  assistant.

## What is Alpaca trading?

Alpaca trading means placing orders in an Alpaca brokerage account, usually
through its
[Trading API](https://docs.alpaca.markets/docs/trading-api) instead of a
trading screen. Alpaca offers paper accounts with pretend money and live
accounts with real money. It also lets you buy fractions of a share, from
about $1.

Most people who trade through Alpaca write their own code. Tactfolio gives you
another way. You build a strategy, test it, and let Tactfolio send the orders
to Alpaca for you.

## How to connect Alpaca to Tactfolio

1. **Build or copy a strategy.** Use the [builder](https://tactfolio.com/builder), a
   [classic strategy](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/classics.md), or a strategy from
   [Discover](https://tactfolio.com/strategies).
2. **Test it.** Read the backtest, the drawdown, and the reality checks. Then
   run it in a Tactfolio [paper account](https://tactfolio.com/paper-trading.md) if you like.
3. **Create API keys in Alpaca.** Make keys for a paper account first. You can
   use live keys later.
4. **Add an Alpaca account in Trade.** Paste your keys and set the starting
   balance for the strategy. It must fit in the account's cash.
5. **Start trading.** From the next session, Tactfolio checks the rules about
   15 minutes before the close and sends orders to Alpaca when they call for a
   change.

Tactfolio warns you before you start if a holding's weight would make an order
smaller than Alpaca's $1 minimum.

## What Tactfolio does inside your Alpaca account

Tactfolio keeps its own record for each strategy: its cash, its orders, and
its shares. That record decides every trade.

| Tactfolio will | Tactfolio won't |
| --- | --- |
| Trade only the starting balance you give the strategy | Sell your other holdings to raise money |
| Sell only the shares the strategy itself bought | Touch positions it did not open |
| Rebalance on the strategy's current value | Change your Alpaca account settings |
| Cancel only its own orders | Borrow on margin or sell short |

Say you give a strategy $5,000 in an account that also holds other stocks.
The strategy trades with that $5,000 and whatever it earns. If it grows to
$5,200, it rebalances $5,200. Your other stocks are never part of it.

## Paper or live: which Alpaca account to use

Start with paper. An Alpaca paper account fills pretend orders at real quotes,
so you can check that everything works before real money is at stake. Alpaca's
own [paper trading guide](https://docs.alpaca.markets/docs/paper-trading)
notes that live orders can still behave differently.

When you switch to live, the strategy places real orders with real money. Its
results can differ from the backtest and from paper, because prices move and
orders may fill at worse prices.

## What Tactfolio does and does not do

| Tactfolio does | Tactfolio does not |
| --- | --- |
| Run your strategy in your own Alpaca account, paper or live | Work with any broker other than Alpaca |
| Check rules once a trading day, near the close | Trade during the day or at high speed |
| Trade US-listed stocks and ETFs, long only | Trade crypto, options, or forex in Alpaca |
| Keep each strategy to its own starting balance | Hold your money. It stays with Alpaca |
| Email you a summary after each close | Give advice or manage money for you |

## Try it on Tactfolio

Open the [builder](https://tactfolio.com/builder) and pick a starter pattern or a classic. Test it,
start it in a Tactfolio paper account, and watch it for a while. When you
trust it, connect Alpaca. Our page on [automated trading](https://tactfolio.com/automated-trading.md)
explains what happens each day after that.

## Keep learning

- [Portfolio rebalancing](https://tactfolio.com/learn/portfolio-rebalancing.md): why a strategy trades back to its weights.
- [Dollar cost averaging](https://tactfolio.com/learn/dollar-cost-averaging.md): adding money on a schedule, and how it differs from a rule.
- [Margin trading](https://tactfolio.com/learn/margin-trading.md): what borrowing to trade means, and its risks.
- [Tactfolio vs Autopilot](https://tactfolio.com/comparisons/tactfolio-vs-autopilot.md): two ways to run a strategy in a brokerage account.
- [Stock average calculator](https://tactfolio.com/trading-tools/stock-average-calculator.md): a free tool to find what you paid across several buys.

## Common questions

### Is Alpaca free to use with Tactfolio?

Tactfolio is free while we build. Pricing comes with live trading. Alpaca sets
its own fees and account rules, so check them on Alpaca's site.

### Do I need to code to trade on Alpaca?

Not with Tactfolio. You build the rules in a visual builder or with an AI
assistant. Tactfolio places the orders through Alpaca's API for you.

### Can I use an Alpaca paper account?

Yes. Connect Alpaca paper keys to test with pretend money and real quotes.
You can also use a Tactfolio paper account, which needs no broker at all.

### Will Tactfolio touch my other Alpaca positions?

No. A strategy only trades its own starting balance and the shares it bought.
It never sells anything else you hold.

### Does Tactfolio trade crypto on Alpaca?

No. Alpaca offers crypto, but Tactfolio strategies trade only US-listed stocks
and ETFs in Alpaca. Tactfolio's crypto support is Hyperliquid perps, and those
are backtest and paper or testnet only.

## Sources

- [About Trading API](https://docs.alpaca.markets/docs/trading-api), Alpaca, accessed 2026-10-16
- [Paper Trading](https://docs.alpaca.markets/docs/paper-trading), Alpaca, accessed 2026-10-16