Connect an exchange
Connect your exchange account to Aura with an API key, choose the account you trade, update its key, or remove it.
A live account is your own exchange account, connected to Aura with an API key you create on the exchange. This page covers the Accounts sheet, the key each exchange needs, connecting it, and managing the account afterwards. For a simulated account, see Paper trading.
Open the Accounts sheet
You add and manage every account in the Accounts sheet. It reads "Practice with paper money on live market data, or trade live with your exchange API key."
You can open it from:
- Connect exchange in the top bar on a wider screen, shown while you have no accounts.
- Connect an exchange account on the order ticket, shown while you have no accounts.
- Connect exchange on the Portfolio page while you have no accounts, or Manage account on one account's Portfolio view.
- Accounts in the menu under your avatar.
- Add or manage accounts at the bottom of the account picker in the top bar.
- Accounts in the top bar's menu on a narrow screen.
What the sheet shows
The sheet lists accounts by exchange.
An exchange where you have an account gets a card. The card has a Live section with your live accounts, and a Paper section with your paper account or a button to start one. An exchange with an account that needs your attention comes first.
An exchange where you have no account is a single row. It shows the exchange's markets, such as Spot & Perpetual, and two buttons: Live and Paper. Once you have a card, these rows sit under More exchanges.
Each account row shows:
- The account's name, with a Paper badge on a paper account.
- Its value in USD, or its state when something is wrong, such as Reconnecting… or API key problem.
- Selected, with a check, on the account the terminal trades.
- A button, only when you need to act.
- A ⋯ menu with the account's actions.
Create an API key
Create the key on the exchange before you connect. The connect panel's first step shows the permissions to turn on as tags, and Withdraw: off. Its link, such as Open OKX API settings ↗, opens the exchange's API key page. On Kraken it opens Kraken's guide to creating a key.
| Exchange | Turn on | Leave off | You paste into Aura |
|---|---|---|---|
| OKX | Read, Trade | Withdraw | API key, API secret, API passphrase |
| Coinbase Advanced Trade | Read and Trade (Coinbase's view and trade) | Withdraw (Coinbase's transfer) | API key, API private key |
| Kraken | The six permissions listed under Kraken below | Withdraw Funds and other funding permissions | API key, API secret |
| Bybit | The four permissions listed under Bybit below | Withdraw | API key, API secret |
Aura doesn't need withdrawal or transfer permission on any exchange.
OKX
The panel's first step reads "Create an API key on OKX, with a passphrase you'll remember."
- Create the key on okx.com, the site the panel's link opens.
- Turn on Read and Trade. Leave Withdraw off.
- Choose a passphrase when you create the key. You enter it in API passphrase.
- "Confirm the key has access to every Spot or perpetual product you plan to route through this account."
Note: Aura places OKX perpetual orders in net position mode. If your OKX account uses long/short (hedge) position mode, OKX rejects them.
Coinbase Advanced Trade
The panel's first step reads "Create a CDP API key". The link opens Coinbase's CDP portal.
- Turn on view and trade. Leave transfer off.
- "Either signature algorithm works: Ed25519 (the portal default) or ECDSA."
- In API key, paste the key name Coinbase gives you.
- In API private key, paste the private key exactly as Coinbase issued it: an Ed25519 base64 secret, or a PEM block beginning with
-----BEGIN. Encrypted keys are not supported. Show and Hide toggle the field.
One Advanced Trade account trades both spot and U.S. futures. To trade futures, "Complete U.S. derivatives onboarding and confirm the key can access your CFM futures account."
Kraken
The panel's first step reads "Create a Spot API key in Kraken Pro".
Turn on these six Kraken permissions. Aura checks for each of them when you connect.
- Query Funds
- Query Open Orders & Trades
- Query Closed Orders & Trades
- Create & Modify Orders
- Cancel & Close Orders
- Access WebSockets API
The panel's checklist groups these as Query funds, Query orders, Create & modify orders and Cancel orders. "Leave funding and withdrawal permissions disabled; Aura only needs account data and trading access."
Aura places Kraken orders as cash orders from your default Kraken wallet, so nothing is borrowed.
Note: Aura uses only the key and its secret. Don't turn on two-factor authentication for trading on the key: Aura can't send the one-time password.
Bybit
The panel's first step reads "Create a system-generated API key on Bybit, with Read-Write access". The link opens Bybit's API management page.
Turn on these four Bybit permissions. Leave Withdraw off.
- Contract: Orders
- Contract: Positions
- SPOT: Trade
- USDC Contracts: Trade
"The key must belong to a Unified Trading Account. Self-generated (RSA) keys are not supported." In API key and API secret, paste the key and secret Bybit shows you when you create it.
One Unified Trading Account trades spot and USDT and USDC perpetuals, with one key.
Note: "Keep perpetuals in one-way mode: hedge mode isn't supported."
Connect the account
- In the Accounts sheet, choose Live on the exchange's row. On an exchange card, choose Connect API key, or Add another live account to add a second live account.
- The panel opens with the exchange's name, such as Connect Kraken, and a line such as "Live account · Spot. Your orders reach Kraken."
- Follow step 1 to create the key, as above.
- In step 2, Paste the key here, fill in the fields.
- Choose Connect. While Aura tests the key, the button reads Testing connection….
| Field | What it does | Default and limits |
|---|---|---|
| Name | The account's name in Aura. | The exchange's name. At least 2 characters. |
| Perpetual margin mode | OKX only. The margin mode for the account's perpetual orders: Cross or Isolated. Spot orders don't use one. | Cross. Pick the mode your OKX account uses for perpetuals. You can change it later from the account's ⋯ menu. |
| API key | The key from the exchange. | Required. |
| API secret or API private key | The key's secret. Coinbase calls it the private key. | Required. |
| API passphrase | OKX only. The passphrase you chose for the key. | Required. |
Aura stores your key encrypted. You can revoke it on the exchange at any time.
What happens next
The terminal names the account in each message. For an account named Kraken:
| You see | What it means |
|---|---|
| "Kraken connected." | The account works. It becomes the account the terminal trades. |
| "Kraken: the connection is still being confirmed. The account is in your list; check back shortly." | Aura hasn't finished connecting. Check the account's row in a moment. |
| ✗ Connection failed, with a reason below it | Aura couldn't connect the account. Check the key, its permissions and the fields, then try again. |
An account whose first connection failed stays in the list as Couldn't connect, with Retry with new key. That opens a panel titled, for example, Retry Kraken with a new API key. The retry keeps the account's name.
Choose the account you trade
The terminal trades one account at a time: the one marked Selected. A new account you connect becomes the selected one.
To switch:
- Open the account picker in the top bar. It lists your accounts by exchange, with a check on the selected one and a Paper badge on paper accounts. Choose an account.
- Or, in the Accounts sheet, open the account's ⋯ menu and choose Select for trading.
The picker reads No active account when no account is selected. If the selected account is removed, the terminal moves to the first account that works. An account that disconnects stays selected, so you can see why and act.
Change the OKX margin mode
On an OKX account, the ⋯ menu has a Perpetuals section with Cross margin and Isolated margin. Choose one to set the margin mode for the account's perpetual orders. The terminal confirms with "Perpetual margin mode updated."
An older Spot only account can turn on perpetuals here by choosing a margin mode. Neither the menu nor a new account's form offers Spot only.
Update an API key
When the exchange rejects the account's key, its row shows API key problem and an Update API key button. The same item is in the ⋯ menu.
Update API key opens a panel titled, for example, Update API key for Kraken: "Re-enter the same key to retry it, or enter a new key to replace it." Enter the key in step 2, Enter the key, and choose Connect.
The terminal confirms with a message such as "Kraken: API key updated." Updating a key doesn't change which account you trade.
When an account can't connect
A row that needs you shows what went wrong (Exchange unavailable, API key problem, Connection failed, or Couldn't connect when its first connection failed) and the one button that can fix it, such as Retry or Update API key. A dropped connection shows Reconnecting… while Aura restores it.
See Connection status for every state and what to do.
Remove an account
Open the account's ⋯ menu and choose Remove account. The dialog reads "This disconnects the account. You can add it again later. An account with open orders can't be removed." Choose Remove.
The terminal confirms with "Account removed." You can revoke the key on the exchange at any time.