Learn
The Topstep API, from someone whose bot runs on it
Topstep sells API access under the TopstepX platform, running on ProjectX. It is a real API with REST endpoints and a streaming feed, not a plugin bolted onto a chart package, so you can point your own code at it and never open the platform UI.
Most of what gets written about it is wrong in one direction or another. It is cheaper than people say, and the rule that decides whether you keep your account is not the one most guides lead with. This page is the version I wish I had read before I wired anything up.
What it costs, and the code nobody mentions
API access is $29 a month on top of whatever you already pay for the account. That part is widely quoted.
What is not widely quoted: Topstep publishes a 50 percent discount code, `topstep`, that takes it to $14.50 a month with no end date. It is on their own help page for API access. Apply it when you subscribe.
This is separate from your Combine or Express Funded fee. It is not bundled, and it does not scale with account size, so the cost per account falls as you run more of them.
The rule that actually ends accounts
All trading activity has to originate from your personal device. VPS, VPN and remote servers are prohibited under Topstep's Terms of Use, and running automation on one can get the account suspended or removed from the program.
That single line reshapes the whole build. The standard advice for algo traders is to put the bot on a VPS near the exchange for uptime and latency. Here that advice is account-ending. Your bot runs on a machine you physically own, which means you inherit every problem a VPS was solving: power cuts, your ISP, Windows deciding to reboot at 3am, and the fact that nobody is watching at 9:31.
Plan for it in the code rather than resenting it. Reconnect logic that assumes the socket will drop, a flat-everything kill switch you can hit from your phone, and a startup check that refuses to arm if the account state does not match what the bot last recorded.
The shape of the API
REST lives at `api.topstepx.com` and covers orders, positions and account state. Real-time data comes over SignalR hubs at `rtc.topstepx.com`, one for user events and one for market data. Developer documentation sits at `gateway.docs.projectx.com`, since the gateway is ProjectX rather than something Topstep built in house.
Authentication is JWT. You generate an API key in TopstepX under Settings, the gear icon, then the API tab, and use it together with your TopstepX username. Tokens last 24 hours, so anything meant to run unattended needs a refresh path rather than a token pasted into a config file.
Rate limits are real and endpoint specific. Historical bars via `POST /api/History/retrieveBars` are capped at 50 requests per 30 seconds, which is the one most people hit first, usually by backfilling every instrument on startup instead of caching.
Which accounts it works on
Automation is fine on the evaluation and on Express Funded. That is where a bot can legitimately run, and it is where mine runs.
The Live Funded side is the part to confirm for yourself before you assume anything, because getting it wrong is not a warning, it is the account. Topstep's own API help page does not spell out the account-type matrix, so treat any blog that states it confidently, including this one, as a prompt to open a support ticket and get it in writing against your specific account.
What it does not give you
There is no backtesting, no historical tick archive worth the name, and no strategy framework. It is an execution and account-state API. Everything upstream of the order, the data pipeline, the research loop, the risk layer, is yours to build.
It also will not enforce Topstep's own rules for you. The trailing drawdown, the consistency rule and the flat-by deadline are conditions your account is judged against, not guardrails the API applies. If your code does not encode them, nothing else will.
FAQ
How much does the Topstep API cost?
$29 a month, or $14.50 with the 50 percent code `topstep` that Topstep publishes on its own API help page, with no stated end date. It is charged separately from the account fee and does not vary with account size.
Can I run my Topstep bot on a VPS?
No. Topstep's Terms of Use prohibit VPS, VPN and remote servers, and require that trading activity originate from your personal device. Running automation on a VPS can result in suspension or removal from the program. This is the most common way people lose an account they were otherwise trading well.
Is the Topstep API the same as ProjectX?
TopstepX runs on the ProjectX gateway, so the developer documentation is hosted at gateway.docs.projectx.com while the endpoints are on Topstep's own domains. If you have integrated against another ProjectX firm, most of what you know carries over.
Do I need to code to use it?
To use it directly, yes. There are third-party tools that sit on top of the API for people who do not write code, but they are still bound by the same hosting rule, so check where the tool executes from before you trust it with an account.