alterlab-alpha-vantage

---
name: alterlab-alpha-vantage
description: Accesses real-time and historical stock market data, forex rates, cryptocurrency prices, commodities, economic indicators, and 50+ technical indicators via the Alpha Vantage API (requires a free API key from alphavantage.co). Use when fetching stock prices (OHLCV), company fundamentals (income statement, balance sheet, cash flow), earnings, options data, market news/sentiment, insider transactions, GDP, CPI, treasury yields, gold/silver/oil prices, Bitcoin/crypto prices, forex exchange rates, or calculating technical indicators (SMA, EMA, MACD, RSI, Bollinger Bands). Part of the AlterLab Academic Skills suite.
license: MIT
allowed-tools: Read WebFetch Bash(curl:*) Bash(python:*)
compatibility: Requires a free ALPHAVANTAGE_API_KEY from alphavantage.co and network access. Free tier is rate-limited; premium plans raise limits.
metadata:
    skill-author: AlterLab
    version: "1.0.0"
---

# Alpha Vantage — Financial Market Data

Access 20+ years of global financial data: equities, options, forex, crypto, commodities, economic indicators, and 50+ technical indicators.

## API Key Setup (Required)

1. Get a free key at https://www.alphavantage.co/support/#api-key (premium plans available for higher rate limits)
2. Set as environment variable:

```bash
export ALPHAVANTAGE_API_KEY="your_key_here"
```

## Installation

```bash
uv pip install requests pandas
```

## Base URL & Request Pattern

All requests go to:

```
https://www.alphavantage.co/query?function=FUNCTION_NAME&apikey=YOUR_KEY&...params
```

```python
import requests
import os

API_KEY = os.environ.get("ALPHAVANTAGE_API_KEY")
BASE_URL = "https://www.alphavantage.co/query"

def av_get(function, **params):
    response = requests.get(BASE_URL, params={"function": function, "apikey": API_KEY, **params})
    return response.json()
```

## Quick Start Examples

```python
# Stock quote (latest price)
quote = av_get("GLOBAL_QUOTE", symbol="AAPL")
price = quote["Global Quote"]["05. price"]

# Daily OHLCV
daily = av_get("TIME_SERIES_DAILY", symbol="AAPL", outputsize="compact")
ts = daily["Time Series (Daily)"]

# Company fundamentals
overview = av_get("OVERVIEW", symbol="AAPL")
print(overview["MarketCapitalization"], overview["PERatio"])

# Income statement
income = av_get("INCOME_STATEMENT", symbol="AAPL")
annual = income["annualReports"][0]  # Most recent annual

# Crypto price
crypto = av_get("DIGITAL_CURRENCY_DAILY", symbol="BTC", market="USD")

# Economic indicator
gdp = av_get("REAL_GDP", interval="annual")

# Technical indicator
rsi = av_get("RSI", symbol="AAPL", interval="daily", time_period=14, series_type="close")
```

## API Categories

| Category | Key Functions |
|----------|--------------|
| **Time Series (Stocks)** | GLOBAL_QUOTE, TIME_SERIES_INTRADAY, TIME_SERIES_DAILY, TIME_SERIES_WEEKLY, TIME_SERIES_MONTHLY |
| **Options** | REALTIME_OPTIONS, HISTORICAL_OPTIONS |
| **Alpha Intelligence** | NEWS_SENTIMENT, EARNINGS_CALL_TRANSCRIPT, TOP_GAINERS_LOSERS, INSIDER_TRANSACTIONS, ANALYTICS_FIXED_WINDOW |
| **Fundamentals** | OVERVIEW, ETF_PROFILE, INCOME_STATEMENT, BALANCE_SHEET, CASH_FLOW, EARNINGS, DIVIDENDS, SPLITS |
| **Forex (FX)** | CURRENCY_EXCHANGE_RATE, FX_INTRADAY, FX_DAILY, FX_WEEKLY, FX_MONTHLY |
| **Crypto** | CURRENCY_EXCHANGE_RATE, CRYPTO_INTRADAY, DIGITAL_CURRENCY_DAILY |
| **Commodities** | WTI, BRENT, NATURAL_GAS, COPPER, ALUMINUM, WHEAT, CORN, COTTON, SUGAR, COFFEE, GOLD_SILVER_SPOT, GOLD_SILVER_HISTORY, ALL_COMMODITIES |
| **Economic Indicators** | REAL_GDP, TREASURY_YIELD, FEDERAL_FUNDS_RATE, CPI, INFLATION, UNEMPLOYMENT, NONFARM_PAYROLL |
| **Technical Indicators** | SMA, EMA, MACD, RSI, BBANDS, STOCH, ADX, ATR, OBV, VWAP, and 40+ more |

## Common Parameters

| Parameter | Values | Notes |
|-----------|--------|-------|
| `outputsize` | `compact` / `full` | compact = last 100 points; full = 20+ years |
| `datatype` | `json` / `csv` | Default: json |
| `interval` | `1min`, `5min`, `15min`, `30min`, `60min`, `daily`, `weekly`, `monthly` | Depends on endpoint |
| `adjusted` | `true` / `false` | Adjust for splits/dividends |

## Rate Limits

- Free tier: 25 requests/day (as of 2026)
- Premium plans: higher limits, real-time data, intraday access
- HTTP 429 = rate limit exceeded
- Add delays between requests when processing multiple symbols

```python
import time
# Add delay to avoid rate limits
time.sleep(0.5)  # 0.5s between requests on free tier
```

## Error Handling

```python
data = av_get("GLOBAL_QUOTE", symbol="AAPL")

# Check for API errors
if "Error Message" in data:
    raise ValueError(f"API Error: {data['Error Message']}")
if "Note" in data:
    print(f"Rate limit warning: {data['Note']}")
if "Information" in data:
    print(f"API info: {data['Information']}")
```

## Reference Files

Load these for detailed endpoint documentation:

- **[time-series.md](references/time-series.md)** — Stock OHLCV data, quotes, bulk quotes, market status
- **[fundamentals.md](references/fundamentals.md)** — Company overview, financial statements, earnings, dividends, splits
- **[options.md](references/options.md)** — Realtime and historical options chain data
- **[intelligence.md](references/intelligence.md)** — News/sentiment, earnings transcripts, insider transactions, analytics
- **[forex-crypto.md](references/forex-crypto.md)** — Forex exchange rates and cryptocurrency prices
- **[commodities.md](references/commodities.md)** — Gold, silver, oil, natural gas, agricultural commodities
- **[economic-indicators.md](references/economic-indicators.md)** — GDP, CPI, interest rates, employment data
- **[technical-indicators.md](references/technical-indicators.md)** — 50+ technical analysis indicators (SMA, EMA, MACD, RSI, etc.)