How to get an Alpaca paper API key for Autoview
You are on Autoview's Alpaca Paper form, and Step 1 asks for an API Key ID and a Secret Key. This page shows where to get them on Alpaca and where each one goes. It takes about five minutes.
Autoview turns a webhook from any system that can send one into an order on your broker. For Alpaca, that connection is paper trading: virtual money, real order flow. Autoview's setup form for Alpaca is paper only. There is no live Alpaca setup page.
Start on Alpaca Paper
The Autoview page you want is Alpaca Paper setup. It runs against Alpaca's paper host, paper-api.alpaca.markets, and its connection check is read-only.
Alpaca gives paper and live trading separate key pairs. Alpaca's paper trading docs say your paper account "will have a different API key from your live account." So the key has to come from the paper side of your dashboard. A live key will not work in this form.
Paper trading is free on Alpaca and needs no funding. Alpaca's docs say a new paper account starts with $100,000 of virtual balance.
Create the key on Alpaca
- Sign in at app.alpaca.markets. No account yet? Sign up there first.
- Switch the dashboard to Paper Trading. The paper dashboard lives at
app.alpaca.markets/paper/dashboard/overview. - Find the API Keys panel on the dashboard and click Generate New Key.
- Alpaca shows two values: the API Key ID and the Secret Key. Copy both right away.
The Secret Key is shown once. Alpaca's own key security article says: "The Secret Key is displayed only once upon generation." If you close the window without saving it, you can't get it back.
Lost it? Open the same API Keys panel, click Regenerate, then confirm with Generate New Keys. That cancels the old pair, so anything using it stops working. Paste the new pair into Autoview.
Alpaca changes its dashboard from time to time. If the buttons above look different, check Alpaca's current page and look for the API Keys panel on the paper side.
Permissions
Here is what Autoview does with the key. It reads your account and positions, looks up symbols, places orders, and cancels orders. It never moves money in or out of your account, and no part of the Alpaca connection calls a transfer or withdrawal.
Alpaca's docs don't describe permission boxes to tick on a paper trading key. If your key page does show options, keep trading on, and leave anything about transfers or withdrawals off. Autoview never needs those. A paper account holds virtual money anyway, but it's a good habit for when you trade with real funds elsewhere.
If Autoview can sign in but an order is refused, the cause is usually a setting on your Alpaca account, not the key. See common errors below.
IP restrictions
Alpaca signs requests with your API Key ID and Secret Key. Its docs don't ask you to register an IP address for a paper trading key.
If Alpaca's current page offers an IP option, follow Alpaca's own guidance for it, and leave it off if you aren't sure. The addresses Autoview's servers trade from are listed in the API key safety guide. Ask support which one your account uses before you lock a key to it. A key locked to the wrong address will fail every order.
Which value goes in which field
Alpaca's labels match Autoview's labels exactly, so this part is one to one. In Step 1 of the Alpaca Paper form, from top to bottom:
| Autoview field | What to paste |
|---|---|
| *API Key ID | The API Key ID from Alpaca. Paper key IDs start with PK. |
| *Secret Key | The Secret Key from Alpaca. The field hides it. Click the eye icon to check what you pasted. |
| *Zone | Not from Alpaca. Pick a zone from the list. It sets where your commands run. If the list is empty, contact Autoview support before saving. |
Then click Add API Keys. The form moves to Step 2, where you link a webhook.
Some versions of the form also show a Connect with Alpaca button next to Add API Keys. It lets you approve access on Alpaca's site instead of pasting keys. If you don't see that button, use the key fields. That's the normal path.
Wondering how Autoview stores what you paste? Read Are my API keys safe?
Common errors
- The Step 3 test fails right away. You almost certainly pasted live keys into the paper form. Alpaca answers a key that doesn't match the environment with "unauthorized" (HTTP 401), per its common errors guide. Switch to Paper Trading, generate a new pair, and paste again.
- Unauthorized even with paper keys. Check for a space before or after either value. Then check that the two halves are from the same pair. After a Regenerate, the old API Key ID no longer works with the new Secret Key.
- No Secret Key to copy. It was shown once and is gone. Regenerate the pair.
- Keys save, but an order is refused. Alpaca returns 403 when the account isn't allowed to do that action, such as a feature not turned on for the account. Check the account settings on your Alpaca dashboard.
- Zone list is empty. Contact Autoview support before saving.
What comes next
Once the keys are saved, the Getting started with Alpaca guide walks you through a first test order and cancelling it. For why paper first is worth it, read Alpaca paper trading, tested before going live. When you want a stop and a target on your entry, see Alpaca bracket orders.