Getting started with KuCoin on Autoview
By the end of this guide your KuCoin account is connected to Autoview, your API credentials carry the right permissions, and you've fired one small test order and cancelled it. That last part matters. A dry run tells you your syntax parses. Only a real order tells you the whole chain works.
One thing to know up front: KuCoin doesn't offer a demo account through Autoview. There's no sandbox here, so your first order runs against your live balance. Size it small on purpose.
Step 0: Pick your platform
Autoview comes in two forms, and KuCoin works with both.
- The Chrome extension runs in your browser. It connects directly to TradingView alerts, and it only executes while your computer and Chrome are on.
- The webhook platform runs on our servers. It accepts a POST from anywhere: TradingView, TrendSpider, a Python script, your own cron job. It executes whether or not any browser is open.
If you want trades to fire while your laptop is closed, use the webhook platform. If you're tied to the extension's live TradingView link, use the extension. The setup below covers both; the command syntax differs by a single parameter, and I'll flag it where it does. Compare them side by side on the platforms page.
Step 1: Create API credentials on KuCoin
API credentials are what let Autoview place orders on your account without ever touching your password. You generate them inside KuCoin, not inside Autoview, under API Management. KuCoin keeps its own walkthrough current, so follow theirs for the exact clicks.
KuCoin asks for one more piece than most exchanges. When you create the key, three rules are non-negotiable:
- Grant trading permission. Autoview needs to place and cancel orders, and read your balances and open positions. Without it, nothing executes.
- Never grant withdrawal permission. No automation strategy needs it, and a key that can't move funds off the exchange is a key that can't drain your account if it leaks.
- Set a Passphrase, and don't lose it. KuCoin makes you choose one when you create the key. It's a third credential alongside the API Key and Secret, and you'll need all three in Autoview.
KuCoin shows the Secret and your chosen Passphrase once, at creation. Copy the API Key, Secret, and Passphrase somewhere safe before you leave that screen. There's no recovering the Secret later. You'd just delete the key and make a new one.
Step 2: Add the credentials to Autoview
Same credentials, slightly different door depending on your platform.
On the extension
Open the extension options, find KuCoin in the left menu, and click Add account. Paste in the Key, Secret, and Passphrase. Leave the key unnamed unless you plan to run more than one KuCoin key. Naming it means every command has to address it with a=, so skip the name if you only have one.
On the webhook platform
Log in, open the KuCoin configuration, and enter the Key, Secret, and Passphrase there. Here, naming the key is what lets you wire it to a specific webhook later, so a clear name is worth it. Save, and watch for the confirmation that the account connected.
Step 3: Fire a test order, then cancel it
This is the step people skip, and then they wonder why a live signal did nothing. Don't skip it. Because there's no testnet here, keep this one deliberately small: trade a size at or above KuCoin's minimum for the pair, and place a limit order far enough from the market that it won't fill while you're testing.
Start with a dry run. Add d=1 to any command and Autoview parses it, shows you exactly what it would have done, and sends nothing to KuCoin. Get a clean dry run before you send a live one.
Then send the real thing. The cleanest trigger is a single-fire TradingView alert on an active market; a condition like "price greater than 0" fires it almost instantly. Use KuCoin's own pair symbol in the s= parameter; KuCoin writes it with a dash, like BTC-USDT. A limit buy 5% under the market looks like this:
- Extension:
e=kucoin s=BTC-USDT b=buy p=-5% q=1 - Webhook:
s=BTC-USDT b=buy p=-5% q=1
The only difference is e=kucoin, which tells the extension which exchange to route to. On the webhook platform the webhook already knows its exchange, so you leave it out.
The example above hard-codes a price offset and a quantity, which is what you want for a controlled test. In real use you'll often want a live value instead. A TradingView alert can write one in: p={{close}} tells TradingView to substitute the candle's close at fire time, and Autoview just receives the number. The {{close}} token is TradingView's, not Autoview's. The point is that the alert sender supplies the value, so a Python script or another platform builds the same command its own way and posts a plain number where {{close}} would sit.
Fire it, then open the Autoview log and your KuCoin orders. You should see the resting limit order in both. Now cancel it:
- Extension:
e=kucoin s=BTC-USDT c=order - Webhook:
s=BTC-USDT c=order
Order placed, order cancelled, both confirmed in the log and on KuCoin. That's the full round trip. Your setup works.
One KuCoin quirk worth knowing before you build a real strategy
A KuCoin order holds one protective stop, not two. Attach either a stop-loss or a take-profit to an entry, and it rides along fine. Send both on the same order and the take-profit silently wins, because it's written last and they share the same slot. If your strategy needs both a stop-loss and a take-profit, send them as separate alerts rather than one combined command. KuCoin also doesn't have a trailing-stop order through Autoview; a fixed stop-loss or take-profit is what you've got.
Step 4: Troubleshoot the usual snags
Most first-run problems are one of three things.
- Invalid API credentials. Autoview rejects the key. Almost always a typo on paste, a missing Passphrase, or a key created without trading permission. Re-paste all three pieces and confirm the permission on KuCoin's side.
- Account shows disconnected. Nothing executes while it does. Re-check the Key, Secret, and Passphrase for a stray space.
- KuCoin rejects the order. The error in your log comes straight from KuCoin, often because the quantity sat below the pair's minimum. Bump the size and resend, or check the pair's minimum on KuCoin.
When a command behaves oddly, put d=1 back on it. The dry-run output is the fastest way to see what Autoview thinks you asked for versus what you meant.
Connected and tested? Good. Next you'll want a stop-loss or take-profit layered onto these same commands, one protective order per alert. That's where the automation gets interesting.