LLM Setup

tradecli needs to talk to a large language model to drive its personas. There are two ways to give it access depending on what you have:

You have…	Use…
An API key from any supported provider	tradecli setup (interactive wizard)
A Claude Pro/Max subscription, ChatGPT Plus, GitHub Copilot, or Google AI subscription	/login (OAuth, browser-based)

One-time setup

You only need to do this once. After credentials are saved, every future tradecli invocation picks them up automatically — no env vars to remember, no flags to pass.

API key path: tradecli setup

The simplest path. If you have an API key from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, or any other supported provider, run:

tradecli setup

The wizard's first step checks whether any credentials are already configured (env vars, an existing ~/.tradecli/agent/auth.json). If none are found, it opens an interactive picker:

1. Choose an LLM provider — pick from the list (see supported providers below).
2. Paste your API key — input is masked. Press Enter to save.
3. Done — the wizard verifies the credential landed on disk and continues with the rest of setup (browser config, broker auth, etc.).

Credentials are stored at ~/.tradecli/agent/auth.json with 0600 permissions.

Supported providers

The wizard offers these 9 providers. Each can be configured via the wizard (paste a key) or via environment variable.

Provider	Env variable	Get an API key
Anthropic	ANTHROPIC_API_KEY	console.anthropic.com
OpenAI	OPENAI_API_KEY	platform.openai.com
Google (Gemini)	GEMINI_API_KEY	aistudio.google.com
Groq	GROQ_API_KEY	console.groq.com
xAI	XAI_API_KEY	console.x.ai
OpenRouter	OPENROUTER_API_KEY	openrouter.ai
Mistral	MISTRAL_API_KEY	console.mistral.ai
Cerebras	CEREBRAS_API_KEY	cloud.cerebras.ai
HuggingFace	HF_TOKEN	huggingface.co/settings/tokens

Env vars still work

If you prefer keeping keys in your shell rc (~/.zshrc, ~/.bashrc), export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-… (or any other provider's env var) before running tradecli setup — the wizard detects the env var and skips the picker.

Do not commit API keys

Keep keys in your shell rc or in ~/.tradecli/agent/auth.json — never commit them to a repository. If a key leaks, rotate it immediately in the relevant provider's console.

OAuth path: /login

If you have a subscription rather than an API key — Claude Pro/Max, ChatGPT Plus, GitHub Copilot, or one of Google's AI subscriptions — use the /login slash command from inside the running TUI. The setup wizard does not handle OAuth (browser flows aren't a good fit for a one-shot CLI wizard).

The flow:

tradecli           # launches the interactive TUI

Inside the TUI, type:

/login

Pick the provider, complete the browser login, and the credentials are written to ~/.tradecli/agent/auth.json — the same file the wizard uses, so the rest of setup can pick them up.

Supported OAuth providers

Five OAuth providers are available via /login:

Provider	What it actually is	Subscription needed
Anthropic	Claude Pro/Max chat (uses your subscription quota)	Pro/Max
ChatGPT (Codex)	OpenAI's ChatGPT — separate from the OpenAI API	ChatGPT Plus / Pro / Team
GitHub Copilot	Copilot's chat completions endpoint	Copilot Individual / Business
Google Antigravity	Google's coding-focused product	Antigravity access
Google Gemini CLI	Gemini's CLI-tier auth	Google account

ChatGPT ≠ OpenAI API, Copilot ≠ OpenAI API

The OAuth-only products are different services from the standard provider APIs in the wizard. ChatGPT (via OAuth) hits OpenAI's chat endpoints with your subscription quota; the OpenAI API key in the wizard hits the developer endpoints with metered billing. They're not interchangeable. Pick the one that matches what you're paying for.

First-run recipes

"I have an API key" (most common)

tradecli setup
# Pick a provider in the wizard, paste your key, done.

One command. The wizard runs setup end-to-end including LLM auth.

"I have an Anthropic Pro/Max (or any other subscription)"

tradecli           # 1. launch the TUI
/login             # 2. inside the TUI: pick Anthropic, complete browser login, then quit
tradecli setup     # 3. re-run setup — finds the OAuth credential and continues

Three commands the first time, one command thereafter.

After authentication

Verify the credential is detected:

tradecli doctor

Look for the llm-auth row:

✓ llm-auth         Anthropic (auth.json)

The detail in parentheses tells you which source the credential came from — auth.json (wizard or /login), env: ANTHROPIC_API_KEY (env var), or OAuth (OAuth credential in auth.json).

If the row is ✗ llm-auth no providers configured, neither the wizard nor /login has been run yet — go back to the API key path or the OAuth path above.

Troubleshooting

The wizard says "no LLM provider configured" but I have ANTHROPIC_API_KEY set.

Check that the env var is exported in the shell that's running tradecli:

echo "$ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"

If the value is empty, your ~/.zshrc / ~/.bashrc export isn't being picked up. Open a fresh terminal or source the rc file.

OAuth login in the browser fails or the page shows an error.

For Anthropic specifically, the SDK's local callback server doesn't always settle cleanly when the browser returns an error. If /login hangs after a browser error, press Esc to cancel — the prompt should release. Then start over.

I want to switch providers or remove a saved credential.

Edit ~/.tradecli/agent/auth.json directly (it's a small JSON file keyed by provider id) or, for OAuth credentials, type /logout inside the TUI to open a picker of currently-logged-in OAuth providers.

I'm on a remote box (SSH'd in) and the OAuth browser flow can't open.

The OAuth flow prints a URL you can open on your local machine. After completing login locally, the redirect URL can be pasted back into the prompt. If the local callback server can't reach you (firewall, no port forward), this is the manual fallback.

What's next

Once your LLM credential is configured:

• Connect your broker → Broker Setup — Groww and Zerodha Kite OAuth flows
• Configure the browser → Browser Setup — Chrome CDP for platform automation
• Pick a persona → Personas guide — what each persona does and when to use it

Not financial advice

tradecli is an educational and analytical tool. Nothing it outputs constitutes a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. Always verify AI outputs against primary sources before trading real capital.