Getting Started

Keel is a quantitative crypto trading platform driven from your AI agent or your terminal. The fastest start is hosted and needs no install: add Keel to the assistant you already use. The local install (pipx install keel-trade) adds the keel CLI and a local MCP server, with strategies in your filesystem; backtests run against Keel's price and funding data on Hyperliquid either way.

See it working first: Funding carry in the strategy library shows a full backtest on Hyperliquid perps, net of fees, slippage and funding, with the rules you can fork.

Hosted: nothing to install

• Claude or ChatGPT: Keel is listed in the Claude connectors directory and the ChatGPT plugin directory. Add it from its listing and sign in; Agent Setup has both listing links and the steps.
• Claude Code, Cursor, Codex or Windsurf: add the hosted endpoint https://mcp.usekeel.io/mcp and sign in in the browser. In Claude Code that is claude mcp add --transport http keel https://mcp.usekeel.io/mcp, then /mcp and Authenticate. Nothing to install.
• Local: pipx install keel-trade gives you the keel CLI and a local MCP server; the install steps are below.

Then ask your agent:

"Find a carry strategy in the Keel library and backtest it."

Local: two commands, then talk to your agent

pipx install keel-trade               # or: uv tool install keel-trade
claude mcp add keel -- keel mcp serve  # register the stdio MCP with Claude Code

Open Claude Code and say:

"Connect to Keel, then backtest a carry strategy."

Claude calls keel_auth_login (browser opens — sign in, close the tab), then keel_strategy_compose + keel_backtest_run. You're done. No terminal-side login dance, no ~/.keel/config.yaml to inspect.

What the agent does for you

Each tool returns a share_url you can click to see the tearsheet in your browser.

1. Install

pipx install keel-trade      # or: uv tool install keel-trade

Requires Python 3.11+. pipx and uv both work — pipx is more common, uv is faster. The package ships with the Keel DSL validator, component catalog, and the MCP server bound into the keel binary.

Verify:

keel --version
# keel, version <latest>

2. Register the MCP for your agent

# Claude Code
claude mcp add keel -- keel mcp serve

# Cursor — add to .cursor/mcp.json:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "keel": { "command": "keel", "args": ["mcp", "serve"] }
  }
}

The agent host launches keel mcp serve as a child process and talks to it over stdin/stdout. You do not need to run a daemon, open a port, or start a separate service. No login needed yet — the next step does that from inside Claude.

Agent Setup has the full matrix (Windsurf, Continue, Cline, OpenAI Codex, generic MCP client).

3. Sign in — from inside Claude

Open Claude Code (or your MCP-capable agent) and say:

"Connect to Keel."

Claude calls the keel_auth_login MCP tool. Your default browser opens to app.usekeel.io/oauth/connect, you complete the OAuth 2.1 + PKCE consent, and tokens land in ~/.keel/config.yaml. You stay logged in for 30 days — access tokens refresh transparently before each request.

For live-trading scope (deploy / pause / stop strategies on Hyperliquid), say:

"Connect to Keel with live trading."

Claude calls keel_auth_login(scope="live") and the "Include live trading" checkbox is pre-checked on the consent page. Live trading also requires you to arm your local machine — defense in depth. See keel arm live --help.

Paper trading needs no live-trading scope and no new login: it runs on the access that lets you run a backtest, which every API key and keel auth login already holds.

Logging in from a terminal

If you'd rather skip the MCP-driven flow and authenticate before registering the MCP, the same OAuth ceremony is one CLI command:

keel auth login

For headless environments (CI, SSH, GitHub Codespaces, WSL without port forwarding) where the CLI and your browser are not on the same machine, use:

keel auth login --key <token>
# Token from https://app.usekeel.io/settings?tab=api-keys

4. Verify

keel status

Shows your identity, org, plan, entitlements, and the scopes your session has — also lists every MCP tool currently exposed under your KEEL_TOOLSETS. If anything looks off, run keel auth logout and try again. From inside Claude, the equivalent is "What's my Keel status?" (which calls keel_account_status).

5. First strategy + backtest

From your agent, ask:

"Create a funding-carry baseline, validate it, save it, then backtest 2025-06-01 through 2026-02-01."

The agent should follow this tool sequence:

CLI equivalent for an existing strategy.py:

keel strategy compose --source-file strategy.py --dry-run --format json
STRATEGY_ID=$(keel strategy compose \
  --source-file strategy.py \
  --name my-first \
  --format json | jq -r '.strategy_id')
BT_ID=$(keel backtest run "$STRATEGY_ID" \
  --start-date 2025-06-01 \
  --format json | jq -r '.run_id')
keel backtest watch "$BT_ID" --format json
keel backtest summarize "$BT_ID" --format json

Open the returned hero_url or share_url in your browser for the rich tearsheet.

Omit --end-date to run through today's UTC date. Pass it only when you need a fixed historical window.

Next steps

• Step-by-step CLI walkthrough — every command with annotated output
• Agent Setup — Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Codex configs + skills
• CLI Reference — every command grouped by domain
• Web app alternative — visual strategy builder + AI editor at app.usekeel.io

Paper first

To watch a strategy trade forward before it touches real capital, start a paper run. Fills are simulated at live Hyperliquid prices; no real orders are placed and no exchange account is needed:

keel paper deploy <strategy-id>

It completes in one call. Read the run with keel live monitor <deployment-id>; see Paper trading for the fill model, plan slots and the auto-pause rules.

Going live

Once you have a backtested strategy you want to run on Hyperliquid:

# Print the deploy link; no orders are sent and no accounts are enumerated
keel live deploy <strategy-id>

# Poll the handoff you were given (pending | completed | expired)
keel live deploy <strategy-id> --intent-token <resume-token>

keel live deploy returns code=handoff_required with an action_url. You open that link and finish in the Keel web app: connect or pick a Hyperliquid account, review the server-computed sizing, accept the risk, go live. The CLI never places the orders, so nothing on your machine can deploy live capital on its own.

Connecting an account is web-only — an EIP-712 wallet challenge signed at https://app.usekeel.io/accounts.

Plan limits

Your current plan, entitlements, scopes, and exposed toolsets are shown by keel status. Sign up or manage billing at app.usekeel.io.