Beginner ~20 min Python Build guide

Create a Market Screener

Scan all symbols matching specific indicator conditions. Find oversold, overbought, or trending instruments in seconds.

2 sections 2 copy-paste code samples Python
2Guide sections
2Code samples
BeginnerLevel
20 minTime

Basic Screener

Loop through symbols and filter by RSI levels:

Python Basic Screener
import requests

API_KEY = "YOUR_API_KEY"
BASE = "https://tickatlas.com/v1"
headers = {"X-API-Key": API_KEY}

symbols = ["EURUSD", "GBPUSD", "USDJPY", "AUDUSD", "XAUUSD",
           "USDCAD", "EURGBP", "EURJPY", "GBPJPY", "BTCUSD"]

def screen(symbols, timeframe="H1"):
    results = []
    for sym in symbols:
        rsi = requests.get(f"{BASE}/indicator",
            headers=headers,
            params={"symbol": sym, "indicator": "RSI_14", "timeframe": timeframe}
        ).json()["data"]

        if rsi["value"] < 30:
            results.append({"symbol": sym, "rsi": rsi["value"], "signal": "OVERSOLD"})
        elif rsi["value"] > 70:
            results.append({"symbol": sym, "rsi": rsi["value"], "signal": "OVERBOUGHT"})

    return results

hits = screen(symbols)
for h in hits:
    print(f"{h['symbol']}: RSI={h['rsi']:.1f} ({h['signal']}")

Batch Screener with Multi Endpoint

Use the /v1/multi endpoint for much better performance — one API call instead of 10:

Python Batch Screener with Multi Endpoint
# More efficient: use the /v1/multi endpoint
params = {
    "symbols": ",".join(symbols),
    "indicators": "RSI_14,ADX,MACD_hist",
    "timeframe": "H1"
}
resp = requests.get(f"{BASE}/multi", headers=headers, params=params).json()

# data.data maps each symbol to a flat {indicator_name: float} dict.
for sym, indicators in resp["data"]["data"].items():
    rsi = indicators.get("RSI_14", 50)
    adx = indicators.get("ADX", 0)
    macd = indicators.get("MACD_hist", 0)

    if rsi < 30 and adx > 25 and macd > 0:
        print(f"STRONG BUY: {sym} (RSI={rsi:.1f}, ADX={adx:.1f})")
    elif rsi > 70 and adx > 25 and macd < 0:
        print(f"STRONG SELL: {sym} (RSI={rsi:.1f}, ADX={adx:.1f})")

Screener Ideas

Oversold Bounce RSI < 30 + Bullish MACD crossover
Trend Strength ADX > 25 + Price above SMA(200)
Bollinger Squeeze BB Width at 20-bar low (breakout imminent)
Volume Spike Tick volume > 2x average + RSI momentum

Production hardening

The code above is the happy path. These are the concerns that decide whether it survives contact with a real deployment.

Keep the key server-side. The API key authenticates with the X-API-Key header and must never reach a browser bundle. Proxy it, or use a public widget key, which is domain-scoped and revocable. Authentication
Handle 429 before you need to. Rate limits are per key and per minute. Back off on 429 rather than retrying immediately, and read the X-RateLimit-* headers on every response. Rate limits
Branch on the error code, not the message. Errors carry a stable machine-readable code; the human-readable text can change. Codes were unified in v3.15. Error handling
Expect gaps, and do not invent values. Markets close, feeds stall, and a retention window can reject a request outright. Surface an explicit unavailable state rather than substituting a zero or the last known price. Troubleshooting
Cache what you poll. Responses are already cached briefly upstream, so polling faster than the data changes spends credits without improving freshness. Cache on your side and poll on the cadence your timeframe actually updates. Pricing and credits
Watch retention per timeframe. History depth is set per timeframe, never per plan, so a request that works on D1 can fall outside the window on M1. Check the published windows before backfilling. Timeframes
Rotate keys and scope them. Issue a separate key per deployment so one can be revoked without taking the others down, and rotate on a schedule rather than after an incident. Authentication
Log the request, not the key. Record endpoint, parameters, status and latency so a failure is reproducible. Never log the key itself, and scrub it from error reports.

Next Steps

Everything this guide touches, linked directly — so it never dead-ends.

Build against live market data

Start with the data layer already solved.

Create an API key, run the first request, then extend one layer at a time. Every account starts pay-as-you-go with $2.50 of credit.