Beginner ~10 min Shell Build guide

Excel Integration

Pull live indicator data into Microsoft Excel using VBA custom functions or Power Query.

2 sections 2 copy-paste code samples Shell
2Guide sections
2Code samples
BeginnerLevel
10 minTime

VBA Custom Function

Press Alt+F11 to open VBA Editor, insert a new Module, and paste:

Shell VBA Custom Function
Function CLAW(symbol As String, indicator As String, timeframe As String) As Variant
    Dim url As String
    Dim apiKey As String
    Dim http As Object

    apiKey = "YOUR_API_KEY"
    url = "https://tickatlas.com/v1/indicator" & _
          "?symbol=" & symbol & _
          "&indicator=" & indicator & _
          "&timeframe=" & timeframe

    Set http = CreateObject("MSXML2.XMLHTTP")
    http.Open "GET", url, False
    http.setRequestHeader "X-API-Key", apiKey
    http.Send

    If http.Status = 200 Then
        ' Parse JSON (requires VBA-JSON or manual parsing)
        Dim json As String
        json = http.responseText
        ' Extract value between "value": and next comma
        Dim pos1 As Long, pos2 As Long
        pos1 = InStr(json, """value"":") + 8
        pos2 = InStr(pos1, json, ",")
        CLAW = CDbl(Mid(json, pos1, pos2 - pos1))
    Else
        CLAW = "Error: " & http.Status
    End If
End Function

' Usage: =CLAW("EURUSD","RSI_14","H1")

Power Query

Go to Data > Get Data > From Other Sources > Blank Query, then open Advanced Editor:

Shell Power Query
let
    ApiKey = "YOUR_API_KEY",
    Symbol = "EURUSD",
    Indicator = "RSI_14",
    Timeframe = "H1",
    Url = "https://tickatlas.com/v1/indicator?symbol="
        & Symbol & "&indicator=" & Indicator & "&timeframe=" & Timeframe,
    Source = Json.Document(
        Web.Contents(Url, [Headers=[#"X-API-Key"=ApiKey]])
    ),
    Value = Source[value]
in
    Value

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.

Related

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.