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Market-data keys

Why Chord needs your own price key, how to add one, and what to do when prices pause.

Last updated October 23, 2026

Why a key is needed

Chord has no market-data subscription of its own, so live prices and ticker search come from a provider you hold an account with, using your key. Your Mac calls the provider directly, so requests count against your own quota, and the key is stored in your Mac's Keychain — never on a Chord server.

Reference data (company classification, logos, the crypto coin list) is served without a key. It's only the live prices and search that need one.

Pick a provider

Open Settings ▸ Developer:

  • Equities — choose Alpha Vantage (recommended; it also classifies Toronto listings) or Marketstack, tick Use my own market-data API key, then paste the key. Both offer free tiers; heavier use may need a paid plan from them.
  • Crypto — tick Use my own CoinGecko API key, choose the plan your key belongs to (Demo or Pro), and paste the key.

The sign-up links live right on each provider card. Only a fingerprint of the key is ever shown back to you.

When prices pause

A banner at the top of Holdings tells you what's wrong and offers Add key…:

  • "N prices need a … key" — no key is saved for that asset class. Add one, or turn the toggle on if you've already saved a key.
  • "Your … key was rejected" — the provider didn't accept the saved key. Re-enter it, checking for stray spaces.
  • "… allowance used up (used/limit)" — you've hit the provider's own rate limit for the window; the message says when it resets. Wait for the reset or move to a higher plan with that provider.
  • "Chord can't reach your Keychain" — macOS denied the key read. Choose Try again, or Remove the saved key and add it again.

Equities and crypto are gated separately, so one can keep working while the other is paused.

A note on equity prices

Equity quotes are end-of-day: a price is treated as current for 24 hours. Crypto refreshes far more often. You can always set a price by hand with ⌥⌘P while a key is missing. See Holdings, prices and crypto.

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Still stuck?

Email [email protected] with your macOS version and what you were doing.