Coinbase API Keys

Connect your Coinbase account to TraderBotz using the Coinbase Developer Platform (CDP) API. Your bots will be able to view market data and execute trades via the Advanced Trade API.

Important: Your API secret is a PEM-encoded private key. Never share it with anyone. TraderBotz encrypts all credentials at rest with Fernet symmetric encryption.

Step 1: Open the Coinbase Developer Platform

Go to portal.cdp.coinbase.com/access/api and sign in with your Coinbase account. This is the Coinbase Developer Platform (CDP) where you manage API keys for Advanced Trade.

Step 2: Create a New API Key

  1. 1 Click Create API Key
  2. 2 Give the key a nickname (e.g., "TraderBotz")
  3. 3 Select the portfolio you want TraderBotz to trade on (or leave the default)

Step 3: Configure Permissions

Enable the following permissions for the API key:

  • ✓ View — Required for balance and market data queries
  • ✓ Trade — Required for placing buy/sell orders
  • ✗ Transfer — Not needed (leave unchecked)

Tip: You can restrict the API key to specific IP addresses for extra security. If you're using a self-hosted TraderBotz node, add your node's public IP.

Step 4: Download Your Key File

After creating the key, Coinbase will prompt you to download a JSON key file. This file contains two values you need:

API Key Name

Formatted as organizations/{org_id}/apiKeys/{key_id}. This is your API Key identifier.

EC Private Key (PEM)

A PEM-encoded EC private key that starts with -----BEGIN EC PRIVATE KEY-----. This is your API Secret.

Save this file securely. Coinbase only shows the private key once. If you lose it, you'll need to create a new API key.

Step 5: Add to TraderBotz

  1. 1 In TraderBotz, go to Accounts in the sidebar
  2. 2 Click Add Account and select Coinbase from the dropdown
  3. 3 Enter a name (e.g., "My Coinbase")
  4. 4 Paste the API Key Name (the organizations/…/apiKeys/… string)
  5. 5 Paste the full PEM private key into the API Secret text area, including the BEGIN/END lines
  6. 6 Click Test Connection to verify everything works
  7. 7 Save the account — it's now available when creating bots

Troubleshooting

"Invalid key" error on Test Connection

Make sure you pasted the full PEM key including the -----BEGIN EC PRIVATE KEY----- and -----END EC PRIVATE KEY----- lines. If you copied from the JSON file, ensure escaped \n characters are present — TraderBotz handles the conversion automatically.

"Permission denied" on trade

Verify that the Trade permission is enabled for your API key in the CDP portal. View-only keys can read market data but cannot place orders.

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