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Introduction

tickstream is a realtime market-data API for CME futures, options, Level 2, plus live index & ETF quotes. One key, one line of code, every tick.

tickstream is a realtime market-data API. You open one connection, subscribe to the symbols you want, and get live data as compact JSON — for CME futures (ES, NQ, CL, GC…), their options and Level 2 order book, plus live index & ETF quotes (SPX, QQQ, SPY, VIX…). It's built in Rust for low latency and priced for builders, not banks.

New to market data? A tick is a single price update. You subscribe to a symbol and we push you every update the moment it happens — no polling, no setup beyond an API key. 

# pip install tickstream
from tickstream import Stream

for tick in Stream("sk_live_…").subscribe("ES"):
    print(tick.price, tick.size, tick.ts)
// npm i @tickstream/client
import { Stream } from "@tickstream/client";

for await (const tick of new Stream("sk_live_…").subscribe("ES"))
  console.log(tick.price, tick.size, tick.ts);
# raw WebSocket via websocat
websocat "wss://stream.tick-stream.xyz/v1/stream?key=sk_live_…&symbols=ES"

What you get

  • Realtime ticks — every print from the matching engine, in order, with no gaps.
  • Level 2 depth — the full order book and order-flow fields (Realtime + L2 and Pro plans).
  • Options data — CME futures options plus index/equity chains, with Greeks & implied vol (Pro plan).
  • COT reports — weekly CFTC Commitments-of-Traders positioning for ES, NQ, YM, RTY (Pro plan).
  • Index & ETF quotes — live quotes for ETFs (QQQ, SPY, IWM…) and live levels for indices (SPX, NDX, VIX…) — on the same ticks channel.
  • Historical backfill — pull past ticks over REST to seed backtests.
  • First-class SDKs — Python, Node, browser JS, Rust and Go, plus raw WebSocket + REST.
  • LLM-native — a hosted MCP server so Claude Code and other agents read the same feed.

Markets & symbols

Every instrument has a short symbol. There are three kinds — and you subscribe to all of them the same way, on the ticks channel:

KindExamplesWhat you get
FuturesES (S&P 500), NQ (Nasdaq-100), CL (crude), GC (gold)Real trade ticks + Level 2. Use the root — the front-month contract is picked and rolled automatically.
ETFsQQQ, SPY, IWM, DIALive quotes (last price + size).
IndicesSPX, NDX, VIX, RUTThe live index level. An index isn't traded, so there are no prints — just the value (size is 0).

See the full symbol list, or request any other symbol.

Base URLs

PurposeURL
WebSocket streamwss://stream.tick-stream.xyz/v1/stream
REST APIhttps://api.tick-stream.xyz/v1
MCP servernpx -y tickstream-mcp

How it works

  1. Create an account and copy your API key from the dashboard.
  2. Install an SDK (or hit the raw endpoints) and authenticate with your key.
  3. Subscribe to any market and receive ticks in milliseconds.
tip

New here? Jump straight to the Quickstart — you'll be streaming in under a minute.

Where to next