TD Ameritrade API: Dead as of May 2024

I woke up to dozens of error notifications. Every trading bot had the same error: \"HTTP 401: Unauthorized - API access has been terminated.\"

That's how I found out Schwab killed the TD API. No email, no fucking warning - just error logs full of Connection refused and 401 Unauthorized bullshit.

The Only API That Actually Worked

For six years, I ran automated trading strategies on TD Ameritrade's API. It wasn't perfect, but it was the only major broker that didn't treat retail developers like criminals.

While Fidelity and E*Trade told you to fuck off if you wanted API access, TD actually gave you:

• Real-time streaming data that didn't randomly disconnect
• OAuth tokens that lasted 90 days, not minutes
• Options trading support for complex spreads
• Documentation written by humans, not lawyers

I had DCA bots buying SPY every morning at 9:31 AM - learned to wait 60 seconds after open because the first minute is chaos. Momentum strategies catching breakouts in premarket. Options wheel selling 16-delta puts and 30-delta calls based on IV percentiles above 25%.

Six years of automation running without babysitting. Dead overnight in May 2024.

The Schwab Takeover: A Masterclass in Destroying Developer Trust

Schwab bought TD Ameritrade and immediately started dismantling everything that made it useful for automation.

First, they moved all accounts to Schwab's systems. Fine, I thought, just redirect the API endpoints.

Then they announced the API would be "temporarily" shut down for "integration purposes." Classic corporate bullshit - anyone who's been around long enough knows "temporary" means "fuck you, we're done with this."

Spring 2024: ECONNREFUSED errors everywhere. No migration guide. No advance warning to existing developers. Just a middle finger to anyone who'd built their trading infrastructure on their platform.

I spent three days debugging what I thought was a config issue on my end. Checked OAuth tokens (still valid), tested endpoints manually with curl, spun up a new VPS thinking it was AWS network issues. Even tried the backup endpoint api.tdameritrade.com/v1/ - same dead response. Finally found a Reddit post on r/algotrading confirming the API was dead. Apparently that's how you communicate with developers - through fucking Reddit comments instead of developer emails.

What's Left After the Carnage

thinkorswim still works if you enjoy clicking buttons like a caveman. The platform is solid - decent charting, thinkScript for custom indicators, paperMoney for testing strategies.

But if you want automation? You're screwed.

Schwab eventually rolled out a "replacement" API that's designed to make you hate your life:

• Token refresh every 7 days kills automation reliability - Set a calendar reminder or watch your strategies fail during market hours. What's the fucking point of automation if you need to babysit it weekly?
• No futures trading - Because apparently retail traders can't be trusted with /ES contracts via API
• No fractional shares - Welcome back to 1995 when you could only buy whole shares
• Institutional focus - The API is "primarily intended for fintech companies" - translation: peasants need not apply

I tested the Schwab API for two weeks in October 2024. The weekly auth refresh killed my momentum strategies twice - forgot to update tokens over a long weekend in Colorado with spotty cell service, and my cron job refresh script failed at 2:17 AM on Sunday with some bullshit SSL error. Lost profitable SPY breakouts at $542 and $549 both times. Complete fucking joke of an API.

The Migration Nightmare

I ended up moving everything to Interactive Brokers, which has its own special flavor of developer hostility, but at least their API doesn't require weekly manual intervention.

Migrating six years of trading code took 3.5 months working evenings and weekends. Different API endpoints (/iserver/ instead of /v1/), different order types (IB calls them "combo orders" instead of "spreads"), different data formats (JSON vs XML nonsense). Had to rewrite the entire portfolio management system because IB's position tracking uses contract IDs instead of simple symbols - a single SPY position shows up as 3 different entries depending on whether it's from options assignment, direct purchase, or dividend reinvestment.

The tda-api Python library that thousands of developers relied on? The last working version was 1.4.0 from March 2024 before the shutdown. 847 stars on GitHub, completely useless overnight. The repo became a graveyard of "RIP TD API" comments and migration horror stories. Alex Golec's beautiful API wrapper - dead because Schwab decided retail developers aren't worth the hosting costs.

If you had trading automation running on TD Ameritrade, you know the pain. Schwab took the best retail trading API and turned it into an unusable mess that requires more maintenance than a 1990s Honda Civic.

The platform still works if you're into clicking buttons manually. But if you want real automation? Welcome to thinkScript hell.

thinkScript: The Last Resort for Automation

thinkScript is TD's proprietary programming language that survived the Schwab takeover. It's not a real API, but it's the only automation you get now.

Here's what you can actually do with it:

Custom Indicators

Build your own technical studies. I've written momentum oscillators, volume-weighted moving averages, and volatility bands. Took forever to debug because thinkScript error messages are about as helpful as a chocolate teapot - "Plot error at line 47" doesn't tell you shit about what's wrong. The language is decent for math-heavy calculations, but the syntax feels like JavaScript's drunk cousin who dropped out of college.

Conditional Orders

Set up "if-then" order triggers based on price action or indicator values. For example: "If RSI drops below 30 and volume spikes above 200% of average, buy 100 shares." It works, but you're limited to thinkorswim's supported order types.

Study Alerts

Get notifications when conditions are met. I have alerts for breakout patterns, earnings dates, and IV rank changes. Better than watching charts all day, but nowhere near real-time bot execution.

Backtesting Strategies

Test your logic on historical data. The paperMoney integration is solid - you can see how your strategy would have performed over months or years.

The problem? You're trapped inside thinkorswim's ecosystem. No external data sources, no portfolio management across multiple brokers, no integration with your existing Python/R/whatever infrastructure.

Platform Features That Actually Matter

thinkorswim is still a solid trading platform, even under Schwab's questionable management:

Charting

The chart package is legitimately good. Level II data, time & sales, drawing tools that don't suck. Options overlays show you exactly where your P&L stands. I've used Bloomberg terminals that were worse.

Options Tools

The options chain display and Greeks calculations are excellent. Profit/loss diagrams update in real-time as you build complex spreads. The probability analyzer helps with covered call strike selection.

paperMoney

$100k virtual account for testing. I use this constantly to validate new thinkScript strategies before risking real money. Simulated fills are reasonably accurate for liquid stocks.

24/5 Trading

One thing Schwab didn't break. You can trade many stocks and ETFs almost around the clock. Useful for catching overnight moves or European market reactions.

But here's what broke when Schwab took over: The data export functionality got neutered. I used to pull position data into Excel for custom portfolio analysis - Greeks, P&L by expiration, the works. Now it's a pain in the ass with limited export options and half the CSV files come out corrupted with random line breaks in the middle of option symbols. Fucking amateur hour.

Where Developers Actually Went

When the TD API died, most of us didn't wait around for Schwab's weekly-auth nightmare. Here's where the refugee developers landed:

Interactive Brokers

Their API looks like it was coded in 1995 by FORTRAN programmers but actually works for automation. IB Gateway 10.19 fixed the connection timeout issues I was hitting every 30 minutes. No weekly token refresh bullshit - tokens last until you manually revoke them. I moved my momentum strategies here - took about a month to rewrite everything because their order management is completely different (placeOrder() vs simple REST calls), but once running they've been going 6+ months without babysitting. Just don't expect their documentation to make sense - error code 502 means about 20 different things.

Alpaca

Clean REST API designed by developers who actually understand automation. Commission-free stocks, decent documentation. Good for simple buy/hold strategies, but options support is pretty limited.

Tradier

API-first broker with solid options pricing. Their REST endpoints are well-designed, and they don't treat developers like potential criminals.

TradingView + TradersPost

Some developers went this route to avoid rewriting code. TradingView alerts trigger trades through TradersPost's webhook system. Adds latency, but works if you can deal with the extra moving parts.

The Schwab API: A Cautionary Tale

I tested Schwab's replacement API for a month. Here's the honest assessment:

The good: Same endpoints as the old TD API, so migration should be straightforward. Market data access works fine. Order placement handles most order types correctly.

The bad: That fucking 7-day auth expiration. Every week, your bots stop working until you manually refresh the token. Set a calendar reminder or watch your strategies fail during the next market crash.

The ugly: It's clearly designed for institutional clients with dedicated dev teams. Retail developers are second-class citizens who have to jump through extra hoops for access.

I ran a simple RSI momentum strategy on the Schwab API for two weeks in October 2024. The bot was supposed to buy SPY on RSI oversold conditions below 30. Token expired on Friday night October 18th while I was camping in Utah with no cell service. Missed a perfect oversold bounce from $575 to $584 on Monday morning - would have been a $900 profit on 100 shares. That's when I knew this API wasn't built for actual automation - it's designed to keep institutional clients paying for dedicated support while retail developers get fucked.

Bottom Line for Developers

If you're still using thinkorswim for manual trading, it's fine. The platform works, the tools are solid, and 24/5 trading is genuinely useful.

But if you want algorithmic trading? Move to Interactive Brokers or Alpaca. Don't waste time trying to make Schwab's weekly-auth API work for serious automation.

thinkScript is okay for basic conditional orders and custom indicators, but it's not a replacement for a real trading API. You're trading convenience for being trapped in one platform's ecosystem.

The TD Ameritrade that developers loved is dead. Schwab killed it and replaced it with corporate-friendly garbage that prioritizes institutional clients over retail automation.