Chapter 0 — New to Python and APIs? Start here

This chapter is self-contained: you do not need prior courses. It explains what an API is, how Python fits in, and exactly where on the web to obtain the keys this project can use (Binance, Finnhub, optional others). Follow it once before Getting started if these ideas are new to you.

The Bottie tool stays as it is in the repo—we do not silently rewrite the whole project every time Binance or Finnhub updates a dashboard URL. Links and steps below can drift; when they do, use When things change — how to adapt to find the current provider pages and fix your setup.

Time: 2–4 hours (reading + installing Python + optional key creation)

Part A — What is an API? (no jargon first)

An API (Application Programming Interface) is a contract that lets one program ask another service a question or send a command over the network, in a structured way.

  • You (or your bot) do not log into Binance’s website by clicking buttons for every action.
  • Instead, your code sends an HTTP request (like a letter with a form) to Binance’s servers. The server answers with JSON (structured text: balances, prices, errors).

Think of it as:

Everyday idea Technical name
Address of the service URL (e.g. https://api.binance.com/...)
Letter asking “what is my balance?” GET request
Letter saying “place this order” POST request
The reply Response (often JSON)
Your membership card API key + often a secret to sign requests

Why keys? The exchange must know which account is calling and that you authorized the software. Never paste keys into public chats, screenshots, or GitHub.

Part B — What is Python?

Python is a programming language your computer runs. This repository is mostly Python: files ending in .py. You install Python once, then use pip to install libraries (packages) like FastAPI or ccxt that talk to exchanges.

You do not need to master Python before opening this repo—but you need to:

  1. Install Python from the official site (below).
  2. Open a terminal (PowerShell on Windows, Terminal on Mac).
  3. Run commands exactly as written in Getting started.

Where to install Python

  • Official download (all platforms): https://www.python.org/downloads/
  • Pick Python 3.11.x if available (this project is tested on 3.11).
  • Windows: During install, check “Add Python to PATH” so python works in the terminal.

Check that it works

Open a terminal and run:

python --version

You should see something like Python 3.11.x. On some systems the command is python3:

python3 --version

What is pip?

pip is Python’s package installer. Example:

pip install -r requirements.txt

That reads the project’s requirements.txt and downloads the listed libraries into your environment (preferably a virtual environment—see Getting started).

Part C — Keys this project may use (where to get them)

Below are official entry points. Always log in only via HTTPS and bookmark the real site—avoid phishing links.

1. Binance (spot / main API) — trading & market data

Bottie-style code often uses environment variables such as:

  • BINANCE_API_KEY
  • BINANCE_API_SECRET

Where to create API keys (logged-in Binance account):

What to do there:

  1. Create a new API key pair.
  2. Restrict permissions while learning: e.g. read-only first; add spot trading only when you intentionally test orders.
  3. Restrict by IP if your server has a fixed IP (advanced).
  4. Store the secret immediately—it may be shown only once.

Testnet (fake money, for developers):
Binance maintains a Spot Test Network for API practice without real money. As of this writing, the testnet landing page is typically:

Log in with GitHub or the method Binance testnet requires on that site, generate testnet API keys there, and use the testnet base URLs from Binance’s current documentation—not the main api.binance.com URLs. Always read Binance’s latest testnet docs because URLs and signup steps change.

Main site keys ≠ testnet keys. Never mix them in the same .env without understanding which base URL your code uses.

Important: Regulations and product names vary by country; Binance may not serve your region. If Binance is unavailable to you, the same ideas apply to other exchanges supported by ccxt—but you must change configuration and endpoints in your own fork; this course uses Binance as the documented example.

2. Finnhub — news / sentiment (optional)

Used when sentiment features are enabled. Typical env var:

  • FINNHUB_API_KEY

Where to get a key:

  1. Open https://finnhub.io.
  2. Register for an account.
  3. In the dashboard, find your API key (free tiers have rate limits—read their pricing page).

Docs (reference): https://finnhub.io/docs/api

3. IBM Quantum (optional — only if you enable IBM backends)

The quantum/backends.py path may use an IBM token if you want IBM hardware/simulators instead of local Aer only. Typical env vars mentioned in code:

  • QISKIT_RUNTIME_TOKEN or IBMQ_API_KEY / IBMQ_TOKEN (see your checkout of quantum/backends.py)

Where to look:

  • https://quantum.ibm.com/ — create an IBM Quantum account; obtain API token from the account / platform settings as documented by IBM.

Most learners can skip this entirely and rely on classical portfolio code or local simulators.

4. Other APIs (not required for the core Bottie course)

The repository may contain subfolders (e.g. Node tools, Claude/OpenAI selectors) that mention:

  • OPENAI_API_KEY
  • ANTHROPIC_API_KEY

Those are for other experiments in those folders, not for the minimal “Python engine + FastAPI” path. You can ignore them until you open those projects.

Part D — How keys reach this project

  1. You create keys on the provider’s website (Binance, Finnhub, …).
  2. You put them in a .env file in your project folder (or in your host’s secret store for production)—never commit .env to Git.
  3. The Python code reads os.environ["BINANCE_API_KEY"] etc., or python-dotenv loads .env at startup.

See Getting started — full application repo for where .env lives when you run the stack (this docs repo has no app entry point).

Part E — Minimal “first week” path

Day You do
1 Install Python; verify python --version.
2 Clone this docs repo; venv; pip install -r requirements-docs.txt; run mkdocs serve and read Chapter 1.
3 When ready for hands-on code: clone the application repo; venv; pip install -r requirements.txt; run scripts/smoke.py without exchange keys.
4 (Optional) Create Binance testnet keys; add .env in the application repo; explore read-only endpoints.
5 (Optional) Add Finnhub key; enable sentiment per application repo docs.

Part F — Self-check

  1. In one sentence, what is an API?
  2. Name two pieces Binance usually gives you for API access.
  3. Where do you not put those pieces? (Name one place.)

Sample answers: (1) A machine-readable way for programs to talk to a service over the network. (2) API key and secret. (3) Public GitHub, Discord, email to strangers, screenshots on social media.

Next steps

For course creators: charge money or ask for donations?

See Note for creators — pricing and donations.