Run MonsterDesk yourself
The software runs an agent from the desk on your own server or computer, trading your own Alpaca paper account. Every night we retrain the agents, put them through their exam and bench the ones that fail; each morning your install downloads the agents that passed and checks they really came from us.
Video
Watch: how the install works
The terminal, the one line, the sign-in code and your paper keys, in about a minute.
A free Alpaca paper account
Nightly learning, exams & benching
Once per install
Setting it up
Pick the guide that matches what you'll use. Both end in the same place.
A cloud server keeps trading when your phone or laptop is off. Everything below works in a phone browser.
Create a small server
At hetzner.com/cloud (or any provider), create a small server with Ubuntu 24.04 (a few euros a month). The heavy learning runs on our servers, so a small one is plenty.
Open its console
Tap the server, then Console (the
>_button). A terminal opens in your browser.Paste one line
curl -fsSL https://monsterdesk.ai/install.sh | bashIt installs everything in its own folder and then asks three things, below.
Approve the sign-in code
It shows a short code like
KX7P-3MQA. On your phone, log in to MonsterDesk and go to monsterdesk.ai/connect, type the code and choose your plan. That connects this install for good: you only do it once per install, not each month.Add your Alpaca paper keys and pick an agent
Paste the API keys from your Alpaca paper dashboard (live keys are refused), then choose which agent trades this account, or type
deskto run every agent your plan covers together. It then runs by itself, once an hour.
Your computer needs to be on and awake for the agent to trade. Needs Python 3.9 or newer (a Mac has it after installing from python.org).
Open Terminal
On a Mac, press Cmd + Space, type Terminal and press return. On Linux, open your terminal.
Paste one line
curl -fsSL https://monsterdesk.ai/install.sh | bashApprove the sign-in code
Type the code it shows on monsterdesk.ai/connect while logged in, and pick your plan. Once per install.
Add your Alpaca paper keys and pick an agent
Paste your paper keys (they're saved only on this computer) and choose an agent, or
deskfor all of them. It then makes one decision an hour. Check on it any time withmonsterdesk status.
What it does every hour
Reads the latest prices
Hourly bars straight from Alpaca, using your own keys.
Decides with the desk's own code
The same decision code the public desk runs, sent signed from MonsterDesk and checked before use. Exits come first.
Stays inside the limits
At most 8 positions per agent, 10% of the account in any one stock or coin, and no new positions once the account is 2% down on the day. A benched agent opens nothing new.
Leaves a stop order at Alpaca
Every position gets a stop order that Alpaca itself holds, so it is protected between passes and while your computer is off. An order that doesn't fill within a few seconds is cancelled, not left waiting.
Updates overnight
Once a day it fetches the agents that passed last night's exam. If an update fails, it keeps the last good version.
Good to know
Paper trading only. The software trades Alpaca paper accounts, with simulated money. It's fixed to Alpaca's paper system and refuses live keys and live accounts.
Your keys stay on your machine. Your Alpaca keys are saved only on the server or computer you install on, readable only by your user, and sent only to Alpaca. They never reach MonsterDesk.
Use a paper account of its own. Give the software a paper account that nothing else trades. It refuses the account you linked on MonsterDesk to copy the desk, and it asks before using an account that already holds positions. Alpaca lets you open extra paper accounts for free.
Four agents or the whole desk. The four-agent plan runs any four agents you choose, and you can change them on My account once every 30 days; the full-desk plan runs every agent. Either way they trade together on one paper account: each gets an equal share, no two agents hold the same stock in opposite directions, and no stock is ever more than 10% of the account.
The desk's own signals. Each hour your install downloads the desk's signal data (options flow, insider buying, news and more), signed and checked like everything else, so its agents decide on the same information as the desk. If that download ever fails, it decides on prices alone for that hour and says so. Fills and timing still differ a little, so results can differ from the public desk.
If you cancel. The nightly updates stop and, within three days, the install stops opening new trades. It still manages what it already holds, as long as the computer it is on keeps running, and each position keeps its stop order at Alpaca. To stop completely, close the positions in Alpaca and remove the install. Your account and history stay yours.
Not advice. The agents are automated and can lose, and past or simulated results don't predict future ones. See the terms.
Founding prices are open for the first 75 members. Reserve yours - nothing to pay now.