Summary of "How to Build a Free Trading Bot on Robinhood"

Summary: How to Build a Free Trading Bot on Robinhood

This video tutorial demonstrates how to create a basic trading bot that interacts with the Robinhood platform via its API. The bot enables automated trading directly from a Visual Studio Code (VS Code) environment without manually accessing the Robinhood app.

Finance-Specific Content & Instruments Mentioned

Platform: Robinhood (stock and crypto trading)
Asset Mentioned: Dogecoin (crypto)
Trade Types Supported: Market buy, limit buy, stop loss, stop limit, stop market (all programmable)
Portfolio Impact: Example shows buying and selling Dogecoin, with portfolio quantity and buying power updates (e.g., buying power dropped to $95.9 after purchase)
API Keys: Public and private keys used for authentication with Robinhood API and Robinhood Crypto API
Trading Strategy: Manual market buys/sells via bot; future videos planned to include technical indicators (e.g., RSI) and automated trading schedules

Methodology / Step-by-Step Framework

Setup and Preparation
- Download necessary files (keys.py and Robinhood API Python file) from the GitHub repository linked in the video description.
- Install and set up Visual Studio Code (VS Code) IDE.
- Verify Python installation (version 3.13.1 recommended).
API Key Generation
- Generate public and private keys using a Python script (python key command).
- Store keys in a new .env file in Python variable format (BASE64_PRIVATECORE_KEY, BASE64_PUBLICCORE_KEY, API_KEY).
- Register the public key with Robinhood Crypto API, setting expiration about one year minus one day, and allow all API actions.
- Approve the API key via mobile notification.
- Copy the generated API key into the .env file.
Coding the Bot
- Use the Robinhood API Python file, which includes functions for trading operations.
- Adjust for API timing delays by subtracting two seconds to ensure requests are accepted.
- Use simple commands to place trades:
  - buy for buying
  - market for market orders
  - limit for limit orders
  - stop loss, stop limit, stop market for respective orders
- Example: Market buy 1 Dogecoin.
- Save changes and run the script from VS Code terminal.
Testing Trades
- Execute buy and sell commands.
- Verify live updates in Robinhood account (e.g., quantity changes from 19.03 to 20 Dogecoin after buy).
- Confirm that buying power and holdings update accordingly.
Next Steps (Planned)
- Integration of technical indicators such as RSI.
- Automating trading schedules.
- Building AI-powered bots for fully automated trading.

Key Numbers and Timelines

Python version: 3.13.1
Dogecoin quantity example: from 19.03 to 20 after buy; back to 19.03 after sell
API key expiration: approximately 1 year minus 1 day
Buying power example post-trade: $95.9
API timing adjustment: subtract 2 seconds from system time for API calls

Recommendations and Cautions

Download provided files to avoid manual coding errors.
Use VS Code for a beginner-friendly coding experience.
Set API key expiration thoughtfully for security.
Adjust system time offsets to avoid API request failures.
The code is somewhat complex for beginners but is explained step-by-step.
Future updates will include indicator-based automation.
This tutorial is technical and does not constitute financial advice.

Disclaimers

No explicit financial advice is given. The video focuses on technical setup and coding, not investment recommendations.

Presenter

The video is presented by an individual demonstrating their personal coding process (name not provided).
References Robinhood API documentation as a source for the code.

Summary

This tutorial provides a practical guide to building a Python-based trading bot for Robinhood that can execute market orders (demonstrated with Dogecoin) directly from VS Code. It covers environment setup, API key management, coding basics for trade execution, and live trade verification. The presenter plans to expand on this foundation with indicator-based automated trading in future videos.