APEX Protocol

Agent Protocol for EXchange

The open MCP-based specification for how AI agents communicate with financial brokers, dealers, and market makers.

APEX defines a canonical tool vocabulary, a universal instrument identifier, and a unified order model — enabling any compliant agent to connect to any compliant broker without bespoke integrations.

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Repository Structure

protocol/
├── spec/                        # THE SPECIFICATION
│   ├── core/                    # Layer 1 — mandatory baseline (all brokers)
│   ├── profiles/                # Layer 2 — asset class extensions
│   │   ├── fx.md                #   Spot FX, CFD FX, rollovers
│   │   ├── cfd.md               #   Equities, indices, commodities
│   │   └── crypto.md            #   Spot, perpetuals, funding rates
│   └── registry/                # Instrument taxonomy and ID format
├── reference-implementation/    # Reference MCP servers (stub handlers)
│   ├── typescript/              #   Node.js 18+, MCP SDK, Zod
│   ├── rust/                    #   rmcp crate
│   ├── go/                      #   mcp-go SDK
│   └── java/                    #   Direct JSON-RPC 2.0, Jackson
├── conformance/                 # Test suite for spec compliance
├── governance/                  # TAC charter, RFC process, contributing
└── docs/                        # Agent quickstart, integration guides

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Specification Layers

Layer	Scope	Status
Layer 1 — Core	Session, account, orders, market data, risk	v0.1-draft
Layer 2 — FX	Spot FX, CFD FX, rollovers, currency exposure	v0.1-draft
Layer 2 — CFD	Equities, indices, corporate actions	v0.1-draft
Layer 2 — Crypto	Spot, perpetuals, funding rates, margin modes	v0.1-draft
Layer 2 — Derivatives	Listed options, futures, greeks	planned
Layer 2 — Fixed Income	Bonds, yield, duration	planned

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Quick Start

For Agent Developers

1. Read docs/agent-quickstart.md
2. Use canonical instrument IDs from spec/registry/
3. Connect directly to any APEX-compliant broker's MCP endpoint

For Brokers

1. Read spec/core/README.md — the mandatory baseline
2. Choose your spec/profiles/ for your asset classes
3. Start from a reference-implementation/
4. Run the conformance/ test suite against your implementation

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Tool Vocabulary

Five domains. Consistent naming. Every tool annotated with MCP metadata.

Domain	Prefix	Purpose
Session	apex.session.*	Authentication, capabilities, heartbeat
Account	apex.account.*	Balances, positions, orders, history
Orders	apex.order.*	Place, modify, cancel, status
Market Data	apex.market.*	Quotes, snapshots, search, instrument details
Risk	apex.risk.*	Pre-trade checks, account limits

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Instrument ID Format

APEX:{ASSET_CLASS}:{SUB_CLASS?}:{SYMBOL}

Examples: APEX:FX:EURUSD, APEX:CFD:IDX:SPX500, APEX:CRYPTO:SPOT:BTCUSDT

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Versioning

APEX Protocol uses semantic versioning: MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH

Current version: 0.1.0-draft

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Contributing

See governance/CONTRIBUTING.md for the RFC process.

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License

Specification: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Reference Implementations: Apache License 2.0