Kraken WebSocket API

The Kraken WebSocket API provides event-driven, real-time access to Kraken's spot and futures markets. Version 2 (v2) is the current API, offering public feeds for market data (no authentication required) and private authenticated feeds for account events and order management. WebSocket v2 consolidates order status and fill events into a single executions channel, replacing the separate streams from v1.

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Core Features

• Public feeds (no auth): ticker, order book (L2), and trade streams available without a Kraken account.
• Private authenticated feeds: execution events, balance updates, and order management.
• Configurable order book depth: 10, 25, 100, 500, or 1,000 levels with CRC32 checksum for integrity verification.
• Level 3 data: per-order orders channel (authenticated) for full depth-of-market.
• Multi-symbol subscriptions: subscribe to multiple instruments in a single message.
• Request/response correlation: req_id field for matching responses to requests.
• Futures support: separate WebSocket endpoint for futures market data and order management.

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Endpoints

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Public Channels

Snapshots are sent on subscription by default ("snapshot": true). The ticker channel supports "bbo" (best bid/offer changes) or "trades" as the event trigger.

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Private Channels (Authenticated)

Authentication for private feeds:

1. Call GET /0/private/GetWebSocketsToken via REST using your API credentials
2. Use the returned token (valid 15 minutes) in the subscribe message
3. Include the token as: {"event": "subscribe", "subscription": {"name": "...", "token": "..."}}

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Tools and Resources

• WebSocket v2 Documentation: full channel specs and message format reference.
• Authentication Guide: step-by-step WebSocket token generation.
• Official Go SDK: covers Spot and Derivatives WebSocket connections.
• Python SDK (community): async WebSocket client with built-in reconnection handling.
• Kraken CLI: kraken ws commands for WebSocket streaming from the terminal.

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Ecosystem and Integrations

• Rate limits are shared across REST, WebSocket, and FIX for the same API key.
• Colocation endpoints are available via the Beeks Group for institutions requiring sub-millisecond access.
• Commercial redistribution of market data streams requires prior approval from marketdata@kraken.com.
• The official Go SDK supports both Spot and Derivatives WebSocket under a single import.

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Subscribe to public feeds immediately at wss://ws.kraken.com/v2 without any authentication. For private feeds, generate a WebSocket token first via the REST token endpoint.