The REST API command line client in NodeJS allows full access to the Kraken REST API via the command line (such as Terminal on macOS), hence no programming knowledge or API experience is required.

All REST API features are accessible including:

The command line client can be used as a standalone API client, or can be called from other programs (such as other interpreted languages like Bash scripts, or compiled languages like C/C++).

1. Install NodeJS (if necessary).

2. Download and save the krakenapi.js file to your computer in the folder (directory) of your choosing. For example:

Macintosh HD > Users > Satoshi > KrakenAPI

3. Open a command prompt (such as macOS's Terminal), and navigate to the folder (directory) chosen in the previous step.

You can use the "cd" command (change directory) to navigate. For example:

cd /Users/Satoshi/KrakenAPI

4. Add your API keys to the same folder where you are keeping the krakenapi.js file.

Copy/paste your API public key from account management into a plain text file called "API_PUBLIC_KEY".

Copy/paste your API private (secret) key into a plain text file called "API_PRIVATE_KEY".

An API key is only needed if you plan to use the private API endpoints to access your Kraken account (such as balance inquiries, placing/cancelling orders, account history exports, etc).

See How to generate an API key pair? for additional instructions.

The REST API command line client usage is as follows:

nodejs krakenapi.js endpoint [parameters]

The command line client supports all of the REST API endpoints, so the following are just a few example commands:

nodejs krakenapi.js Time nodejs krakenapi.js Ticker pair=xbtusd nodejs krakenapi.js Trades pair=etheur since=1574067140000000000 nodejs krakenapi.js Balance nodejs krakenapi.js TradeBalance asset=xbt nodejs krakenapi.js QueryOrders txid=O7MN22-ZCX7J-TGLQHD nodejs krakenapi.js AddOrder pair=xbtusd type=buy ordertype=limit price=6500 volume=0.002 leverage=5 nodejs krakenapi.js CancelOrder txid=O7MN22-ZCX7J-TGLQHD

const axios = require("axios");
const { clear } = require("console");
const crypto = require("crypto");
const fs = require("fs");

const main = async () => {
let response = "";
let apiMethod = "";
let inputParameters = "";

const api_private = [
"Balance",
"BalanceEx",
"TradeBalance",
"OpenOrders",
"ClosedOrders",
"QueryOrders",
"TradesHistory",
"QueryTrades",
"OpenPositions",
"Ledgers",
"QueryLedgers",
"TradeVolume",
"AddExport",
"ExportStatus",
"RetrieveExport",
"RemoveExport",
"GetWebSocketsToken",
"AddOrder",
"AddOrderBatch",
"EditOrder",
"CancelOrder",
"CancelAll",
"CancelAllOrdersAfter",
"DepositMethods",
"DepositAddresses",
"DepositStatus",
"WithdrawInfo",
"Withdraw",
"WithdrawStatus",
"WithdrawCancel",
"WalletTransfer",
"Staking/Assets",
"Stake",
"Unstake",
"Staking/Pending",
"Staking/Transactions",
];
api_public = [
"Time",
"Assets",
"AssetPairs",
"Ticker",
"OHLC",
"Depth",
"Trades",
"Spread",
"SystemStatus",
];

// destructuring the input command

if (process.argv.length < 3) {
apiMethod = "Time";
} else if (process.argv.length == 3) {
apiMethod = process.argv[2];
} else {
apiMethod = process.argv[2];
for (count = 3; count < process.argv.length; count++) {
if (count == 3) {
inputParameters = process.argv[count];
} else {
inputParameters = inputParameters + "&" + process.argv[count];
}
}
}

// condition to check the private or public endpoints

if (api_private.includes(apiMethod)) {
response = await QueryPrivateEndpoint(apiMethod, inputParameters);

if (apiMethod == "RetrieveExport") {
try {
fs.writeFileSync("Report.zip", response); // write the zip file response
console.log("Report.zip file sucessffuly recieved");
}
catch (err) {
console.log(err);
}
}
else {
console.log(response.toString());
}
} else if (api_public.includes(apiMethod)) {
response = await QueryPublicEndpoint(apiMethod, inputParameters);
console.log(JSON.stringify(response));
} else {
console.log("Usage: app method [parameters]");
console.log("Example: app OHLC pair=xbtusd interval=1440");
}
};

// Public API Endpoint

async function QueryPublicEndpoint(endPointName, inputParameters) {
let jsonData;
const baseDomain = "https://api.kraken.com";
const publicPath = "/0/public/";
const apiEndpointFullURL =
baseDomain + publicPath + endPointName + "?" + inputParameters;

await axios
.get(apiEndpointFullURL)
.then((res) => {
jsonData = res;
})
.catch((err) => {
jsonData = err;
});
return jsonData.data;
}

// Private API Endpoint

async function QueryPrivateEndpoint(endPointName, inputParameters) {
const baseDomain = "https://api.kraken.com";
const privatePath = "/0/private/";

const apiPublicKey = fs.readFileSync("API_PUBLIC_KEY").toString().trim(); //get data from API_PUBLIC_KEY text file

const apiPrivateKey = fs.readFileSync("API_PRIVATE_KEY").toString().trim(); //get data from API_PRIVATE_KEY text file

const apiEndpointFullURL =
baseDomain + privatePath + endPointName;

const nonce = Date.now().toString();
const apiPostBodyData = "nonce=" + nonce + "&" + inputParameters;

const signature = CreateAuthenticationSignature(
apiPrivateKey,
privatePath,
endPointName,
nonce,
apiPostBodyData
);
const httpOptions = {
headers: { "API-Key": apiPublicKey, "API-Sign": signature }, responseType: "arraybuffer",

};

let jsonData;
await axios
.post(apiEndpointFullURL, apiPostBodyData, httpOptions)
.then((res) => {
jsonData = res;
})
.catch((err) => {
jsonData = err;
});

return jsonData.data;
}

// Authentication algorithm

function CreateAuthenticationSignature(
apiPrivateKey,
apiPath,
endPointName,
nonce,
apiPostBodyData
) {

const apiPost = nonce + apiPostBodyData;
const secret = Buffer.from(apiPrivateKey, "base64");
const sha256 = crypto.createHash("sha256");
const hash256 = sha256.update(apiPost).digest("binary");
const hmac512 = crypto.createHmac("sha512", secret);
const signatureString = hmac512
.update(apiPath + endPointName + hash256, "binary")
.digest("base64");
return signatureString;
}

main();

*An overview of eligibility criteria (including geographic restrictions) for On-chain staking can be found here.