An example of how you can place a **buy order** using the **Interactive Brokers (IBKR) API** in PHP. IBKR's API works over **TWS (Trader Workstation)** or **IB Gateway** and provides REST or socket-based APIs for automation.

We'll use the **IBKR Python Gateway API** approach here, but integrate with PHP using a REST client.

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### **Steps to Place a Buy Order Using IBKR API**
1. **Setup IBKR TWS or Gateway**:
Ensure your IBKR TWS or Gateway is running in **API mode**. Enable API access by:
- Navigate to Global Configuration > API > Settings.
- Check **Enable ActiveX and Socket Clients**.
- Set **Host** and **Port** (default is 127.0.0.1:7497).

2. **Obtain Access via REST API**:
IBKR also provides a REST interface through the **IBKR Client Portal**. You’ll need to authenticate and get a session token.

3. **Install HTTP Client Library in PHP**:
Use cURL or a library like **Guzzle** for sending HTTP requests to IBKR REST API.

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<?php
// Replace with your IBKR Gateway API URL
$base_url = "https://localhost:5000/v1/";
// Function to authenticate with IBKR Gateway API
function authenticateIBKR($base_url) {
$auth_url = $base_url . "portal/auth";
$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $auth_url);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, false); // For local dev environments
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST, "POST");
$response = curl_exec($ch);
if (curl_errno($ch)) {
echo "Error: " . curl_error($ch);
curl_close($ch);
return false;
}
curl_close($ch);
return json_decode($response, true);
}
// Function to place a buy order
function placeBuyOrder($base_url, $account_id, $symbol, $quantity, $price) {
$order_url = $base_url . "iserver/account/" . $account_id . "/orders";
$order_payload = [
"acctId" => $account_id,
"conid" => $symbol, // Contract ID for the security
"secType" => "STK", // Stock type
"side" => "BUY",
"quantity" => $quantity,
"price" => $price,
"tif" => "GTC" // Good 'til Cancelled
];
$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $order_url);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, false);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POST, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, json_encode($order_payload));
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, [
"Content-Type: application/json",
"Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN" // Replace with your access token
]);
$response = curl_exec($ch);
if (curl_errno($ch)) {
echo "Error: " . curl_error($ch);
curl_close($ch);
return false; }
curl_close($ch);
return json_decode($response, true);
}
// Authenticate
$auth_response = authenticateIBKR($base_url);
if ($auth_response) {
echo "Authenticated successfully.n";
// Example Buy Order
$account_id = "YOUR_ACCOUNT_ID"; // Replace with your IBKR account ID
$symbol = "265598"; // Replace with contract ID for the stock
$quantity = 10;
$price = 100.50; // Limit price
$order_response = placeBuyOrder($base_url, $account_id, $symbol, $quantity, $price);
if ($order_response) {
echo "Order placed successfully: " . json_encode($order_response);
} else {
echo "Failed to place order.";
}
} else {
echo "Authentication failed.";
}
?>

Key Notes:

Enable SSL: If you're running IB Gateway locally, you might need to disable SSL verification (CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER) for testing. For production, always use a valid SSL certificate.

Contract ID: Replace the symbol field with the Contract ID (ConId) for the instrument you wish to trade. You can use the /iserver/secdef/search endpoint to find it.

Order Types: Modify the payload to specify different order types (e.g., MKT for Market Orders or LMT for Limit Orders).

Authentication: Replace YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN with a valid token from IBKR's authentication API.

Sandbox Testing: Use the IBKR Paper Trading account to test your code before running live trades.