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What is Theta Terminal and why do I need it?

ThetaData uses a proprietary protocol to send you data. This allows for up to a 30x reduction in bandwidth. Theta Terminal hosts a local server on your machine that only you can access. The REST API endpoints in this documentation connect to that server. Theta Terminal is a value-add: it reduces latency, increases throughput, and improves overall market data delivery performance.

REQUIRED

The Theta Terminal must be running to access data.

Installing Java

Java 11 or higher is required to use the Theta Terminal.

Recommendation

Use Java 21 or higher as performance for optimal performance and stability.

Check Java Version

You can easily check your Java version by typing the following in your command prompt / terminal:

java -version

If you encounter a message such as java is an unregonized command, you need to install Java. If your Java version is under 11.0.16, you need to install a newer version of Java.

Install Java on Windows & Mac

Download & open the Java installer on the Oracle Website and run the installer. Type java -version again to verify the minimum required version of Java has been installed.

Install Java on Ubuntu

Enter the following command in your terminal. You might require elevated privillages.

apt install openjdk-21-jdk openjdk-21-jre

Type java -version again to verify the minimum required version of Java has been installed.

Download Theta Terminal

You can download the latest version of the Theta Terminal here: https://download-stable.thetadata.us/

If you want to experiment with the bleeding-edge version of, you can download the unstable version: https://download-unstable.thetadata.us/

Recommendation

Regularly update the terminal as new features and improvements are constantly being added.

Worried about downloading the terminal?

Jar files can be decompiled. This means you can view the source code of the Theta Terminal, so you can figure out what exactly is going on if you need to. We aim to be as transparent as possible with our software and data. If you still have questions, feel free to reach out to us so we can provide more information.

Launch Theta Terminal

The Theta Terminal can be run from the command line on Windows, Mac, and Linux by providing your username and password:

java -jar ThetaTerminal.jar username password

The username should be replaced with your Theta Data account email and password replaced with your Theta Data password.

You can log in without a ThetaData account to access free data by setting your username and password to default.

TIP

You can save time by adding this command to either a .bat file in Windows, or a .sh file in Mac/Linux.

Good To Knows

1. If you have issues getting started, join our discord server and ask for help.

2. Does a datapoint look different than what you expected? This (article)[../Data-And-Requests/DataIssues.md] contains information regarding the nuances of datasets available on this platform.

3. Responses to requests are paginated. This means that if the amount of rows is over 500K, there is a next url that you must query to access the data. You can read more about pagination here.

4. Sample output for some endpoints are shortened to make them load easily on the page.

5. If you are making concurrent requests, follow the outlines provided in our concurrent requests article.

6. Responses to requests are paginated. This means that if the amount of rows is over 500K, there is a next url that you must query to access the data. You can read more about pagination here.

What's Next?

At this point the Theta Terminal should be running. If you encountered any issues, please reach out to us! You can now view the various REST and streaming endpoints, or continue with the documentation.