How to Check OKX Account Balance via Local Terminal Using API (Beginner-Friendly AI-Assisted Guide)

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In today’s fast-evolving crypto landscape, accessing your digital asset balances programmatically has become a crucial skill for traders and developers alike. Whether you're building a personal dashboard or automating trading logic, using the OKX API to check your account balance directly from your local computer terminal offers speed, control, and efficiency.

This beginner-friendly guide walks you through two practical methods to retrieve your OKX account balance using Python: manual signing and the official OKX Python SDK. No prior deep coding experience? No problem — we’ll break it down step by step with AI-assisted explanations.

Prerequisites

Before diving in, ensure your development environment is ready:

These tools will help you write, test, and run your scripts smoothly.

Method 1: Manual Signing with Python Requests

The manual signing method gives you full control over how API requests are constructed. It’s ideal for learning how APIs authenticate requests under the hood.

Step 1: Install Required Library

Open your terminal and install the requests library:

pip3 install requests

Verify installation:

python3 -c "import requests; print(requests.__version__)"

If a version number appears, you're good to go.

Step 2: Generate Your OKX API Keys

  1. Log in to your OKX account.
  2. Click on your profile icon > API > Create API Key.
  3. Set permissions: Select only "Read account information" for security.

  4. Create a strong passphrase and securely save:

    • API Key
    • Secret Key
    • Passphrase

⚠️ Never expose these keys in public repositories or shared environments.

👉 Learn how to securely manage API credentials with best practices.

Step 3: Write the Balance Checker Script

Create a new folder (e.g., on your desktop) and open VS Code. Create a file named okx_balance.py.

Paste the following code (replace placeholders with your actual keys):

import requests
import time
import hmac
import hashlib

# Replace with your credentials
API_KEY = "your_api_key"
SECRET_KEY = "your_secret_key"
PASSPHRASE = "your_passphrase"

def get_timestamp():
    return str(int(time.time() * 1000))

def sign(message, secret_key):
    mac = hmac.new(
        bytes(secret_key, encoding='utf8'),
        bytes(message, encoding='utf8'),
        hashlib.sha256
    )
    return mac.hexdigest()

url = "https://www.okx.com/join/BLOCKSTARapi/v5/account/balance"
params = ""  # No query parameters for this endpoint
method = "GET"
timestamp = get_timestamp()
message = timestamp + method + "/api/v5/account/balance" + params

signature = sign(message, SECRET_KEY)

headers = {
    "OK-ACCESS-KEY": API_KEY,
    "OK-ACCESS-SIGN": signature,
    "OK-ACCESS-TIMESTAMP": timestamp,
    "OK-ACCESS-PASSPHRASE": PASSPHRASE,
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
}

response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)
print("Current account balance:", response.json())

Run the script:

python3 okx_balance.py

Expected output:

Current account balance: { "code": "0", "msg": "", "data": [...] }

This JSON contains your token balances across all supported assets.

Common Issues & Fixes (Manual Method)

❌ Error 50101: Invalid API Key

Double-check:

❌ Error 50113: Connection or Invalid Signature

This often stems from time synchronization issues. OKX requires your local timestamp to be within 30 seconds of its server time.

✅ Fix: Use OKX's public time endpoint to verify connectivity and sync:

import requests
print(requests.get("https://www.okx.com/join/BLOCKSTARapi/v5/public/time").json())

If this fails, check your firewall or internet connection.

👉 Generate real-time timestamp securely using OKX's public API endpoint.

Method 2: Using OKX Python SDK (Simpler & Cleaner)

The OKX SDK abstracts complex signing logic, making integration faster and less error-prone.

Step 1: Install the OKX SDK

In your terminal:

pip3 install okx
⚠️ If installation fails due to Rust compilation errors, proceed to the fix below.

Step 2: Handle SDK Installation Errors

Some dependencies require Rust compiler (cargo). Install it first:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

Restart your terminal, then retry:

pip3 install okx

Step 3: Write SDK-Based Balance Checker

Create a file sdk_balance.py:

from okx.app import AccountSPOT

# Initialize spot account client
account = AccountSPOT(
    api_key="your_api_key",
    api_secret_key="your_secret_key",
    passphrase="your_passphrase"
)

# Get balance
balance = account.get_account_balance()
print("Account Balance:", balance)

Run:

python3 sdk_balance.py

💡 Note: Earlier versions of OKX SDK allowed from okx import Account, but newer versions organize modules under okx.app. Use AccountSPOT for spot balances and AccountSWAP for derivatives.

To explore available modules, run:

from okx import app
print(dir(app))

This reveals current submodules and prevents import errors.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: Why am I getting an "Invalid Signature" error?

A: This usually means a mismatch in timestamp or incorrect signing process. Ensure:

👉 Validate your API signature format with secure templates.

Q2: Can I use this method on Windows?

A: Yes! As long as Python, pip, and optionally Rust are installed, both methods work across macOS, Linux, and Windows (via Command Prompt or WSL).

Q3: Is it safe to store API keys in Python files?

A: For learning purposes, yes — but never commit them to GitHub. Always use environment variables in production:

import os
API_KEY = os.getenv("OKX_API_KEY")

And set via terminal:

export OKX_API_KEY="your_actual_key"

Q4: What permissions do I need for balance checking?

A: Only "Read account information" permission is required. Avoid granting withdrawal or trading rights unless necessary.

Q5: How often can I call the balance endpoint?

A: OKX allows up to 20 requests per second for most endpoints. For balance checks, staying under 1 request per few seconds is safe and sufficient.

Q6: Can I check futures or margin balances too?

A: Absolutely. Use AccountSWAP from the SDK for perpetual/swaps, or adjust the endpoint URL manually (/api/v5/account/positions) with proper authentication.

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Whether you're exploring automated trading or just want a quick way to monitor holdings, mastering the OKX API opens doors to powerful financial tooling. Start small, test safely, and scale confidently.

👉 Start building your own crypto monitoring tools today with secure API access.