fintel-data

---
name: "fintel-data"
description: "Fintel (fintel.io) is an institutional-grade market intelligence platform. Its strongest datasets are the ones most other providers lack: short interest, borrow rates, short volume, fails-to-deliver, 13F institutional ownership, and insider transactions."
license: "MIT"
---

# Fintel Data Skill

Fintel ([fintel.io](https://fintel.io)) is an institutional-grade market
intelligence platform.
Its strongest datasets are the ones most other providers lack: **short
interest, borrow rates, short volume, fails-to-deliver, 13F institutional
ownership, and insider transactions**.

Fintel exposes two surfaces backed by the same data contract:

| Surface | Endpoint | Auth | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| **REST** | `https://api.fintel.io/v1/*` | `X-API-KEY` header | Default — curl from any CLI agent |
| **MCP** | `https://mcp.fintel.io/mcp` | `X-API-KEY` header | MCP-native clients, tool auto-discovery |

Both require a Fintel API key. **This skill is READ-ONLY** — only call
GET endpoints. The API also exposes write endpoints (create/delete stock
lists, alert subscriptions, teams); do not call them.

---

## Step 1: Resolve FINTEL_API_KEY

The skill resolves `FINTEL_API_KEY` in this order:
1. `FINTEL_API_KEY` environment variable
2. `FINTEL_API_KEY` in `.env` in the current directory
3. `FINTEL_API_KEY` in `.env` at the git repo root (so a worktree inherits the key from the main checkout)

```
!`if [ -n "$FINTEL_API_KEY" ]; then echo "KEY_FROM_ENV_VAR"; elif [ -f .env ] && grep -qE "^FINTEL_API_KEY=" .env; then echo "KEY_FROM_LOCAL_DOTENV:$(pwd)/.env"; else GIT_COMMON=$(git rev-parse --path-format=absolute --git-common-dir 2>/dev/null); if [ -n "$GIT_COMMON" ]; then ROOT=$(dirname "$GIT_COMMON"); if [ -f "$ROOT/.env" ] && grep -qE "^FINTEL_API_KEY=" "$ROOT/.env"; then echo "KEY_FROM_ROOT_DOTENV:$ROOT/.env"; else echo "KEY_NOT_SET"; fi; else echo "KEY_NOT_SET"; fi; fi`
```

Then act on the result:

- `KEY_FROM_ENV_VAR` — use `$FINTEL_API_KEY` directly in curl calls.
- `KEY_FROM_LOCAL_DOTENV:<path>` / `KEY_FROM_ROOT_DOTENV:<path>` — load once before calling:
  ```bash
  export FINTEL_API_KEY=$(grep -E "^FINTEL_API_KEY=" <path> | head -1 | cut -d= -f2- | sed 's/^["'\'']//;s/["'\'']$//')
  ```
- `KEY_NOT_SET` — ask the user for their key. Keys come with a Fintel API
  plan ([fintel.io](https://fintel.io), docs at
  [api.fintel.io/docs](https://api.fintel.io/docs)). They can either
  `export FINTEL_API_KEY="..."` or add `FINTEL_API_KEY=...` to `.env` at
  the repo root (preferred for worktrees).

---

## Step 2: Resolve the Security

Most endpoints are addressed by `{country}/{symbol}` — an ISO country
code plus ticker, e.g. `us/AAPL`. Default to `us` when the user gives
only a ticker.

If the ticker is ambiguous or the user gives a company name, CUSIP,
ISIN, or FIGI, resolve it first:

```bash
# name / ticker / CUSIP / ISIN / FIGI search
curl -s -H "X-API-KEY: $FINTEL_API_KEY" "https://api.fintel.io/v1/securities?query=apple&country=us"
# exact identifier lookup (type: cusip, isin, ticker, id)
curl -s -H "X-API-KEY: $FINTEL_API_KEY" "https://api.fintel.io/v1/identifiers/isin/US0378331005"
```

---

## Step 3: Match the Request to an Endpoint

| User wants | Endpoint | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Short interest, days to cover | `/v1/securities/{country}/{symbol}/short-interest` | Trailing year, NYSE/NASDAQ-reported. Limited availability — must be enabled per account; 403 means not entitled |
| Borrow rate, cost to borrow, shares available | `/v1/securities/{country}/{symbol}/borrow-rate` | Latest securities-lending fee rate, rebate rate, shares available |
| Daily short volume | `/v1/securities/{country}/{symbol}/short-volume` | Trailing year: short, short-exempt, total volume |
| Fails-to-deliver / FTD | `/v1/securities/{country}/{symbol}/fails-to-deliver` | Trailing-year SEC FTD records (US only) |
| Institutional owners / 13F holders | `/v1/securities/{country}/{symbol}/owners` | Current SEC 13F-derived holders |
| Insider transactions / Form 4 | `/v1/securities/{country}/{symbol}/insiders` | SEC Form 3/4/5-derived; `count` param |
| Analyst price targets | `/v1/securities/{country}/{symbol}/price-targets` | High, low, mean, median |
| Analyst buy/hold/sell ratings | `/v1/securities/{country}/{symbol}/analyst-ratings` | Aggregated recommendations |
| Revenue / EPS forecasts | `/v1/securities/{country}/{symbol}/forecast` | Aggregated analyst estimates |
| EOD price history | `/v1/securities/{country}/{symbol}/eod` | `period`: 1m, 3m, 6m, 1y (default), 2y, 3y, 5y, all |
| Latest price + derived stats | `/v1/securities/{country}/{symbol}/last-price` | 52w high/low, WTD/MTD/YTD change; falls back to EOD close with `meta.warnings=["quote_stale"]` |
| Dividend history | `/v1/securities/{country}/{symbol}/dividends` | |
| Earnings history and surprises | `/v1/securities/{country}/{symbol}/earnings` | |
| Upcoming earnings (one stock / market-wide) | `/v1/securities/{country}/{symbol}/calendar/earnings` or `/v1/calendar/earnings` | `from`/`to` ISO dates, default today +7d, max 90d window |
| Upcoming dividends (one stock / market-wide) | `/v1/securities/{country}/{symbol}/calendar/dividends` or `/v1/calendar/dividends` | Same window rules |
| A specific fundamental metric | `/v1/securities/{country}/{symbol}/data-points/{key}` | Discover keys via `/v1/data-definitions?query=...` |
| Top/bottom ranked stocks | `/v1/leaderboards` then `/v1/leaderboards/{key}/entries` | 503 not_available means retry later; `meta.status="beta"` means stub data |
| Security profile, listings, identifier history | `/v1/securities/{country}/{symbol}` | |
| User's watchlists | `/v1/stock-lists`, `/v1/stock-lists/{id}/items` | Also `/insiders`, `/owners`, `/filings` per list |
| User's alerts | `/v1/alerts`, `/v1/alert-messages` | |
| Account / entitlements | `/v1/account` | |

Full parameter details, country/exchange discovery endpoints, and more
curl examples: read `references/api-reference.md`.

---

## Step 4: Call the API

```bash
curl -s -H "X-API-KEY: $FINTEL_API_KEY" \
  "https://api.fintel.io/v1/securities/us/AAPL/short-volume" | python3 -m json.tool
```

- Success responses are JSON; some carry a `meta` object (warnings,
  freshness, status). Surface `meta.warnings` to the user when present.
- Errors return `{"error": {"code": "...", "message": "..."}}` — e.g.
  `unauthorized` (bad/missing key), `403` (dataset not enabled for the
  account, common for short-interest), `503 not_available` (ranking
  service down — retry later, don't treat as empty data).
- Usage is metered per account — batch thoughtfully; don't poll.

---

## Step 5: MCP Alternative (Optional)

For MCP-native setups, the same tools are discoverable from the official
server (tool names like `fintel.get_short_interest`,
`fintel.get_security_owners` — REST parity, same entitlements):

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http fintel https://mcp.fintel.io/mcp --header "X-API-KEY: your_key_here"
```

Prefer REST via curl when shell access is available — it needs no setup
beyond the key. Use MCP when the user explicitly asks for it or shell
access is restricted (note: neither works on Claude.ai's sandbox).

---

## Step 6: Respond to the User

- Format numbers cleanly: prices to 2 decimals, percentages to 1-2
  decimals, share counts with commas or abbreviations (2.3M, 1.1B).
- For short data: contextualize — short interest as % of float, days to
  cover, borrow fee trend direction. High borrow fee + falling shares
  available is the classic squeeze setup; present the data, not a
  prediction.
- For ownership/insiders: use tables (holder, shares, change, date).
  Distinguish buys from sells and option exercises in Form 4 data.
- Note the data source: "Fintel" with dataset provenance (SEC 13F, Form
  3/4/5, NYSE/NASDAQ short reports) when relevant.
- Never turn the data into a trading recommendation, price target, or
  squeeze call — present facts and let the user draw conclusions.

---

## Reference Files

- `references/api-reference.md` — full REST endpoint reference: all GET
  endpoints with parameters, defaults, limits, error semantics, MCP tool
  name mapping, and curl examples.