Providers
Providers connect DataCat to market-data services. Their authentication, symbols, timeframes, limits, omission behavior, and finality rules differ, but DataCat normalizes their output into the same core dataset model.
Provider configurations
Provider is the generic DataCat term. An account-backed Provider such as CoinAPI may be described as a Provider Account because it uses your provider credentials. Binance Global Spot is an authentication-free Provider configuration, not a Binance account connection.
Provider credentials remain on your Mac. DataCat does not operate a centralized market-data backend or share credentials between users. A DataCat subscription unlocks DataCat features and limits; it does not include a provider account or a separate market-data license. Binance Global Spot uses public market data made available by Binance and requires no Binance account in DataCat.
Choosing a Provider
DataCat integrates each Provider separately and follows its own authentication, capabilities, limits, missing-data behavior, finality rules, and recovery behavior. Choose based on the exact market coverage, symbols, periods, account terms, quotas, and data behavior you need. Do not choose solely by comparing one bar from each source: Providers can use different source feeds, consolidation timing, venue identity, zero-trade treatment, and correction policies.
| Provider | Access model | Current DataCat scope |
|---|---|---|
| Binance Global Spot | No Binance account or credentials | Public Global Spot Market Data Only |
| CoinAPI | Your own CoinAPI account and credential | Crypto OHLCV across supported venues and symbols |
History and Live data flow
History loads earlier periods. Live receives newly completed bars. History + Live combines both in one Job and one Dataset without intentionally leaving a gap between historical and ongoing data. If Live delivery is interrupted temporarily, DataCat can recover completed periods without changing the Job mode or creating duplicate bars.
Technical details: REST and WebSocket
History uses REST, while primary Live delivery uses WebSocket. In History + Live, DataCat starts Live coverage first and then requests earlier periods through REST. During a recoverable WebSocket interruption, REST fallback can cover completed periods. DataCat matches deliveries by bar opening time so the same bar is not stored twice.
Finality is not the same as bar closure
A closed bar can be written to the Dataset before its provider data is accepted as final. In the bars table, check provider_data_status for the current state of each row:
finalmeans DataCat accepts the provider data as durable under the active policy.pending_finalizationmeans the row still awaits provider-specific confirmation.
The same field can also report provider_omitted or provider_error when usable provider data is unavailable.
Finality timing and confirmation rules differ by Provider. See CoinAPI and Binance Global Spot for the current provider-specific behavior.
Missing periods and provider errors
An absent provider row does not prove that no trades occurred. DataCat records truthful missing input and the provider-specific reason/status instead of synthesizing raw prices.
pending_finalizationmeans the applicable provider check is not complete yet.provider_omittedmeans the provider returned no row after the applicable check.provider_errormeans a localized provider or data request error affected the period or range.
Ordinary provider omission is not always an alarming service failure. The Provider contract determines whether it is automatically recoverable and whether it should appear as an actionable Job issue.
Limits, pacing, and retries
DataCat coordinates requests to stay within known provider constraints, but it cannot observe every request made by other software, devices, or users sharing the same provider account or public IP.
Retry-After, rate-limit backoff, transport reconnect, provider finality, and logical gap recovery are different mechanisms. A Job can wait for any of them without changing its requested mode.
Provider terms and data rights
Your relationship with a Provider remains separate from your DataCat subscription. You are responsible for the provider account, plan, terms, regional availability, and permitted use that apply to your access. DataCat is a local client tool; it does not grant an independent license to third-party market data.
Safe credential handling
Never place credentials in Job names, Indicator Set names, dataset paths, screenshots, support messages, or SQL examples. If you contact support, omit API keys, JWT secrets, authentication headers, and raw provider responses that may contain sensitive context.