Connect Charles Schwab

Last updated July 3, 2026

Linking Charles Schwab works like any other broker connection, with one important difference: Schwab requires you to reauthorize the connection every 7 days.

All you need is your regular Schwab login. Go to Manage Linked Brokers, click Add/Update Brokerage Link, and choose the Schwab logo. A popup opens on Schwab's own site (allow popups for tradeSteward if it does not appear); log in with your Schwab credentials and approve the connection, then enable the accounts you want to trade. The full flow is covered in Link a Brokerage Account.

After linking, check the Manage Linked Accounts table: each Schwab account should show Link Status Linked and Acct Status OK. If an account is flagged for missing privileges, sign any outstanding Schwab agreements and confirm options approval, then click Refresh Brokerage Accounts.

The 7-day reauthorization

Charles Schwab requires that you reauthorize your connection every 7 days. This is Schwab's policy for all connected services, not a tradeSteward setting. tradeSteward starts reminding you ahead of the deadline:

  • About two days before, a banner appears telling you the exact date and time your authentication expires.
  • Once the connection is at risk, your Schwab rows on the Manage Linked Brokers page show a Tokens Stale warning and a popup asks you to update the connection.

Reauthorizing takes under a minute: click Update your Schwab Connection in the banner or popup, or use Update on the Schwab row of the Manage Linked Brokers page, then log in at Schwab and approve.

The Schwab Token Expiration notice warning that credentials are old and new trades are paused, with an Update Schwab Connection button
The reminder you will see when Schwab credentials get stale: one click starts the reauthorization.
  tradeSteward will not open new Schwab trades if your authentication would expire before the end of the trading day. If the authentication fully expires, open Schwab trades can no longer be managed or monitored, and stop, exit, and profit target orders will not be sent until you reconnect.

Make it part of your routine

Most Schwab users simply reauthorize on the same day each week, for example every Monday before the open. As long as you update the connection within each 7-day window, your bots trade without interruption.

  Why a fixed weekday works: the window is exactly 7 days, so reauthorizing every Monday morning resets the clock before it can ever run out mid-week. Weekends work too, with the advantage that nothing is trading while you do it.

If the connection has already expired, use Reconnect Broker on the Schwab row and approve the link again. See Fix a Disconnected Broker if anything looks stuck afterward.

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