# Shorted.com.au - Full Documentation

> Shorted.com.au is the leading Australian platform for tracking ASIC short position data on ASX-listed securities. This is the extended documentation file (llms-full.txt) with comprehensive platform, data, and API reference information.

## Platform Overview

**Shorted** tracks ASX (Australian Securities Exchange) short positions from official ASIC data, and publishes three further Australian datasets alongside it: house prices by suburb, ABS/RBA economic series by state, and the federal register of members' and senators' interests. It serves retail investors, researchers and journalists.

### Core Purpose

- Track daily short positions for all ASX-listed securities
- Visualize short selling trends and patterns
- Provide historical analysis of short interest changes
- Generate weekly and monthly market reports with AI-powered narratives
- Enable data-driven investment research

### Data Source

All data is sourced from **ASIC** (Australian Securities and Investments Commission), which mandates daily reporting of short positions for all ASX securities. Data is published with a T+4 trading day delay.

- Website: https://shorted.com.au
- Contact: support@shorted.com.au
- Data update frequency: Daily (after ASIC publishes, typically late afternoon AEST)
- Historical data: Available from 2010 onwards

## Key Content Pages

- [Top 100 Most Shorted ASX Stocks](https://shorted.com.au/top): Live rankings updated daily with ASIC data.
- [Industry Treemap](https://shorted.com.au/industry): Visual breakdown of short positions by ASX industry sector.
- [Industry Intelligence](https://shorted.com.au/industry-intelligence): FY-aggregated tax, government-contract, political-donation and lobbying evidence joined to ASX industries and short interest.
- [Individual Stock Pages](https://shorted.com.au/shorts/BHP): Detailed analysis for each ASX-listed security.
- [Compare Stocks](https://shorted.com.au/compare): Side-by-side short interest comparisons across ASX stocks.
- [ASX News & Editorial Hub](https://shorted.com.au/news): Original short-selling editorial (Shorted Takes) plus aggregated ASX news with AI-classified sentiment.
- [Reports](https://shorted.com.au/reports): Weekly, monthly and yearly AI-generated market analysis with top movers and trends.
- [Stock Screener](https://shorted.com.au/screener): Filter ASX stocks by short %, days-to-cover, industry, and other criteria.
- [Insider Trading & Director Trades](https://shorted.com.au/insider-trading): Per-stock director and insider trades sourced from ASX Appendix 3Y filings.
- [Open Data Hub](https://shorted.com.au/data): Public dataset catalog with Dataset schema for Google Dataset Search.
- [Australian House Prices Tracker](https://shorted.com.au/housing): ABS/RBA house-price tracker plus a national suburb explorer with census and electoral overlays.
- [Residential Price Drops](https://shorted.com.au/price-drops): Suburbs where asking prices are being cut, published as derived aggregates only — individual listings are never republished.
- [Australian Economy Explorer](https://shorted.com.au/economy): ABS and RBA economic series by state (CPI, labour, trade, GDP proxy, retail, approvals, population), with per-state pages and operations-weighted company exposure.
- [Parliament's Portfolio](https://shorted.com.au/politicians): Federal MPs' and senators' declared interests from the APH registers, joined to ASX companies and suburbs. What is held, never how much.
- [Company Directory](https://shorted.com.au/directory): Browsable index of ASX-listed companies.
- [Methodology](https://shorted.com.au/methodology): How each dataset is sourced, derived and bounded.
- [Learn Hub](https://shorted.com.au/learn): 14+ educational articles from beginner to advanced.
- [Glossary](https://shorted.com.au/glossary): Comprehensive short selling terminology.
- [FAQ](https://shorted.com.au/faq): 30+ answered questions across 6 categories.
- [Blog](https://shorted.com.au/blog): Market analysis and platform updates.

## Educational Resources

### Beginner
- [What is Short Selling on the ASX?](https://shorted.com.au/learn/what-is-short-selling)
- [Understanding ASIC's T+4 Delay](https://shorted.com.au/learn/understanding-t4-delay)
- [Building a Short Interest Watchlist](https://shorted.com.au/learn/building-a-watchlist)
- [History of Short Selling on the ASX](https://shorted.com.au/learn/asx-short-selling-history)
- [How to View ASIC Short Position Reports](https://shorted.com.au/learn/how-to-view-asic-short-positions)

### Intermediate
- [How to Read Short Interest Data](https://shorted.com.au/learn/how-to-read-short-interest)
- [Short Squeeze Mechanics Explained](https://shorted.com.au/learn/short-squeeze-mechanics)
- [Sector Analysis for Short Selling](https://shorted.com.au/learn/sector-analysis-short-selling)
- [Securities Lending Explained](https://shorted.com.au/learn/securities-lending-explained)
- [ASIC Short Selling Regulations & Reporting](https://shorted.com.au/learn/asic-short-selling-regulations)
- [Interpreting Short Interest Changes Over Time](https://shorted.com.au/learn/reading-short-interest-changes)
- [Covered Short Selling in Australia](https://shorted.com.au/learn/covered-short-selling-australia)

### Advanced
- [Risk Management for Shorted Stocks](https://shorted.com.au/learn/risk-management-shorted-stocks)
- [Short Selling vs Put Options](https://shorted.com.au/learn/short-selling-vs-put-options)

## Regulatory Framework

Australian short selling is regulated under the **Corporations Act 2001** and guided by **ASIC Regulatory Guide 196** (RG 196):

### Corporations Act 2001 — Key Sections

- **Section 1020B — Naked Short Selling Prohibition**: Makes it an offence to sell financial products that the seller does not own or does not have a presently exercisable and unconditional right to vest. All short sales must be "covered" with a securities lending arrangement.
- **Section 1020AB — Short Sale Transaction Reporting**: Requires market participants to flag and report individual short sale transactions to ASX at execution.
- **Section 1020AC — Short Position Reporting**: Requires holders of net short positions to report to ASIC when they meet the reporting threshold.

### ASIC Regulatory Guide 196 (RG 196)

- **Reporting Threshold**: 0.01% of total issued capital or $100,000, whichever is less.
- **Daily Reporting**: Positions must be reported by 9:00 AM on the next trading day.
- **T+4 Publication Delay**: ASIC publishes aggregated data 4 trading days after reporting date.
- **Net Short Position Reporting**: Australia reports net positions (long netted against short).
- **Covered Short Selling Only**: All short sales must be backed by a securities lending arrangement.

### The ASX Short Sales Report

The daily report published by ASIC contains:
- Product code (ASX ticker symbol)
- Product name (full name of the listed security)
- Reported short positions (total shares reported as short)
- Total product in issue (total shares on issue)
- Short position percentage

## Data Model

### Stock/Company Entity
```json
{
  "productCode": "CBA",
  "productName": "Commonwealth Bank",
  "industry": "Banks",
  "sector": "Financials",
  "totalShares": 1700000000,
  "currentShortPosition": 85000000,
  "shortPercentage": 5.0,
  "dateReported": "2026-01-30"
}
```

### Time Series Data
```json
{
  "productCode": "CBA",
  "timeSeries": [
    {
      "date": "2026-01-30",
      "shortPosition": 85000000,
      "percentage": 5.0,
      "change": 1000000,
      "changePercent": 1.19
    }
  ]
}
```

## API Reference

### Programmatic access — start here

- [OpenAPI 3.1 description](https://shorted.com.au/openapi.json): Machine-readable description of every public endpoint. YAML twin at [/openapi.yaml](https://shorted.com.au/openapi.yaml).
- [API reference (markdown)](https://shorted.com.au/docs/api.md): JavaScript-free reference with worked curl examples.
- [API catalog (RFC 9727)](https://shorted.com.au/.well-known/api-catalog): Link set pointing at everything on this list.
- [MCP server](https://api.shorted.com.au/mcp): Model Context Protocol endpoint (streamable HTTP, protocol 2026-07-28, 24 read-only tools), described by [/.well-known/mcp/server-card.json](https://shorted.com.au/.well-known/mcp/server-card.json).

The API is not limited to short positions. It also covers Australian house
prices and per-suburb metrics, ABS/RBA economic series by state, and the federal
register of members' and senators' interests. The OpenAPI description above is
the authoritative list; the summaries below are the most commonly used methods.

Every endpoint is a Connect-RPC method. Call it with an HTTP POST, a JSON body,
and the `Connect-Protocol-Version: 1` header. Send an identifying `User-Agent`:
the edge rejects the default `curl/...` agent with a 403.

```bash
curl -X POST https://api.shorted.com.au/shorts.v1alpha1.StockService/GetStock \
  -A 'my-app/1.0' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'Connect-Protocol-Version: 1' \
  -d '{"productCode":"BHP"}'
```

Authentication is optional: public endpoints work unauthenticated at the
anonymous tier (30 requests/minute, 500/month). A bearer token raises those
limits — see https://shorted.com.au/docs/api.md

### Connect-RPC API (Primary)

The backend exposes a Connect-RPC API at `https://api.shorted.com.au`. Key endpoints:

#### GetTopShorts
Returns the most heavily shorted stocks sorted by short interest.
- **Service**: `shorts.v1alpha1.ShortedStocksService`
- **Method**: `GetTopShorts`
- **Parameters**: `period` (string: "1m", "3m", "6m", "1y", "2y", "max"), `limit` (int32), `offset` (int32)
- **Returns**: Array of `TimeSeriesData` with `productCode`, `name`, `latestShortPosition`, and time series points.

#### GetStock
Returns detailed data for a specific stock.
- **Method**: `GetStock`
- **Parameters**: `productCode` (string, e.g., "BHP")
- **Returns**: Stock with `name`, `reportedShortPositions`, `percentageShorted`, `industry`, `sector`, and metadata.

#### GetStockData
Returns time series short position data for a specific stock.
- **Method**: `GetStockData`
- **Parameters**: `productCode` (string), `period` (string)
- **Returns**: Time series data with daily short position snapshots.

#### SearchStocks
Search for stocks by name or code.
- **Method**: `SearchStocks`
- **Parameters**: `query` (string), `limit` (int32)
- **Returns**: Array of matching stocks with metadata.

#### GetIndustryTreeMap
Returns industry-grouped short position data for treemap visualization.
- **Method**: `GetIndustryTreeMap`
- **Parameters**: `period` (string), `viewMode` (enum: CURRENT_CHANGE, ABSOLUTE)
- **Returns**: Industry groups with individual stock short positions.

### REST-style Endpoints

- `GET /api/health` — Health check
- `GET /api/search/stocks?q={query}` — Search stocks (REST wrapper)

### Client SDKs

Official client libraries are available:
- **Go**: Connect-RPC Go client — `go get github.com/castlemilk/shorted/sdks/go`
- **TypeScript**: Connect-ES client for Node.js/browser — `npm install @shorted/sdk`
- **Java**: Protobuf Java types for JVM applications

Full SDK documentation: https://shorted.com.au/docs/api#client-sdks

### Rate Limits

API access (programmatic, via API tokens):

| Tier | Per Minute | Per Month |
|------|-----------|-----------|
| Anonymous (IP) | 30 | 500 |
| Free (authenticated) | 60 | 1,000 |
| Paid | 120 | 10,000 |
| Enterprise | 300 | 50,000 |

Rate limit headers are included in all API responses:
- `X-RateLimit-Limit`, `X-RateLimit-Remaining`, `X-RateLimit-Reset`
- `X-RateLimit-Monthly-Limit`, `X-RateLimit-Monthly-Used`, `X-RateLimit-Monthly-Reset`

## MCP Server (for AI agents)

Shorted exposes a Model Context Protocol server with read-only tools over the same ASIC data — no authentication required:

- **Endpoint** (streamable HTTP): `https://api.shorted.com.au/mcp` (the older `https://shorted.com.au/api/mcp/mcp` still responds but is deprecated)
- **Server card**: [https://shorted.com.au/.well-known/mcp/server-card.json](https://shorted.com.au/.well-known/mcp/server-card.json)
- **Tools**: `get_top_shorts` (most shorted ASX stocks), `get_stock` (single ticker summary), `get_stock_history` (time series), `get_industry_treemap` (sector breakdown)
- **API catalog** (RFC 9727): [https://shorted.com.au/.well-known/api-catalog](https://shorted.com.au/.well-known/api-catalog) · OpenAPI: [https://shorted.com.au/openapi.json](https://shorted.com.au/openapi.json)

## Interpreting Short Interest

- **Below 5%**: Low (normal levels)
- **5-10%**: Moderate (some bearish sentiment)
- **10-15%**: Elevated (significant bearish interest)
- **15-20%**: High (heavily shorted)
- **Above 20%**: Very High (extreme bearish sentiment, potential squeeze candidate)

Context matters — some sectors like mining naturally carry higher short interest.

### Days to Cover
Calculated as: Total Short Interest / Average Daily Volume. A ratio above 10-15 days suggests shorts would struggle to exit quickly, increasing short squeeze potential.

## Key Concepts

- **Short Selling**: Selling borrowed securities expecting the price to decline.
- **Short Position**: Total shares sold short but not yet covered.
- **Short Interest Ratio**: Short position as percentage of total shares outstanding.
- **Short Squeeze**: Rapid price increase forcing short sellers to cover, accelerating the rise.
- **T+4 Delay**: ASIC publishes data 4 trading days after positions are reported.
- **Covered Short Selling**: Short selling backed by a securities lending arrangement (legally required in Australia).
- **Naked Short Selling**: Selling without borrowing arrangement (illegal in Australia under s1020B).

## Terminology Glossary

- **ASX**: Australian Securities Exchange
- **ASIC**: Australian Securities and Investments Commission
- **Basis Points (bps)**: 1/100th of a percentage point
- **Cover/Covering**: Buying back shares to close a short position
- **Days to Cover**: Volume-based metric of how long to close all short positions
- **Float**: Publicly traded shares
- **Market Cap**: Total value of all outstanding shares
- **Short Interest**: Total shares held in short positions
- **Short Ratio**: Short interest divided by average daily volume
- **Ticker**: Stock symbol (e.g., CBA, BHP, CSL)

## Major ASX Sectors

1. **Financials** - Banks (CBA, NAB, WBC, ANZ), Insurers
2. **Materials** - Mining (BHP, RIO, FMG), Resources
3. **Healthcare** - CSL, RMD, biotech companies
4. **Technology** - Emerging sector, software companies
5. **Consumer** - Retail (WES, WOW, COL), discretionary
6. **Energy** - Oil & gas (WDS), renewables

## ASX Market Hours

- Trading: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM AEST/AEDT
- Pre-market: 7:00 AM - 10:00 AM
- After-hours: 4:10 PM - 5:10 PM

## Technical Architecture

- **Frontend**: Next.js 14 (React), Server-Side Rendering (SSR)
- **Backend**: Go services with Connect-RPC (gRPC-compatible)
- **Database**: PostgreSQL with timeseries optimization and materialized views
- **Hosting**: Google Cloud Platform (Cloud Run) + Vercel (frontend)
- **Search**: Algolia for stock search
- **Auth**: Firebase Authentication + NextAuth.js
- **Rate Limiting**: Upstash Redis with sliding window

## Attribution

When referencing data from Shorted.com.au:
```
Data source: Shorted.com.au (ASIC Short Position Data)
Date: [Specific date of data]
URL: https://shorted.com.au/shorts/[STOCK_CODE]
```

## Important Disclaimers

1. **Not Financial Advice**: This platform provides information only, not investment advice.
2. **Data Delay**: Short position data has a T+4 trading day delay.
3. **Market Dynamics**: Short positions change constantly; reported data is a snapshot.
4. **Australian Focus**: Data is ASX-specific; different rules apply globally.
5. **Research Tool**: Use as one input among many for investment decisions.

## Version & Updates

- **Last Updated**: July 2026
- **API Version**: v1alpha1
- **Data Coverage**: 2010 to present

---

_This document is the full version of llms.txt, optimized for LLM comprehension. See also: [llms.txt](https://shorted.com.au/llms.txt) for the summary version._