If you've ever wired a currency converter into a Node.js app, you know the pattern: pick an API, write an HTTP client, handle auth, parse JSON, cache results, build a CLI on top of it. It's a tiny domain that somehow turns into a mini-project.

fx-rates is a small, focused package that collapses that work into one line — both as a library and a CLI — backed by real-time mid-market rates from the AllRatesToday API.

Why fx-rates?

  • ⚡ Real-time rates, not daily snapshots — updated every 60 seconds
  • 🌍 160+ currencies including majors, emerging-market pairs, and precious metals (XAU, XAG)
  • 📦 Zero runtime dependencies — uses native fetch, so no bloated http client
  • 🖥️ Library AND CLI in one package
  • 🔒 Mid-market rates — no retail markup, no hidden spread

Install 

npm install fx-rates

Grab a free API key at allratestoday.com/register — no credit card required — and export it:

export ALLRATESTODAY_API_KEY="art_live_..."

Library usage

Get a rate 

import { rate } from "fx-rates"; const r = await rate("USD", "INR"); console.log(r); // { // date: "2026-04-20", // base: "USD", // target: "INR", // rate: 83.2145 // }

Convert an amount 

import { convert } from "fx-rates"; const out = await convert(100, "USD", "EUR"); console.log(out); // { // from: { currency: "USD", amount: 100 }, // to: { currency: "EUR", amount: 92.34 }, // rate: 0.9234, // date: "2026-04-20" // }

Pass the API key explicitly

Prefer not to rely on environment variables? Pass it in directly:

const r = await rate("USD", "EUR", { apiKey: "art_live_..." });

CLI usage

The same package ships a CLI. After installing (globally or via npx) you can run:

npx fx-rates USD EUR # 1 USD = 0.9234 EUR (2026-04-20) npx fx-rates convert 100 USD EUR # 100 USD = 92.34 EUR (rate: 0.9234, date: 2026-04-20)

Handy for scripts, shell pipelines, and one-off conversions in the terminal.

When fx-rates is the right pick

  • You're building a Node.js service and don't want to take on a heavy HTTP client or a DI-heavy SDK
  • You need a tiny CLI for devops / scripting — budget alerts, invoice scripts, cron jobs that normalize amounts across currencies
  • You want mid-market rates (not retail FX) for accurate analytics, reporting, and financial apps

What fx-rates isn't

It's intentionally not a full SDK. There are no historical time-series endpoints, no conversion batches, no ORM-style client. If you need those, use @allratestoday/sdk — the full-featured official client. fx-rates is the "just the basics" option.

Next steps

If you ship anything cool with it, I'd love to see it — drop a link in the comments.

Written by the team behind AllRatesToday — a free, keyless
exchange rate API with real-time mid-market rates for 160+ currencies and
official central-bank rates from 120+ sources. Browse the API docs or
grab a free key to start building.

Open source: official SDKs for JavaScript, Python, PHP and Rust,
plus an MCP server (@allratestoday/mcp-server) for AI agents.

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