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Getting Started

Your first steps in the StrategyLab platform

schedule5 min readBeginner

What is StrategyLab?

StrategyLab is a powerful platform that helps you trade stocks smarter using automated strategies. Think of it as your personal trading assistant that never sleeps - it can analyze markets, test strategies, and even trade on your behalf.

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Why Automated Trading?

Manual trading is emotional and time-consuming. Automated strategies follow rules consistently, removing fear and greed from the equation. They can also monitor multiple stocks simultaneously, something impossible for humans.

Understanding the Dashboard

When you first log in, you'll see the Dashboard - your command center for everything. Here's what each section does:

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Account Summary
Your current balance and overall performance
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Performance Chart
Visual graph of how your portfolio is doing
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Market Watch
Live prices of stocks you're watching
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Recent Trades
Your latest buy and sell orders
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Volume Alerts
Notifications when unusual trading activity happens

Setting Up Your Watchlist

Your watchlist is a collection of stocks you want to monitor. The platform will track their prices and alert you when interesting things happen (like unusual trading volume).

How to add stocks:

  1. Go to the Watchlist page from the sidebar
  2. Use the search bar to find stocks (try "AAPL" for Apple)
  3. Click the + button to add it to your watchlist
  4. You can also add all popular stocks at once using "Add All Popular"
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Pro Tip

Start with 5-10 stocks you know. Too many stocks can be overwhelming when you're learning. Popular choices for beginners: AAPL, TSLA, MSFT, GOOGL, AMZN.

Your First Backtest

Before risking real money, you should test your strategy on historical data. This is called backtesting. It shows you how your strategy would have performed in the past.

Quick Backtest Steps:

  1. Go to Backtesting from the sidebar
  2. Select a stock (e.g., AAPL)
  3. Choose a strategy (start with "SMA Crossover" - it's beginner-friendly)
  4. Set a date range (try the last 6 months)
  5. Click Run Backtest
  6. Review the results - did it make or lose money?
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Important

Past performance doesn't guarantee future results. A strategy that worked before might not work tomorrow. That's why we test multiple scenarios.

Running Your First Experiment

Experiments let you test strategies with virtual money in real-time. It's like a trading simulator - you see exactly how your strategy performs without risking actual money.

Creating an Experiment:

  1. Go to Bot Experiments from the sidebar
  2. Click Create Experiment
  3. Give it a name (e.g., "My First Test")
  4. Set your virtual capital (e.g., $10,000)
  5. Add one or more trading bots with different strategies
  6. Start the experiment and watch it trade in real-time

Virtual vs Real Trading

Our platform supports two modes of trading:

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Virtual Trading

  • • Uses simulated money
  • • No real financial risk
  • • Perfect for learning
  • • Test strategies safely
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Real Trading

  • • Uses actual money
  • • Real profits and losses
  • • For experienced users
  • • Requires Alpaca account
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Recommendation

Always start with virtual trading. Run experiments for at least a few weeks before considering real money. Even experienced traders test new strategies virtually first.

bookmarkKey Takeaways

  • check_circleThe Dashboard is your command center - check it daily
  • check_circleBuild a watchlist of 5-10 stocks you understand
  • check_circleAlways backtest strategies before using them
  • check_circleUse virtual trading to learn without risk
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