Start the bot¶
This page explains the different parameters of the bot and how to run it.
Note
If you've used setup.sh, don't forget to activate your virtual environment (source .env/bin/activate) before running freqtrade commands.
Up-to-date clock
The clock on the system running the bot must be accurate, synchronized to a NTP server frequently enough to avoid problems with communication to the exchanges.
Bot commands¶
``` usage: freqtrade [-h] [-V] {trade,create-userdir,new-config,new-hyperopt,new-strategy,download-data,convert-data,convert-trade-data,backtesting,edge,hyperopt,hyperopt-list,hyperopt-show,list-exchanges,list-hyperopts,list-markets,list-pairs,list-strategies,list-timeframes,show-trades,test-pairlist,plot-dataframe,plot-profit} ...
Free, open source crypto trading bot
positional arguments: {trade,create-userdir,new-config,new-hyperopt,new-strategy,download-data,convert-data,convert-trade-data,backtesting,edge,hyperopt,hyperopt-list,hyperopt-show,list-exchanges,list-hyperopts,list-markets,list-pairs,list-strategies,list-timeframes,show-trades,test-pairlist,plot-dataframe,plot-profit} trade Trade module. create-userdir Create user-data directory. new-config Create new config new-hyperopt Create new hyperopt new-strategy Create new strategy download-data Download backtesting data. convert-data Convert candle (OHLCV) data from one format to another. convert-trade-data Convert trade data from one format to another. backtesting Backtesting module. edge Edge module. hyperopt Hyperopt module. hyperopt-list List Hyperopt results hyperopt-show Show details of Hyperopt results list-exchanges Print available exchanges. list-hyperopts Print available hyperopt classes. list-markets Print markets on exchange. list-pairs Print pairs on exchange. list-strategies Print available strategies. list-timeframes Print available timeframes for the exchange. show-trades Show trades. test-pairlist Test your pairlist configuration. plot-dataframe Plot candles with indicators. plot-profit Generate plot showing profits.
optional arguments: -h, --help show this help message and exit -V, --version show program's version number and exit
```
Bot trading commands¶
``` usage: freqtrade trade [-h] [-v] [--logfile FILE] [-V] [-c PATH] [-d PATH] [--userdir PATH] [-s NAME] [--strategy-path PATH] [--db-url PATH] [--sd-notify] [--dry-run] [--dry-run-wallet DRY_RUN_WALLET]
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
--db-url PATH Override trades database URL, this is useful in custom
deployments (default: sqlite:///tradesv3.sqlite for
Live Run mode, sqlite:///tradesv3.dryrun.sqlite for
Dry Run).
--sd-notify Notify systemd service manager.
--dry-run Enforce dry-run for trading (removes Exchange secrets
and simulates trades).
--dry-run-wallet DRY_RUN_WALLET, --starting-balance DRY_RUN_WALLET
Starting balance, used for backtesting / hyperopt and
dry-runs.
Common arguments:
-v, --verbose Verbose mode (-vv for more, -vvv to get all messages).
--logfile FILE Log to the file specified. Special values are:
'syslog', 'journald'. See the documentation for more
details.
-V, --version show program's version number and exit
-c PATH, --config PATH
Specify configuration file (default:
userdir/config.json or config.json whichever
exists). Multiple --config options may be used. Can be
set to - to read config from stdin.
-d PATH, --datadir PATH
Path to directory with historical backtesting data.
--userdir PATH, --user-data-dir PATH
Path to userdata directory.
Strategy arguments: -s NAME, --strategy NAME Specify strategy class name which will be used by the bot. --strategy-path PATH Specify additional strategy lookup path.
```
How to specify which configuration file be used?¶
The bot allows you to select which configuration file you want to use by means of
the -c/--config command line option:
bash
freqtrade trade -c path/far/far/away/config.json
Per default, the bot loads the config.json configuration file from the current
working directory.
How to use multiple configuration files?¶
The bot allows you to use multiple configuration files by specifying multiple
-c/--config options in the command line. Configuration parameters
defined in the latter configuration files override parameters with the same name
defined in the previous configuration files specified in the command line earlier.
For example, you can make a separate configuration file with your key and secret for the Exchange you use for trading, specify default configuration file with empty key and secret values while running in the Dry Mode (which does not actually require them):
bash
freqtrade trade -c ./config.json
and specify both configuration files when running in the normal Live Trade Mode:
bash
freqtrade trade -c ./config.json -c path/to/secrets/keys.config.json
This could help you hide your private Exchange key and Exchange secret on you local machine by setting appropriate file permissions for the file which contains actual secrets and, additionally, prevent unintended disclosure of sensitive private data when you publish examples of your configuration in the project issues or in the Internet.
See more details on this technique with examples in the documentation page on configuration.
Where to store custom data¶
Freqtrade allows the creation of a user-data directory using freqtrade create-userdir --userdir someDirectory.
This directory will look as follows:
user_data/
├── backtest_results
├── data
├── hyperopts
├── hyperopt_results
├── plot
└── strategies
You can add the entry "user_data_dir" setting to your configuration, to always point your bot to this directory.
Alternatively, pass in --userdir to every command.
The bot will fail to start if the directory does not exist, but will create necessary subdirectories.
This directory should contain your custom strategies, custom hyperopts and hyperopt loss functions, backtesting historical data (downloaded using either backtesting command or the download script) and plot outputs.
It is recommended to use version control to keep track of changes to your strategies.
How to use --strategy?¶
This parameter will allow you to load your custom strategy class.
To test the bot installation, you can use the SampleStrategy installed by the create-userdir subcommand (usually user_data/strategy/sample_strategy.py).
The bot will search your strategy file within user_data/strategies.
To use other directories, please read the next section about --strategy-path.
To load a strategy, simply pass the class name (e.g.: CustomStrategy) in this parameter.
Example:
In user_data/strategies you have a file my_awesome_strategy.py which has
a strategy class called AwesomeStrategy to load it:
bash
freqtrade trade --strategy AwesomeStrategy
If the bot does not find your strategy file, it will display in an error message the reason (File not found, or errors in your code).
Learn more about strategy file in Strategy Customization.
How to use --strategy-path?¶
This parameter allows you to add an additional strategy lookup path, which gets checked before the default locations (The passed path must be a directory!):
bash
freqtrade trade --strategy AwesomeStrategy --strategy-path /some/directory
How to install a strategy?¶
This is very simple. Copy paste your strategy file into the directory
user_data/strategies or use --strategy-path. And voila, the bot is ready to use it.
How to use --db-url?¶
When you run the bot in Dry-run mode, per default no transactions are
stored in a database. If you want to store your bot actions in a DB
using --db-url. This can also be used to specify a custom database
in production mode. Example command:
bash
freqtrade trade -c config.json --db-url sqlite:///tradesv3.dry_run.sqlite
Next step¶
The optimal strategy of the bot will change with time depending of the market trends. The next step is to Strategy Customization.