Core Trading Parameters

Core trading parameters define the fundamental aspects of your trade: which exchange, which symbol, what action, and what type of position.

exchange

• Type: string
• Required: No
• Description: Name of the exchange where the trade should be executed

Supported Exchanges

Use the exchange your bot is connected to, for example BINANCE, BYBIT, OKX or ALPACA. Only exchanges you can connect in the OptAlgo app are supported.

Details

The exchange name must match your bot's exchange (case does not matter). If the bot is an auto or multi-symbol bot that has not received a signal yet, the first entry sets the exchange.

Validation

• Exchange name is case-insensitive
• Must match an exchange supported by OptAlgo
• Must match your bot's exchange, for every signal including exits
• Live bots need an active exchange connection in the app (paper bots do not)

Example

{
  "strategy_key": "your_key",
  "exchange": "BINANCE",
  "ticker": "BTCUSDT.P",
  "position_side": "LONG",
  "action": "BUY"
}

Common Errors

Error	Cause	Solution
"Exchange is not supported or not found for name: ..."	Unknown exchange name on an auto bot's first signal	Check spelling
"Exchange not found or does not match with strategy"	Different from the bot's exchange, or missing	Send the bot's exchange in every signal
"Connection not found"	Live bot without an exchange connection	Add the exchange connection in the app

---

ticker

• Type: string
• Required: No
• Description: Trading pair symbol

Symbol Format

Spot Trading:

• Use symbol as-is: "BTCUSDT", "ETHUSDT", "SOLUSDT"

Futures Trading:

• Append .P to symbol: "BTCUSDT.P", "ETHUSDT.P", "SOLUSDT.P"

Auto-Configuration

If your strategy is not yet configured (is_set = False), the first signal automatically sets:

• Symbol from ticker parameter
• Account type (Spot or Futures) based on .P suffix
• Strategy name as {exchange}-{ticker} AUTO CREATED

Validation

• For a single-symbol bot, every signal, exits included, must carry the bot's symbol
• A multi-symbol bot accepts any ticker on its exchange, market type and quote currency (see Multi-symbol bots)
• The symbol must exist on the exchange in the bot's market type

Examples

// Spot trading
{
  "strategy_key": "your_key",
  "exchange": "BINANCE",
  "ticker": "BTCUSDT",
  "position_side": "LONG",
  "action": "BUY"
}

// Futures trading
{
  "strategy_key": "your_key",
  "exchange": "BINANCE",
  "ticker": "BTCUSDT.P",
  "position_side": "LONG",
  "action": "BUY"
}

Common Errors

Error	Cause	Solution
"Signal symbol does not match strategy symbol"	Different from the bot's symbol, or missing	Use the bot's symbol, use one bot per symbol, or use a multi-symbol bot
"Ticker not supported or not found"	Symbol doesn't exist on the exchange	Check exchange listings
"Your signal symbol is belong to ... account type"	Wrong .P suffix for the bot's market type	Add .P for futures, remove it for spot

---

action

• Type: string
• Required: No (required for opening positions)
• Description: Direction of the trade action

Allowed Values

• BUY - Long direction
• SELL - Short direction

Values are case-sensitive: buy is rejected (invalid_action). TradingView's {{strategy.order.action}} placeholder produces lower case, so do not use it for this field.

When Required

The action parameter is required for:

• Opening positions (LONG, SHORT position_side)
• Replacing positions (UPDATE_ORDER, CHANGE_DIRECTION): it gives the new direction

Not required for:

• Closing positions (CLOSE, CLOSE_ALL)
• Moving stop loss (MOVE_STOP_LOSS)
• Validation (VALIDATE_ALERT)

Validation Rules

For opening positions:

• LONG + BUY = Open long position
• SHORT + SELL = Open short position
• LONG and SHORT are rejected unless action is BUY or SELL. Always pair LONG with BUY and SHORT with SELL.

Examples

// Open long position
{
  "strategy_key": "your_key",
  "position_side": "LONG",
  "action": "BUY",
  "entry_price": 50000
}

// Open short position
{
  "strategy_key": "your_key",
  "position_side": "SHORT",
  "action": "SELL",
  "entry_price": 50000
}

// Close position (no action needed)
{
  "strategy_key": "your_key",
  "exchange": "BINANCE",
  "ticker": "BTCUSDT.P",
  "position_side": "CLOSE"
}

---

position_side

• Type: string
• Required: Yes
• Description: Type of position action to take

Overview

The position_side parameter determines what operation to perform. It is case-sensitive: use upper case.

Main Categories

Opening Positions:

• LONG - Open a long position
• SHORT - Open a short position

Closing Positions:

• CLOSE - Close a specific position
• CLOSE_PARTIAL - Close part of a position
• CLOSE_ALL - Close all positions for the strategy

Managing Positions:

• MOVE_STOP_LOSS - Replace the stop-loss and take-profit orders
• SET_ORDERS - MOVE_STOP_LOSS after a delay
• CANCEL_ORDERS - Cancel the stop-loss and/or take-profit
• UPDATE_ORDER - Replace the position (close, then open again)

Advanced:

• CHASE_LIMIT - Chase limit orders
• CHANGE_DIRECTION - Close opposite and open new
• VALIDATE_ALERT - Verify position consistency
• And more...

See Also

For complete documentation on all position types, see:

• Position Types Overview
• Opening Positions
• Closing Positions
• Position Management

Example

{
  "strategy_key": "your_key",
  "exchange": "BINANCE",
  "ticker": "BTCUSDT.P",
  "position_side": "LONG",
  "action": "BUY",
  "entry_price": 50000
}

---

trade_id

• Type: string
• Required: No
• Max length: 36 characters
• Description: Identifier of one trade within a bot

Purpose

When a signal carries a trade_id, it acts on the open trade with that id. Without one, it acts on the bot's open trade.

When to Use

Most TradingView bots hold one position at a time and do not need a trade_id. Leave it out unless you deliberately manage several trades on one bot.

If you use one:

• send the same value on the entry and on all of its exits and stop moves;
• never build it from a value that changes between alerts, such as {{timenow}}. Otherwise the exit cannot find the trade (CLOSE failed, there is no open trade);
• keep it at 36 characters or fewer.

An entry is refused while the bot has an open trade with the same trade_id, or any open trade when no trade_id is used (There is an already open trade).

Examples

// Open position with a trade_id
{
  "strategy_key": "your_key",
  "exchange": "BINANCE",
  "ticker": "BTCUSDT.P",
  "trade_id": "BTC_LONG_001",
  "position_side": "LONG",
  "action": "BUY",
  "leverage": 5
}

// Later, close that trade
{
  "strategy_key": "your_key",
  "exchange": "BINANCE",
  "ticker": "BTCUSDT.P",
  "trade_id": "BTC_LONG_001",
  "position_side": "CLOSE"
}

---

Complete Example

{
  "strategy_key": "your_encrypted_strategy_key",
  "exchange": "BINANCE",
  "ticker": "BTCUSDT.P",
  "action": "BUY",
  "position_side": "LONG",
  "leverage": 5,
  "entry_price": 50000,
  "stop_loss_price": 48000,
  "take_profit_price": 55000
}

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Next Steps

• Pricing Parameters - Entry price, stop loss, take profit
• Position Types - All position_side values
• Examples - Complete working examples