Getting Started

This guide will help you get oriented when you first open the AlphaOracle System dashboard.

First-Time Orientation

When you first access the dashboard, you’ll see a dark, terminal-style interface inspired by professional trading platforms (“Bloomberg meets Blade Runner”). The system is designed for clarity and efficiency, with:

  • Dark theme — Void/abyss/surface backgrounds to reduce eye strain
  • High-contrast colors — Cyan for highlights, green for gains, red for losses, amber for warnings
  • Monospace fonts — JetBrains Mono for numbers/data, Outfit for headings
  • Real-time updates — WebSocket connection provides live data without page refreshes

The Four Main Pages

The dashboard is organized into four primary views, accessible via the navigation bar:

1. Portfolio

Your account overview: total equity, cash, positions, P&L, sector allocation, and equity curve.

2. Strategies

Strategy performance rankings, ML signal feed, feature importance, and model monitoring.

3. Risk

PDT guard, position/portfolio limits, circuit breakers, and the kill switch.

4. Trades

Trade history, pending approvals, execution quality, and daily summary.

  • Use this to: Review past trades and approve new orders (in MANUAL_APPROVAL mode)
  • Full documentation

Paper Trading vs. Live Trading

The system operates in one of four autonomy modes:

PAPER_ONLY (Default)

  • All trades are simulated (no real broker connection)
  • No real money at risk
  • Perfect for testing strategies and learning the system
  • Demo data is pre-loaded for exploration

MANUAL_APPROVAL

  • Real broker connection (Interactive Brokers)
  • Every trade requires your explicit approval
  • Orders appear in the Trades page under “Pending Approvals”
  • You can approve or reject each order individually

BOUNDED_AUTONOMOUS

  • Real broker connection
  • Trades execute automatically within pre-configured risk limits
  • Circuit breakers and PDT guard remain active
  • Kill switch available for emergency stops

FULL_AUTONOMOUS

  • Real broker connection
  • Fully automated trading with maximum flexibility
  • Use only after thorough testing and validation
  • Not recommended for most users

Note: Changing autonomy modes requires backend configuration changes. See Configuration Guide for details.

Initial Configuration Checklist

Before using the system with real money, complete these steps:

1. Verify Paper Trading

  • Confirm the dashboard loads successfully
  • Check that demo data appears on all pages
  • Verify real-time updates work (watch for data changes)

2. Review Risk Limits

  • Understand the PDT rule (max 3 day trades per 5 business days)
  • Review position limits on the Risk page
  • Familiarize yourself with circuit breaker conditions

3. Study Strategies

  • Read about each strategy on the Strategies page
  • Click “How it works” buttons to see detailed explanations
  • Review backtest results (equity curves, Sharpe ratio, max drawdown)

4. Practice Manual Approval

  • Switch to MANUAL_APPROVAL mode (requires backend config)
  • Let the system generate signals
  • Practice approving/rejecting orders on the Trades page
  • Review execution quality metrics

5. Test the Kill Switch

  • Locate the kill switch on the Risk page
  • Understand the confirmation process (type “KILL” to activate)
  • Practice activating and deactivating it

6. Configure Broker Connection

  • Set up Interactive Brokers (IBKR) account
  • Configure IB Gateway or TWS (paper trading port: 4002, live: 4001)
  • Verify broker connection health in the backend logs

What to Expect

Real-Time Updates

The dashboard uses WebSockets to push updates from the backend:

  • Portfolio values refresh as market prices change
  • New signals appear in the ML signal feed as they’re generated
  • Risk metrics update when trades execute or positions change

Scheduled Jobs

The system runs several background jobs:

  • Daily (5:00 PM ET, weekdays): Ingest latest market data (OHLCV bars)
  • Weekly (Saturday 6:00 AM): Update fundamental data (earnings, financials)
  • Biweekly (1st & 15th, 7:00 AM): Refresh alternative data (short interest, insider trades)
  • Weekly (Sunday 2:00 AM): Retrain ML models with latest data

Demo Data

In PAPER_ONLY mode, the system uses pre-seeded demo data:

  • Simulated portfolio with $25,000 starting capital
  • Historical backtest results for all strategies
  • Sample trades and positions
  • Synthetic risk metrics

To clear demo data and start fresh: ./scripts/clear_database.sh

Common First-Time Questions

Q: Why do I see “No data available” on some charts? A: Demo data may not cover all time periods. Run the backfill script to load historical data: python scripts/backfill_history.py --years 2 --symbols sp500

Q: How do I know if the system is working? A: Check the WebSocket status in your browser’s network inspector. Look for an active connection to /ws. The dashboard should show the current time in the header (if implemented).

Q: Can I switch strategies on/off? A: Strategy selection is managed in the backend configuration. The dashboard shows which strategies are active and their performance rankings.

Q: What if I don’t understand a term? A: Check the Glossary for definitions of financial and technical terms. Terms are linked throughout the documentation.

Q: How do I get help? A: See the Troubleshooting Guide or report issues at https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues

Next Steps

Once you’re comfortable with the basics:

  1. Read the detailed Dashboard Overview
  2. Explore each page: Portfolio, Strategies, Risk, Trades
  3. Review the Configuration Guide to customize behavior
  4. When ready for live trading, carefully follow the Live Trading Checklist

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