CLI Configuration

The CLI is driven by a JSON config file. tradectl init generates a starter; tradectl config validate and tradectl run --dry-run check it.

Strategy config files

{
    "api": {
        "provider": "Binance",
        "key": "",
        "secret": ""
    },
    "limits": {
        "maxLossLimit": 50
    },
    "db": {
        "path": "./data/orders.db"
    },
    "log": {
        "path": "./logs",
        "mode": "console_file",
        "level": "info"
    },
    "monitor": {
        "host": "0.0.0.0",
        "port": 9100
    },
    "telegram": {
        "botToken": "",
        "chatId": ""
    },
    "mcp": {
        "enabled": false,
        "host": "127.0.0.1",
        "port": 9101
    },
    "strats": [
        {
            "name": "my_strategy-01",
            "type": "my_strategy",
            "marketType": "LINEAR",
            "isEmulator": true,
            "pairs": ["BTCUSDT"],
            "leverage": 10,
            "order_size": 0.001
        }
    ]
}

Top-level fields

Field	Type	Description
api.provider	string	Binance, Bybit, OKX, Hyperliquid, HTX, Gate, Bitget, Paper, or Replay
api.key	string	Exchange API key (or API wallet address for Hyperliquid)
api.secret	string	Exchange API secret (or API wallet private key for Hyperliquid)
api.passphrase	string	Required for OKX and Bitget
limits.maxLossLimit	number	Hourly max loss (USD) — strategy stops if breached
db.path	string	Local SQLite path for order persistence
log.path	string	Log directory
log.mode	string	console, file, or console_file
log.level	string	debug, info, warn, error
monitor.host / monitor.port	string / number	MonitorBroadcaster bind (default 0.0.0.0:9100)
lab.enable / lab.bind	bool / string	The Lab's connection port (default 9103). "bind": "0.0.0.0" lets a Lab on another machine connect
telegram.botToken / telegram.chatId	string	Telegram notifications + command bot
mcp	object	Embedded MCP server — see MCP Server
ai	object	Telegram AI agent — see Telegram AI Agent
strats	array	Strategy instances

Strategy entries (strats[])

Field	Type	Description
name	string	Unique instance name (used in logs and status)
type	string	Strategy type — must match declare_strategy!("...")
marketType	string	LINEAR, INVERSE, or SPOT
isEmulator	boolean	true for paper, false for live
pairs	string[]	Trading pairs
leverage	number	Per-strategy leverage
direction	string	Optional — LONG, SHORT, or BOTH

Any additional fields are passed to the strategy as Params. Sessions activate when session_profit_max, session_profit_min, or session_strat_max is present. Triggers activate when a triggers block is present. Pair selection activates when a pairSelector block is present. Shadow optimization activates when a shadow block is present.

Validate

tradectl config validate config.json
tradectl run my-bot -c config.json --dry-run

--dry-run additionally loads the strategy plugin to verify the ABI matches the runner.

Environment variables

Variable	Default	Description
TRADECTL_API_URL	https://tradectl.com	Platform API base URL
TRADECTL_DOWNLOAD_URL	GitHub Releases	Override binary download location
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY / OPENAI_API_KEY	—	LLM providers for the Telegram AI agent
RUST_LOG	—	Override the runner's log level