Dry Run Mode
Dry Run mode lets you test bot behavior without actually placing orders. It’s like a rehearsal — the bot goes through all its normal steps but stops short of sending orders to the broker.
What is Dry Run?
When dry run is enabled:
- The bot scans the market as normal
- It evaluates strategies and finds opportunities
- It calculates what orders it would place
- It logs everything as if it were trading
- But no actual orders are sent to the broker
Where to Find It
Dry Run is located in the Close Debug section at the bottom of the Controls Panel:
- Scroll to the bottom of the right-side Controls Panel
- Look for the “Close Debug” section
- Check the “Dry Run” checkbox
When to Use Dry Run
Testing a New Strategy
Before going live with a new strategy:
- Create the strategy and enable it
- Enable Dry Run mode
- Start the bot
- Watch the Activity Log to see what the bot would trade
- Once you’re satisfied, disable Dry Run and let it trade for real
Testing Close Behavior
Dry Run for closes specifically:
- Check the “Dry Run” box in Close Debug
- Try closing a position — the bot simulates the close without actually executing it
- Check the debug output to see what would have happened
After Making Changes
If you’ve significantly changed strategy settings, run in dry mode for a session to make sure the bot behaves as expected before committing real orders.
Paper Trading vs Dry Run
These are different concepts:
| Feature | Paper Trading (ENV: PAPER) | Dry Run |
|---|---|---|
| Orders sent | Yes — to a simulated broker | No — orders are not sent at all |
| Positions created | Yes — simulated positions appear | No — nothing actually opens |
| P&L tracked | Yes — simulated P&L | No — no positions to track |
| Best for | Full end-to-end testing with simulated results | Quick validation of strategy logic |
💡 Tip: Paper trading is for full testing (days/weeks). Dry Run is for quick checks (minutes/hours). Use paper trading when you want to see full position lifecycle; use Dry Run when you just want to verify the bot’s decision-making.
Debug Mode
Next to Dry Run, there’s a Debug checkbox. When enabled:
- More detailed logs are generated for each action
- Close operations produce JSON debug output
- You can copy this debug data with the “Copy Debug JSON” button
This is mainly useful if something is going wrong with closes and you need to understand exactly what’s happening behind the scenes.
Testing API Connectivity
The “Test Edge” button sends a ping to the trading API and reports whether the connection is healthy:
- ✅ “Edge OK” — API is reachable and responding
- ❌ Error message — Something is wrong with the connection
Use this if you suspect connectivity issues are affecting trading.