FSD – Basic Template of a Strategy

Before we create a strategy, it’s important to know the basic template of a strategy, especially the important parts. Below is a template of a basic strategy

from freqtrade.strategy import IStrategy
from pandas import DataFrame
import talib.abstract as ta

class strat_template (IStrategy):
	def version(self) -> str:
		return "template-v1"
	
	INTERFACE_VERSION = 3
	
	minimal_roi = {
		"0": 0.05
	}
	
	stoploss = -0.05
	timeframe = '15m'
	process_only_new_candles = True
	startup_candle_count = 999
	
	def populate_indicators(self, dataframe: DataFrame, metadata: dict) -> DataFrame:
		return dataframe
	
	def populate_entry_trend(self, dataframe: DataFrame, metadata: dict) -> DataFrame:
		dataframe['enter_long'] = 0
		return dataframe
		
	def populate_exit_trend(self, dataframe: DataFrame, metadata: dict) -> DataFrame:
		return dataframe

Short explanations for each lines

• Line 1-3 : lines to import libraries, modules, or classes needed to be used in the strategy
• Line 6-7 : place where you can specify version string of current strategy class. It’s optional.
• Line 11-13 : minimal roi to be used by the strategy. Read here for better explanation
• Line 15 : hard stoploss to be set. Read here for better explanation
• Line 16 : timeframe used by the strategy. Read here for better explanation
• Line 18 : number of past candles needed to calculate indicators. Read here for better explanation
• Line 20 : where you calculate indicators. Read here for more info
• Line 23 : where you check for entry signal. Read here for more info
• Line 27 : where you check for exit signal. Read here for more info