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New Developer Onboarding

Welcome to TradAI! This guide takes you from zero to productive in about 2 hours.

Each phase builds on the previous one. Follow them in order, and by the end you will have a working environment, a completed backtest, a custom strategy, and a solid understanding of the platform architecture.

Phase 1: Environment Setup (30 min)

Get your local development environment running.

  1. Development Setup -- install Python 3.11, UV, just, and pre-commit hooks
  2. Docker Setup -- start services locally with Docker Compose
  3. Run just doctor to verify everything is healthy

Checkpoint

just doctor should report all checks passing before you continue.

Phase 2: Your First Backtest (30 min)

Run a backtest and collect market data so you understand the core workflow.

  1. Your First Backtest -- run a local backtest end-to-end
  2. Collect Market Data -- sync OHLCV data from exchanges into ArcticDB

Checkpoint

You should have backtest results and locally stored market data.

Phase 3: Create a Strategy (30 min)

Scaffold a strategy and learn how to develop one from scratch.

  1. Create a Strategy -- scaffold and run a new strategy
  2. Full Strategy Guide -- LoggerMixin, hyperopt, testing, and validation

Checkpoint

You should have a custom strategy that passes just check.

Phase 4: Understand the Architecture (30 min)

Read the key architecture docs to understand how everything fits together.

  1. System Design -- services, layers, and how they connect
  2. Data Flows -- how market data moves through the system
  3. State Machines -- job lifecycle and status transitions

Phase 5: Development Workflow (Ongoing)

Learn the day-to-day workflow for writing and testing code.

  1. Development Guide -- daily workflow, TDD, and code patterns
  2. Backtesting Guide -- compare runs, export trades, and optimize
  3. Run just check before every commit -- it runs lint, typecheck, and tests

Golden Rule

Never push without a green just check. It catches most issues before CI does.

What's Next?

Now that you are up and running, explore these topics based on your role:

Topic Description
Strategy Lifecycle Full path from strategy idea to production deployment
CI/CD Pipeline How code gets built, tested, and deployed
Validation Guide Strategy validation and quality gates
Deployment Overview Deploying services and infrastructure