Configuration

Credentials live in config.py, which is gitignored so your keys are never committed. Create it from the template:

cp config_example.py config.py

config.py

APCA_API_KEY_ID = "<your key id>"
APCA_API_SECRET_KEY = "<your secret>"

# Keep this True until you are absolutely sure you want to trade real money.
PAPER_TRADE = True

Get paper keys from the Alpaca dashboard under Paper Account → API Keys.

Paper vs. live

PAPER_TRADE selects the Alpaca endpoint. Leave it True while learning — every live run then trades against the paper account with no real money at risk.

Run-time options

Everything else (symbols, dates, capital, strategy, scanner) is passed per run on the command line or via Make variables — nothing else needs editing:

make backtest SYMBOLS=AAPL,MSFT START=2024-06-01 END=2024-09-01 CAPITAL=50000

See the individual workflow pages for the full option list.