Quickstart — install, learn and configure Ballast

Welcome! This is your own copy of Ballast Terminal — a trading terminal that runs your configured rules on your own computer, connected to your own accounts. Funds remain with your brokers; review each connection's permissions and the app's privacy controls.

1. Install (once)

Install Python from https://www.python.org/downloads/ — in the installer,

tick "Add python.exe to PATH".

Unzip this folder into a local, private folder outside OneDrive or other

shared/cloud folders. New private data defaults to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Ballast\data.

Double-click Start Ballast.pyw. First run opens a visible setup

helper; later launches run without a console and open http://127.0.0.1:8600. Use Start Ballast.bat if Windows has not associated .pyw files with Python.

Automatic startup is optional and off by default. Choose it in System

if you want Ballast to start at Windows sign-in. Closing the app window leaves the bot running; use Stop bot for scheduled trading or System → Quit Ballast to exit the background engine too.

Open 📘 Guide for the modular course. Choose any topic and lesson,

see estimated minutes, and mark lessons complete to save your progress. The full starting curriculum is 24 lessons across eight modules, about 67 minutes; you can stop and resume whenever you want.

Review System → Private data. Older program-folder ledgers can move

through the app's Move private data action, which verifies the copy, preserves originals and restarts with STOP engaged for review. See Private data and migration.

2. Connect your accounts (System tab)

Robinhood: in the Robinhood app, enable an *agentic* account

(Investing → Agentic). Select the account you intend Ballast to manage. Equity trading is limited to that chosen account; Robinhood Crypto uses a separate connection and may share your main crypto account. Click Connect Robinhood on System and approve in your browser.

Pick your trading account from the dropdown that appears (only

agentic-enabled accounts are selectable).

Anthropic API key (console.anthropic.com → API Keys): powers the

supported AI news checks. Review current provider prices and spending limits. The bot refuses to trade live without it.

Optional extras (provider terms and costs vary; guides on System): phone push alerts

via ntfy.sh, extra news sources, Coinbase read-only view.

3. Make it yours

Watchlist (System tab): what the bot trades. Ships with a labeled

SAMPLE — broad index ETFs (SPY QQQ DIA IWM) — which is a starting point, not a recommendation: review it and make it yours. Add any ticker with a dip tier (1 = calm/conviction, 3 = wild/speculative) and a 1-5★ conviction.

Core assets (Finance tab): your long-term sleeve list and dividend

target. Change the symbols to your own.

Strategy settings (System tab): entries, exits, circuit

breakers, position sizing, crisis mode. Every slider has an ⓘ explaining what it does and what moving it changes. Hard safety bounds are enforced in code.

Backtest (System tab): simulate supported saved settings on daily

history. Read the limitations and hypothetical-performance disclosure; it does not exactly replay the live engine or predict returns.

4. Paper first, then live

The bot starts in paper mode: simulated money. Equity quotes may also be synthetic without broker access. Use the Paper Trading tab to set any starting amount ($1,000, $10,000...). The System checklist is advisory; paper results do not establish live performance. The bot's live switch requires typing GO LIVE. The STOP file prevents subsequent cycles, including automated exits; it does not interrupt an active cycle or cancel orders already sent. Review those at the broker.

Read DISCLAIMER.md before going live. This is your money and your configuration — trade only what you can afford to lose.

Troubleshooting

Setup window shows an error → resolve the message and rerun Start Ballast.bat.
Dashboard not loading → reopen Start Ballast.pyw. Server errors are recorded

in launcher.log under the private data directory shown in System.

Older startup task flashes a console → save your choice under System's

Automatic startup control to replace/remove the legacy watchdog registration. See Windows startup and recovery.

Bot does nothing → inspect the decision log (Trading Bot tab) for actions,

unmet triggers and blocked entries. Equity sessions and enabled 24/7 crypto trading follow different schedules.