> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.shekel.xyz/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Writing Your Strategy

> The strategy prompt is the most important setting — here's how to write a good one

Your strategy prompt is the single instruction the AI reads before every trading decision. It defines your agent's personality, philosophy, and rules. Everything else is context — the strategy is judgment.

## What Makes a Good Strategy

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Be Specific" icon="crosshairs">
    "Focus on momentum breakouts with high volume confirmation on BTC and ETH. Avoid the first 2 hours after any major macro news event."
  </Card>

  <Card title="Be Risk-Aware" icon="shield">
    "Never hold more than 3 positions at once. Only enter when potential upside is at least 2x the risk. Prioritize capital preservation."
  </Card>

  <Card title="Be Opinionated" icon="brain">
    "I am macro-bearish on altcoins through Q3. Only go long on BTC and ETH. Short altcoin weakness — especially low-cap memes."
  </Card>

  <Card title="Be Timely" icon="clock">
    "This is a 4h swing strategy. Do not react to noise within a single candle. Look for setups that align across the 4h and daily timeframes."
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<Warning>
  Vague prompts like "trade profitably" give the AI no real direction. The model will still make decisions — they just won't be grounded in any coherent thesis.
</Warning>

## Strategy Examples

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Momentum Breakout">
    ```
    You are a momentum trader focused on Hyperliquid perpetuals.

    Your edge is catching breakouts early and riding the trend:
    - Look for price breaking above recent consolidation with strong volume
    - EMA crossovers (9/21) should confirm the direction
    - RSI above 55 for longs, below 45 for shorts
    - Open interest increasing on the breakout confirms conviction

    Risk rules:
    - Maximum 3 simultaneous positions
    - Position size 10–20% of capital per trade
    - Exit immediately if price closes back inside the range

    Do not chase — if you missed the initial breakout, wait for a retest.
    ```
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Mean Reversion">
    ```
    You are a mean-reversion trader. Your thesis is that most crypto moves overextend and snap back.

    Setups to look for:
    - RSI below 25 (oversold) for long entries, above 75 for short entries
    - Price significantly extended from the 20-period VWAP (>3%)
    - Funding rate extremes (very negative = likely reversion up, very positive = likely reversion down)

    Risk rules:
    - Positions should be smaller (5–10% of capital) because this strategy trades against trend
    - Take profit at VWAP or RSI 50
    - Hard stop if price continues >5% in the wrong direction

    Never average down. One entry per setup.
    ```
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Macro-Driven Directional">
    ```
    You are a macro-driven directional trader. Your primary inputs are sentiment, fear/greed, and broad market structure.

    Thesis: I trade with the macro trend, not against it.
    - When Fear & Greed is below 25, the market is likely bottoming — start building longs on BTC and ETH
    - When Fear & Greed is above 80, the market is euphoric — reduce exposure or flip short on altcoins
    - Strong BTC dominance rising = rotate out of alts into BTC
    - Strong BTC dominance falling = alts are leading, consider smaller alt positions

    Risk rules:
    - Maximum 30% of capital deployed at any one time
    - Never short BTC unless macro is clearly turning (multiple confirming signals)
    - Positions held across multiple run cycles; do not react to single-candle noise
    ```
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## The Important Notes Field

Use **Important Notes** for hard rules the agent must follow regardless of market conditions. Think of this as the strategy prompt's override layer — rules that cannot be reasoned away.

Examples:

```
Never trade DOGE or SHIB under any circumstances.
Always close all positions before Friday 5pm UTC.
Never use leverage above 3x.
If BTC drops more than 10% in a single day, close all positions and wait.
```

## Prompt vs. Important Notes

| Strategy Prompt                | Important Notes  |
| ------------------------------ | ---------------- |
| How to think                   | What never to do |
| Reasoning framework            | Hard constraints |
| Updated as your thesis evolves | Stable rules     |
| The agent can reason around it | Always honored   |

## Tips

* **Iterate** — your first strategy won't be your best. Run a backtest, read the agent's reasoning, then refine.
* **Be concrete about signals** — instead of "use technicals," say which ones and what thresholds you care about.
* **Mention your timeframe** — an agent running every 4h should think differently than one running every 15 min.
* **State what you don't want** — the AI will explore the full action space unless you constrain it.