Trailing Stop Trigger

The trailing_stop trigger fires when the price drops a specified percentage from the highest price reached since the position was opened. It locks in profits during uptrends by selling when momentum reverses.

Unlike a fixed stop-loss (pos_price_change with a negative value), a trailing stop moves up as the price rises. It only looks down from the peak — never up.

TOML Syntax

[[actions.triggers]]
type = "trailing_stop"
value = "-3%"           # Required: always negative (drop from peak)

Parameters

How It Works

1. When a position opens, the engine starts tracking the highest close price since entry
2. On every candle, if the new close is higher than the tracked peak, the peak is updated
3. The engine calculates: drop_pct = (current_close - peak_price) / peak_price * 100
4. When drop_pct <= threshold (e.g., -3%), the trigger fires

graph TD
    A["Track peak price<br/>since position entry"] --> B["New candle close"]
    B --> C{"New close ><br/>peak?"}
    C -->|Yes| D["Update peak"]
    C -->|No| E{"Drop from peak<br/>meets threshold?"}
    D --> F["Continue"]
    E -->|Yes| G["Trigger fires"]
    E -->|No| F

Visual Example

Imagine you enter at $100, the price rises to $110 (new peak), then drops:

The trailing stop at -3% would NOT have fired at $106.70 with a fixed stop-loss from entry ($100). The trailing mechanism locks in the gains from the $100 → $110 run.

The value Format

The value must be negative (it represents a drop):

Examples

Basic Trailing Stop

[[actions]]
type = "sell"
amount = "100%"

[[actions.triggers]]
type = "trailing_stop"
value = "-4%"

Trailing Stop + DCA Strategy

Combine a trailing stop with DCA levels for a complete loss-prevention system:

[meta]
name = "Trend-Safe Trailing Stop"
description = "BB+RSI entry, DCA on dips, trailing stop locks profits"
max_open_positions = 1

# Entry: Bollinger Band + RSI filter
[[actions]]
type = "open_long"
amount = "100 USDC"

[[actions.triggers]]
indicator = "bb_lower"
operator = ">"
target = "price"
timeframe = "1h"

[[actions.triggers]]
indicator = "rsi_14"
operator = "<"
target = "40"
timeframe = "1d"

# DCA at -5%
[[actions]]
type = "buy"
amount = "100 USDC"
average_price = true

[[actions.triggers]]
type = "pos_price_change"
value = "-5%"

[[actions.triggers]]
indicator = "rsi_14"
operator = "<"
target = "35"
timeframe = "1h"

# Take profit at +3%
[[actions]]
type = "sell"
amount = "100%"

[[actions.triggers]]
type = "pos_price_change"
value = "3%"

# Trailing stop: sell when price drops 4% from peak
[[actions]]
type = "sell"
amount = "100%"

[[actions.triggers]]
type = "trailing_stop"
value = "-4%"

# Time exit: free stuck capital after 7 days
[[actions]]
type = "sell"
amount = "100%"

[[actions.triggers]]
type = "time_in_position"
value = "7d"

Tips

Related Triggers