MCPInstall

backtest

Quick backtest a strategy on a symbol. Creates a complete .py script with data fetch, signals, backtest, stats, and plots.

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Install

Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.

npx skills add https://github.com/marketcalls/vectorbt-backtesting-skills --skill backtest
  1. 01

    Install

    Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.

  2. 02

    Describe the task

    Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads backtest automatically when relevant.

  3. 03

    Review the result

    The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.

SKILL.md

The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.

Create a complete VectorBT backtest script for the user.

Arguments

Parse $ARGUMENTS as: strategy symbol exchange interval

  • $0 = strategy name (e.g., ema-crossover, rsi, donchian, supertrend, macd, sda2, momentum)
  • $1 = symbol (e.g., SBIN, RELIANCE, NIFTY). Default: SBIN
  • $2 = exchange (e.g., NSE, NFO). Default: NSE
  • $3 = interval (e.g., D, 1h, 5m). Default: D

If no arguments, ask the user which strategy they want.

Instructions

  1. Read the vectorbt-expert skill rules for reference patterns
  2. Create backtesting/{strategy_name}/ directory if it doesn't exist (on-demand)
  3. Create a .py file in backtesting/{strategy_name}/ named {symbol}_{strategy}_backtest.py
  4. Use the matching template from rules/assets/{strategy}/backtest.py as the starting point
  5. The script must:
    • Load .env from the project root using find_dotenv() (walks up from script dir automatically)
    • Fetch data via client.history() from OpenAlgo
    • If user provides a DuckDB path, load data directly via duckdb.connect(path, read_only=True) instead of OpenAlgo API. Auto-detect format: Historify (market_data table, epoch timestamps) vs custom (ohlcv table, date+time). See vectorbt-expert rules/duckdb-data.md.
    • If openalgo.ta is not importable (standalone DuckDB), use inline exrem() fallback.
    • Use OpenAlgo ta for ALL indicators by default (EMA, SMA, RSI, MACD, BBands, ATR, ADX, STDDEV, MOM, and 90+ more) - from openalgo import ta
    • Only use TA-Lib if the user explicitly says "talib"/"TA-Lib" in their request; specialty indicators (Supertrend, Donchian, Ichimoku, HMA, KAMA, ALMA, ZLEMA, VWMA) always come from OpenAlgo ta regardless, since TA-Lib has no equivalent
    • Use ta.exrem() to clean duplicate signals (always .fillna(False) before exrem)
    • Run vbt.Portfolio.from_signals() with min_size=1, size_granularity=1
    • Indian delivery fees: fees=0.00111, fixed_fees=20 for delivery equity
    • Fetch NIFTY benchmark via OpenAlgo (symbol="NIFTY", exchange="NSE_INDEX")
    • Print full pf.stats()
    • Print Strategy vs Benchmark comparison table (Total Return, Sharpe, Sortino, Max DD, Win Rate, Trades, Profit Factor)
    • Explain the backtest report in plain language for normal traders
    • Generate the OpenStatz interactive dashboard tearsheet via ostz.dashboard(...) if openstatz is available - a self-contained offline HTML file, no server needed (always use OpenStatz, never QuantStats; never the legacy ostz.reports.html static report). Set strategy_returns.name (e.g. "EMA 20/50 Crossover - SBIN") and benchmark.name before calling dashboard() - that name, not the title= argument, is what the tearsheet shows as the strategy header/column/legend (see the openstatz-tearsheet rule)
    • Plot equity curve + drawdown using Plotly (template="plotly_dark")
    • Export trades to CSV
  6. Never use icons/emojis in code or logger output
  7. For futures symbols (NIFTY, BANKNIFTY), use lot-size-aware sizing:
    • NIFTY: min_size=65, size_granularity=65 (effective 31 Dec 2025)
    • BANKNIFTY: min_size=30, size_granularity=30
    • Use fees=0.00018, fixed_fees=20 for F&O futures

Available Strategies

StrategyKeywordTemplate
EMA Crossoverema-crossoverassets/ema_crossover/backtest.py
RSIrsiassets/rsi/backtest.py
Donchian Channeldonchianassets/donchian/backtest.py
Supertrendsupertrendassets/supertrend/backtest.py
MACD Breakoutmacdassets/macd/backtest.py
SDA2sda2assets/sda2/backtest.py
Momentummomentumassets/momentum/backtest.py
Dual Momentumdual-momentumassets/dual_momentum/backtest.py
Buy & Holdbuy-holdassets/buy_hold/backtest.py
RSI Accumulationrsi-accumulationassets/rsi_accumulation/backtest.py

Benchmark Rules

  • Default: NIFTY 50 via OpenAlgo (symbol="NIFTY", exchange="NSE_INDEX")
  • If user specifies a different benchmark, use that instead
  • For yfinance: use ^NSEI for India, ^GSPC (S&P 500) for US markets
  • Always compare: Total Return, Sharpe, Sortino, Max Drawdown

Example Usage

/backtest ema-crossover RELIANCE NSE D /backtest rsi SBIN /backtest supertrend NIFTY NFO 5m

FAQ

What does the backtest skill do?

Quick backtest a strategy on a symbol. Creates a complete .py script with data fetch, signals, backtest, stats, and plots.

How do I install backtest?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/marketcalls/vectorbt-backtesting-skills --skill backtest in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/backtest/ (personal) or .claude/skills/backtest/ (project).

Which AI agents can use backtest?

Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.

Is backtest safe to install?

No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.

Who maintains backtest?

It is published by marketcalls in marketcalls/vectorbt-backtesting-skills. It has 3,379 recorded installs.

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