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Getting Started with Planar

Welcome to Planar! This section will help you get up and running quickly with the Planar trading framework. Whether you're new to algorithmic trading or experienced with other platforms, these guides will help you understand Planar's unique approach and get your first strategy running.

Learning Objectives

By completing this getting started section, you will:

  • Understand Planar's core concepts and unique advantages
  • Successfully install and configure Planar on your system
  • Run your first backtest and interpret the results
  • Build a custom strategy from scratch using technical indicators-development.md#technical-indicators)
  • Analyze performance metrics and debug strategy issues
  • Know the next steps for advanced strategy development

Section Overview

This getting started section is organized in a logical progression:

  1. Installation Guide - Set up your development environment (10 minutes)
  2. Quick Start Guide - Run your first strategy and see results (15 minutes)
  3. First Strategy Tutorial - Build a custom RSI strategy from scratch (20 minutes)

Total estimated time: 45 minutes

Why Planar?

Planar is an advanced trading bot framework built in Julia, designed for demanding practitioners who need sophisticated cryptocurrency trading capabilities. Here's what makes it special:

  • Customizable: Julia's dispatch mechanism enables easy customization without monkey patching
  • Margin/Leverage Support: Full type hierarchy for isolated and cross margin trading with hedged/unhedged positions
  • Large Dataset Handling: Uses Zarr.jl for progressive chunk-by-chunk data access and storage
  • Data Consistency: Ensures OHLCV data integrity with contiguous date checking
  • Lookahead Bias Prevention: Full-featured date/timeframe handling to prevent common backtesting errors
  • By-Simulation: Unique ability to run simulation during live trading for tuning and validation
  • Low Code Duplication: Same strategy code works across backtesting, paper, and live trading modes

Prerequisites

Required Knowledge

  • Basic trading concepts: Understanding of OHLCV data, buy/sell orders, and cryptocurrency exchanges
  • Command line comfort: Ability to run commands in terminal/command prompt
  • Basic programming concepts: Variables, functions, and modules (Julia experience helpful but not required)

System Requirements

  • Operating System: Linux, macOS, or Windows
  • Memory: 4GB RAM minimum, 8GB recommended for smooth operation
  • Storage: 2GB free space for installation, additional space for historical data
  • Network: Stable internet connection for data downloads

Optional for Getting Started

  • Julia 1.11+ (we'll install this together in the installation guide)
  • Cryptocurrency exchange) account (only needed for live trading, not for learning)

Choose the path that best matches your experience level:

🆕 Complete Beginner Path

Best for: New to algorithmic trading or Planar Time: 45 minutes | Difficulty: ⭐☆☆

  1. 📥 Installation Guide (10 min) - Set up your environment
  2. ⚡ Quick Start (15 min) - Run your first backtest
  3. 🎯 First Strategy (20 min) - Build from scratch

🚀 Experienced Trader Path

Best for: Know trading, new to Planar Time: 25 minutes | Difficulty: ⭐⭐☆

  1. ⚡ Quick Start (15 min) - See Planar in action
  2. 🎯 First Strategy (10 min) - Focus on architecture
  3. 🏗️ Strategy Development - Jump to advanced concepts

💻 Developer/Programmer Path

Best for: Comfortable with Julia or similar languages Time: 15 minutes | Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐

  1. 📥 Installation (5 min) - Quick setup
  2. 🎯 First Strategy (10 min) - Understand the patterns
  3. 📚 API Reference - Dive into the details

Getting Help

If you run into issues:

Let's get started! 🚀

After Getting Started

Once you complete this section, you'll be ready to:

Immediate Next Steps

Advanced Topics