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Getting Started

Getting Started with Lona

Welcome! This guide will help you understand Lona and create your first trading strategy in just 5 minutes.

What is Lona?

Lona is an AI-powered platform that helps you create and test trading strategies without writing code. You describe your trading ideas in plain English, and Lona’s AI transforms them into executable strategies that you can backtest against historical market data.

Think of Lona as your personal trading strategy assistant that:

  • Understands trading concepts and terminology
  • Asks clarifying questions to understand your strategy
  • Writes the code for you
  • Runs backtests to show how your strategy would have performed
  • Provides detailed performance metrics and visualizations

How Lona Works

The process is simple:

  1. Describe Your Strategy: Chat with Lona’s AI and describe your trading idea in natural language
  2. Clarify Details: Answer questions about entry/exit rules, indicators, and logic
  3. Review Requirements: See a summary of what Lona understood
  4. Generate Code: Let AI create executable strategy code
  5. Backtest: Run your strategy against historical data
  6. Analyze Results: Review performance metrics and charts

No coding experience needed! Lona handles all the technical details for you.

Your First Strategy (5-Minute Guide)

Let’s create a simple moving average crossover strategy together.

Step 1: Start a New Chat

When you first log in, you’ll see a large text box with the Lona Trader logo. This is where you’ll start creating strategies.

  • Type your initial message in the text box
  • Press Enter or click the Send button (arrow icon)

Try typing:

“I want to create a trading strategy based on moving averages”

Step 2: Describe Your Strategy

Lona’s Interview Agent will start asking you questions to understand your strategy. Be conversational and specific.

Example conversation:

You: “I want to create a trading strategy based on moving averages”

Lona: “Great! Let me help you design a moving average strategy. Could you tell me more about:

  • What type of moving average strategy are you thinking? (crossover, trend-following, support/resistance)
  • Which moving average periods would you like to use?
  • What are your entry and exit conditions?”

You: “I want a crossover strategy. When a fast 10-period moving average crosses above a slow 30-period moving average, buy. When it crosses below, sell.”

Lona: “Perfect! I understand your strategy:

  • Fast MA: 10 periods
  • Slow MA: 30 periods
  • Entry: Fast MA crosses above Slow MA (buy signal)
  • Exit: Fast MA crosses below Slow MA (sell signal)

Is there anything else you’d like to add, or should we proceed with extracting the requirements?”

Step 3: Extract Requirements

When Lona has enough information, you’ll see a blue button appear below the chat: Extract Requirements.

  • Click Extract Requirements
  • Lona will process your conversation and create a structured list of requirements
  • The requirements will appear in a panel on the right side (this is called the “Canvas”)

Step 4: Generate Code

After requirements are extracted, you’ll see two green buttons:

  • Generate Fast: Uses a faster AI model (good for simple strategies)
  • Generate Advanced: Uses a more powerful AI model (better for complex strategies)

For your first strategy, click Generate Fast.

Tip: Basic users have unlimited Fast generation. Advanced generation has usage limits but produces more sophisticated code.

Step 5: View Generated Code

Once generation completes:

  • The Canvas panel on the right will switch to show your strategy code
  • Below the code, you’ll see an explanation of how the strategy works
  • You can edit the code directly if you want to make changes

Step 6: Execute Your Strategy

Now it’s time to backtest! Click the Execute button that appears below the chat.

A dialog will open asking you to configure the execution:

  1. Strategy Name: Give your strategy a memorable name (e.g., “MA Crossover 10-30”)
  2. Data Source Tab:
    • Select a data source from the list (e.g., “SPY”, “BTCUSDT”)
    • You can select multiple data sources to test on different markets
  3. Parameters Tab:
    • Review the strategy parameters
    • You can adjust values if you want to experiment
    • Leave defaults for now
  4. Date Range: The date range for backtesting is automatically set

Click Run to start the backtest.

Step 7: View Results

The execution will take a few seconds to a few minutes depending on the data size.

  • You’ll see a “Processing…” status in the Canvas
  • When complete, the Canvas will display your results:
    • Execution Summary: Total return, win rate, number of trades
    • Performance Metrics: Sharpe ratio, max drawdown, profit factor
    • Charts: Visual representation of your strategy’s performance

Congratulations! 🎉 You’ve just created and backtested your first trading strategy!

Understanding the Interface

Now that you’ve completed your first strategy, let’s understand the main parts of the interface:

The sidebar on the left has several navigation options:

  • New Chat: Start creating a new strategy
  • Strategies: View all your saved strategies
  • Reports: Access all execution reports and results
  • Data: Upload your own market data or custom data

You can collapse/expand the sidebar by clicking the arrow icons.

Chat Area (Center)

This is where you have conversations with Lona’s AI:

  • Your messages appear on the right
  • Lona’s responses appear on the left
  • Text input box at the bottom for typing messages

Canvas Panel (Right)

This collapsible panel shows different content based on your workflow stage:

Report Mode (default):

  • Requirements list after extraction
  • Execution results and charts

Code Mode:

  • Generated strategy code
  • Code explanation
  • Edit capabilities

You can toggle between modes using the buttons in the left sidebar (when in a chat).

Canvas Controls

Look for these controls in the left sidebar when you’re in a chat:

  • Canvas Size: Toggle between Hidden/Half/Full width
  • Canvas Mode: Switch between Code and Report views

What’s Next?

Now that you’ve created your first strategy, explore these guides:

  1. Creating Strategies - Learn how to describe more complex strategies
  2. Execution & Backtesting - Master the execution configuration
  3. Results & Analysis - Understand performance metrics
  4. Best Practices - Tips for developing effective strategies

Quick Tips for Success

✅ Be Specific: The more details you provide, the better Lona understands your strategy

✅ Ask Questions: If you’re unsure about something, ask Lona to explain

✅ Iterate: Start simple, test, then refine your strategy

✅ Compare: Try different parameter values to see what works best

✅ Learn: Read the code explanations to understand how strategies work

Common First-Time Questions

Q: Do I need to know how to code?
A: No! Lona is designed for traders without programming experience.

Q: What if I don’t know what indicators to use?
A: Lona can suggest indicators during the interview. Just describe what you want to achieve (e.g., “detect trends”, “find overbought conditions”).

Q: Can I test my strategy on my own data?
A: Yes! See the Data Management guide to learn how to upload data.

Q: How long does backtesting take?
A: Usually a few seconds to a few minutes, depending on data size and strategy complexity.

Q: What if my backtest fails?
A: Check the Troubleshooting guide for common issues and solutions.

Ready to dive deeper? Continue to Creating Strategies to learn advanced techniques for describing your trading ideas.

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