A backtest simulates your strategy on historical price data so you can evaluate performance before going live. This guide walks through creating a single backtest from the Backtests page.
Before you start
- A signed-in dogabot account with backtest access (included on free accounts)
- No exchange credentials required — backtests are simulations only; the form lists exchanges and pairs that have backtestable historical data
- Check your quota on the Backtests page header (
X / Y backtests this cycle); Create backtest is disabled when the limit is reached until the cycle renews - End date cannot include today — historical data runs through yesterday (UTC)
Free plan: 3 backtests per cycle, date presets up to 1 month (longer presets appear but are locked). Pro plan: 500 backtests per cycle, all date presets, and optional credit packs.
Step 1: Open Backtests
- Sign in to dogabot.
- Open Backtests in the sidebar (or go to
/backtest/).
Step 2: Start a new backtest
- Click Create backtest.
- Confirm you have remaining quota in the header counter.
The Create New Backtest dialog opens with Basic Parameters and Strategy Rules sections.
Step 3: Configure basic parameters
Expand Basic Parameters and fill in the fields:
| Field | What to set |
|---|---|
| Backtest Name | A unique label (e.g. ETH Trend Test) |
| Exchange | The venue to simulate — only exchanges with backtestable symbols appear |
| Symbol | Trading pair after you pick an exchange (e.g. ETHUSDT, BTCUSDT) |
| Initial capital | Starting simulation balance (default $1,000; minimum $100) |
| Execution timeframe | How often the engine evaluates conditions (1 minute to 1 day) |
| Candle timeframe | Default timeframe for indicators; individual rules can override |
| Order quantity multiplier | Scales order size (default 1) |
| Date range | Use preset chips (1 week, 1 month, etc.) or set Start date and End date manually |
On the free plan, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year presets are visible but locked — upgrade to Pro for longer windows.
Step 4: Configure strategy rules
Expand Strategy Rules and build your setup:
- Entry — Conditions to open a position
- Increase — Conditions to add to an open position
- Reversal — Conditions to flip bias
- Exit — Conditions to close, including Stop loss and Take profit
Set trade direction (long, short, or both) and enable the rules you need. For a first backtest, start with one entry rule and one exit rule.
Learn more: Strategy rules overview, Strategy filters.
Step 5: Run the backtest
- Click Run Backtest.
- A toast confirms the job is queued; you are redirected to the results page (
/backtest/{id}). - Wait for status Queued → Running → Completed — the page updates automatically.
When the run finishes, see How to Read Backtest Results to interpret PnL, ROI, and drawdown.
Example: RSI mean-reversion backtest
Copy this setup to run a simple mean-reversion test on a free plan:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Backtest Name | BTC RSI 1h — 1 month |
| Exchange | binance_usdm (or any backtestable exchange in the dropdown) |
| Symbol | BTCUSDT |
| Initial capital | 1000 |
| Execution timeframe | 1 hour |
| Candle timeframe | 1h |
| Order quantity multiplier | 1 |
| Date range | 1 month preset (use 1 week for a quicker smoke test) |
Strategy rules:
- Trade direction: Both
- Entry: Enable RSI — period
14, oversold30, overbought70(defaults) - Exit: Enable Stop loss — type
percentage, value5; optional Take profit at10%for defined risk/reward - Increase / Reversal: Leave disabled
Click Run Backtest. When the job completes, review PnL and ROI on the results page, then read How to Read Backtest Results.
Example: Backtest from an existing automation
Reuse a live or copied strategy without re-entering every rule:
- Open an automation you run or copied from the leaderboard.
- Click Create Backtest on the detail page (or choose it from the create menu).
- Confirm pre-filled fields — name suffix
- Backtest, same exchange, symbol, capital, and strategy params. - Adjust only the date range (e.g. 3 months on Pro, or 1 month on Free) and click Run Backtest.
Next steps
- How to Read Backtest Results — interpret metrics after the run
- Strategy rules overview — deepen your rule setup
- Explore Markets — find a pair, then backtest it
- Max drawdown — evaluate risk before going live
- Pro users can run many variants at once via Bulk create on the Backtests page