Reuse charts, screeners and workspace templates

Choose the smallest useful asset#

A plugin can provide several reusable assets. A chart template stores chart configuration and indicator instances. A screener template stores symbols/rows, columns and related rules. A workspace package can combine items, charts, templates, screeners, drawings and saved window arrangements. A UI-command payload provides a reproducible action/configuration for the connected app.

These are JSON configuration artifacts, separate from the executable plugin. The required indicator/algorithm types must be loaded first. Importing a template does not compile its source or install missing assemblies. Templates are read-only catalogue inputs; using one creates normal user-owned application state without writing back into the original plugin folder.

Import a supplied system workspace#

1. Verify the owning plugin appears in the loaded catalogue and its required types are available.
2. Open Trading Systems and select the system, or use the workspace template/import workflow.
3. Read the system's summary, rules, invalidations, risk notes and limits before launching its tools.
4. Import/open the supplied workspace package when you want the complete arrangement. Avoid also importing every embedded component a second time.
5. Rebind broker/account, Demo/LIVE environment and exact symbols to your own installation.
6. Wait for chart history and indicators to become ready, inspect a few candles and save the workspace under an intentional name.

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Supplied symbols are examples, not promises that your broker offers the same contract. A package captured against one cTrader account can contain its source identity. Replace that route deliberately; simply changing a visible chart label does not prove execution/history aliases were rebound.

Import individual charts or screeners#

Use a chart-template registry when you need one setup in an existing workspace. Choose the template through the chart's normal import/template control, then inspect indicator periods, panels, display options and timeframe. Keep stable indicator instance IDs where screener/rule references depend on them.

Load/import a saved screener definition through its configuration controls. Inspect source-tagged symbols, timeframes, output keys and alert rules. A screener's Open chart template must point to an available matching chart template. If a template uses an unloaded plugin type, resolve that package rather than replacing it with a similarly named indicator and assuming equivalence.

A Trading Systems guide offers direct chart/screener tools independently of an optional workspace. Its companion templates are therefore useful even when you prefer a different overall desktop layout.

Launch from a command payload#

For technical automation, submit a complete reviewed JSON command through POST /api/ui/command or use AMM.UiCli with --json-file. Discover the current command contract first. A command file can open a chart/screener or prefill a research form; the correlated result reports whether the connected app completed it.

A source-based example command shape for opening an app screen is:

{
  "command": "openPage",
  "target": "mainWindow",
  "payload": {"page": "mcpServer"}
}

Page identifiers and available targets are discovered through the current command catalogue. For broker charts, use a fully reviewed payload with your account, provider and exact symbols instead of stripping routing fields from a supplied package. Trading launch still requires normal account preflight and confirmation.

Understand layout portability#

Native detached windows are supported on macOS/Windows desktop; the web app and Linux have narrower single-window behavior. A multi-window package can therefore need a docked arrangement on those surfaces. Inspect the imported result rather than assuming every window descriptor became a visible native window.

A portable chart grid needs coherent panel IDs, chart definitions and dock layout. Moving a chart should retain its stable identity when the intent is to keep drawings/zoom/preferences. Duplicating a chart deliberately creates a separate instance. A template's geometry may need adjustment for your screen sizes, scaling and monitor arrangement.

After import or layout correction, use an explicit named Save. A successful import followed by a restart is not a substitute for saving the intended arrangement. Keep an exported package as a recoverable checkpoint before large edits.

Author maintainable system packages#

For plugin authors, keep the guide descriptor under the owning plugin's TradingSystems folder with a *.trading-system.json suffix. A schema-version-1 descriptor defines stable system identity, summary, markets/sessions, timeframes, indicators, ordered rules, invalidations, risk, limitations, attribution and required executable types. Each named system needs at least one chart-template and one screener-template reference; a workspace is optional.

Declare guide/assets as package artifacts so the build distributes them together. Keep generated assets in a generator and regenerate after changing shared configuration. Hand-editing one generated workspace while leaving its registry/expanded chart copies unchanged creates drift. Validate every referenced template and required indicator type before publishing an update.

Historical examples are a capability, not a performance endorsement. A system can supply confirmed historical markers and a setup checklist without placing orders. Decision-support DIBS and a mechanical DIBS baseline have separate rules and IDs; do not merge them because their names share a family.

Diagnose an incomplete import#

For missing indicators, inspect the exact Type and loaded package. For unavailable symbols, inspect broker filters and rebind routes. For missing native windows, check platform support and saved window state. For a stale layout after restart, verify that a named Save occurred. For a missing system guide, inspect descriptor/package availability rather than adding hard-coded fallback rules to the app.

See Plugins, Plugin catalogue and UI Command Bus for the executable, content and automation boundaries.