The bot uses a set of configuration parameters during its operation that all together conform the bot configuration. It normally reads its configuration from a file (Freqtrade configuration file).
In some advanced use cases, multiple configuration files can be specified and used by the bot or the bot can read its configuration parameters from the process standard input stream.
The Freqtrade configuration file is to be written in the JSON format.
Additionally to the standard JSON syntax, you may use one-line `// ...` and multi-line `/* ... */` comments in your configuration files and trailing commas in the lists of parameters.
Do not worry if you are not familiar with JSON format -- simply open the configuration file with an editor of your choice, make some changes to the parameters you need, save your changes and, finally, restart the bot or, if it was previously stopped, run it again with the changes you made to the configuration. The bot validates syntax of the configuration file at startup and will warn you if you made any errors editing it, pointing out problematic lines.
- Configuration files are used in sequence (last file wins), and override Strategy configurations.
- Strategy configurations are only used if they are not set via configuration or via command line arguments. These options are market with [Strategy Override](#parameters-in-the-strategy) in the below table.
Mandatory parameters are marked as **Required**, which means that they are required to be set in one of the possible ways.
| `max_open_trades` | **Required.** Number of trades open your bot will have. If -1 then it is ignored (i.e. potentially unlimited open trades).<br>***Datatype:*** *Positive integer or -1.*
| `stake_amount` | **Required.** Amount of crypto-currency your bot will use for each trade. Set it to `"unlimited"` to allow the bot to use all available balance. [More information below](#understand-stake_amount). [Strategy Override](#parameters-in-the-strategy). <br>***Datatype:*** *Positive float or `"unlimited"`.*
| `tradable_balance_ratio` | Ratio of the total account balance the bot is allowed to trade. [More information below](#understand-stake_amount). <br>*Defaults to `0.99` 99%).*<br>***Datatype:*** *Positive float between `0.1` and `1.0`.*
| `amount_reserve_percent` | Reserve some amount in min pair stake amount. The bot will reserve `amount_reserve_percent` + stoploss value when calculating min pair stake amount in order to avoid possible trade refusals. <br>*Defaults to `0.05` (5%).* <br>***Datatype:*** *Positive Float as ratio.*
| `ticker_interval` | The ticker interval to use (e.g `1m`, `5m`, `15m`, `30m`, `1h` ...). [Strategy Override](#parameters-in-the-strategy). <br>***Datatype:*** *String*
| `fiat_display_currency` | Fiat currency used to show your profits. [More information below](#what-values-can-be-used-for-fiat_display_currency). <br>***Datatype:*** *String*
| `dry_run` | **Required.** Define if the bot must be in Dry Run or production mode. <br>*Defaults to `true`.* <br>***Datatype:*** *Boolean*
| `dry_run_wallet` | Define the starting amount in stake currency for the simulated wallet used by the bot running in the Dry Run mode.<br>*Defaults to `1000`.* <br>***Datatype:*** *Float*
| `process_only_new_candles` | Enable processing of indicators only when new candles arrive. If false each loop populates the indicators, this will mean the same candle is processed many times creating system load but can be useful of your strategy depends on tick data not only candle. [Strategy Override](#parameters-in-the-strategy). <br>*Defaults to `false`.* <br>***Datatype:*** *Boolean*
| `minimal_roi` | **Required.** Set the threshold in percent the bot will use to sell a trade. [More information below](#understand-minimal_roi). [Strategy Override](#parameters-in-the-strategy). <br>***Datatype:*** *Dict*
| `stoploss` | **Required.** Value of the stoploss in percent used by the bot. More details in the [stoploss documentation](stoploss.md). [Strategy Override](#parameters-in-the-strategy). <br>***Datatype:*** *Float (as ratio)*
| `trailing_stop` | Enables trailing stoploss (based on `stoploss` in either configuration or strategy file). More details in the [stoploss documentation](stoploss.md). [Strategy Override](#parameters-in-the-strategy). <br>***Datatype:*** *Boolean*
| `trailing_stop_positive` | Changes stoploss once profit has been reached. More details in the [stoploss documentation](stoploss.md). [Strategy Override](#parameters-in-the-strategy). <br>***Datatype:*** *Float*
| `trailing_stop_positive_offset` | Offset on when to apply `trailing_stop_positive`. Percentage value which should be positive. More details in the [stoploss documentation](stoploss.md). [Strategy Override](#parameters-in-the-strategy). <br>*Defaults to `0.0` (no offset).* <br>***Datatype:*** *Float*
| `trailing_only_offset_is_reached` | Only apply trailing stoploss when the offset is reached. [stoploss documentation](stoploss.md). [Strategy Override](#parameters-in-the-strategy). <br>*Defaults to `false`.* <br>***Datatype:*** *Boolean*
| `unfilledtimeout.buy` | **Required.** How long (in minutes) the bot will wait for an unfilled buy order to complete, after which the order will be cancelled. [Strategy Override](#parameters-in-the-strategy).<br>***Datatype:*** *Integer*
| `unfilledtimeout.sell` | **Required.** How long (in minutes) the bot will wait for an unfilled sell order to complete, after which the order will be cancelled. [Strategy Override](#parameters-in-the-strategy).<br>***Datatype:*** *Integer*
| `bid_strategy.ask_last_balance` | **Required.** Set the bidding price. More information [below](#buy-price-without-orderbook).
| `bid_strategy.use_order_book` | Enable buying using the rates in [Order Book Bids](#buy-price-with-orderbook-enabled). <br>***Datatype:*** *Boolean*
| `bid_strategy.order_book_top` | Bot will use the top N rate in Order Book Bids to buy. I.e. a value of 2 will allow the bot to pick the 2nd bid rate in [Order Book Bids](#buy-price-with-orderbook-enabled). <br>*Defaults to `1`.* <br>***Datatype:*** *Positive Integer*
| `bid_strategy. check_depth_of_market.enabled` | Do not buy if the difference of buy orders and sell orders is met in Order Book. [Check market depth](#check-depth-of-market). <br>*Defaults to `false`.* <br>***Datatype:*** *Boolean*
| `bid_strategy. check_depth_of_market.bids_to_ask_delta` | The difference ratio of buy orders and sell orders found in Order Book. A value below 1 means sell order size is greater, while value greater than 1 means buy order size is higher. [Check market depth](#check-depth-of-market) <br>*Defaults to `0`.*<br>***Datatype:*** *Float (as ratio)*
| `ask_strategy.use_order_book` | Enable selling of open trades using [Order Book Asks](#sell-price-with-orderbook-enabled). <br>***Datatype:*** *Boolean*
| `ask_strategy.order_book_min` | Bot will scan from the top min to max Order Book Asks searching for a profitable rate. <br>*Defaults to `1`.* <br>***Datatype:*** *Positive Integer*
| `ask_strategy.order_book_max` | Bot will scan from the top min to max Order Book Asks searching for a profitable rate. <br>*Defaults to `1`.* <br>***Datatype:*** *Positive Integer*
| `ask_strategy.use_sell_signal` | Use sell signals produced by the strategy in addition to the `minimal_roi`. [Strategy Override](#parameters-in-the-strategy). <br>*Defaults to `true`.* <br>***Datatype:*** *Boolean*
| `ask_strategy.sell_profit_only` | Wait until the bot makes a positive profit before taking a sell decision. [Strategy Override](#parameters-in-the-strategy). <br>*Defaults to `false`.* <br>***Datatype:*** *Boolean*
| `ask_strategy.ignore_roi_if_buy_signal` | Do not sell if the buy signal is still active. This setting takes preference over `minimal_roi` and `use_sell_signal`. [Strategy Override](#parameters-in-the-strategy). <br>*Defaults to `false`.* <br>***Datatype:*** *Boolean*
| `order_types` | Configure order-types depending on the action (`"buy"`, `"sell"`, `"stoploss"`, `"stoploss_on_exchange"`). [More information below](#understand-order_types). [Strategy Override](#parameters-in-the-strategy).<br>***Datatype:*** *Dict*
| `order_time_in_force` | Configure time in force for buy and sell orders. [More information below](#understand-order_time_in_force). [Strategy Override](#parameters-in-the-strategy). <br>***Datatype:*** *Dict*
| `exchange.name` | **Required.** Name of the exchange class to use. [List below](#user-content-what-values-for-exchangename). <br>***Datatype:*** *String*
| `exchange.sandbox` | Use the 'sandbox' version of the exchange, where the exchange provides a sandbox for risk-free integration. See [here](sandbox-testing.md) in more details.<br>***Datatype:*** *Boolean*
| `exchange.key` | API key to use for the exchange. Only required when you are in production mode.<br>**Keep it in secret, do not disclose publicly.** <br>***Datatype:*** *String*
| `exchange.secret` | API secret to use for the exchange. Only required when you are in production mode.<br>**Keep it in secret, do not disclose publicly.** <br>***Datatype:*** *String*
| `exchange.password` | API password to use for the exchange. Only required when you are in production mode and for exchanges that use password for API requests.<br>**Keep it in secret, do not disclose publicly.** <br>***Datatype:*** *String*
| `exchange.pair_whitelist` | List of pairs to use by the bot for trading and to check for potential trades during backtesting. Not used by VolumePairList (see [below](#dynamic-pairlists)). <br>***Datatype:*** *List*
| `exchange.pair_blacklist` | List of pairs the bot must absolutely avoid for trading and backtesting (see [below](#dynamic-pairlists)). <br>***Datatype:*** *List*
| `exchange.ccxt_config` | Additional CCXT parameters passed to the regular ccxt instance. Parameters may differ from exchange to exchange and are documented in the [ccxt documentation](https://ccxt.readthedocs.io/en/latest/manual.html#instantiation) <br>***Datatype:*** *Dict*
| `exchange.ccxt_async_config` | Additional CCXT parameters passed to the async ccxt instance. Parameters may differ from exchange to exchange and are documented in the [ccxt documentation](https://ccxt.readthedocs.io/en/latest/manual.html#instantiation) <br>***Datatype:*** *Dict*
| `exchange.markets_refresh_interval` | The interval in minutes in which markets are reloaded. <br>*Defaults to `60` minutes.* <br>***Datatype:*** *Positive Integer*
| `experimental.block_bad_exchanges` | Block exchanges known to not work with freqtrade. Leave on default unless you want to test if that exchange works now. <br>*Defaults to `true`.* <br>***Datatype:*** *Boolean*
| `pairlists` | Define one or more pairlists to be used. [More information below](#dynamic-pairlists). <br>*Defaults to `StaticPairList`.* <br>***Datatype:*** *List of Dicts*
| `telegram.enabled` | Enable the usage of Telegram. <br>***Datatype:*** *Boolean*
| `telegram.token` | Your Telegram bot token. Only required if `telegram.enabled` is `true`. <br>**Keep it in secret, do not disclose publicly.** <br>***Datatype:*** *String*
| `telegram.chat_id` | Your personal Telegram account id. Only required if `telegram.enabled` is `true`. <br>**Keep it in secret, do not disclose publicly.** <br>***Datatype:*** *String*
| `webhook.url` | URL for the webhook. Only required if `webhook.enabled` is `true`. See the [webhook documentation](webhook-config.md) for more details. <br>***Datatype:*** *String*
| `webhook.webhookbuy` | Payload to send on buy. Only required if `webhook.enabled` is `true`. See the [webhook documentation](webhook-config.md) for more details. <br>***Datatype:*** *String*
| `webhook.webhooksell` | Payload to send on sell. Only required if `webhook.enabled` is `true`. See the [webhook documentation](webhook-config.md) for more details. <br>***Datatype:*** *String*
| `webhook.webhookstatus` | Payload to send on status calls. Only required if `webhook.enabled` is `true`. See the [webhook documentation](webhook-config.md) for more details. <br>***Datatype:*** *String*
| `api_server.listen_port` | Bind Port. See the [API Server documentation](rest-api.md) for more details. <br>***Datatype:*** *Integer between 1024 and 65535*
| `api_server.username` | Username for API server. See the [API Server documentation](rest-api.md) for more details. <br>**Keep it in secret, do not disclose publicly.**<br>***Datatype:*** *String*
| `api_server.password` | Password for API server. See the [API Server documentation](rest-api.md) for more details. <br>**Keep it in secret, do not disclose publicly.**<br>***Datatype:*** *String*
| `db_url` | Declares database URL to use. NOTE: This defaults to `sqlite:///tradesv3.dryrun.sqlite` if `dry_run` is `true`, and to `sqlite:///tradesv3.sqlite` for production instances. <br>***Datatype:*** *String, SQLAlchemy connect string*
| `initial_state` | Defines the initial application state. More information below. <br>*Defaults to `stopped`.* <br>***Datatype:*** *Enum, either `stopped` or `running`*
| `forcebuy_enable` | Enables the RPC Commands to force a buy. More information below. <br>***Datatype:*** *Boolean*
| `strategy` | **Required** Defines Strategy class to use. Recommended to be set via `--strategy NAME`. <br>***Datatype:*** *ClassName*
| `strategy_path` | Adds an additional strategy lookup path (must be a directory). <br>***Datatype:*** *String*
| `internals.process_throttle_secs` | Set the process throttle. Value in second. <br>*Defaults to `5` seconds.* <br>***Datatype:*** *Positive Integer*
| `internals.heartbeat_interval` | Print heartbeat message every N seconds. Set to 0 to disable heartbeat messages. <br>*Defaults to `60` seconds.* <br>***Datatype:*** *Positive Integer or 0*
| `internals.sd_notify` | Enables use of the sd_notify protocol to tell systemd service manager about changes in the bot state and issue keep-alive pings. See [here](installation.md#7-optional-configure-freqtrade-as-a-systemd-service) for more details. <br>***Datatype:*** *Boolean*
| `logfile` | Specifies logfile name. Uses a rolling strategy for log file rotation for 10 files with the 1MB limit per file. <br>***Datatype:*** *String*
| `user_data_dir` | Directory containing user data. <br>*Defaults to `./user_data/`*. <br>***Datatype:*** *String*
This configuration will allow increasing / decreasing stakes depending on the performance of the bot (lower stake if bot is loosing, higher stakes if the bot has a winning record, since higher balances are available).
`tradable_balance_ratio` applies to the current balance (free balance + tied up in trades). Therefore, assuming a starting balance of 1000, a configuration of `tradable_balance_ratio=0.99` will not guarantee that 10 units will always remain available on the exchange. The free amount may reduce to 5 units if the total balance is reduce to 500 (either by a losing streak, or by withdrawing balance).
When using `"stake_amount" : "unlimited",` in combination with Dry-Run, the balance will be simulated starting with a stake of `dry_run_wallet` which will evolve over time. It is therefore important to set `dry_run_wallet` to a sensible value (like 0.05 or 0.01 for BTC and 1000 or 100 for USDT, for example), otherwise it may simulate trades with 100 BTC (or more) or 0.05 USDT (or less) at once - which may not correspond to your real available balance or is less than the exchange minimal limit for the order amount for the stake currency.
If it is not set in either Strategy or Configuration, a default of 1000% `{"0": 10}` is used, and minimal roi is disabled unless your trade generates 1000% profit.
!!! Note "Special case to forcesell after a specific time"
A special case presents using `"<N>": -1` as ROI. This forces the bot to sell a trade after N Minutes, no matter if it's positive or negative, so represents a time-limited force-sell.
The `order_types` configuration parameter maps actions (`buy`, `sell`, `stoploss`) to order-types (`market`, `limit`, ...) as well as configures stoploss to be on the exchange and defines stoploss on exchange update interval in seconds.
If `stoploss_on_exchange` and `trailing_stop` are both set, then the bot will use `stoploss_on_exchange_interval` to check and update the stoploss on exchange periodically.
`order_types` can be set in the configuration file or in the strategy.
`order_types` set in the configuration file overwrites values set in the strategy as a whole, so you need to configure the whole `order_types` dictionary in one place.
If this is configured, the following 4 values (`buy`, `sell`, `stoploss` and
`stoploss_on_exchange`) need to be present, otherwise the bot will fail to start.
If stoploss on exchange creation fails for some reason, then an "emergency sell" is initiated. By default, this will sell the asset using a market order. The order-type for the emergency-sell can be changed by setting the `emergencysell` value in the `order_types` dictionary - however this is not advised.
We try to provide sensible defaults per exchange where possible, if you encounter bans please make sure that `"enableRateLimit"` is enabled and increase the `"rateLimit"` parameter step by step.
Prices for regular orders can be controlled via the parameter structures `bid_strategy` for buying and `ask_strategy` for selling.
Prices are always retrieved right before an order is placed, either by querying the exchange tickers or by using the orderbook data.
!!! Note
Orderbook data used by Freqtrade are the data retrieved from exchange by the ccxt's function `fetch_order_book()`, i.e. are usually data from the L2-aggregated orderbook, while the ticker data are the structures returned by the ccxt's `fetch_ticker()`/`fetch_tickers()` functions. Refer to the ccxt library [documentation](https://github.com/ccxt/ccxt/wiki/Manual#market-data) for more details.
When check depth of market is enabled (`bid_strategy.check_depth_of_market.enabled=True`), the buy signals are filtered based on the orderbook depth (sum of all amounts) for each orderbook side.
Orderbook `bid` (buy) side depth is then divided by the orderbook `ask` (sell) side depth and the resulting delta is compared to the value of the `bid_strategy.check_depth_of_market.bids_to_ask_delta` parameter. The buy order is only executed if the orderbook delta is greater than or equal to the configured delta value.
A delta value below 1 means that `ask` (sell) orderbook side depth is greater than the depth of the `bid` (buy) orderbook side, while a value greater than 1 means opposite (depth of the buy side is higher than the depth of the sell side).
When buying with the orderbook enabled (`bid_strategy.use_order_book=True`), Freqtrade fetches the `bid_strategy.order_book_top` entries from the orderbook and then uses the entry specified as `bid_strategy.order_book_top` on the `bid` (buy) side of the orderbook. 1 specifies the topmost entry in the orderbook, while 2 would use the 2nd entry in the orderbook, and so on.
When not using orderbook (`bid_strategy.use_order_book=False`), Freqtrade uses the best `ask` (sell) price from the ticker if it's below the `last` traded price from the ticker. Otherwise (when the `ask` price is not below the `last` price), it calculates a rate between `ask` and `last` price.
The `bid_strategy.ask_last_balance` configuration parameter controls this. A value of `0.0` will use `ask` price, while `1.0` will use the `last` price and values between those interpolate between ask and last price.
Using `ask` price often guarantees quicker success in the bid, but the bot can also end up paying more than what would have been necessary.
When selling with the orderbook enabled (`ask_strategy.use_order_book=True`), Freqtrade fetches the `ask_strategy.order_book_max` entries in the orderbook. Then each of the orderbook steps between `ask_strategy.order_book_min` and `ask_strategy.order_book_max` on the `ask` orderbook side are validated for a profitable sell-possibility based on the strategy configuration and the sell order is placed at the first profitable spot.
The idea here is to place the sell order early, to be ahead in the queue.
A fixed slot (mirroring `bid_strategy.order_book_top`) can be defined by setting `ask_strategy.order_book_min` and `ask_strategy.order_book_max` to the same number.
Using `ask_strategy.order_book_max` higher than 1 may increase the risk, since an eventual [stoploss on exchange](#understand-order_types) will be needed to be cancelled as soon as the order is placed.
All pairlists can be chained, and a combination of all pairlists will become your new whitelist. Pairlists are executed in the sequence they are configured. You should always configure either `StaticPairList` or `DynamicPairList` as starting pairlists.
Pairlist configurations can be quite tricky to get right. Best use the [`test-pairlist`](utils.md#test-pairlist) subcommand to test your configuration quickly.
`VolumePairList` selects `number_assets` top pairs based on `sort_key`, which can be one of `askVolume`, `bidVolume` and `quoteVolume` and defaults to `quoteVolume`.
`VolumePairList` considers outputs of previous pairlists unless it's the first configured pairlist, it does not consider `pair_whitelist`, but selects the top assets from all available markets (with matching stake-currency) on the exchange.
The below example blacklists `BNB/BTC`, uses `VolumePairList` with `20` assets, sorting by `quoteVolume` and applies both [`PrecisionFilter`](#precision-filter) and [`PriceFilter`](#price-pair-filter), filtering all assets where 1 priceunit is > 1%.
You should also make sure to read the [Exchanges](exchanges.md) section of the documentation to be aware of potential configuration details specific to your exchange.
To use a proxy with freqtrade, add the kwarg `"aiohttp_trust_env"=true` to the `"ccxt_async_kwargs"` dict in the exchange section of the configuration.
