Signal Modes

TradingForge Signals supports two operating modes that control how incoming buy signals interact with the bot's normal trading logic. Understanding the distinction is important for building reliable automated strategies.

Signal Mode

In Signal mode, the bot executes trade actions immediately and directly when a signal is received, bypassing the bot's own entry indicators and conditions. The signal is the sole trigger — your TradeSmith or TradeFuel configuration is not consulted for buy entries.

• ›A buy signal opens a position regardless of market conditions
• ›A sell signal closes the position regardless of take-profit targets
• ›The bot's normal scan cycle still handles stop-loss and existing position management
• ›Best for fully automated external strategies where you want the signal provider in full control

Hybrid Mode

In Hybrid mode, an incoming buy signal acts as a gate — it grants permission for the bot to buy on the specified pair, but the actual buy only executes when the bot's own entry conditions are also satisfied during its normal scan cycle.

• ›Signal sets a "buy intent" flag on the pair
• ›During the next bot scan, if the pair's own conditions pass, the buy executes
• ›If conditions are not met within the signal expiry window, the intent expires and no buy occurs
• ›Best when you want external confirmation (e.g. a macro signal) combined with your own technical filters

Example Workflow

Your TradingView script fires a buy signal for BTCUSDT when a weekly trend condition is met. In Hybrid mode, this unlocks the pair for buying but your TradeFuel configuration still requires, say, RSI below 40 before placing the order. Only when both conditions align does the bot buy — giving you both macro and micro confirmation.

Scope: Global vs Per-Pair

The Scope setting in Settings → Signals controls which pairs can receive buy signals:

• ›Global — any pair in your active configuration can receive buy signals. This is the most permissive setting and works well if your signal provider always specifies valid pairs you are already trading.
• ›Per-Pair — only pairs explicitly listed in your Providers configuration (under the provider's allowed pairs) will accept buy signals. All other pairs are ignored. Use this when you want tight control over which pairs a provider can influence.

Signal Expiry

Each signal has a configurable expiry time (default: 60 seconds). In Hybrid mode, if the bot's scan cycle does not trigger a buy within the expiry window after the signal is received, the intent is cleared and the signal is recorded as expired in the log.

In Signal mode, expiry applies to buy signals that cannot be executed immediately (e.g. because the pair is already in an open position). If the pair becomes available before expiry, the queued buy fires; otherwise, the signal is discarded.

• ›Configurable in Settings → Signals → Risk Controls
• ›Range: 10 seconds to 3600 seconds (1 hour)
• ›Default: 60 seconds

Choosing the Right Mode

• ›Use Signal mode when your external tool has its own complete entry logic and you want it to fully control open/close timing.
• ›Use Hybrid mode when your external tool provides a directional bias or macro filter, but you want TradingForge's own indicators to make the final call on entry.