AutoScanTrade

AutoScanTrade Lite
The scanner and the desk. You place every trade.

Lite is AutoScanTrade without the automation. You get the same live scanner for premarket, market hours and after hours, the same trading panel and hotkeys, the trade ladder and the chart, and every stop, target and trailing exit for the trades you place yourself. Nothing in Lite ever opens a trade on its own.

Tell me when it launches Watch the 2-minute tour How to use it All Lite videos
AutoScanTrade Lite, main window
The AutoScanTrade Lite main window: account and buttons along the top with DAY TARGET, ANALYSE and JOURNAL greyed, the scanner filters and risk row, the trading panel with BUY and SHORT and eight order buttons on the left, the live scanner list on the right, and the order log underneath
AutoScanTrade Lite in paper mode. The symbols, prices and float figures are made up.

What Lite is

Lite is for traders who want a fast scanner and a fast way to trade what it finds, and who make every decision themselves. It is the same program as the full desk with one group of features switched off: the part that trades without you. Everything you look at and everything you press works exactly as it does in the full version, on the same engine.

A scanner for every session

Filters for price, gap, volume and relative volume, with a separate set for premarket, market hours and after hours. Every alert gets its own row, with halts, float and its age, news and SEC filings.

Scanner filters in Lite

One panel, two-key hotkeys

Pick a size in shares, dollars or percent, choose limit or market, then buy, short, sell, cover, flatten or cancel with one click or a hotkey you set. Locates for short selling are one click away.

BUY and SHORT

Your exits, your settings

MANUAL TRADING holds every setting a manual trade uses: take profit and stop loss in percent or dollars, the auto exit, the trailing stop and step lock, and how each order is placed. Long and short side by side.

The MANUAL TRADING window

The ladder and the chart

Every trade sits on a price rail with its entry, stop, target and trail, and what each is worth. Drag a level to move it. The chart in your browser draws the same levels, with indicators and signal arrows.

The trade ladder

Limits and paper mode

The risk row sets a daily loss limit, trade caps and losing-streak pauses for live trading. Paper mode fills your orders against live prices from a virtual wallet, so you can practise before any real money is involved.

Paper mode and going live

A record of every order

The order log shows what was sent, what your broker replied, what filled and what was refused. The CLOSED window lists each closed trade with its costs and the reason it closed. The JOURNAL window is part of the full desk.

The order log

How to use it

A first session, from opening the program to going live. Each step has a short video, recorded on Lite itself.

  1. Read the risks, then agree

    On the first start the risks and disclaimers window opens. Read it, tick the box confirming your stops are software stops, and agree. RISKS in the header opens it again whenever you like.

    Getting started with AutoScanTrade LiteSoftware stops

  2. Add your data key

    Enter your Alpaca market-data key, choose the SIP or IEX feed and press TEST DATA. Broker keys for live orders can wait. Everything is saved in a settings file on your own PC.

    Credentials

  3. Start in paper

    Lite always opens in paper mode: live prices, and a virtual wallet. Check the header says feed live before you start.

    Paper mode, going live, and what SYSTEM means in Lite

  4. Set your scanner filters

    Price, gap, volume and relative volume, with a set for premarket, market hours and after hours. Tick auto and the sets switch with the market clock.

    Scanner filtersSession sets

  5. Set your exits once

    Open MANUAL TRADING and set take profit, stop loss and their units, the auto exit and the trailing stop, for longs and for shorts. Every BUY and SHORT you press uses them.

    The MANUAL TRADING windowTake profit and stop lossThe trailing stop

  6. Pick a stock

    Click a scanner row, or type any ticker into the box beside WATCH / TRADE. The trading panel, the ladder and the chart all follow it.

    The scanner boardScanner alert types

  7. Choose a size, then buy or short

    Set the size, choose LMT or MKT, and press BUY or SHORT, or a two-key hotkey. An entry goes in one click, with no confirmation box.

    Order sizeLimit or marketBUY and SHORTHotkeys

  8. Watch it on the ladder and chart

    The ladder shows your entry, stop, target and trail, and what each one is worth at that price. Drag a level to move it.

    The trade ladderLadder levelsThe chart

  9. Close it your way

    Let your exits close the trade, or press SELL or COVER, the 50 percent buttons, or FLATTEN ALL for everything at once.

    The eight buttons

  10. Read back the session

    CLOSED lists each trade with its costs and the reason it closed, and the order log keeps every order with your broker's exact reply.

    Realized net, open trades and closed tradesThe order log and executions

  11. Go live when you are ready

    When you are flat, press PAPER: ON and enter your six-digit code. The risk row applies when you are live, and your stops run only while Lite is running.

    Paper mode, going live, and what SYSTEM means in LiteRisk discipline

See Lite in two minutes

A walk round AutoScanTrade Lite: the scanner, the trading panel, MANUAL TRADING, the ladder and chart, the risk row and the record of your trades, filmed on the real program in paper mode.

There are 47 Lite videos, each with a 30-second version for a phone.

Browse the Lite videos

Lite videos

Every video below was recorded on AutoScanTrade Lite, so what you see is what you get.

Start here

AutoScanTrade Lite - the manual trading desk in two minutes2:00 · 0:30How AutoScanTrade Lite fits together - scan, pick, trade, exit, review2:00 · 0:30AutoScanTrade Lite and the full desk - what is the same, what the full desk adds2:00 · 0:30Getting started with AutoScanTrade Lite - first start, keys and paper mode2:00 · 0:30Paper mode, going live, and what SYSTEM means in Lite2:00 · 0:30Software stops - what to know before trading live with Lite2:00 · 0:30

Scanner and market lists

Scanner filters - price, gap, volume and relative volume2:00 · 0:30Session sets - PRE, MKT, AH and auto2:00 · 0:30The scanner board - every alert, its own row2:00 · 0:30Scanner alert types - what each Strategy means2:00 · 0:30Scanner row colours - what green, purple, red and yellow mean2:00 · 0:30Halted stocks - how the desk shows a halt2:00 · 0:30Float with its age, and where a stock files from2:00 · 0:30Top gappers - the biggest gappers that pass your filters2:00 · 0:30Watchlist and new highs2:00 · 0:30News and SEC filings for the stocks you watch2:00 · 0:30

Trading panel and hotkeys

The header and button rows - a tour of the top of the Lite desk2:00 · 0:30The top of the trading panel - open counts, 1m volume, LULD and slippage2:00 · 0:30Order size - shares, dollars or percent of buying power2:00 · 0:30Limit or market - LMT and MKT orders, every session2:00 · 0:30The resting rail - a limit entry you drag into place2:00 · 0:30BUY and SHORT - one click, no confirmation box2:00 · 0:30The eight buttons - sell, cover, flatten, liquidate and cancel2:00 · 0:30Ask before sending, double-click, and when an order is refused2:00 · 0:30Hotkeys - two-key shortcuts for every order2:00 · 0:30The HOTKEYS window - set your keys and your eight buttons2:00 · 0:30Short selling and locates2:00 · 0:30The MANUAL TRADING window - every setting a manual trade uses2:00 · 0:30

Trade ladder and chart

The trade ladder - one trade on one price rail2:00 · 0:30Ladder levels - take profit, stop loss, peak, and dragging them2:00 · 0:30The trailing stop on the ladder - waiting, then running2:00 · 0:30The chart - candles, your levels and the live result2:00 · 0:30Chart indicators - overlays, oscillators and volume profile2:00 · 0:30Chart signals - trend flip, structure break, VWAP reclaim and exhaustion2:00 · 0:30

Exits and risk controls

Auto exit and units - percent or dollars2:00 · 0:30Take profit and stop loss2:00 · 0:30The trailing stop - trail after and trail width2:00 · 0:30The step lock - a stop that ratchets in steps2:00 · 0:30Risk discipline - daily loss, trade caps and losing streaks2:00 · 0:30

Trades and the order log

Realized net, open trades and closed trades2:00 · 0:30The order log and executions - every order and every reply2:00 · 0:30SYNC BROKER, EXPORT, and paper kept apart from live2:00 · 0:30

Broker, keys and settings

The BROKER window and your commission schedule2:00 · 0:30Credentials - your data key and broker keys stay on your PC2:00 · 0:30Sounds - a voice for every event2:00 · 0:30Layouts and text size - fit the desk to your screens2:00 · 0:30CHECK, the risks window, and the clock2:00 · 0:30

Lite or the full desk

Both are one program. A small file beside it says which version you have, and the limits are checked inside the program, not just by hiding buttons.

FeatureLiteFull desk
Scanner, gappers, watchlist, new highs, newsYesYes
Trading panel, hotkeys, locatesYesYes
MANUAL TRADING, take profit, stop loss, trailing stop, step lockYesYes
Trade ladder and chart with indicators and signal arrowsYesYes
Risk row, paper mode, order log, CLOSED and OPEN windowsYesYes
AUTO/BOT: entry rules, filters and chart-signal entriesNoYes
Arming a side to trade on your rulesNoYes
Profile fleet and the paper scheduleNoYes
JOURNAL, ANALYSE and DAY TARGET windowsNo (buttons shown greyed)Yes

Moving up later changes nothing on your computer except which features answer. Your settings, layout and watchlist stay where they are. Lite in the user guide · the video

Questions about Lite

Short answers. The user guide has the detail.

Does AutoScanTrade Lite ever trade by itself?

No. Every order in Lite is one you press. The automation, arming a side, the profile fleet and the paper schedule belong to the full desk. In Lite they are not drawn, and the program refuses them even if a hotkey or an old saved setup asks.

Are the stops and targets the same as in the full desk?

Yes. Take profit, stop loss, the trailing stop and the step lock run on the same exit engine. They are software stops: the program watches the price and sends the exit, so nothing protects a position while it is closed. More on software stops.

Does Lite keep a record of my trades?

Lite shows your trades in the order log, which keeps every order and your broker's reply, and in the CLOSED window, which lists each closed trade with its costs and the reason it closed. The JOURNAL and ANALYSE windows, for reading your trade history back, are part of the full desk and are not in Lite.

Can I move from Lite to the full desk later?

Yes. They are the same program, so nothing is reinstalled or migrated. Your settings, layout and watchlist stay where they are.

Which brokers and market data does Lite use?

The same as the full desk: orders go to TradeZero or Alpaca, and market data comes from Alpaca on your own key and data plan, with the SIP or IEX feed.

Can I try Lite without a broker account?

Yes. Paper mode trades against live prices with a virtual wallet, and no order reaches a broker. Lite always starts in paper mode.

Launching soon

Email us and we will tell you when AutoScanTrade Lite is available.

contact@autoscantrade.com