Triggers
Triggers start an agent evaluation when a watched market condition is met. Use them for decisions that need fresh context: reconsidering an entry, reviewing a position, or exploring how a move in one asset affects another.
A trigger wakes the agent to decide what to do. For example: “If BTC rises 3% over 1h, consider an ETH entry.” The trigger watches BTC; the instructions ask the agent to evaluate ETH using its strategy, account state, and risk limits. It may decide to wait.
Use actual stop-loss and take-profit orders for automatic price-based exits, and limit orders for committed entries at a specified price or better. Accepted orders can execute without another agent evaluation.
How agents use triggers
Section titled “How agents use triggers”Agents create, update, and cancel watches as they carry out your strategy. Describe both the supported condition to watch and the decision you want the agent to consider when it occurs. The watched asset and the asset being considered for a trade can differ.
The condition must still be measurable using one of the supported types below. Broader instructions such as “consider whether ETH can follow BTC” guide the evaluation after the trigger fires; they are not continuously evaluated conditions themselves.
Put ongoing rules in your strategy or persistent instructions. Regular evaluation timing is configured separately in Agent settings.
Available trigger types
Section titled “Available trigger types”The names in parentheses identify the trigger types the agent uses. You can describe the desired behavior in plain language in your strategy.
| Trigger | What it watches | Configuration and scope |
|---|---|---|
Price threshold (price_threshold) |
Price is at or above, or at or below, a specified USD level. | One asset, a price, and a comparison direction. Can be bound to a position for a reassessment at a specified level. |
Percentage price move (price_percent_move) |
Price rises or falls by at least a specified percentage over a rolling window. | Windows: 5m, 1h, 4h, or 24h. Watch one asset or use an any-asset discovery watch. |
Volume change (volume_change) |
The market’s volume-change metric reaches a specified percentage increase or decrease for the selected window. | Windows: 5m, 1h, 4h, or 24h. Watch one asset or use an any-asset discovery watch. This does not measure a change in your position size. |
Funding rate (funding_rate_threshold) |
The reported funding rate is at or above, or at or below, a specified level. | One asset and a signed threshold in basis points. 1 basis point = 0.01%. This is a rate threshold, not a target for funding paid or received by your position. |
Open interest change (open_interest_change) |
Open interest increases or decreases by at least a specified percentage. | One asset, a positive percentage, and an up/down direction. The window is fixed at 1h. |
Technical indicator (technical_indicator) |
A supported technical signal occurs on the latest completed candle. | One asset, one signal from the table below, and a 1h, 4h, or 1d candle timeframe. |
Price and funding thresholds are level checks: the value can already be beyond the threshold when evaluated. Technical crossing signals require a new crossing on the latest completed candle.
Price-move and volume-change watches require a complete observation window beginning after the trigger was created. For example, a newly created 1h watch does not immediately fire on an hour of movement that happened before creation.
Technical signals
Section titled “Technical signals”The Technical analysis page covers all indicators available for research. Technical triggers offer the smaller set of fixed signals below. Their indicator periods and thresholds are not configurable through the trigger.
| Signal | Condition |
|---|---|
rsi_crosses_above_30 |
RSI(14) crosses upward through 30. |
rsi_crosses_below_70 |
RSI(14) crosses downward through 70. |
macd_bullish_cross |
The MACD line crosses above its signal line, using periods 12, 26, and 9. |
macd_bearish_cross |
The MACD line crosses below its signal line, using periods 12, 26, and 9. |
price_crosses_above_ema20 |
The candle’s closing price crosses above the 20-period exponential moving average. |
price_crosses_below_ema20 |
The candle’s closing price crosses below the 20-period exponential moving average. |
volume_spike_above_2x_ma20 |
Candle volume crosses above twice its 20-period volume moving average. |
For RSI, these are recovery crossings: upward out of the area below 30, or downward out of the area above 70. There are currently no RSI triggers for crossing below 30, crossing above 70, or custom thresholds such as 40 and 60. Being above or below a level without a fresh crossing does not satisfy a crossing trigger.
An hourly technical trigger uses completed hourly candles. It does not watch an unfinished candle for a temporary touch of the level. The agent can inspect other indicator values during evaluations, but that does not create continuous trigger coverage for unsupported conditions.
Watching assets and positions
Section titled “Watching assets and positions”A market watch asks the agent to evaluate an asset when a condition occurs, such as an entry opportunity. A position-bound watch is tied to a particular symbol and long or short side, such as a technical signal that calls for reviewing the position. Position-bound watches are disabled when the corresponding position is closed, missing, liquidated, or changes side.
Only percentage price moves and volume changes support any-asset discovery. RSI and other technical signals require a separate trigger for each watched asset. An any-asset watch cannot be bound to a position, and it does not grant permission to trade outside the agent’s configured market and symbol limits.
A strategy can name BTC, ETH, and SOL, for example, and ask the agent to create separate watches. A large allowed universe does not mean every asset has an active watch: trigger capacity is limited.
Percentage price movement versus position targets
Section titled “Percentage price movement versus position targets”A percentage price-move watch compares prices over its selected window, not against your entry price. There is no native trigger for “my position has gained 10%” or “my return on margin is 10%.”
For example, a long entered at $100 could gradually reach $110 without ever moving 10% within a single hour. A 10% 1h price-move trigger could miss that entry-relative target. For an automatic exit at $110, use a take-profit order. For a review of whether to exit at that level, use a price-threshold trigger.
See Orders for entry-relative stop and target examples, partial exits, and how the agent translates percentages into order prices.
Example strategy instructions
Section titled “Example strategy instructions”These examples ask the agent to create supported watches and make a decision when they fire. Check that each requested trigger was created. All resulting trades remain subject to your strategy and configured limits.
Consider ETH after a BTC move
Section titled “Consider ETH after a BTC move”If BTC rises at least 3% over 1h, consider an ETH long entry. Review ETH’s trend and whether the setup meets my strategy and risk limits before placing an order.
This asks the agent to create a BTC price-move watch with instructions to evaluate ETH. It does not place an ETH order when BTC reaches the threshold.
Reassess an entry after an RSI recovery
Section titled “Reassess an entry after an RSI recovery”Watch ETH for hourly RSI(14) crossing above 30 on a completed candle. When it fires, evaluate a long entry against the current trend. If you enter, attach actual stop-loss and take-profit orders in the entry request.
The RSI condition starts the review. Orders handle the selected price-based exits after entry.
Review an existing position
Section titled “Review an existing position”While I hold a BTC long, create a position-bound watch for the hourly close crossing below EMA20. Reassess whether to reduce or close the position. Keep the existing stop-loss order in place during the review.
Broad entry discovery
Section titled “Broad entry discovery”Create an any-asset watch for a price increase of at least 3% over 1h. When it fires, evaluate the matching asset for an entry only if it is allowed by my market settings and meets my strategy and risk limits.
A matching price move is an observation. It does not by itself mean the agent should go long or short.
Lifetime, capacity, and follow-up
Section titled “Lifetime, capacity, and follow-up”- Agent-created market triggers are one-shot. After firing, continued monitoring requires another trigger if the strategy still calls for it.
- Each has an expiry between 1 and 720 hours. An expired watch no longer provides coverage.
- The default limit is 10 active agent-created triggers per agent. Limit, stop-loss, and take-profit orders do not consume these trigger slots.
- The agent can update or cancel its triggers. Stale entry watches and closed-position plans should not consume capacity needed for current positions.
- Paused agents do not dispatch new evaluations. Trigger execution also depends on available market data and agent processing; it is not a promise of an immediate trade.
Review agent activity to distinguish a requested watch, a created trigger, a triggered evaluation, and a filled order. Keep ongoing instructions in your strategy or persistent instructions.