tradingview-desktop-control

name

tradingview-desktop-control

description

Control the local TradingView Desktop app on macOS through UI automation (AppleScript/System Events) using the user's already logged-in desktop session. Use when Codex needs to automate TradingView actions such as focusing the app, sending hotkeys, typing into UI fields, clicking menu items, switching symbols/timeframes/layouts, or running repeatable charting workflows in the desktop app rather than the browser. This skill uses visible UI access only and does not bypass TradingView subscription restrictions, account permissions, or broker protections.

TradingView Desktop Control

Overview

Automate the running macOS TradingView desktop app via Accessibility-enabled UI scripting. Use the bundled scripts/tvctl.py tool for deterministic actions instead of hand-writing AppleScript each turn. Use scripts/tv_inventory.py, scripts/tv_web_inventory.py, scripts/tv_registry_merge.py, scripts/tv_resolve_capability.py, scripts/tv_plan_intent.py, and scripts/tv_execute_plan.py to enumerate capabilities, build/query a merged registry, plan actions, and execute them with risk gates/verification hooks.

Quick Start

1. Verify the app is reachable:

python3 scripts/tvctl.py status
python3 scripts/tvctl.py list-menus

2. Bring TradingView to the front:

python3 scripts/tvctl.py activate --launch

3. Send UI actions (hotkeys, typing, menu clicks):

python3 scripts/tvctl.py hotkey "cmd+k"
python3 scripts/tvctl.py type "AAPL"
python3 scripts/tvctl.py press return

4. Use higher-level chart/indicator workflows:

python3 scripts/tvctl.py set-symbol "AAPL"
python3 scripts/tvctl.py add-indicator "RSI"

5. Calibrate watchlist field coordinates (for watchlist editing/search):

python3 scripts/tvctl.py config-init config/layouts/my-layout.json --layout-name my-layout
python3 scripts/tvctl.py window-bounds
python3 scripts/tvctl.py mouse-location
# then use normalized window coordinates (0..1)
python3 scripts/tvctl.py watchlist-search "TSLA" 0.90 0.10 --normalized-window
# or timed point capture into config (move mouse during prompts)
python3 scripts/tvctl.py calibrate-watchlist config/layouts/my-layout.json --delay-per-point 8

6. For repeatable workflows, run a JSON sequence:

python3 scripts/tvctl.py run-sequence references/examples/change-symbol.json

7. Build and merge capability inventories (desktop + web):

python3 scripts/tv_inventory.py --pretty --write-default-registry
python3 scripts/tv_web_inventory.py --url https://www.tradingview.com/chart/ --headed --write-default-output
python3 scripts/tv_registry_merge.py \
  references/examples/capability-registry.seed.json \
  output/tv-web-inventory.json \
  --write-default-output

8. Enumerate targeted TradingView Web contexts (dialogs/menus) using label-based action plans:

python3 scripts/tv_web_inventory.py \
  --url https://www.tradingview.com/chart/ \
  --actions-file references/examples/web-inventory-plans/open-indicators-dialog.json \
  --capture-label indicators-dialog \
  --output output/tv-web-inventory.indicators.json

9. Resolve intents against the merged registry:

python3 scripts/tv_resolve_capability.py "open indicators" --registry output/capability-registry.merged.latest.json
python3 scripts/tv_resolve_capability.py "settings" --prefer-surface-family web_ui
python3 scripts/tv_resolve_capability.py "watchlist add symbol" --only-actionable

10. Produce an executable plan (with parameter extraction + risk gating):

python3 scripts/tv_plan_intent.py 'set chart symbol AAPL'
python3 scripts/tv_plan_intent.py 'add indicator "RSI"'
python3 scripts/tv_plan_intent.py 'remove watchlist row' --max-risk low

11. Execute a planned action with confirmation + verification hooks:

python3 scripts/tv_execute_plan.py 'open settings' --prefer-surface-family web_ui --yes
python3 scripts/tv_execute_plan.py 'add indicator "RSI"' --dry-run
python3 scripts/tv_execute_plan.py 'remove watchlist row' --max-risk low --yes

Workflow

1. Probe current UI state with status, list-menus, and optionally window-titles.
2. Prefer keyboard shortcuts and menu clicks over coordinate-based clicking.
3. Use built-in high-level commands (set-symbol, add-indicator) for common chart workflows.
4. For watchlist editing/search, calibrate a watchlist input point and use normalized window coordinates.
5. Prefer config-backed watchlist macros after calibration (watchlist-*-config) to avoid retyping coordinates.
6. Type symbols/values only after focusing the intended field/panel.
7. Insert short delays between dependent UI steps (wait action or separate command).
8. Re-check state after important steps (menu presence, window title, screenshot if needed).

Commands

Use python3 scripts/tvctl.py --help and python3 scripts/tvctl.py <subcommand> --help.

Core subcommands:

• status: print JSON with running/frontmost/menu discovery info
• activate [--launch]: focus TradingView; optionally launch it first
• list-menus: list top-level menu bar items visible to macOS UI scripting
• window-titles: list accessible window names (may be empty for some Electron states)
• window-bounds: return front window bounds for coordinate calibration
• mouse-location: return current pointer coordinates
• config-init <file>: create a per-layout config JSON (points + shortcuts)
• config-show <file>: print config JSON
• config-set-shortcut <file> <key> <combo>: store shortcut overrides (symbol_search, indicator_search)
• config-set-point <file> <name> <x> <y>: store a named point manually
• config-capture-point <file> <name>: capture current mouse position into config (supports delay + normalized coords)
• calibrate-watchlist <file>: timed capture of common watchlist points (search, add, rows, remove menu item)
• config-bind-watchlist <file>: remap watchlist point names in config
• hotkey "<combo>": send combo like cmd+k, shift+cmd+p, esc
• press <key> [--mods ...] [--times N]: send special keys (return, tab, esc, arrows, etc.)
• type "<text>" [--interval 0.02]: type text into the focused UI element
• click-menu "Top > Item > Subitem": click a menu path
• move-mouse <x> <y>: move pointer (supports --relative-window and --normalized-window)
• click <x> <y>: click pointer target (supports left/right, repeated clicks, window-relative coords)
• drag <x1> <y1> <x2> <y2>: drag rows/panes (useful for watchlist reorder)
• search "<query>": generic shortcut-opened search flow (--open-combo overrideable)
• set-symbol "<symbol>": open symbol search and switch chart symbol (default )

Coordinate notes:

• --normalized-window treats x and y as 0..1 fractions of the front TradingView window.
• This is usually the most stable way to target watchlist inputs/buttons across window moves/resizes.

Sequence Format

Pass a JSON file containing a list of action objects:

[
  { "action": "set-symbol", "symbol": "AAPL", "launch": true },
  { "action": "wait", "seconds": 0.3 },
  { "action": "add-indicator", "query": "RSI" },
  {
    "action": "config-watchlist-open",
    "config": "config/layouts/aribs-main.json",
    "symbol": "BTCUSDT"
  }
]

Supported actions:

• activate, wait, hotkey, press, type, click-menu
• move-mouse, click, drag
• search, set-symbol, add-indicator
• watchlist-search, watchlist-open
• config-watchlist-open, config-watchlist-add, config-watchlist-remove, config-watchlist-reorder

Example watchlist step using normalized coordinates:

{ "action": "watchlist-search", "query": "ETH", "x": 0.90, "y": 0.10, "normalized_window": true }

Safety Rules

• Treat broker/order entry, order modification, and order cancellation as high risk.
• Require explicit user confirmation before any live trading action, even if the UI is accessible.
• Stop if an unexpected modal, login prompt, CAPTCHA, or broker confirmation appears.
• Use visible UI only; do not claim unsupported API-level or hidden internal access.
• Keep automation scoped and reversible; avoid long unattended loops.

Limitations

• Premium features are available only through the currently signed-in TradingView desktop session.
• This skill cannot bypass TradingView paywalls, broker permissions, or platform restrictions.
• Electron UI elements may not expose a full accessibility tree; use hotkeys and menus first.
• Watchlist controls may require coordinate-based targeting because TradingView exposes sparse AX metadata.
• Window titles may be unavailable in some app states.

Troubleshooting

• If commands fail with assistive access errors, grant Accessibility access to Codex/Terminal.
• If the app is running but not responding, call activate and retry with a short wait.
• If a shortcut differs from expectations, inspect TradingView menus and use click-menu.
• If watchlist automation misses the target, recalibrate using window-bounds + mouse-location and switch to --normalized-window.
• If UI focus is wrong, send esc and re-open the intended panel before typing.

References

• Read references/usage-notes.md for permissions, patterns, and example automation recipes.
• Read references/layout-config.md for the config schema and a one-pass calibration workflow.
• Read references/capability-registry-schema.json for the capability registry format used by inventory scripts.
• Read references/web-inventory-workflow.md for web inventory action-plan syntax and targeted context capture workflow.
• Read references/resolver-workflow.md for merged-registry intent resolution and scoring usage.
• Read references/planner-workflow.md for intent-to-recipe planning, parameter extraction, and risk gating.
• Read references/executor-workflow.md for recipe execution, risk gates, and verification hooks.