healthcheck

name	healthcheck
description	Run a comprehensive health check on the Gold trading bot

Gold Trading Bot Health Check

Run a comprehensive health check on the gold-trading-bot. Work through each section systematically and provide a summary dashboard at the end.

VPS Details

• Server: 109.199.105.63
• SSH Key: ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_vps
• Container: gold-trading-bot

1. PROCESS STATUS

• Is the bot process running? Check with docker ps
• How long has it been running (uptime)?
• Any recent restarts or crashes?

ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_vps root@109.199.105.63 "docker ps --format '{{.Names}}\t{{.Status}}\t{{.RunningFor}}' | grep gold"

2. LOG ANALYSIS

• Check the last 100 lines of logs for errors, warnings, or anomalies
• Identify any recurring error patterns
• Check log file sizes (logs not growing unbounded)
• Scan for ORDER REJECTIONS — BOUNDS_VIOLATION (slippage guard rejecting fills), INSUFFICIENT_MARGIN, MARKET_HALTED. A burst of these around a trade means the bot fought to enter a fast-moving market — correlate with the next fill's outcome.
• Errors since the last restart only (don't get distracted by stale clusters): pass --since <container StartedAt>.
• Container restart count — a climbing count means the watchdog is firing (hangs/crashes).
• Known non-fatal noise — do NOT flag as a problem: Telegram polling error (non-fatal) lines (ECONNRESET, ETELEGRAM 429/502, ESOCKETTIMEDOUT) are external Telegram API hiccups, handled gracefully and logged at warn. They come in bursts and are harmless. Only escalate if they coincide with a watchdog restart or stop the 15-min scan / 60-s position monitor from logging. The signal to hunt for is error-level lines and the order rejections below.
• Logs rotate (gold_bot.log → gold_bot1..4.log, ~11 MB each). Greps target the current gold_bot.log; widen to the rotations only when chasing something older than the live file.

ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_vps root@109.199.105.63 "docker logs gold-trading-bot --tail 100 2>&1"
ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_vps root@109.199.105.63 "du -sh /root/Oanda_Gold/logs/*"
ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_vps root@109.199.105.63 "docker inspect gold-trading-bot --format 'RestartCount={{.RestartCount}} StartedAt={{.State.StartedAt}}'"
# order rejections + hard errors (last 24h)
ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_vps root@109.199.105.63 "tail -40 /root/Oanda_Gold/logs/error.log; echo '---REJECTIONS---'; grep -iE 'BOUNDS_VIOLATION|INSUFFICIENT_MARGIN|MARKET_HALTED|REJECT' /root/Oanda_Gold/logs/gold_bot.log | tail -20"

3. STRATEGY STATUS

The bot currently supports three strategies (check which is LIVE via STRATEGY_TYPE env var):

• EMA Trend (3/8/21) — trend-following with pullback entries, ATR-based stops (×1.5, capped $2–$20), 2:1 R:R. BRACKET EXIT since Jul 10 2026: trail OFF, breakeven OFF — a trade now resolves at its resting 2R take-profit or its original stop, nothing in between. (Superseded: the BE-at-30% + $1.50 pre-BE trail described in earlier versions of this skill is disabled; TRAILING_STOP_DISTANCE_PIPS is inert.) Leg filter ENFORCED at 2.0× (Jun 2026) — rejects entries chasing a move that already ran >2× ATR over the last 6 H1 candles.
• Breakout + ADX — Donchian channel breakouts with MTF pullback entries
• Triple Confirmation — EMA crossover + RSI + candlestick patterns

Check which strategy is active and its state:

ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_vps root@109.199.105.63 "docker exec gold-trading-bot env | grep -E 'STRATEGY_TYPE|ALLOW_SHORT|TRADING_START|TRADING_END|EMA_TREND'"
ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_vps root@109.199.105.63 "docker exec gold-trading-bot cat /app/data/ema_trend_state.json 2>/dev/null || echo 'No EMA Trend state'"
ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_vps root@109.199.105.63 "docker exec gold-trading-bot cat /app/data/breakout_adx_state.json 2>/dev/null || echo 'No Breakout state'"

For EMA Trend strategy, key things to check in logs:

• Are the fast EMAs (3/8/21) calculating correctly?
• What's the current ATR value? (determines stop/TP size)
• Is HTF (H4) alignment being checked?
• Are pullback entries being detected? (price within 0.3% of fast EMA)
• Is ADX rising or declining?

Leg filter (now ENFORCED) — verify it's actually firing:

# Any signals BLOCKED by the leg filter, and any "WOULD BLOCK" still logged
ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_vps root@109.199.105.63 "grep -iE 'BLOCKED by leg|WOULD BLOCK|LegFilter' /root/Oanda_Gold/logs/gold_bot.log | tail -15"

• If a trade fired despite a WOULD BLOCK log, enforcement is broken — investigate.
• Cross-check the cooldown is honoured (no re-fires inside TRADE_COOLDOWN_HOURS):

ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_vps root@109.199.105.63 "docker exec gold-trading-bot cat /app/data/trade_cooldown.json; docker exec gold-trading-bot cat /app/data/active_positions.json"

4. PERFORMANCE METRICS

• Check current trades/positions
• Review recent P&L from trading stats
• Check account balance and margin
• For EMA Trend trades: check if breakeven was triggered, what ATR-based SL/TP were used

ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_vps root@109.199.105.63 "docker exec gold-trading-bot cat /app/data/trading_stats.json"
ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_vps root@109.199.105.63 "source /root/Oanda_Gold/.env && curl -s -H \"Authorization: Bearer \$OANDA_API_KEY\" \"https://api-fxpractice.oanda.com/v3/accounts/\$OANDA_ACCOUNT_ID/summary\" | jq '.account | {balance, pl, unrealizedPL, marginUsed, openTradeCount}'"
ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_vps root@109.199.105.63 "source /root/Oanda_Gold/.env && curl -s -H \"Authorization: Bearer \$OANDA_API_KEY\" \"https://api-fxpractice.oanda.com/v3/accounts/\$OANDA_ACCOUNT_ID/openTrades\""

Check for any trades since the strategy switch (Mar 18 2026):

ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_vps root@109.199.105.63 "source /root/Oanda_Gold/.env && curl -s -H \"Authorization: Bearer \$OANDA_API_KEY\" \"https://api-fxpractice.oanda.com/v3/accounts/\$OANDA_ACCOUNT_ID/transactions?from=2026-03-18T00:00:00Z&type=ORDER_FILL\""

5. SYSTEM RESOURCES

• RAM usage, disk space, CPU usage

ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_vps root@109.199.105.63 "docker stats gold-trading-bot --no-stream --format '{{.MemUsage}}\t{{.CPUPerc}}' && echo '---' && df -h /"

6. CONFIGURATION REVIEW

• Verify strategy selection and key parameters
• Check that EMA Trend config matches expectations (fast EMAs, ATR multipliers, R:R)

ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_vps root@109.199.105.63 "docker exec gold-trading-bot env | grep -E 'STRATEGY|EMA_TREND|LEG_FILTER|ALLOW_SHORT|TRAILING|TAKE_PROFIT|BREAKOUT_STOP|TRADE_COOLDOWN|TRADING_START|TRADING_END' | sort"

Expected current values — BRACKET-EXIT regime, deployed Jul 10 2026 (flag any drift):

• STRATEGY_TYPE=ema_trend, ALLOW_SHORT=true, CONFIG_REGIME=bracket-jul10
• Exit (the whole point of this regime): ENABLE_TRAILING_STOP=false, EMA_TREND_BE_TRIGGER_PCT=0, EMA_TREND_TP_RR=2.0. Trail and breakeven are BOTH off so the resting 2R TP can fire. TRAILING_STOP_DISTANCE_PIPS=150 is still set but INERT — ignore it, do not "fix" it.
• BALANCED session/filters (Jul 1 2026): TRADING_START_HOUR=8, TRADING_END_HOUR=22, EMA_TREND_ADX_MIN=20, EMA_TREND_RSI_SELL_MIN=45, EMA_TREND_MAX_SL=2000 ($20 cap)
• EMA_TREND_LEG_FILTER_ENFORCE=true, EMA_TREND_LEG_FILTER_THRESHOLD=2.0
• EMA_TREND_ATR_SL_MULT=1.5, TRADE_COOLDOWN_HOURS=2
• Sizing: MIN_POSITION_SIZE=10 (was 100 — the floor that caused the £1,818 outlier), MAX_RISK_PER_TRADE=0.005. At a $20 stop this yields ~21 units ≈ £433 risk. Flag if size is pinned at the floor again.

⚠️ Rollback for this regime: /root/Oanda_Gold/.env.bak-20260710-bracket then docker compose up -d.

These live in THREE places (config.js default, docker-compose.yml ${VAR:-default}, VPS .env override) — a value can be correct in one and wrong in the container. The env output above is the source of truth for what's actually running.

7. OANDA-SPECIFIC CHECKS

• Spread conditions in recent trades
• Account margin usage
• Any requote or rejection issues

8. STRATEGY EDGE ASSESSMENT

⏰ POST-CHANGE VALIDATION TRIGGER (set Jun 1 2026). Baseline EMA Trend trade count was 22 when three changes shipped (leg filter enforced @2.0×, breakeven monotonic-trail fix, pre-BE trail $0.75→$1.50). When the count reaches ~37–42 (15–20 new trades), RUN THE VALIDATION REVIEW and report it prominently:

• Split trades at the Jun 1 baseline (id/time) → compare PF, win rate, avg win, payoff before vs after.
• Leg filter: any trade that fired despite a WOULD BLOCK log? Compare blocked-vs-allowed P&L (legWouldBlock). Is it still removing losers not winners?
• BE fix: are the $0 give-back-to-breakeven scratches gone?
• Trail $1.50: did avg win rise vs the old ~$212? What's the TAKE_PROFIT-hit rate now?
• Verdict: did PF move off 1.11? If the three changes held → this is the green light to revisit risk sizing (the MIN_POSITION_SIZE floor / 0.5%-vs-0.9%) and prep go-live. If not → diagnose before real money.

Use the per-strategy tracker (NOT just trading_stats.json — that blends all strategies and includes pre-bot history). Pull the live strategy's own trades and compute the edge:

ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_vps root@109.199.105.63 "docker exec gold-trading-bot cat /app/data/tracker_data.json" > /tmp/tracker.json
node -e 'const d=JSON.parse(require("fs").readFileSync("/tmp/tracker.json"));const t=(d.strategies[d.liveStrategy].trades||[]).filter(x=>typeof x.pnl==="number");const w=t.filter(x=>x.pnl>0),l=t.filter(x=>x.pnl<=0);const s=a=>a.reduce((p,x)=>p+x.pnl,0);console.log(`${d.liveStrategy}: ${t.length} trades, ${w.length}W/${l.length}L (${(100*w.length/t.length).toFixed(0)}%), avgW $${(s(w)/w.length).toFixed(0)}, avgL $${(s(l)/l.length).toFixed(0)}, PF ${(s(w)/Math.abs(s(l))).toFixed(2)}, net $${s(t).toFixed(0)}`)'

• Win rate, profit factor, avg win vs avg loss (payoff ratio).
• ATR-SL CAP — expected, do NOT "fix" by raising the cap. lastATR × 1.5 (~$21 at H1 ATR ~$14) exceeds the $20 EMA_TREND_MAX_SL cap, so most stops sit pinned at $20. That is intended: the cap bounds worst-case loss. (Historic note: the cap was $8 until Jun 25 2026 and the sizing floor was 100u — that combination is what produced the £1,818 outlier. Both are fixed.)
• POSITION-SIZE FLOOR — the real risk check. Inspect a Position sizing: log line. Healthy now looks like Risk=$433, Distance=$20.00, Size=21 units — i.e. genuinely risk-scaled, well clear of the MIN_POSITION_SIZE=10 floor. Flag only if size lands ON the floor, which would mean actual $ risk exceeds MAX_RISK_PER_TRADE again.
• Is 2:1 R:R actually realized? Count TAKE_PROFIT_ORDER exits vs STOP_LOSS_ORDER. Under the pre-Jul-10 config the answer was 0/35 — the $1.50 trail always fired first (see [[tp-never-reached-trail-preempts]]). First TP hit Jul 22 2026: +£621, exactly 2.0R. Bracket-era trades need ≥20 before PF means anything; expect ~3/month and holds of hours-to-days.
• Leg-filter edge: split trades by legWouldBlock and compare P&L of blocked vs allowed — confirms the filter is removing losers, not winners, out of sample.
• Breakeven exits working? Look for SL-at-entry / small-profit trailing closures (not $0 scratches — the Jun 2026 monotonic-BE fix should have eliminated the give-back-to-$0 case).

Reference benchmarks (PF 1.73, 47% WR, +£482/59d) come from a SEPARATE IG-broker Gold bot on a 5-minute timeframe — the strategy was ported here to Oanda H1 (hence ATR_SL_MULT 1.5 vs IG's 2.5, and the $2–$8 SL cap). These numbers were NEVER validated on Oanda — treat them as the design's origin, not a target. Judge this bot on its OWN live record.

• Reference: ~47% WR, PF > 1.5, avg win ~2x avg loss (2:1 R:R), breakeven exits ~2-5% of trades.
• NOTE: live WR has run higher (~70%) but with payoff INVERTED (avg loss > avg win) because the 2R TP rarely fills — so a high WR alone is not evidence of edge. Always check PF + payoff.

9. RECOMMENDATIONS

Provide prioritised recommendations:

• P1 (Critical): Issues that need immediate attention
• P2 (Important): Should be addressed soon
• P3 (Nice to have): Optimisations for later

10. SUMMARY DASHBOARD

Present a quick status summary table:

Check	Status	Notes
Process Running	?/?	Uptime, restart count
Logs Healthy	?/?/?	Errors since restart, order rejections
Strategy Active	?/?	Which strategy, what signals
Leg Filter	?/?	Enforced @2.0×, firing? any WOULD-BLOCK that still traded
Open Trades	?/?	Any positions, breakeven status, cooldown honoured
Resources OK	?/?/?
Config Correct	?/?	All 3 sources agree (env = source of truth)
Strategy Edge	?/?/?	PF + payoff (not WR alone); ATR-SL cap; TP-hit rate

Traffic light summary: GREEN All good / YELLOW Minor issues / RED Needs attention