AI Trading: Lesson Learned #093: Automation Metadata Stale - No Trades Executed Jan 7

Lesson Learned #093: Automation Metadata Stale - No Trades Executed Jan 7

Date: January 7, 2026
Severity: CRITICAL
Category: Automation, Trading System, Verification

Incident Summary

CEO asked why paper trading didn't execute today. Investigation revealed:

• No trades_2026-01-07.json file exists
• automation.last_execution_attempt shows 2025-12-16 (3+ weeks stale)
• Jan 6 trades were from MANUAL triggers, not scheduled automation

Evidence

File: trades_2026-01-07.json → DOES NOT EXIST
automation.last_execution_attempt: 2025-12-16 (STALE)
automation.next_scheduled_execution: 2025-12-17 (IN THE PAST)
paper_account.last_sync: 2026-01-06T17:27:00 (CEO screenshot, manual)
Jan 6 trades source: immediate-trade workflow + test_sync (MANUAL)

Root Cause

The automation metadata in system_state.json is NOT being updated by the daily-trading GitHub Actions workflow. This created a false sense of automation being operational.

What Went Wrong

1. Assumption: Assumed scheduled workflow was executing and recording trades
2. Reality: The workflow may run, but isn't updating system_state.json or creating trade files
3. Verification Gap: Did not verify trade file existence AFTER workflow supposedly ran

Corrective Actions

1. Daily-trading workflow MUST:

   • Create trades_YYYY-MM-DD.json file
   • Update automation.last_execution_attempt timestamp
   • Update automation.next_scheduled_execution timestamp

2. Session start verification MUST check:

   • Trade file exists for previous trading day
   • automation.last_execution_attempt is recent (< 2 trading days)

3. Never claim automation is working without:

   • Trade file evidence from today/yesterday
   • Fresh automation timestamps

Never Again

• NEVER assume scheduled automation ran without checking trade files
• NEVER claim "system ready" when automation metadata is 3+ weeks old
• ALWAYS verify trade file creation, not just workflow trigger

Related Lessons

• LL-092: Compounding strategy mandatory
• LL-074: ChromaDB must be verified

Tags

automation, stale_data, verification, trading_system, incident_jan07

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This lesson was auto-published from our AI Trading repository.

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