Article 8: Quantitative Trading - Differences Between tradeUI and webserverUI

🔍 Article 8: Quantitative Trading - Differences Between tradeUI and webserverUI

Although both are often used together, their roles and startup logic are completely different. Below is a detailed comparison 👇

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Item	freqtrade trade	freqtrade webserver
✅ Startup Content	Starts the trading bot (live or dry-run)	Starts the visualization UI service (for viewing data)
⚙️ Core Function	Executes strategies, places orders, monitors markets	Graphically displays strategy performance/backtest results
🧠 Runs Strategy Logic?	✅ Yes (runs strategy in real-time)	❌ No (only reads and displays data)
📦 Data Source	Real-time market data, order execution	Local SQLite database (or strategy output)
⏱ Use Case	Live trading (simulated or real)	View strategy performance/order info in browser
🔗 Connects to Exchange?	✅ Yes	❌ No
📈 View Backtest Results?	❌ No	✅ Supports backtest visualization
🚀 Browser Access Address	Optional UI, runs in background	http://127.0.0.1:8080 (default)

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✅ Use Case Distinction

1. trade Runs the Bot

You can choose live trading or dry-run (simulated trading):

freqtrade trade \
  --config user_data/config.json \
  --strategy MyStrategy \
  --dry-run

• Continuously fetches real-time market data
• Executes strategy logic (e.g., buy/sell signals)
• Connects to the exchange, records orders, funds, and profits
• Writes all data to a local database (SQLite)

💡 Without this, the bot won't do anything!

2. webserver Provides a Graphical Interface

It only reads data and provides a browser-based interface:

freqtrade webserver \
  --config user_data/config.json \
  --username admin --password 123456

• Displays current holdings, trade history, and strategy name
• Allows viewing of live strategy performance
• Can also display backtest result charts (e.g., after running backtesting)

❗ Does not run strategies or connect to exchanges!

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🔄 Relationship Summary

• trade is the "bot engine"
• webserver is the "graphical interface"

You can think of it like this:

• trade is the executor that does the actual work
• webserver is the observation window

If you only run webserver without running trade, you’ll only see previously recorded data, and no new trades will be generated.

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🧩 Practical Advice (Docker Environment)

services:
  trader:
    image: freqtradeorg/freqtrade:stable
    command: >
      trade
      --config /quants/freqtrade/user_data/config.json
      --strategy MyStrategy

  ui:
    image: freqtradeorg/freqtrade:stable
    command: >
      webserver
      --config /quants/freqtrade/user_data/config.json
      --username admin
      --password 123456
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"

Then, open your browser and visit: http://localhost:8080 to access your trading bot's dashboard.