Guardrail Trading
Guardrail Trading
Documentation

Guardrail Trading Documentation

Everything you need to know about using Guardrail Trading to improve your trading performance and protect your capital.

Getting Started

Quick start guide to begin using Guardrail Trading

Dashboard & Overview

Understanding your trading dashboard and key metrics

Trade Journaling

How to log trades and maintain your trading journal

Analytics & Statistics

Deep dive into your trading performance analytics

Risk Management

Protect your capital with risk controls and limits

Trading Tools

Position sizer, risk calculators, and more

Account Management

Managing multiple trading accounts

Reports & Export

Generate reports and export your data

AI Features

AI-powered insights and analysis

Settings

Customize your Guardrail experience

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Getting Started

Quick Start Guide

  1. Create an Account: Sign up with your email at /signup
  2. Set Up Your First Account: Go to Accounts and create a trading account with your starting balance
  3. Configure Risk Settings: Set your daily loss limits and risk per trade in Settings → Trading Controls
  4. Log Your First Trade: Click "New Trade" to record your first trade
  5. Review Your Dashboard: See your statistics update in real-time on the Dashboard

What is Guardrail Trading?

Guardrail Trading is an intelligent trading journal designed to help traders track, analyze, and improve their performance while protecting their capital from devastating losses. Unlike simple spreadsheets, Guardrail provides:

  • Automatic calculation of 50+ trading statistics
  • Psychology tracking and tilt detection
  • Risk management controls and alerts
  • AI-powered insights and recommendations
  • Professional position sizing tools

Dashboard & Overview

Your dashboard is the command center for your trading. It displays real-time statistics and insights about your performance.

Key Dashboard Components

Account Health Ring

Visual indicator showing your current drawdown status:
  • Green Zone: Healthy - under 50% of max drawdown
  • Yellow Zone: Caution - 50-80% of max drawdown
  • Red Zone: Danger - over 80% of max drawdown

Tilt Score

Measures your psychological state based on 4 factors:
  • Overtrading (too many trades today)
  • Consecutive losses
  • Recent losing streak (last 5 trades)
  • Revenge trading patterns

Key Statistics

  • Win Rate: Percentage of winning trades
  • Total R: Risk-adjusted total returns
  • Expectancy: Average profit per trade
  • Profit Factor: Gross wins ÷ Gross losses

Charts & Visualizations

  • Equity curve (account growth over time)
  • Trade distribution by hour/day
  • Calendar heatmap (daily P&L)
  • Session performance breakdown

Trade Journaling

Logging a Trade

To log a trade, click "New Trade" from the sidebar or dashboard. Fill in the following fields:

Required Fields

  • Account: Select which trading account
  • Direction: Long or Short
  • Market: The instrument you traded (e.g., NQ, EURUSD, BTC)
  • Entry Price: Your entry price
  • Exit Price: Your exit price
  • Risk Amount: How much you risked in dollars
  • Date/Time: When the trade was opened and closed

Optional Fields (Recommended)

  • Setup Type: What strategy triggered this trade
  • Session: Asian, European, or US session
  • Stop Loss: Your planned stop loss price
  • Grade: Rate your execution (A-F)
  • Emotions: How you felt during the trade
  • Notes: Detailed trade analysis
  • Screenshots: Chart images for review
  • Tags: Custom labels for filtering

Daily Journal

The Daily Journal (/journal) allows you to write broader reflections:

  • Pre-market planning and bias
  • End-of-day review and lessons learned
  • Psychological state tracking
  • Market observations

Analytics & Statistics

Guardrail automatically calculates 50+ statistics from your trades. Access the Analytics Hub from the sidebar to explore detailed breakdowns.

Available Analytics Pages

Setup Analytics

Performance by trading setup

Session Analytics

Performance by trading session

Market Analytics

Performance by instrument

Psychology Analytics

Emotion and behavior patterns

Progress Tracking

Improvement over time

Drawdown Analysis

Drawdown patterns and recovery

Slippage Analysis

Execution quality tracking

Intraday Analysis

Hourly performance patterns

Duration Analysis

Trade hold time vs results

Grade Analysis

Execution grade correlation

Mistake Analysis

Common mistake patterns

Calendar Heatmap

Visual daily performance

Seasonality

Day/month patterns

Edge Analysis

Statistical edge identification

Correlation

Cross-metric correlations

Key Statistics Explained

Win Rate
Percentage of trades that were profitable. Calculated as: (Winning Trades ÷ Total Trades) × 100
Expectancy
Average profit per trade in R-multiples. Positive expectancy means your strategy is profitable over time.
Profit Factor
Gross profits divided by gross losses. A profit factor above 1.5 is considered good, above 2.0 is excellent.
R-Multiple
Your profit/loss expressed as a multiple of your risk. A 2R trade means you made 2× your risk amount.
Maximum Drawdown
The largest peak-to-trough decline in your account, expressed as a percentage.

Risk Management

Important: Risk management is the most critical aspect of trading success. Guardrail helps you set and enforce rules to protect your capital.

Trading Controls

Configure your risk parameters in Settings → Trading Controls:

  • Daily Loss LimitMaximum amount you can lose in a single day. Recommended: 2-3% of account.
  • Risk Per TradeMaximum risk on any single trade. Recommended: 0.5-2% of account.
  • Maximum DrawdownTotal drawdown threshold before requiring a trading pause.
  • Daily Trade LimitMaximum number of trades per day to prevent overtrading.
  • Consecutive Loss LimitStop trading after X consecutive losses to prevent tilt.
  • Trading WindowsDefine specific hours when you're allowed to trade.

Cooldown System

When you hit a limit (daily loss, consecutive losses, etc.), Guardrail can enforce a cooldown period. During cooldown, you'll see a reminder to step away from the markets.

Trading Tools

Position Sizer

Calculate the optimal position size for any trade based on your risk parameters.

Supported Instruments:

  • Futures: E-mini (ES, NQ, YM) and Micro contracts (MES, MNQ, MYM)
  • Forex: Major pairs, crosses, and spot metals with leverage support
  • Crypto: BTC, ETH, and other major coins with up to 100x leverage
  • Stocks: Individual stocks and ETFs

Outputs:

  • Position size (contracts, lots, or shares)
  • Dollar risk amount
  • Margin required
  • Point/pip value with your position
  • Risk/reward visualization

Risk of Ruin Calculator

Calculate the probability of blowing your account based on your trading statistics. Helps you determine if your risk per trade is appropriate.

Other Tools

  • Monte Carlo Simulator: Run thousands of simulations to understand potential outcomes
  • Breakeven Calculator: Calculate breakeven points for scaling strategies
  • Scaling Calculator: Plan position scaling entries and exits

Account Management

Guardrail supports multiple trading accounts, including prop firm challenge tracking.

Creating an Account

  1. Go to Accounts from the sidebar
  2. Click "New Account"
  3. Enter account name and starting balance
  4. Set currency (USD, GBP, EUR, etc.)
  5. For prop firms: Enable "Prop Firm Mode" and set profit target/drawdown limits

Prop Firm Mode

When enabled, Guardrail tracks:

  • Progress toward profit target
  • Daily loss limit usage
  • Maximum drawdown threshold
  • Challenge phase status

Reports & Export

Performance Reports

Generate professional PDF reports for any time period:

  • Weekly, monthly, yearly, or all-time reports
  • Key metrics summary
  • Performance by market and setup
  • Best and worst trading days
  • Recent trades table

Data Export

Export your trade data for external analysis or backup:

  • CSV export of all trades
  • Filtered exports by date range or account
  • Full data portability

AI Features

Smart Trading Insights

The dashboard displays AI-generated insights based on your trading patterns:

  • Identifies your strengths and weaknesses
  • Detects recurring patterns and mistakes
  • Suggests specific improvements
  • Highlights your best setups and sessions

AI Chat

Have a conversation with AI about your trading:

  • "What was my best performing setup last month?"
  • "Why am I losing money on Fridays?"
  • "Analyze my last 10 trades"
  • "What should I focus on improving?"

Settings

Available Settings

General Settings

Profile info, email, display preferences, currency

Trading Controls

Risk limits, daily limits, cooldown settings

Goals

Set monthly targets for profit, win rate, trades

Integrations

Connect to Notion for data sync (Premium)

Frequently Asked Questions

How is R-multiple calculated?

R-multiple = Profit or Loss ÷ Risk Amount. If you risked $100 and made $200, that's a 2R trade. If you lost $50, that's a -0.5R trade.

Can I import trades from my broker?

Yes! You can import trades via CSV file. We also support webhooks for MT4, TradingView, and custom integrations.

Is my data secure?

Yes. All data is encrypted in transit and at rest. We never share your trading data with third parties. See our Privacy Policy for details.

What's the difference between free and premium?

Free accounts can log trades and see basic statistics. Premium unlocks multiple accounts, advanced analytics, AI features, and integrations. See Pricing for details.

How do I delete my account?

Go to Settings and scroll to the bottom. Click "Delete Account" and confirm. This will permanently delete all your data within 30 days.

Need More Help?

Can't find what you're looking for? Contact our support team.