Brummel
9c39a743d0
Build cBots in C# and compile them to .algo entirely on Linux via the official cTrader.Automate NuGet package + 'dotnet build' — no Windows and no cTrader desktop app. Run/backtest headless through Spotware's official cTrader console Docker image. Includes: - src/SampleCBot: example SMA-crossover cBot (SDK-style net6.0 class library) - scripts/install-dotnet.sh: root-free local .NET SDK install (~/.dotnet) - scripts/build.sh: dotnet build -> dist/<ProjectName>.algo, with a workaround for cTrader.Automate naming the .algo after the project's parent folder - scripts/run-console.sh: wrapper over ghcr.io/spotware/ctrader-console - docs/research-findings.md: sourced research; .algo verified as a proprietary 'algo'-magic container (not a ZIP); build verified end to end on Linux
112 lines
6.7 KiB
Markdown
112 lines
6.7 KiB
Markdown
# Research: building & running cTrader cBots without Windows
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This documents what was established before building the scaffold in this repo. The two
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load-bearing claims were each adversarially fact-checked (the verifier was instructed to
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*refute* them); both came back **CONFIRMED**. Where a fact was verified locally on this
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machine rather than only from the web, it is marked **[verified locally]**.
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## The claim under test
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> It is possible to create cTrader cBots directly in C# with no Windows, produce `.algo`
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> files, and run them in a container.
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**Verdict: true**, in two officially-supported halves — but the second half is recent
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enough that older sources (and people relying on them) say it's impossible.
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## The era split (why answers conflict)
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| Era | Build | Run on Linux |
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|---|---|---|
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| Old **cAlgo**, .NET Framework 4.x (≤ cTrader 4.1, pre-2022) | Windows-only `cTrader.exe /compile` (Spotware: *"not actually supported"*) | No |
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| Modern **cTrader Automate**, .NET 6 (cTrader 4.2+, Mar 2022) | `dotnet build` + `cTrader.Automate` NuGet — cross-platform | Desktop only at first; **Linux Docker since cTrader 5.4 (~Aug 2025)** |
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cTrader Desktop 4.2 (30 Mar 2022) *"removed any dependency from the cTrader application
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for the build process"* and let developers *"compile cBots and indicators using the
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'dotnet build' command and even write code and compile it on Linux or Mac."*
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## 1. Compiling `.algo` on Linux — CONFIRMED
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- **Official SDK package:** `cTrader.Automate` on NuGet, owner **spotware**
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(Spotware Systems Ltd.). Description: *"Provides cTrader Automate SDK to build cBots
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and Indicators in ALGO format."* Multi-targets **net6.0+** and net40, **no
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dependencies** → installs and runs fine via `dotnet` on Linux. (Latest seen: 1.0.17,
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2026-03-27.)
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- **Mechanism:** the package ships MSBuild `.targets`. Building a class library that
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references it and contains an algo type (a class deriving from `Robot`/`Indicator`)
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bundles the compiled assembly into the `.algo`. **[verified locally]** — a clean
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`dotnet build -c Release` on this Linux box produced a valid `.algo` with **0 errors**.
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- **What you need on Linux:** just the .NET SDK + NuGet access. No Windows, no Wine, no
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cTrader desktop.
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- **Beware the name collision:** there is a *separate* third-party NuGet package
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`cAlgo.API` (owner `st.alexofgod`, MIT). It is **not** the Spotware SDK. Use
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`cTrader.Automate`.
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### Build verified, plus a local finding
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- The `.algo` filename quirk: `cTrader.Automate` 1.0.17 names the output after the
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**parent directory of the project folder** — `_AlgoFileName =
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GetFileName(GetDirectoryName(MSBuildProjectDirectory))` in its
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`cTrader.Automate.targets`, with no override property. **[verified locally]** Two bots
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in one folder collide; this repo renames artifacts in `build.sh`.
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- **`.algo` format — what it actually is. [verified locally]** A built `.algo` begins
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with the ASCII magic bytes `algo` (`61 6c 67 6f`) and is **not** a ZIP (no `PK` header,
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no central directory). So it is Spotware's own proprietary container, not a renamed
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archive — settling a question the web sources left open. Per Spotware it wraps the
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compiled assembly (+ referenced DLLs, + optional source/symbols) and is encrypted; the
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encryption algorithm is undisclosed and there is no public byte-level spec.
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## 2. Running `.algo` headless in a container — CONFIRMED (recent)
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- **Official runner:** **cTrader CLI / Console**, distributed as a Linux Docker image
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`ghcr.io/spotware/ctrader-console` (repo `spotware/ctrader-console-docker`). Docs:
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it *"enables traders to manage account and algo-trading operations directly from a
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console or terminal without launching or relying on the regular cTrader application"*
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and *"is available as a Linux Docker image … All cTrader CLI features are available
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when using the Docker image, including backtesting."* Mount `.algo` files to
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`/mnt/Robots`.
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- **Recency caveat:** available only in **cTrader 4.8+**, works only with **modern .NET 6
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algos**, and the Linux image arrived with **cTrader 5.4 (~Aug 2025)**. As late as
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**Nov 2024** a Spotware moderator wrote *"Unfortunately cTrader CLI is not supported on
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Linux"*, and DIY Wine/Mono attempts failed. So pre-2025 sources correctly said it was
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impossible — this is the single most likely source of disagreement.
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- The runner is a **host, not a compiler** — it runs/backtests `.algo` files; it does not
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build them. Compilation is the `dotnet build` step above.
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## 3. cTrader Automate vs. Open API (don't conflate)
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Two different products that can both run on headless Linux:
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- **cTrader Automate (cBots / `.algo`)** — the strategy framework (`cAlgo.API`,
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indicators, backtesting, optimization). Runs *inside* the cTrader runtime / the cTrader
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CLI. This is what this repo targets.
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- **cTrader Open API** — a *separate* protocol (Protobuf over TLS/TCP or WebSocket, OAuth2;
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endpoints `live.ctraderapi.com` / `demo.ctraderapi.com`) for **external** apps that
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connect to a broker backend. Official SDKs: .NET (`cTrader.OpenAPI.Net`) and Python
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(`ctrader-open-api`); language-neutral otherwise. It gives you trading + market data +
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account access, but **no** cBot framework, indicators, or backtesting — you write all
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strategy logic yourself.
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Choose **Automate + cTrader CLI** to reuse the cBot framework and backtesting on Linux;
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choose **Open API** for a fully standalone, language-flexible service.
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## Limitations / honesty notes
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- The cTrader **desktop app** is Windows/macOS only — not needed for this workflow, but
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there is no native Linux *desktop*.
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- **Live** trading needs a broker account + cTrader ID credentials.
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- The `.algo` container is proprietary and encrypted; any legitimate Linux build goes
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*through* the official `cTrader.Automate` package — there is no independent OSS packer.
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- cTrader's docs/tooling move quickly; version numbers above reflect mid-2026.
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## Key sources
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- cTrader Desktop 4.2 release — https://www.spotware.com/news/ctrader-desktop-4-2/
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- Use Visual Studio and other IDEs — https://help.ctrader.com/ctrader-algo/documentation/visual-studio-ides/
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- Compiler (MSBuild properties) — https://help.ctrader.com/ctrader-algo/documentation/all-algos/compiling/
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- cTrader CLI — https://help.ctrader.com/ctrader-algo/documentation/ctrader-cli/
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- Console Docker image — https://github.com/spotware/ctrader-console-docker
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- `cTrader.Automate` package — https://www.nuget.org/packages/cTrader.Automate/
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- Algo security measures (encryption) — https://help.ctrader.com/ctrader-algo/documentation/protection-measures/
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- Open API getting started — https://help.ctrader.com/open-api/
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- Forum: Linux not supported (Nov 2024) — https://community.ctrader.com/forum/ctrader-algo/45395/
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