File format
Generic CSV format
If you build your trade history yourself (in Excel or Google Sheets, for example), this is the format to follow. Every other format we accept is a direct export from your broker or platform — this is the one you fill in yourself.
What this page documents
This page describes only the file's input contract: which columns you need, in what format, and what happens if something doesn't fit. It does not describe how your strategy is evaluated once the file has been read correctly.
File columns
One row per closed trade. Required columns (exact names): entry_time (entry date and time), exit_time (exit date and time), pnl (profit or loss), and side (direction: long or short). Optional: fees, symbol, and size.
Column names are lowercase, exactly as they appear here. Column order doesn't matter, and you can include extra columns without causing an error — only the ones this contract recognizes are read. The separator must be a comma.
Dates and time zone
Dates must include an explicit time zone, for example 2026-01-15T14:30:00-06:00. exit_time must be equal to or later than entry_time.
Numbers: pnl, fees, size
Report the trade's net result (after commissions and costs) in pnl. The optional fees column lets you declare them separately; it is not combined with pnl. Decimals use a period, not a comma: 125.50, not 125,50.
side: long or short
side accepts exactly the words long or short, in lowercase. No variants are accepted (Long, buy, sell, empty).
Encoding
The file can be UTF-8 with or without a BOM (the marker Excel sometimes adds when exporting "CSV UTF-8") — both are accepted.
Common errors
If a required column is missing, a date isn't in the right format, or a numeric value is invalid, you'll see a specific message pointing to the row and the exact problem.
If the file is well formed but side isn't exactly long or short, or exit_time is earlier than entry_time, the file passes the first check but is rejected later — in that case the message you'll see is generic, without pointing to the exact row. That's why it's worth double-checking those two fields before uploading.
Downloadable template
entry_time,exit_time,pnl,side,fees,symbol,size 2026-01-15T09:30:00-06:00,2026-01-15T11:45:00-06:00,125.50,long,2.50,EURUSD,1.0 2026-01-16T14:00:00-06:00,2026-01-16T16:30:00-06:00,-48.25,short,1.10,BTCUSD,0.25 2026-01-17T08:00:00-06:00,2026-01-17T08:45:00-06:00,76.00,long,,, 2026-01-19T10:15:00-06:00,2026-01-19T10:50:00-06:00,-12.75,short,0.75,GBPUSD,
When your file is ready, upload it on the platform.
About the Disclaimer of Opinion
A perfectly well-formed file can still receive a Disclaimer of Opinion if the trade sample is insufficient to issue a verdict. That's not a formatting error — it's a different evaluation, made after the file has already been read correctly.