Developer workflowsOptions dataResearch to paper

Use CuteMarkets from first backtest to paper-trading review.

CuteMarkets is built for developers who want to test options strategies with the same discipline they use in production systems: explicit data contracts, causal replay, realistic execution assumptions, and paper loops that can be audited.

Use case 01

Backtesting

Rebuild the market state a strategy could actually see before it entered a trade.

Backtesting starts with point-in-time contracts, listed expirations, quotes, trades, and aggregate bars. The goal is not a prettier equity curve; it is a replay loop that prevents stale contract leakage, same-bar fills, and last-price assumptions from deciding the result.

Point-in-time contracts
Quote-aware fills
Walk-forward checks
Use case 02

Research

Compare strategy families, failed branches, and portfolio candidates without hiding weak evidence.

Research workflows need reproducible artifacts: manifests, candidate grids, holdouts, PBO/DSR diagnostics, and negative-result notes. CuteMarkets fits the data layer under that process, from chain state and quote history to endpoint-level scripts a developer can version and audit.

Family sweeps
PBO / DSR diagnostics
Failure logs
Use case 03

Live Paper Trading

Move a frozen research object into a paper loop while preserving parity and reject reasons.

Paper trading should be a validation surface, not a silent rewrite of the backtest. The paper loop checks live or delayed data, selects executable contracts, records quote and order decisions, and compares the route against the exact assumptions that promoted the strategy.

Frozen launch contract
Decision audit trail
Paper drift review

Workflow stack

The same data spine supports each use case.

A developer new to backtesting should start with a simple rule, then improve the data assumptions before expanding the strategy search. The same objects that make a backtest honest also make research reproducible and paper trading debuggable.

Data reconstruction

Fetch the listed contracts, expirations, quotes, trades, bars, IV, Greeks, and open interest that were observable at the decision time.

Realism gates

Reject stale quotes, wide spreads, impossible same-bar entries, unsupported DTE windows, and strategy variants that only work under a permissive fill model.

Research artifacts

Keep manifests, summary tables, selected trades, daily PnL, diagnostics, and no-go reports together so the next run starts from evidence.

Paper readiness

Freeze the selected profile, verify parity, dry-run the launch contract, and only then route paper orders with explicit risk controls.

Summary

Backtesting, research, and paper trading are one workflow.

Use casePrimary jobQuestion it answers
BacktestingHistorical reconstructionCan this strategy survive causal replay and realistic fills?
ResearchEvidence selectionWhich families deserve more tests, and which branches should be closed?
Live Paper TradingForward validationDoes the live route still match the promoted research object?