Conversions
Bring an existing strategy into XTester and review the converted result.
The four steps
The wizard walks the port in steps: source import, decisions on questions, generation and repair, audit and finalization. The current step is shown on the rail at the left of the window.
- Source code
- Continue
The engine keeps the state of a run, not the tab. The phase, the open questions, the disclosure permission and the right to apply all live on the engine side, so closing and reopening the tab loses nothing.
Continue from chat: open the intended saved run in the wizard and tell @xtester to continue the conversion and manage the work. The agent receives the selected run and model, reads the saved phase, and waits for job completion rather than repeatedly taking immediate snapshots. Explicit delegation permits ordinary recommended decisions; Spot/Futures remains a mandatory question.
After a successful build and audit, the finished result is saved in a new folder. For built-in Copilot, approving the conversion run or grant tool invocation also permits sending the source and updated drafts to the selected provider; it does not open a second disclosure modal. External MCP still asks separately. In the wizard, approve source disclosure once before the first remote call.
The saved permission covers all stages, updated drafts and retries of this run for the same provider, endpoint and source set. Continue opens the modal if permission is missing; saved permission is reused without another modal. Provider failures keep permission and saved stages: distinguish access (401/403), balance (402), request rate (429), rejected parameters and server errors (5xx), then continue after addressing the cause.
Source import
The first step accepts the source in one of the supported modes and requires the right to port it to be confirmed. The one question the engine cannot answer for anyone is which file to treat as the entry point.
- Source code
- Continue
The step that involves a model does not start until the source is allowed to leave this computer. Without that permission the wizard stops and says so plainly.
Tick Automatically choose recommended answers above the questions to accept the model's recommendations for current and later rounds. Questions with no single recommendation or requiring an explicit decision, including the trading environment, remain manual. Continue automatically controls whether the next stage starts after answers are saved; before the first step, press Continue. The answer mode applies only while this run is open.
Pause, a failure, closing the tab or opening another run disables it. Answers already saved remain in the run.
While a strategy is being converted in any Studio window, its folder or manifest cannot be deleted, including deletion of a parent folder or a bulk selection in Explorer. Stop the conversion and wait for the job to finish before deleting it. If the strategy folder was removed outside Studio, the running conversion can still be stopped through its saved run.
Conversion log
Open conversion log opens the standard Output panel on XTester Conversion and keeps focus in the editor. Progress, stage results, model request and token usage, actions and failures are recorded there, including imports and fragment translations that have no saved run. Questions still appear as decision cards in the wizard.
- XTester Conversion output
Opening a saved run shows all history retained by the engine and the latest build and meaning checks. Saved history is limited to 500 records or 1 MiB; older pruned records cannot be restored. Repeated status reads do not replay it. Selecting another run changes the displayed log; an accepted import keeps its log when it becomes a saved run.
The current failure stays above the work in the wizard until an explicit retry. The log button remains available after an engine failure. Continue automatically remains unchecked until you choose it; Pause stops automatic continuation at the nearest existing checkpoint.
Applying the result
The last step applies the result. By default a NEW strategy folder is created beside the current one rather than overwriting the open one; the folder name and the overwrite mode are set in the form.
- Destination and Apply
The conversion report stays available after the result is applied. The list of runs of the open strategy folder is shown until one run is picked.
Validate the Converted Strategy
Completed conversion produces source for review rather than proven trading equivalence. Read its log for unsupported constructs and assumptions.
Compile and run a small historical calculation with explicit data, period and costs. Compare signals, trades and logs with the original logic. Compilation validates program form rather than identical trading behavior.
If a step stalls, retain its name and exact error. Unavailable models, unsupported source, compilation errors and a changed-snapshot refusal require different fixes.
Related commands
Command Palette reference
Find these actions by name in the Command Palette; availability depends on the current project and operation state.
xtester.conversionsRefreshxtester.convertStrategyxtester.importAndConvertxtester.strategyWizard.convert