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Why Use CI/CD in Algo Trading?

CI/CD (Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment) isn’t just for web apps — it’s an excellent way to automate testing, deployment, and version control for your trading scripts. Here’s why it matters:

  • Ensure your code runs as expected after every change
  • Automatically test logic before deploying live
  • Deploy updates to cloud/VPS environments without manual effort

1. Basic Project Structure

Organize your bot code like this:

/my-bot
├── .github/workflows/
│ └── ci.yml
├── bot/
│ ├── strategy.py
│ └── trader.py
├── tests/
│ └── test_strategy.py
├── requirements.txt
└── run.py

2. Write Tests for Core Logic

Create unit tests for strategy logic using pytest:

def test_buy_signal():
    # sample logic test
    result = my_strategy.should_buy(price=100, sma=90)
    assert result is True

3. Create a GitHub Actions Workflow

Inside .github/workflows/ci.yml:

name: Run Strategy Tests

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - name: Set up Python
        uses: actions/setup-python@v4
        with:
          python-version: '3.10'

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: |
          pip install -r requirements.txt
          pip install pytest

      - name: Run tests
        run: pytest

This ensures your tests run on every push or PR.

4. Add Linting & Type Checks

For production-grade bots, also include:

- name: Run Linter
  run: |
    pip install flake8
    flake8 bot/

5. Automated Deployment (Optional)

If you run your bot on a VPS or cloud server:

  • Use SSH deploy actions (with secrets)
  • Trigger deployment on main push
  • Use rsync, scp, or even Docker

6. Environment Secrets

Use GitHub Secrets to store:

  • Exchange API keys
  • SSH credentials
  • Environment variables

Then reference them in your workflow securely.

Final Thoughts

CI/CD for algo trading isn’t just nice-to-have — it’s essential for safe, repeatable, and scalable development. You don’t want to deploy a broken strategy with real money at stake.

Want to explore more dev-friendly trading tools? Visit our open source trading frameworks section.