Not sure if your library is still being maintained? Check out our open source trading tools list.

Introduction

Open source trading libraries have empowered independent developers and small funds to build powerful strategies without starting from scratch. But what happens when the tools you rely on are no longer actively maintained?

In this article, we dive into the risks of using unmaintained libraries in algorithmic trading — where stability and precision are non-negotiable.

1. Silent Bugs That Break Your Strategy

When a library isn’t updated or maintained, bugs often go unnoticed — or worse, get reported but never fixed. In trading, even small miscalculations in order execution or indicator logic can lead to real financial losses.

Example:
An unpatched bug in an outdated technical analysis library might calculate RSI incorrectly under certain conditions, leading to bad entry/exit decisions.

2. Security Vulnerabilities

Unmaintained libraries are a magnet for security risks:

  • Lack of dependency updates
  • Incompatible with newer Python/Node versions
  • Known exploits may remain unfixed

This can be a serious issue if your strategy runs in a cloud environment or handles sensitive keys and credentials.

3. Incompatibility with Modern Tools

Many trading environments — such as cloud VMs, Docker containers, or newer APIs — rely on up-to-date packages. An old library may:

  • Fail to install due to deprecated dependencies
  • Break when other packages are upgraded
  • Lack support for new broker integrations

This slows development and forces painful rewrites later.

4. No Community, No Support

When a library is unmaintained, chances are its community has also moved on. That means:

  • Fewer tutorials or examples
  • Unanswered GitHub issues
  • No roadmap or active development

You’re left solving problems alone — often without documentation.

5. Better Alternatives Might Exist

The open source ecosystem evolves quickly. While a library may have been a good choice 3 years ago, there could now be better-supported and more performant alternatives available.

What You Can Do

  • Check GitHub activity: Look at commit history, issues, and pull requests
  • Use libraries with active maintainers or backing (e.g., Backtrader, CCXT, Lean)
  • Contribute if you can: Even small fixes help
  • Lock your dependencies with requirements.txt or poetry.lock to prevent breakage
  • Write tests so that if something breaks, you’ll know fast

Conclusion

While open source is a powerful resource, it’s not set-and-forget. Trading requires accuracy, speed, and security — and relying on unmaintained libraries introduces risk across all of those dimensions.

Want to find actively maintained open source tools for trading? Visit our trading platforms and libraries hub.