Evaluate
Running paper deployments
When to use this guide
Section titled “When to use this guide”Use this guide when you want to observe a strategy revision against live market data without sending orders to a live venue.
By the end, you will be able to:
- Configure and start a paper deployment.
- Track deployment lifecycle state.
- Monitor simulated account state, positions, logs, and health.
- Interpret paper deployment behavior under simulator assumptions.
- Decide whether to stop, revise, run more tests, or prepare for live operation.
Key concepts
Section titled “Key concepts”- A paper deployment is a long-running evaluation of one strategy revision.
- A paper deployment uses live market data and simulated execution through the Venue Simulator.
- The selected revision and Target Position Executor are both part of what you evaluate in the current target-position execution path.
- Strategy Variables are concrete values you provide for exposed node parameters when configuring the deployment.
- Venue and instrument belong to the revision and remain visible with the deployment.
- Paper deployment behavior is evidence under simulator assumptions, not a guarantee of live execution behavior.
For the deeper methodology, see Paper deployment methodology, Venue Simulator methodology, and Simulator assumptions and data completeness.
- Market data Live or historical market data sources.
- Strategy engine Runtime evaluation of the selected compiled revision.
- Target Position Executor Target-position intent converted into order activity.
- Venue Simulator Simulated execution destination and assumptions.
- Account state Live or simulated positions, fills, balances, and order state.
- Paper path Long-running paper deployment boundary.
- Run settings Run-provided values, balances, ranges, or assumptions.
- Target positions Desired exposure emitted by strategy evaluation.
Prerequisites
Section titled “Prerequisites”- You have at least one strategy with a saved revision.
- The revision has the venue and instrument you intend to observe.
- You know the Strategy Variable values you want to use.
- You know the simulated balances and simulator settings you want to start with.
You do not need a connected trading account to run a paper deployment. Paper deployments use live market data and the Venue Simulator.
Choose a strategy and revision
Section titled “Choose a strategy and revision”- Navigate to the paper deployment entry point from a strategy or deployment view.
- Click New paper deployment.
- Select the strategy and revision you want to observe.
- Review the saved revision’s venue and instrument.
Each saved revision is immutable. If you need to change fixed strategy logic, fixed node parameters, venue, or instrument, create a new revision before starting the deployment.
Configure the deployment
Section titled “Configure the deployment”Paper deployment settings include:
- Strategy Variable values:
- Concrete values for exposed node parameters.
- Starting balances:
- The simulated balances used at deployment start.
- Fees:
- The fee setting applied to simulated trading activity.
- Slippage:
- The slippage setting used by the Venue Simulator.
- Latency:
- The latency assumption used during simulated execution.
- Simulator assumptions:
- Fill model, liquidity assumptions, and known simulator limitations.
- Deployment settings:
- Any start-time controls, labels, or risk settings available for the deployment.
Venue and instrument are not paper deployment parameters. They belong to the selected revision and stay visible with the deployment.
Review and start
Section titled “Review and start”Before starting, review:
- Selected strategy.
- Selected revision.
- Revision-owned venue and instrument.
- Strategy Variable values.
- Starting balances.
- Fees.
- Slippage.
- Latency.
- Simulator assumptions.
- Deployment settings.
When the configuration is correct, click Start paper deployment.
This creates a long-running paper deployment that Structure can track through its lifecycle.
Track deployment lifecycle state
Section titled “Track deployment lifecycle state”Paper deployments move through deployment lifecycle states:
drafting: you are filling out the deployment parameters.provisioning: Structure is preparing the selected revision and runtime path.running: live market data is driving the selected revision.stopping: Structure is shutting the deployment down.stopped: the deployment is no longer running.failed: the deployment could not start or continue and exposes an error reason where available.
Open the deployment detail view to review current state, selected revision, Strategy Variable values, simulator settings, simulated account state, positions, logs, and any error details.
Monitor behavior while running
Section titled “Monitor behavior while running”When a paper deployment is running, monitor:
- Deployment health and lifecycle state.
- Live market data availability.
- Target positions produced by the selected revision.
- Simulated orders, fills, and positions.
- Simulated balances and account state.
- PnL and exposure changes over time.
- Event volume, latency, warnings, and logs.
- The Strategy Variable values and simulator assumptions attached to the deployment.
Use the deployment detail view to answer questions such as:
- Is the selected revision responding to live market data as expected?
- Are Strategy Variable values producing the intended target positions?
- Is the Target Position Executor producing order activity consistent with the strategy’s target positions?
- Are simulated fills, balances, and positions moving in a way you can explain?
- Are warnings, logs, or data availability issues affecting the result?
Do not read simulated PnL or position behavior in isolation. Review it with the selected revision, Strategy Variable values, simulator settings, event history, data availability, and logs that produced it.
Handle failed or unhealthy deployments
Section titled “Handle failed or unhealthy deployments”A paper deployment can fail or show health warnings for reasons such as:
- Missing or invalid Strategy Variable values.
- Simulator settings that are incompatible with the selected revision.
- Starting balances that cannot support the intended simulated activity.
- Live market data availability issues for the selected venue or instrument.
- Runtime errors in the selected revision.
- Resource or duration limits.
- Transient infrastructure or data issues.
When a deployment is failed or unhealthy:
- Open the deployment detail view.
- Review the error message, warnings, logs, and recorded deployment settings.
- Confirm the selected revision, Strategy Variable values, starting balances, and simulator settings.
- Stop the deployment if it is still running and should not continue.
- Start a new paper deployment when the configuration is ready.
If the error persists and appears internal, contact support with the paper deployment ID.
Stop the deployment
Section titled “Stop the deployment”Paper deployments continue running until you stop them or a failure path ends them.
Stop a paper deployment when:
- You have observed enough live-market behavior for the question you were testing.
- The selected revision, Strategy Variable values, or simulator settings need to change.
- A warning or error means the current run should not continue.
- You are ready to compare the paper deployment with backtest jobs or prepare for live operation.
When you click Stop, Structure moves the deployment through stopping to stopped where available. Review the final deployment record before making decisions from the result.
Stopping a paper deployment does not change the saved revision, and it does not send any order messages to a live venue.
Interpret and decide next steps
Section titled “Interpret and decide next steps”Use paper deployment results to decide what to do next:
- Create a new revision when the observed behavior points to a strategy change.
- Start another paper deployment when you need to test different Strategy Variable values, balances, or simulator assumptions against live market data.
- Run a backtest job when you need historical evidence over a fixed time range.
- Prepare a live deployment when you are ready to select the revision, Strategy Variable values, connected account, venue context, permissions, and deployment settings for live operation.
A paper deployment does not become a live deployment by itself.
When comparing runs, keep settings attached to the observed behavior. Compare across:
- Revision changes.
- Fixed node parameter changes.
- Strategy Variable values.
- Starting balances.
- Fees.
- Slippage.
- Latency.
- Liquidity assumptions.
- Data availability.
- Simulated positions, account state, PnL, logs, and event history.
Because paper deployments use simulated execution, treat their behavior as evidence under explicit assumptions, not proof that a live deployment will produce the same fills, account state, or order behavior.