Operating paths
Paper deployment methodology
A paper deployment is a long-running evaluation path for a selected strategy revision. It uses live market data and sends order activity to the Venue Simulator instead of a live venue. In the current target-position execution path, a paper deployment evaluates both the selected revision and the Target Position Executor behavior under simulator assumptions.
The runtime path is:
Live market data server -> Strategy engine -> Target Position Executor -> Venue Simulator
Paper deployments let users observe real-time strategy behavior under simulated execution assumptions before deciding whether a revision is ready for live operation.
- 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.
What paper deployments evaluate
Section titled “What paper deployments evaluate”A paper deployment evaluates how a selected revision behaves as live market data arrives.
It keeps the strategy path close to live operation:
- The live market data server provides current venue data.
- The strategy engine evaluates the selected revision.
- The Target Position Executor converts target positions into order activity.
- The Venue Simulator records simulated fills and simulated account state.
The execution destination is the key difference from a live deployment. Paper deployments do not send order messages to the live exchange gateway.
The paper deployment path stays close to live operation because live market data still drives the selected revision. The difference is that account state, fills, and order state are simulated by the Venue Simulator rather than produced by a live venue account.
For the shared executor boundary, see Target-position execution model.
Setup context
Section titled “Setup context”Paper deployments use revision context and deployment context.
| Context | Examples |
|---|---|
| Revision context | Strategy, revision, fixed node parameters, validation state, compile output, venue, and instrument. |
| Run context | Strategy Variable values, selected simulated balances or account state, deployment owner, start time. |
| Simulator context | Fees, slippage, latency, liquidity assumptions, fill model, and simulator limitations. |
| Live data context | Current market data availability and any venue data issues visible during the deployment. |
Strategy Variables are concrete values supplied when the deployment starts. They let users evaluate a revision with run-specific values without changing fixed node parameters in the revision.
Long-running behavior
Section titled “Long-running behavior”Paper deployments continue running until the user stops them or a failure path ends the deployment.
Common lifecycle states:
drafting: the deployment parameters are being specified by the user.provisioning: Structure is preparing the selected revision and runtime path.running: the deployment is active.stopping: Structure is shutting the deployment down.stopped: the deployment is no longer running.failed: the deployment could not start or continue.
Because paper deployments are long-running, review them through health, logs, simulated account state, positions, target exposure, event volume, latency, and status changes over time.
How to interpret paper deployment results
Section titled “How to interpret paper deployment results”Paper deployments show real-time strategy behavior under simulated execution assumptions.
They are useful for answering:
- Does the revision behave as expected as live data arrives?
- Do Strategy Variable values produce the intended target positions?
- Does the Target Position Executor produce order activity consistent with the strategy’s target positions?
- How do simulated positions, PnL, event volume, latency, and logs evolve during the deployment?
- Which simulator assumptions affect the observed result?
Paper deployment results are not live execution evidence. They use the Venue Simulator, and the current Venue Simulator does not model the full exchange order book. Treat paper deployment behavior as evidence under explicit assumptions, not a guarantee that a live deployment will produce the same fills, account state, or order behavior.
For assumption details, see Simulator assumptions and data completeness.
Difference from backtest jobs
Section titled “Difference from backtest jobs”Paper deployments and backtest jobs both use the Venue Simulator.
| Path | Data source | Execution destination | Lifetime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper deployment | Live market data server | Venue Simulator | Long-running deployment |
| Backtest job | Historical market data server | Venue Simulator | Finite job |
Use a paper deployment when you want to observe real-time behavior without sending orders to a live venue. Use a backtest job when you want to evaluate a revision over a historical time range.
Difference from live deployments
Section titled “Difference from live deployments”Paper deployments and live deployments both use live market data.
| Path | Data source | Execution destination | Live venue orders |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper deployment | Live market data server | Venue Simulator | No |
| Live deployment | Live market data server | Live exchange gateway | Yes |
Use a live deployment only after selecting the revision, Strategy Variable values, connected account, venue context, permissions, and deployment settings intended for live operation.
Promotion boundary
Section titled “Promotion boundary”A paper deployment does not automatically promote itself to a live deployment.
Promotion is an explicit user decision. The user reviews paper deployment behavior, simulator assumptions, logs, simulated positions, and run context before selecting a revision and connected account for live operation.