jbqlab 1.0.3

A local-first quantitative backtesting and strategy analytics toolkit

jbqlab

A local-first quantitative backtesting and strategy analytics toolkit.

jbqlab lets you backtest trading strategies on your own price data using a simple CLI or a clean Python SDK - all locally, no cloud account needed.

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Table of Contents

• Installation
• Quick Start
• Data Format
• CLI Reference
  • strategies
  • info
  • validate
  • backtest
  • optimize
  • report
  • benchmark
  • montecarlo
  • portfolio
• Python SDK
• Available Strategies
• Output Files
• Metrics Reference
• Development

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Installation

pip install jbqlab

Python 3.10 or later is required. No sign-up, no API keys.

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Quick Start

CLI - first backtest in 30 seconds:

# Download or create a CSV with date,close columns, then:
jbqlab validate data.csv
jbqlab backtest data.csv --strategy buy_and_hold
jbqlab backtest data.csv --strategy sma_crossover --param fast=10 --param slow=30

Python SDK - in three lines:

from jbqlab import run_backtest

result = run_backtest("data.csv", strategy="sma_crossover", fast=10, slow=30)
print(result.metrics)
# {'total_return': 0.28, 'cagr': 0.14, 'sharpe': 0.96, 'max_drawdown': 0.21, ...}

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Data Format

jbqlab expects a CSV file with at minimum a date column and a close column.

date,close
2020-01-02,3257.85
2020-01-03,3234.85
2020-01-06,3246.28
...

• date - any parseable date string (YYYY-MM-DD recommended)
• close - adjusted closing price (numeric)
• Additional columns (open, high, low, volume) are accepted but not required by most strategies

Validate your file first:

jbqlab validate data.csv --quality

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CLI Reference

Run jbqlab --help or jbqlab <command> --help for full option details.

strategies

List all available strategies and their parameters.

jbqlab strategies

info

Show detailed information about a specific strategy, including its parameters and default values.

jbqlab info <strategy_name>

# Examples
jbqlab info sma_crossover
jbqlab info rsi

validate

Check a CSV file for backtesting compatibility.

jbqlab validate data.csv
jbqlab validate data.csv --ohlcv   # also check OHLCV consistency
jbqlab validate data.csv --quality # show data quality report

backtest

Run a backtest. Strategy parameters are passed with --param key=value and can be repeated.

# Default strategy
jbqlab backtest data.csv

# Strategy with parameters
jbqlab backtest data.csv --strategy sma_crossover --param fast=10 --param slow=30
jbqlab backtest data.csv --strategy rsi --param period=14 --param oversold=30
jbqlab backtest data.csv --strategy bollinger_bands --param window=20 --param num_std=2.5
jbqlab backtest data.csv --strategy macd \
  --param fast_period=12 --param slow_period=26 --param signal_period=9
jbqlab backtest data.csv --strategy momentum --param lookback=20

# Transaction costs and capital
jbqlab backtest data.csv --strategy sma_crossover \
  --param fast=10 --param slow=30 \
  --cost 0.001 --slippage 0.0005 --capital 50000

# Save to a custom directory
jbqlab backtest data.csv --strategy buy_and_hold --out my_results/

# Suppress progress output
jbqlab backtest data.csv --strategy buy_and_hold --quiet

Option	Default	Description
--strategy, -s	buy_and_hold	Strategy name
--param, -p	-	key=value parameter (repeatable)
--out, -o	results/	Output directory
--cost	0.001	Transaction cost fraction (0.1%)
--slippage	0.0005	Slippage fraction (0.05%)
--capital	100000	Initial capital
--no-plot	false	Skip equity curve plot
--quiet, -q	false	Suppress output

optimize

Grid-search for the best strategy parameters.

jbqlab optimize data.csv --strategy sma_crossover --metric sharpe
jbqlab optimize data.csv --strategy rsi --metric calmar
jbqlab optimize data.csv --strategy sma_crossover \
  --fast-min 5 --fast-max 30 --fast-step 5 \
  --slow-min 20 --slow-max 60 --slow-step 10 \
  --metric total_return

Built-in grids: sma_crossover, mean_reversion, rsi, bollinger_bands, momentum. For custom grids use the Python SDK.

report

Generate a full markdown report with equity curve, metrics table, and trade log.

jbqlab report data.csv --strategy sma_crossover --param fast=10 --param slow=30
jbqlab report data.csv --strategy buy_and_hold --title "My Portfolio Report" --out report/

benchmark

Run all 12 strategies on the same dataset and produce a ranked comparison table.

jbqlab benchmark data.csv
jbqlab benchmark data.csv --out benchmark_results/ --no-plots

montecarlo

Bootstrap Monte Carlo simulation on a strategy's return distribution.

jbqlab montecarlo data.csv --strategy buy_and_hold
jbqlab montecarlo data.csv --strategy sma_crossover \
  --param fast=10 --param slow=30 \
  --simulations 20000 --horizon 252 --seed 42

portfolio

Detailed portfolio and risk statistics (Sharpe, Sortino, VaR, CVaR, win rate, etc.).

jbqlab portfolio data.csv --strategy buy_and_hold
jbqlab portfolio data.csv --strategy rsi --param period=14

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Python SDK

from jbqlab import run_backtest, grid_search
from jbqlab.benchmark import run_benchmark, print_benchmark_summary
from jbqlab.montecarlo import monte_carlo_simulation
from jbqlab.portfolio import calculate_portfolio_stats
from jbqlab.plotting import plot_equity_curve
from jbqlab.reporting import save_results, generate_report

run_backtest

from jbqlab import run_backtest
import pandas as pd

# From a file path (str or Path)
result = run_backtest(
    "data.csv",
    strategy="sma_crossover",
    fast=10,
    slow=30,
    transaction_cost=0.001,   # 0.1% per trade
    slippage=0.0005,          # 0.05% per trade
    initial_capital=100_000,
)

# From a DataFrame
df = pd.read_csv("data.csv")
result = run_backtest(df, strategy="buy_and_hold")

# Access results
print(result.metrics)
# {'total_return': 0.285, 'cagr': 0.14, 'volatility': 0.31,
#  'sharpe': 0.557, 'sortino': 0.575, 'max_drawdown': 0.28, 'calmar': 0.50}

print(result.equity_curve.head())
# 2020-01-02    100000.00
# 2020-01-03    100014.23
# ...

print(result.positions.head())
# columns: date, close, signal, position, returns, equity

grid_search

from jbqlab import grid_search

result = grid_search(
    "data.csv",
    strategy="sma_crossover",
    param_grid={
        "fast":  [5, 10, 15, 20],
        "slow":  [20, 30, 40, 50],
    },
    optimize_metric="sharpe",  # or: total_return, calmar, sortino
    verbose=True,
)

print(result.best_params)
# {'fast': 10.0, 'slow': 20.0}

print(result.summary_df.head())
#    fast  slow  total_return   cagr  sharpe  max_drawdown
# 0  5.0  20.0         0.245  0.118   0.246         0.266
# ...

Benchmark

from jbqlab.benchmark import run_benchmark, print_benchmark_summary, save_benchmark

results = run_benchmark("data.csv")
print_benchmark_summary(results)     # Prints ranked table to stdout
save_benchmark(results, "output/")   # Saves CSV + equity curve plots

Monte Carlo Simulation

from jbqlab import run_backtest
from jbqlab.montecarlo import monte_carlo_simulation

result = run_backtest("data.csv", strategy="buy_and_hold")
returns = result.equity_curve.pct_change().dropna()

mc = monte_carlo_simulation(
    returns=returns,
    n_simulations=10_000,
    time_horizon=252,   # trading days
    random_seed=42,
)

print(mc.summary())
print(f"Probability of loss: {mc.prob_loss:.1%}")
print(f"5th percentile return: {mc.percentile_5:.2%}")

Portfolio Statistics

from jbqlab import run_backtest
from jbqlab.portfolio import calculate_portfolio_stats

result = run_backtest("data.csv", strategy="sma_crossover", fast=10, slow=30)
stats = calculate_portfolio_stats(result.equity_curve)

print(f"Sharpe:       {stats.sharpe_ratio:.2f}")
print(f"Max drawdown: {stats.max_drawdown:.2%}")
print(f"VaR (95%):    {stats.var_95:.2%}")
print(f"Win rate:     {stats.win_rate:.2%}")

Save Results & Reports

from jbqlab.reporting import save_results
from jbqlab.plotting import plot_equity_curve
from jbqlab.report import generate_report

save_results(result, "output/")        # metrics.json, equity_curve.csv, positions.csv
plot_equity_curve(result, "output/equity_curve.png")
generate_report(result, "output/report.md", title="My Backtest")

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Available Strategies

Strategy	Key	Key Parameters
Buy and Hold	buy_and_hold	-
SMA Crossover	sma_crossover	fast (10), slow (30)
Mean Reversion	mean_reversion	window (20), z_entry (-2.0)
RSI	rsi	period (14), oversold (30), overbought (70)
MACD	macd	fast_period (12), slow_period (26), signal_period (9)
Bollinger Bands	bollinger_bands	window (20), num_std (2.0)
Momentum	momentum	lookback (20), threshold (0.0)
Dual Momentum	dual_momentum	lookback (12)
Donchian Channel	donchian_channel	window (20)
Volatility Breakout	volatility_breakout	window (20), atr_mult (1.5)
Trailing Stop	trailing_stop	trail_pct (0.05)
Triple SMA	triple_sma	fast (5), mid (20), slow (60)

Run jbqlab strategies for live parameter docs, or jbqlab info <strategy> for a single strategy.

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Output Files

jbqlab backtest (and report) saves the following files to --out (default: results/):

File	Description
metrics.json	All performance metrics as JSON
equity_curve.csv	Date-indexed equity curve
positions.csv	Full position/signal log
equity_curve.png	Equity curve chart
report.md	Markdown report (report command only)

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Metrics Reference

Metric	Description
total_return	Total % return over the period
cagr	Compound Annual Growth Rate
volatility	Annualised standard deviation of returns
sharpe	Sharpe ratio (risk-free rate = 0)
sortino	Sortino ratio (downside deviation)
max_drawdown	Maximum peak-to-trough drawdown
calmar	CAGR / max drawdown

Portfolio Stats (via jbqlab portfolio or calculate_portfolio_stats()): var_95, cvar_95, skewness, kurtosis, win_rate, profit_factor, avg_win, avg_loss, best_day, worst_day

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Development

git clone https://github.com/JaiAnshSB26/jbqlab.git
cd jbqlab
pip install -e ".[dev]"

# Run tests
pytest tests/ -q

# Lint
ruff check src/ tests/

# Build a distribution
python -m build

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Author: Jai Ansh Bindra
License: MIT
Changelog: CHANGELOG.md