What Forward test does
| Part | What it does |
|---|---|
| Setup | Instrument, timeframe, long or short, quantity, entry rule, optional exit rule, stop loss and target in percent |
| Run | Reads each new closed candle and applies the rules to it, while the market is open |
| Orders | None sent. Nothing reaches your broker or the exchange |
| Record | Open trade, every closed trade, an equity curve and running totals |
| Totals | Net P&L after estimated charges, number of trades, win rate, maximum drawdown, charges |
| Limit | Up to 10 forward tests running at the same time; stop one to free a place |
| Next step | Deploy the same rules as a bot, starting small |
You can start a forward test from the rules you built in the option strategy builder or from the backtest screen once a backtest looks sound, and you can stop it at any time.
How a forward test works
- Set the rules. Pick the instrument and timeframe (5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour or 1 day), the side, the quantity, the entry rule and, if you want one, an exit rule, a stop loss and a target.
- Start it. The candles that exist at that moment are treated as history. The test marks where it begins and takes no entry on any of them.
- Let candles close. The test waits for each new candle to close, then reads it and applies the rules. While the market is closed it does not run.
- Entries and exits follow fixed rules. An entry is taken at the close of the candle on which the entry rule turns true. An open trade exits on whichever comes first: the stop loss or the target touched inside a later candle, the exit rule being true at a candle's close, or the end of the data, in which case the trade is shown as still open.
- Read the record. The screen shows the running status, the open trade with its live result, the list of closed trades, the equity curve and the totals.
- Stop it when you have seen enough, or let it run through more market conditions.
The test keeps its own state between candles. It only reads candles it has not seen, so a trade that has already been recorded never changes afterwards.
How fills are decided
A simulation is only as honest as its fill rules, so these are fixed and written out:
- Entry at the close. The entry price is the close of the candle on which the entry rule became true. The rule is checked only when a candle has closed, never in the middle of one.
- Stop loss and target. Each is a percentage from the entry price. If a later candle's range touches the level, the trade exits at that level.
- Gaps. If a candle opens beyond a level, the trade exits at the open, not at the level, because that is where a real order would have found a price.
- Stop and target in one candle. When both levels fall inside the same candle, the data cannot show which came first, so the test takes the stop loss. Results are read conservatively.
- One position at a time. The test does not stack trades. A new entry waits until the open trade has exited.
- Charges. An estimate is deducted from each round trip: 0.06% of turnover for intraday timeframes and 0.13% for daily candles. The estimate is shown separately so you can see how much of the result charges took.
Real orders differ from all of this. They meet a bid-ask spread, partial fills, rejections and margin checks that a forward test does not model, so expect live results to be a little worse than the forward test.
What you see on the screen
| Item | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Status | Running or stopped, and when it started |
| Net P&L after charges | The result so far, with estimated charges already taken off |
| Trades and win rate | How many trades closed and how many of them made money |
| Maximum drawdown | The largest fall from a peak in the equity curve |
| Charges | The estimated total, and the basis used |
| Equity curve | How the result built up candle by candle |
| Trade list | Entry, exit, price, the reason for the exit (stop, target or exit rule) and the result of each trade |
Open the trade list and read a handful of trades from the start, the middle and the latest part. The reason shown for each exit makes it easy to check that the rules did what you meant.
Prices and your broker connection
A forward test reads candles from the market-data feed. With your own broker connected, the candles and prices you see are live. Without a connected broker, SEBI's rules for real-time data mean you see the last close instead, so the forward test moves on the last close and updates when the next candle closes. Your broker account is used for prices only. No order goes to it from a forward test, and the forward test records are kept apart from the records of your real orders and positions.
What to forward test
Forward test is built for strategies written as rules, so the most useful uses are these:
| Situation | What the forward test checks |
|---|---|
| A rule that passed a backtest | Whether entries and exits fire on new candles the way they did on past ones |
| A change to a rule you already run | Whether the change helps, before it touches live size |
| A new instrument or timeframe | How the same rules behave on a different index, stock or candle length |
| A stop loss or target level | Whether the level is hit more or less often than the backtest suggested |
| Several versions of one idea | Which version holds up when run side by side, using separate forward tests |
Because up to 10 tests can run together, you can run two or three versions of a rule side by side and compare them on identical candles. Keep the number of versions small: testing many versions and keeping the best one is a form of overfitting, and the survivor often fails on the next candles.
From backtest to forward test to live
QuantPower treats testing as three steps, each answering a different question:
- Backtesting runs the rules over past data in minutes. It shows how the rules would have behaved across many market conditions, and it finds rules that never worked.
- Forward test runs the same rules on candles as they arrive. It shows whether the behaviour carries over when the market is unknown, and whether the entries and exits fire where you expect.
- Live runs the rules as a bot on your broker account with orders, charges and slippage. Start with the smallest size and raise it only when live results match the forward test.
A forward test cannot replace either neighbour. It is slow, because it needs real time to pass, and the number of trades is small compared with a backtest. A backtest is fast but tests only the past. Used in order, each step removes a different kind of error before money is involved.
How long to run a forward test
There is no fixed period, but the length should match how often the strategy trades:
| Strategy type | Run the forward test for at least |
|---|---|
| Intraday on 5 to 15 minute candles | Four weeks |
| Hourly rules | Six to eight weeks |
| Daily rules | Two to three months, or at least 20 trades |
| Any strategy that trades around events | At least two events of the kind it trades |
The goal is enough trades to see the strategy's normal days and at least one bad stretch. A forward test with five trades says very little in either direction.
How to read a forward test result
- Look at the number of trades first. A strong result on a handful of trades is noise.
- Compare with the backtest for the same weeks. If you run the backtest over the same period, the trades should be close. Large gaps point to a rule that depends on information not available at the close, or to a data difference.
- Check the drawdown. Ask whether you could have sat through the largest fall with real money in the strategy.
- Read the exit reasons. If most losses come from the stop and most wins from the exit rule, that tells you where the strategy gets its result.
- Take charges seriously. Compare the charges with the gross result. A strategy whose gross profit is only slightly above its charges has little room for slippage.
- Do not change rules during the test. A change starts a new test. Note the idea, and run it as a separate forward test.
Mistakes to avoid
- Judging after a good week. A short run says little. Wait for the period that fits the strategy.
- Stopping the test on a bad day. The bad days are what you are testing for.
- Treating the result as a forecast. It is a record of how the rules behaved on the candles that closed during the test.
- Skipping the backtest. A forward test is slow, so use the backtest to throw out rules that never worked.
- Going live at full size. Even a clean forward test is not live trading. Start with the smallest size.
A worked example
Take a rule on a large bank stock on 1-hour candles: go short when the 20-period moving average crosses below the 50-period, with a stop loss of 1.5% and a target of 3%, and exit if the averages cross back.
- Backtest the rule over a period that includes both rising and falling months, and keep it only if the trade list looks sensible.
- Start a forward test with the same instrument, timeframe, side and levels.
- For the first few days nothing may happen. The test takes no entry on the candles that already existed, and waits for the rule to turn true on a new close.
- When the first trade opens, check that the entry price equals the close of the candle that triggered it.
- When a trade exits, read the reason on the trade list: stop, target or exit rule.
- After the period that suits hourly rules, compare the forward test's trade count, win rate and drawdown with the backtest's for the same weeks, with charges included on both sides.
If the two agree, the rules are a candidate for a small live size. If they do not, find out why before going further. The first suspects are the fill rules, the charges and any rule that looks at information the test only has at the close.
Forward test and the rest of QuantPower
Forward test works with the other parts of QuantPower rather than replacing them. The rules you build in the strategy builder feed the backtest. The strategy performance screens keep the record of a bot once it runs live. MTM stop loss and the daily limits apply to live bots, where real orders are placed, not to a forward test, which places none. Exit all and the kill switch never touch forward test records.
Plans
The QuantPower Standard plan is free during the Beta (₹299/month after); Professional is ₹499/month and Ultimate ₹999/month, GST extra. See pricing. Every plan starts with a free trial.
Related guides
- Backtesting: testing the rules on past market data first
- Paper trading platform for options: how to practise options trading without real money, and how to judge a simulated result
- Option strategy builder: entry, exit and stop rules on the same legs
- Strategy performance: the record of each strategy once it runs live
- Algo trading for retail traders: running your rules as bots on your broker account
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Frequently asked questions
Does a forward test place orders with my broker?
No. A forward test never sends an order. It only reads candles and records the trades its rules would have made, so there is no order on your broker account and no capital at risk.
How many forward tests can I run at once?
Up to 10 at the same time. Stop a running test to free a place for a new one.
Which candle lengths can I use?
5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour and 1 day.
When does a forward test take its first trade?
On the first new candle that closes after you start it, and only if the entry rule is true on that candle. The candles that already existed when you started are treated as history and no entry is taken on them.
How often does a forward test update?
Once for every candle that closes while the market is open. A 15-minute test therefore updates every 15 minutes during the session.
Does a forward test keep running when I close the app?
Yes. It runs on the server as candles close, so you can close the app and read the result later.
Are charges included in the results?
Yes. An estimate is deducted from each round trip and shown separately: 0.06% of turnover for intraday candles and 0.13% for daily candles. Actual charges on live orders can differ.
What prices does a forward test use without a broker connected?
The last close. Real-time prices need your own connected broker account, so without one the forward test moves on the last close and updates when the next candle closes.
Why do live results differ from a forward test?
Live orders face the bid-ask spread, partial fills, rejections, margin checks and full charges, and decisions feel different with real money at stake. Expect live results to be a little worse.
Which plans include Forward test?
The Standard plan is free during the Beta; see pricing.
Sources
- QuantPower forward test rules, timeframes, limits and charge estimates as built in the QuantPower platform (checked 7 November 2026)
- QuantPower plans and features as listed on the live pricing page (checked 11 October 2026)