> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.askfutures.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Concepts overview > A map of the core concepts and the order to read them in — start with trust. This section explains what's actually happening under the chat: what a strategy is, how a backtest is run, and why the numbers are trustworthy. You don't need any of it to start — just [describe an idea](/get-started/quickstart) — but a few minutes here makes everything else click. Read these roughly in order. The first page is the one that matters most: it explains the line between the AI (which only turns your words into rules) and the fixed, deterministic engine (which produces every number). ## The shape of it ```mermaid theme={null} flowchart LR T["Is the backtest
real?"] --> F["Futures &
symbols"] F --> S["Strategies"] S --> SI["Signals &
indicators"] SI --> TB["Timeframes,
bars, sessions"] TB --> R["Risk & trade
management"] R --> B["Backtesting"] B --> O["Optimization"] O --> V["Sessions &
versions"] V --> D["Where data
comes from"] ``` ## Read in this order Start here. The AI only writes the rules; a deterministic engine produces every number. Symbols, micros, continuous contracts, ticks, points, margin, and roll. The parts every strategy is made of: market, entry, exit, filters, parameters. Real TA-Lib indicators, crossovers, special series, patterns, and COT. Bars and timeframes, day vs. swing strategies, and how the trading day is anchored. Stops, targets, trailing, time and end-of-day exits, filters, and trading costs. What a backtest is, the test window, run status, and the metrics it reports. Sweeping parameter ranges to find better settings — without overfitting. How every edit becomes a new saved version you can compare and revisit. Market-data origin, daily freshness, continuous contracts, and macro data. ## Same word, different meanings Trading vocabulary overloads a few terms — "signal" alone means three different things in AskFutures. The [glossary](/concepts/glossary) defines every term alphabetically and calls out the overloaded ones so you always know which sense is meant. Every term in one place, plus the overloaded-terms reference. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Always test before you trade. ## Next steps The trust frame — read this first. Put the concepts to work in chat. Run your first backtest in about five minutes.