> ## 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.
# Quickstart
> Go from sign-up to your first real backtest in about five minutes — just by typing one idea.
You can test your first trading idea in about five minutes. Sign in, start your
trial, type one idea in plain English, and watch the strategy and its backtest
appear. No code, no spreadsheets, no platform scripting.
Past performance does not guarantee future results. Always test before you trade.
Open [askfutures.com](https://askfutures.com) and sign in. New here? Create
an account first — it takes a moment.
Pick a plan to begin your **3-day free trial**. You won't be charged today —
the trial gives you time to run real backtests before you decide. See
[account and billing](/guides/manage-account-and-billing) for what each plan
includes.
Describe a trade the way you'd say it to a fellow trader. Try this one:
```text Your first prompt theme={null}
Buy Micro Nasdaq when price breaks above the first 15-minute high,
and exit if it closes back below the midpoint of that range
```
Send it. You don't need to mention bars, dates, or directions — AskFutures
fills in sensible defaults (last 1 year, 1-minute bars, day-trading, and an
end-of-day exit) and tells you what it assumed.
Phrasing tips: name the market ("Micro Nasdaq" or "MNQ"), state the entry
("when price breaks above…"), and, if you want, the exit ("exit if…").
Anything you leave out becomes a stated assumption you can change later —
so it's fine to start rough and refine.
AskFutures turns your sentence into a precise rule-based strategy and runs it
through a fixed, deterministic backtest over years of real prices. The
**strategy card** shows the entry, exit, filters, and a **Strategy Flow**
chart of the logic; the backtest tab shows the equity curve and the headline
numbers — net of modeled slippage and commission.
These results are **hypothetical and simulated** — no real trades were
placed. Past performance, actual or simulated, does not guarantee future
results. Always test before you trade.
Don't like something? Just say so. Add a filter, change the exit, swap the
symbol, or test a different period — in plain English. For example:
```text Refine it theme={null}
Trade only if the opening range is over $400
```
Each change becomes a new saved version, so you can
[compare](/guides/version-and-compare) before and after. Keep iterating until
the idea earns your trust.
## What just happened
The AI only translated your words into rules. Every number came from a fixed,
deterministic engine replaying real historical prices — so the same rules on the
same data always produce the same result. More on that in
[is the backtest real?](/concepts/is-the-backtest-real).
## Next steps
A full screen-by-screen walkthrough of the opening-range breakout.
Describe, Strategy, Backtest, Iterate — the mental model.
Why the numbers are an honest replay, not a guess.
Phrasing patterns for entries, exits, filters, and risk.