> ## 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.

# What is AskFutures?

> A chat-based futures backtesting assistant — describe a trading idea in plain English, get a precise strategy and a real backtest.

AskFutures is a **chat-based futures backtesting assistant**. You describe a
trading idea the way you'd say it to another trader — *"Buy Micro Crude when
the 9 EMA crosses above the 21 EMA, with a \$500 stop"* — and AskFutures turns
it into a precise, rule-based strategy, backtests it against years of real
market data, and shows you exactly how it would have performed.

No code. No spreadsheets. No platform scripting. Just describe the idea and read
the results.

<Note>
  The AI only translates your idea into rules and chats with you. The backtest
  itself runs on fixed, deterministic code over real historical prices — the
  same rules and data always produce the same numbers. The AI never invents
  performance figures. See [Is the backtest real?](/concepts/is-the-backtest-real).
</Note>

## Who it's for

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Discretionary traders" icon="user">
    You have ideas but no time (or desire) to code them. Describe a setup in
    plain English and get an honest, data-backed answer to *"would this have
    worked?"*
  </Card>

  <Card title="Quant-leaning power users" icon="chart-line">
    Reach for every TA-Lib indicator, opening-range and VWAP tools, ATR and
    trailing stops, multi-timeframe filters, spreads, z-score reversion, and
    Commitment-of-Traders overlays — without writing a backtest harness.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Developers" icon="code">
    Drive the same engine from Claude, Cursor, or Codex through the
    [MCP server](/developers/overview) — backtests in your own workflow.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## What it is not

AskFutures tests ideas against history. It does not touch your money or place a
single order.

* **Not investment advice.** Strategies and results are research tools, not
  recommendations to buy or sell anything.
* **Not a broker.** AskFutures connects to no brokerage and holds no account.
* **Not a live-trading platform.** Nothing here executes, routes, or automates
  real orders. Every backtest is hypothetical and simulated.

<Warning>
  Backtest results are **hypothetical and simulated** — no real trades were
  placed. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Always test before
  you trade.
</Warning>

## What you can trade

AskFutures covers **CME Group futures only** — that's the CME, CBOT, NYMEX, and
COMEX venues, roughly 74 contracts across equity indices, energy, metals,
grains, rates, FX, crypto, livestock, softs, and volatility. Full-size and micro
contracts are both included.

The market data is a vendor feed that **updates daily**, uses back-adjusted
continuous contracts, and is available as 1-minute, 5-minute, and daily bars.

<Info>
  Don't see a market you trade? AskFutures is CME Group only by design — there's
  no equities, options, crypto spot, or non-CME futures.
</Info>

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Quickstart" icon="bolt" href="/get-started/quickstart">
    Run your first backtest in about five minutes.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Is the backtest real?" icon="shield-check" href="/concepts/is-the-backtest-real">
    How AskFutures keeps the AI honest and the numbers reproducible.
  </Card>

  <Card title="The core loop" icon="arrows-spin" href="/get-started/the-core-loop">
    The Describe → Strategy → Backtest → Iterate mental model.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Core concepts" icon="lightbulb" href="/concepts/overview">
    Strategies, backtests, and what makes the numbers trustworthy.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>