setup

Prompt file imported from entrifis/trading-setup-finder (.claude/commands/setup.md). Fill in {{arguments}} before use. Copyright stays with the author.

Setup

Install everything this repo needs. Run this once, the first time you open the repo.

The user is very likely not a developer. Explain what you are doing in plain language, never show a raw stack trace without translating it, and never assume they know what a shell, a PATH, or a JSON file is. If something is missing, tell them exactly what to download and where from — do not try to install a language runtime yourself.

Arguments

{{arguments}} may contain:

Step 0 — Say what will happen, then ask

Before running anything, tell them, in about this many words:

This will check that you have the few tools this repo needs, then download the TradingView bridge (an open-source program that lets me read your TradingView charts) into a folder in your home directory, and write two small config files inside this repo. It won't touch your TradingView account, your broker, or place any orders. Nothing is sent anywhere — it all runs on your machine.

Then ask if they want to go ahead. Wait for an answer. If they say no, stop cleanly.

Re-running this command later is safe — it checks before it changes anything.

Step 1 — Preflight

Check each of these and build a small table with ✅ / ❌ and the version found:

Finding Python on Windows. python3 usually doesn't exist there. Try in order: python3, py -3, python. Use the first that reports 3.9 or newer. Whatever works, write it into .claude/env.json (step 4) so every other command in this repo uses the right one.

Finding TradingView Desktop:

Note it as ❌ only if none of the paths exist. The web version in a browser will not work — the bridge attaches to the desktop app specifically.

If Python is missing, stop here. Nothing in this repo works without it. Give them the download link and tell them to re-run /setup afterwards.

Step 2 — The checkpoint that matters

If Python passed, tell them plainly:

Good news — the market screeners already work. You can close this and run /find-setups-tight-five 5 right now.

Then explain what the rest buys them: the TradingView bridge is what lets /check-setup and the four methodology commands (/minervini, /oneil, /shannon, /jesse) open a real chart and read its actual price history, instead of only working from screener tables.

If they're missing Node, Git or TradingView Desktop — or if --screeners-only was passed — stop here, and say clearly which commands work and which don't yet. This is a legitimate finishing point, not a failure.

Step 3 — Install the TradingView bridge

Target directory: ~/tradingview-mcp.

First check whether it already exists. If it does, do not delete or overwrite it — report what's there (git -C ~/tradingview-mcp log -1 --oneline) and ask whether to reuse it or install alongside it at a different path. Someone may already have this set up for other work.

Otherwise:

git clone https://github.com/tradesdontlie/tradingview-mcp.git ~/tradingview-mcp
cd ~/tradingview-mcp
git checkout $(cat <repo>/docs/tv-mcp-pin.txt)   # unless --latest was passed
npm install

npm install takes a minute or two and prints a lot of noise. Warnings about deprecated packages are normal and not a problem — summarise the result rather than pasting the output.

What this is. tradesdontlie/tradingview-mcp is an open-source (MIT) bridge that talks to the TradingView desktop app you already have. It reads charts and can draw on them. It does not place trades, does not touch a broker, and does not bypass any TradingView paywall — you need your own TradingView subscription for real-time data. This repo pins a specific tested version (docs/tv-mcp-pin.txt) so the commands here keep working even if the bridge changes upstream.

If the clone fails with a network or certificate error, that's usually a corporate network or VPN. Say so rather than retrying blindly.

Step 4 — Write the config

Two files, both inside this repo. Both are gitignored — they hold paths specific to this machine, so they never get committed or shared.

.mcp.json — tells Claude Code where the bridge lives. Merge, never overwrite: if the file already exists and has other servers in it, add the tradingview key and leave everything else alone. Use Python for this so the merge is safe:

import json, pathlib
p = pathlib.Path(".mcp.json")
cfg = json.loads(p.read_text()) if p.exists() else {}
cfg.setdefault("mcpServers", {})["tradingview"] = {
    "command": "node",
    "args": [str(pathlib.Path.home() / "tradingview-mcp" / "src" / "server.js")],
}
p.write_text(json.dumps(cfg, indent=2) + "\n")

The path must be absolute — ~ is not expanded inside this file.

.claude/env.json — records the Python command that works on this machine:

{ "python": "python3", "tvMcpPath": "/absolute/path/to/tradingview-mcp" }

Step 5 — Hand off, and be unmissable about it

Claude Code loads MCP servers only when it starts. The bridge you just installed is therefore not available in this session — no amount of retrying will change that.

End the command with exactly this, formatted so it can't be missed:

Almost done — two things left, in this order:

1. Quit TradingView if it's running (⌘Q / close it fully). It needs to be restarted a particular way, and /verify will do that for you.
2. Quit Claude Code and start it again — type exit, then claude.

Then run /verify and I'll check everything works.

Do not attempt to call any tradingview MCP tool in this session. It does not exist yet.