Welcome to Algorithmic Trading in C/C++! Getting Started

Zorro is an ecosystem for financial research and algorithmic trading. It is not a 'robot' and not a trading platform, but has some elements of both. While trading platforms are normally specialized on manual trading, Zorro is mainly for algorithmic trading in automated or semi-automated mode. Technically it's a front end to an on-the-fly C and C++ compiler with a set of modules for time series analysis, machine learning, optimization, and online API connection. It allows with a few button clicks to edit algo trading strategies, train machine learning algorithms, optimize and backtest systems with several methods, and deploy them for live trading. This workflow is reflected in the six buttons of Zorro's control panel.

Everything you're doing with Zorro is based on a script. There are many included scripts for all possible tasks, usually with a set of parameters that can be edited for adapting them to particular needs. In order to use Zorro effectively, you need to know how to edit and write scripts in the lite-C or C++ language. There are books, online courses, and also a short tutorial in this manual.

Control panel

We admit: the user interface is not particularly pretty. But you can add your own user interface for your algo trading tools and scripts, with as many colorful buttons as you want. The default one is designed for minimum space (~ 300x600 pixels), so several Zorro instances can run on a small notebook screen in the background. There is no menu. Entry fields and scroll boxes allow setting up the broker connection and selecting the script and assets to trade.

Broker Account Primary account (Demo, Real, etc) and broker connection (FXCM, IB, MT4, etc) for live trading. Login User ID, account number, password, API token, or other credentials for the selected account. Status Server time and market state in live trading mode. Green when connected, red when offline. Strategy Script Select a script from the Strategy folder. See scripts for included scripts and the tutorial for writing your own scripts. Asset Select the primary asset. You can add any asset - crypto, stocks, futures, options - to this scrollbox through asset lists.  Action Run predefined Zorro tasks, programs, or script functions with a mouse click. Period Bar period in minutes; normally set up by script.  Slider1..3 User configurable, to modify script parameters.  Buttons Help Open the help manual and script reference. Edit Open the selected script in the editor. Test Test the script with historical price data in single-step, tick-based, or walk-forward mode. Train Train the script by optimizing parameters, generating trade rules, or training neural networks. Trade Run the script live with broker connection. Trade assets and start earning (or losing) money. Result Open the chart viewer and the editor with the log and performance analysis. Output Progress Trading or test status. Profits green, losses red. Info Numerical status display.  Messages What Zorro has to tell. Double click to copy.

What you need

Some traders own a desk full of PCs and monitors with an impressive show of indicators and price curves. Good for boasting on trader forums, but useless for serious algo trading. You only need two machines:

• For live trading, any decent Windows PC with Internet access will normally do. Either install Zorro on a reliable notebook with permanent Internet connection, or rent for a small fee a Windows Server VPS from Amazon, Google, Microsoft, or any other reliable provider. The smallest VPS is normally sufficient unless you want to use high-frequency trading or run multiple Zorro instances. For setting up a VPS, look under Zorro in the Cloud. If you run many Zorro instances on several VPS with different brokers and accounts, you can observe the statuses of all of them on your PC at home with the ZStatus script.
    You also need an account with an online broker (or several accounts with several brokers) that offer the asset types - currencies, stocks, options, digital coins - that you want to trade.
   
• For algorithm development your PC can't be powerful enough, since a lot training and backtesting will be involved. Get a machine with a fast processor, such as Intel i9 or AMD Ryzen, with at least 16 GB RAM and 8 cores. For deep learning algorithms, we recommend a recent NVidia graphics card with CUDA support. If your computer at home won't do, the alternative is renting a powerful VPS in the cloud.
    For algo development in C you need no further software. For developing in C++, get the latest Visual Studio Community Edition from Microsoft and install it with its C++ environment. For using deep learning libraries, install R or Python.

Getting started

• Set up Zorro: Download Zorro (it's free) from https://zorro-project.com/download.php, and install it on your PC or on a trading server. For installing Zorro under Linux or in other special ways, see Installation.
   
• Let Zorro do something: Start Zorro (the normal version, not Zorro64). Select Workshop4 under Script, select EUR/USD under Asset, then click [Test]. After clicking [Result] you can see the log and performance statistics in the editor. Try also other scripts. Some are unrelated to trading, some will require training, and some will need historical data, but they will give you an impression of what you can do with Zorro. Here's a list of included scripts.
   
• Learn trading strategy development:  Work through the quick tutorial, or get the Black Book for a thorough intoduction to strategy programming in C. If you have a question or an issue with Zorro, ask on the user forum. For individual help, subscribe a support ticket on the Zorro support page. If you need help with developing a trading strategy, contact our system development service.
      
• Earn virtual money: Open a demo trading account with a supported broker, such as FXCM or Oanda. Five minutes later you should have a $50,000 demo account and can log in and start trading. Start Zorro, select the broker, enter your login credentials, select a Z strategy, and click [Trade]. Wait a couple of months and observe the money accumulate on your account...
   
• Earn real money: The free Zorro version is fully functional and can trade with real money. But before investing your hard earned money in one of the included strategies, please read the Z systems chapter from top to bottom. Open a real money account with the broker of your choice (for finding a broker, read the Brokers page). Some brokers offer a free Zorro S subscription for opening new accounts. Once the account is established, transfer some money onto it. Start Zorro, select the strategy and click [Trade]. If you don't own Zorro S, withdraw your profits regularly from the broker account, as the free Zorro version stops trading when the account balance exceeds a certain limit (see Zorro S for details).
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See also

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