"I can't code, so this probably isn't for me"
That was my starting point too. Spreadsheets and email were my technical ceiling.
- How a total beginner built an automated trading bot: the honest first chapter, including the worries that almost stopped me.
- What I would change about building a trading bot: the shortcuts I wish someone had handed me on day one.
"I don't know where to even start setting one up"
The first setup is the steepest part. After that, it is mostly small, repeatable steps.
- Beginner trading bot setup, step by step: from an empty folder to a bot that runs on a schedule.
"I have no idea which tools or servers I need"
You need fewer tools than you think, and most have a free or cheap way to start.
- The trading bot tool stack, sorted by job: servers, brokers, courses, charting, and market data.
"My bot ran all day and did nothing"
A quiet day is not always a broken bot. Sometimes it is the bot doing exactly its job.
- When a trading bot makes zero trades: how to tell a cautious bot from a broken one.
"It keeps breaking in ways I didn't expect"
Every live bot hits problems a test run never shows. Here are the ones I hit, and the fixes.
- Trading bot problems and how I fixed them: the issues that appeared once it ran every market day.
- Beginner trading bot mistakes, Part 1: the early bumps and bruises.
- Live trading bot errors, Part 2: the errors that only surface after launch.
"I want it to look at more than a handful of stocks"
A bot is only as good as the list it scans.
- Growing a trading bot's watchlist: why scanning wider matters and what changed when I did it.
"I want to try crypto, not just stocks"
Crypto trades around the clock, which changes how a bot needs to behave.
- Adding crypto to a stock trading bot: what I had to change to watch coins as well as stocks.
"I want real numbers before I commit to this"
Know what the landscape looks like before you build.
- Algorithmic trading statistics for 2026: market share, adoption, and sources you can cite.
Bot and Bull is educational only and is not financial, investment, or trading advice. Trading involves risk, including the possible loss of capital.