The Journal
Write trade theses, review outcomes, tag patterns, and export to markdown.
The Journal is where you build your edge over time. Every trade tells a story — the journal is where you write it down, review it later, and find the patterns that matter.
The Thesis-First Approach
The most valuable thing you can do as a trader is write down why you’re taking a trade before you take it.
When you have an active position, the trade detail panel shows a green “Active trade — write your thesis” prompt. Write your reasoning: What setup do you see? What’s your edge? What would invalidate the thesis?
After the trade closes, you come back and compare: What actually happened vs. what you expected? This is where real learning happens.
Journal Entries
The Journal page at /desk/journal supports five entry types:
| Type | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Note | Free-form journaling — anything on your mind |
| Pre-Trade | Thesis before entry (linked to an active position) |
| Post-Trade | Post-mortem after close |
| Daily Review | End-of-day recap |
| Weekly Review | End-of-week reflection |
Each entry has a title, body (markdown), and optional link to a specific trade.
Collections
Organize entries into collections — filtered groups that help you find what you’re looking for. The sidebar shows:
- All Entries (default view)
- Custom collections you create with saved filters
Collections persist via localStorage. Create as many as you need — “Winning Setups”, “Mistakes”, “Scalps”, “Trend Following”, etc.
Tags
Tags let you categorize trades by pattern, strategy, or any label that’s useful to you.
Adding tags: Open any trade’s detail panel, click ”+ Add” in the Tags section, and select an existing tag or create a new one.
Managing tags: The Tag Manager (accessible from the Journal page) lets you create, rename, delete, and color-code tags.
Filtering by tag: Use the tag dropdown on the Trades page or Journal page to show only trades/entries matching a specific tag.
Example tags:
support-bounce,trend-follow,reversal,breakoutscalp,swing,positionmistake,revenge-trade,A+ setup
View Modes
The Journal page offers two views:
Table View — A database-style table with columns for date, title, type, tags, and body preview. Click a row to edit.
Cards View — Entries grouped by date in a timeline layout. Each card shows the title, type badge, trade link (if any), and body preview with edit/delete buttons.
Markdown Export
Every trade can be exported as a standalone .md file with YAML frontmatter:
---
symbol: BTCUSDT
side: LONG
entry: 50000.00
exit: 52500.00
net_pnl: 500.00
r_multiple: 2.5
date: 2026-03-15
---
## Thesis
Saw a double bottom at the daily support level...
## Notes
Moved stop to break-even after first target hit...The Journal page also has an Export All button for bulk download.
Building a Track Record
The journal isn’t just about individual trades. Over weeks and months, it becomes your most valuable asset:
- Pattern recognition: Tags reveal which setups work and which don’t
- Emotional awareness: Reading old entries surfaces recurring mistakes
- Strategy evolution: Daily and weekly reviews track how your approach changes
- Accountability: Written records prevent revisionist history about “what you meant to do”
The traders who improve fastest are the ones who review. The journal makes reviewing systematic.