Efficiency is one of the great advantages of automation. Less manual trading means more time to discover and refine strategies. Custom inputs are one of the most powerful and flexible tools you can use to increase bot functionality. 

You can add custom inputs and reuse automations when building bots. As you create more strategies, you won’t have to go through the same processes over and over again, which enables you to scale your portfolio easily.

Custom inputs are variable fields that you can link and edit in the future.

Of course, you don’t have to use custom inputs or reuse automations. There is nothing wrong with manually inputting the variable fields, especially if you know the automation will be used the same way with the same ticker symbol every time.

This example shows an automation with manual inputs for all variable fields.

However, custom inputs expedite the process and add flexibility when building out an automation because you can change the default value in the settings.

If you do not use custom inputs and want to modify an automation’s fields, such as the ticker symbol or days in an SMA, you’ll need to edit the values every time you want to make changes. That’s inefficient and time consuming if you want to scale your bots and portfolio.

Instead, you can use custom inputs to create variable fields that are interchangeable.

Custom inputs can be changed at any time and are linked within an automation.

For example, if you create a custom input for the automation’s ticker symbol, you can use the same input throughout the automation without having to manually select the ticker each time it’s referenced. Simply change the custom input, and the edit will flow through the rest of the automation wherever the input is used, including decision recipes and decision actions.

This expands the functionality of an automation and its actions in a way that’s more flexible and efficient for use in other bots.

But what if you want to change or edit these inputs for your bot? That’s easy. All custom inputs used in the automation are listed in the automation’s settings. This makes it incredibly simple to modify the variable fields’ default values from the automations tab or when adding an automation to a new bot, giving you complete control.

If you have a strategy you want to employ in multiple ways, consider using custom inputs for added flexibility. Adding custom inputs enables you to reuse any automation and quickly change key components at the automation level without having to re-enter or change the actions of the automation inside the editor.

Avoid the process of manually entering criteria so you can focus more of your time and energy on optimizing your strategy and creating new bots.