Platform How it works Scan, proposal, covered execution LLMs The model proposes. The bridge vetoes. Scan Liquid markets, every session Skills Five rules, more in the queue Universe 52 liquid tickers, why Covers Nothing naked. Always covered. Orders How it enters and how it exits Risk Veto, size, kill switch
Brokers Brokers You connect the account Early access Pre-register, not live
Helmsman Why Helmsman Vs discretionary and bots Who it is for Traders, not passengers Philosophy Helm, not autopilot About Who builds Helmsman
FAQ Pre-register
Italiano English

How it works

Four moves. One yes. Zero naked entries.

A trader’s day is not an IDE. It is a book, an account, a decision. Helmsman takes the circus — scan, filter, size, cover — and leaves you the helm. If the rule does not fire, it does not invent the trade. If you do not confirm, there is no order.

The course stays yours

Multi-broker slides · only venues whose APIs the model can speak

A
Alpaca
Paper adapter
T
Tradier
Sandbox adapter
IG
Demo adapter
Interactive Brokers
Mock adapter
Saxo
Next
OA
OANDA
Next
Lm
lemon.markets
Next
cT
cTrader
To build
TB
Tiger Brokers
To build
TV
Tradovate
To build
Q
Questrade
To build
MA
MetaApi
To build
Charles Schwab
To build
TradeStation
To build
tt
tastytrade
To build
Webull
To build
E*TRADE
To build
Trading 212
With friction
eToro
With friction
D
Directa
With friction
m
moomoo
With friction
A
Alpaca
Paper adapter
T
Tradier
Sandbox adapter
IG
Demo adapter
Interactive Brokers
Mock adapter
Saxo
Next
OA
OANDA
Next
Lm
lemon.markets
Next
cT
cTrader
To build
TB
Tiger Brokers
To build
TV
Tradovate
To build
Q
Questrade
To build
MA
MetaApi
To build
Charles Schwab
To build
TradeStation
To build
tt
tastytrade
To build
Webull
To build
E*TRADE
To build
Trading 212
With friction
eToro
With friction
D
Directa
With friction
m
moomoo
With friction

Marks belong to their owners: they name the venues, they do not imply a partnership. Gold = adapter already in code. The slide shows only retail APIs that fit. Fineco, DEGIRO, Robinhood and the rest without an official trading API stay off it.

We are not selling a second brain. We are selling a morning where the dirty work is done — and the order leaves only if it is covered.
The product, in one line

Why the loop is short on purpose

You already have three screens, a Telegram channel, a spreadsheet, and a model that «would tell you what to do». The shortage is not opinions. It is that the opinion arrives naked: no size, no stop, on the wrong broker, after the tape has moved. Then you «add the stop next». Next never comes. The account knows.

Helmsman reverses the order. First it scans names and ETFs where getting in and out is realistic. Then, only where a deterministic rule fires, it computes size and stop on your account. Then it puts one line on the table. Then it waits for your yes. Only then it talks to the broker — Alpaca or Tradier today, the next venue when the adapter earns it.

It is not a second brain that «knows the market». It is middleware: a bridge with rules. The LLM, if present, can help you read context — and it can hallucinate. It cannot invent lots. It cannot fire the order. You are captain. The final executor is the broker on your account. Helmsman translates, vetoes, forwards — and refuses the course if the cover is missing.

This page is not a developer tutorial. It is the day you are buying: few moves, many vetoes, zero theatre. If you want a bot that prints while you sleep, you are on the wrong site — and, usually, hunting the wrong product.

The same morning, to the minute

Not a slide-deck diagram. Four timestamps. One yes. The stop is already in the order when the broker sees it.

The loop, visible

Every step has a veto. Stale data stops the scan. A rule that does not fire skips the name. Size that moved blocks confirm. A naked market never leaves.

01 · SCAN

Scan the liquid tape

Names and ETFs with a real book. Stale data, price under the rule’s average, an «almost» — skip. An honest no beats a setup invented to keep you glued.

02 · PREVIEW

One line, real numbers

Symbol, side, size, stop, target. Nothing has been sent. Size comes from the risk engine: a fixed fraction, caps, buying power. Not from a chat with «a good feeling on SLV».

03 · CONFIRM

Your yes, or nothing

Without a human confirm there is no order. If size moved or the rule no longer applies, it stops. No «just execute». No bot running while you sleep.

04 · COVERED

Opens, already protected

The entry hits the account you connected, with a stop (and a target if the rule calls for one). Then the position is yours. Helmsman does not «manage» it for you. It opened covered. The rest is discipline.

The scan is not a signal channel

The radar turns on liquid names. It lights only what deserves a line. A name under the rule’s average stays dark. Data older than the session threshold: skipped. A dead weekend tape does not become a «signal» to keep you awake.

The rules — ATR breakout, mean reversion, squeeze — watch the market, not your account. The account arrives later, when size is computed. Helmsman does not propose a long because «you have buying power». It proposes one if the tape says yes.

How it picks liquid names →

What you actually see

Not a developer log. Three proposals, one skipped. SLV fires the breakout: size, stop, target. V fires mean reversion, already covered. WMT sits under the average: not applicable. Nobody asks you to «force» WMT because you feel like trading.

That line is all you need to say yes or no. If you want the rule detail, it is there. If you want the decision, it is there. The site is not selling a framework to clone: it is selling the moment when the dirty work is done and the helm is still yours.

Scan · liquid names
3 setups
SLV
ATR breakout · multi-day
Covered
Size
887
Stop
58.76
Target
61.70
Preview ready · waiting for your yes
V
Mean reversion · short-term
Covered
Size
42
Stop
347.41
Target
380.32
WMT
Below the average · not applicable
Skipped

The order that leaves — and the one that never does

On Alpaca the cover is OTO or a bracket. On Tradier it is OTOCO. The name changes. The promise does not: no orphan markets. If the venue cannot cover, Helmsman does not open — even if you already said yes. Your capital is not an experiment to keep you in the conversation.

Order types, venue by venue →

The vetoes are not a bug. They are the product.

Trading breaks when software «makes it work». Helmsman prefers a visible no to a naked yes. Stale data, a rule that does not fire, size that moved, a market with no stop: four closed doors. Behind each one is an account that did not become an anecdote.

If three broker errors land in a row, or session drawdown clears a threshold, the kill-switch arms. Preview and confirm stop. You disarm it. Positions already open stay yours: the halt is not a trailing stop, it is a brake.

Who computes size and stop →

The same morning, with and without

WithoutThree platforms. You scan by eye. You ask a chat «how many do I buy». The order goes out naked. The stop is «next». Next never comes.
With HelmsmanThe scan is already on liquid names. The line has size and stop. You confirm. The broker gets a covered entry. The position is yours, not an experiment.
WithoutYou switch brokers and start over: new buttons, new order types, a new way to get burned.
With HelmsmanThe yes stays the same. The adapter changes. Alpaca is not Tradier: OTOCO is not a bracket. The bridge respects the venue; it does not fake it.
WithoutFifty alerts. Zero covers. A chat that «gives it a go». You copy naked because the tape will not wait.
With HelmsmanThree proposals, one skip in the open. Numbers from the engine. Your yes. Then discipline — not brochure autopilot.

The objections we hear. Straight answers.

«Do I need to code?» No. You see proposals, read size and stop, say yes or no. The stack stays under the hood. Helmsman is for people who trade, not people who write bots.

«Does it print while I sleep?» No. Without your yes nothing leaves. After entry it does not manage the position. Anyone hunting a night robot is looking for another product — and, usually, finds it at the bottom of the account.

«Do I have to switch brokers?» No. The account stays yours. Today the bridge speaks Alpaca, Tradier, IG and IBKR (the last one mock, live pending). Saxo, Schwab, Directa and the other retail APIs are to build. Fineco and DEGIRO have no official trading API: we will not fake the bridge. Pre-register and name where you already trade: that is the queue, not a pitch for a new account.

Why covered or nothing → The broker map → Who it is for (and who it is not) → FAQ →

Want this loop, in early access?

Skills and broker adapters are moving fast. You can pre-register: name the broker you already use.

Pre-register

Pass-through

We do not decide. We do not execute.

Helmsman is middleware: it translates, vetoes, forwards. The LLM proposes. You confirm. The broker — on your account — is the final executor.

01

The LLM

Not us

Claude or another third-party model can hallucinate, botch the numbers, invent a name. That call is not Helmsman.

02

The bridge

This is us

Routing, rules, covers. If the stop is missing, if size moved, if you did not say yes — the pipe closes. We do not hold your book.

03

The broker

Final executor

Alpaca, Tradier, or the venue you connect. If an order exists, it exists on their book. Helmsman is not your intermediary and not your bank.

If the order exists, it exists on your account, after your yes. Helmsman is the pipe. Not the captain. Not the till.

Disclaimer and terms