Getting Started with SignalBee: Your First Automated Trade in 10 Minutes

You've got a TradingView strategy that looks promising in backtests. Now you want to see it execute real trades automatically. This guide walks you through the entire setup from zero to your first automated trade.

What You'll Need

Before we start, make sure you have:

• A TradingView account (Pro or higher for webhook alerts)
• An exchange account (Binance, Bybit, KuCoin, or any of our 30+ supported exchanges)
• About 10 minutes

Step 1: Create Your SignalBee Account

Head to signalbee.trade/signup and create your account. You can use email/password or sign up with Google.

The free tier includes everything you need to get started:

• 1 exchange connection
• 1,000 signals per month
• Full webhook support

Step 2: Generate API Keys on Your Exchange

SignalBee needs API keys to execute trades on your behalf. Here's the key principle: grant only the permissions needed, nothing more.

For most exchanges, you need:

• Enable: Spot Trading (and Futures Trading if you use perpetuals)
• Disable: Withdrawals (always disable this)

Each exchange has slightly different steps. Check our exchange-specific guides for detailed instructions with screenshots.

Important security notes:

• Never share your API secret with anyone
• SignalBee stores your keys encrypted with AES-256-GCM
• We only use keys for order execution, never withdrawals

Step 3: Connect Your Exchange to SignalBee

1. Go to your Dashboard
2. Click Exchanges in the sidebar
3. Click Add Exchange
4. Select your exchange from the dropdown
5. Paste your API key and secret
6. Click Connect

SignalBee will verify your keys work correctly. If there's an issue, you'll see a specific error message explaining what to check.

Step 4: Create Your First Webhook

Now for the magic - connecting TradingView to SignalBee.

1. Go to Webhooks in your dashboard
2. Click Create Webhook
3. Give it a name like "BTC Long Strategy"
4. Copy the webhook URL - you'll need this in TradingView

Your webhook URL looks like:

https://signalbee.trade/api/v1/webhook/abc123def456

Step 5: Set Up Your TradingView Alert

Open TradingView and set up your alert:

1. Right-click on your chart and select Add Alert
2. Set your alert condition (price cross, indicator signal, etc.)
3. In the Notifications section, check Webhook URL
4. Paste your SignalBee webhook URL
5. In the Message field, enter your signal payload

Here's a simple signal payload to buy BTC:

{
  "symbol": "BTCUSDT",
  "side": "buy",
  "quantity": "0.001"
}

Step 6: Test Your Setup

Before risking real money, let's verify everything works:

1. In SignalBee, go to Signals in your dashboard
2. Trigger your TradingView alert (you can create a test alert that fires immediately)
3. Watch the signal appear in your SignalBee dashboard
4. Check the Orders page to see the executed trade

If something doesn't work, check:

• Is your exchange connection showing as "Connected"?
• Does your exchange have sufficient balance?
• Is the trading pair enabled on your exchange?

Understanding the Signal Payload

The basic payload has three required fields:

{
  "symbol": "BTCUSDT",
  "side": "buy",
  "quantity": "0.001"
}

For more control, you can add optional fields:

{
  "symbol": "BTCUSDT",
  "side": "buy",
  "quantity": "0.001",
  "order_type": "limit",
  "price": "42000"
}

Using TradingView Variables

TradingView can dynamically insert values into your signal. This is powerful for strategy-based alerts:

{
  "symbol": "{{ticker}}",
  "side": "{{strategy.order.action}}",
  "quantity": "{{strategy.order.contracts}}"
}

Common variables:

• {{ticker}} - Current symbol
• {{close}} - Current close price
• {{strategy.order.action}} - Buy or sell from strategy
• {{strategy.order.contracts}} - Position size from strategy

What's Next?

Congratulations! You've set up automated trading. Here are some next steps:

1. Add Risk Controls - Set up whitelisted pairs and max order limits in your Settings
2. Monitor Performance - Review your signals and orders regularly
3. Explore Advanced Features - Check out percent-based sizing and multi-exchange routing

Common Issues

"Insufficient balance" error Your exchange account needs enough funds. Check your balance and ensure you're not trying to trade more than you have.

"Invalid symbol" error The trading pair might not exist on your exchange or might use a different format. Check the exact symbol name on your exchange.

Signal received but no order Check if your trading pair is whitelisted. By default, SignalBee requires pairs to be explicitly allowed as a safety measure.

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Need help? Check our Help Center or reach out to support.