Ironclad9-step protocol
Pick a strategy, instrument, and timeframe. Choose which checks to run. Hit Run. A LOCKED verdict means the cell is cleared to wire to a Combine or Funded account.
What Ironclad means
Ironclad is a 9-step evidence protocol. A regular backtest tells you whether a strategy worked on one slice of history. Ironclad tells you whether it would survive a prop firm.
The protocol covers spec lock, harness-vs-runtime parity, walk-forward validation across rolling windows, slippage and commission realism, paper wire-up, detection-layer parity, the safety rail, the audit log, and an explicit human approval flag. Until every step passes, the cell cannot route to a Combine or Funded account.
1 Strategy
2 Instrument
3 Timeframe3 supported by orb_edge
2 How thorough?
Quick1–5
Spec, harness parity, walk-forward, costs, smoke test. Good for iterating on a new idea.
Fullall 9
The complete protocol. Required before routing to a Combine or Funded account.
Custompick steps
Choose exactly which steps to run. Useful for re-running a single check after a fix.
3 Steps to run9 of 9 selected
1
Spec & vocabulary lock
PARAM_SPEC complete
2
Backtest harness parity
harness ↔ runtime
3
Walk-forward validation
12 anchored windows
4
Slippage + cost realism
1-tick + commission
5
Paper wire-up smoke test
100 paper trades
6
Detection-layer parity
runtime ↔ harness
7
Loader safety rail
yaml routing rail
8
Audit log + ledger
append-only JSONL
9
Evidence-lock flag
human approval
Running 9 of 9 checks on adhoc_orb_edge_MNQ_1m
Run · adhoc_orb_edge_MNQ_1m0% · 0/9
1
Spec & vocabulary lock
PARAM_SPEC complete
2
Backtest harness parity
harness ↔ runtime· step 2 parity driver for strategy 'orb_edge' is not yet uniform
3
Walk-forward validation
12 anchored windows
4
Slippage + cost realism
1-tick + commission
5
Paper wire-up smoke test
100 paper trades· live wire-up smoke needs the runner event-log summariser — separ
6
Detection-layer parity
runtime ↔ harness
7
Loader safety rail
yaml routing rail
8
Audit log + ledger
append-only JSONL· Auto-passes the next time you save the cell from the editor — sa
9
Evidence-lock flag
human approval· Set ironclad_status: locked in the cell YAML once steps 1-8 are
Outcome
Hit Run to start. Each step writes its result here. If every selected step passes, the cell earns an Ironclad-validated badge.
What passing earns
A cell that passes the full 9-step protocol picks up an Ironclad-validated badge dated for the run. It's a provenance marker on the strategy config — not a live-trading gate.
Eligibility targets
- Sharpe (1Y, OOS)
- ≥ 1.2
- Max DD
- ≤ 25% of starting equity
- Min trades
- 120 / year
- Tail risk
- no single trade > 4× avg loss