Home / Backtesting & trading frameworks
pysystemtrade
Open-source systematic futures backtesting and trading engine in Python
What it is
A Python backtesting and trading engine that implements the systematic framework described in Rob Carver's book 'Systematic Trading' and on his blog. It provides an environment for testing book strategies, implements the associated optimisation and system design principles, and can run as a fully automated futures trading system connected to Interactive Brokers via the ib_async library. Traders who are comfortable writing Python code and installing dependencies themselves will get the most out of it. The project is not hosted on PyPI and offers no higher level of support, so it functions as a head start for building your own system rather than a supported product.
At a glance
RecommendedOur rating, based on popularity, maintenance and how ready it is for real use.
| Best for | Professional quants |
|---|---|
| Used for | Backtesting, Live trading |
| Markets | Futures, Multi-market |
| Stack | Python |
| Learning curve | Steep learning curve |
| Practical value | High practical value |
| Cost | Free and open source |
| Hardware | No GPU needed |
| Maintenance | Last commit 3 days ago |
GitHub stars, last 30 days
Daily snapshots since 2026-09-12 (up to 30 days): +39 over the period, now 3,549. Gaps mean no snapshot was taken that day.
pysystemtrade is the open source version of Robert Carver's backtesting and trading engine that implements systems according to the framework outlined in his book "Systematic Trading", whic
Similar tools
Python quant trading system development framework
Python quantitative framework for stocks, futures and options
Extensible Python backtesting and algorithmic trading framework
Rust-native algorithmic trading platform and event-driven backtester
Event-driven algorithmic trading engine for backtesting and live trading
Python algorithmic trading framework for backtesting and live trading