Data management
Lona backtests and optimizations use time-series market data in OHLCV format. The Data area contains Lona’s global data and data uploaded to your account.
Global data
Global data is sourced from Tiingo, comes pre-adjusted for dividends and splits, and is refreshed daily. In the application, open Data and select Explore data to search the global symbol catalog, browse categories, and open a symbol’s available data.
Global data uses these supported frequencies:
| Frequency | Meaning |
|---|---|
1d | 1 day |
4h | 4 hours |
1h | 1 hour |
15m | 15 minutes |
5m | 5 minutes |
Free/basic access to global data is limited to end-of-day (1d) data in the selection and optimization flows. Paid tiers can use the available intraday frequencies. The exact frequency and date coverage depend on the selected symbols.
Upload your data
The Upload data flow accepts CSV files with OHLCV trading data. The data selector labels this option Custom Data; in the current implementation, that upload path is still OHLCV.
The upload flow:
- Choose a UTF-8 CSV file by dropping it into the dialog or browsing for it.
- Review the parsed preview. Lona detects headers when possible and warns when a file has no header row.
- Enter the symbol name and metadata such as asset class, exchange, and quote currency.
- Set the bar frequency using a number and unit, such as
5m,1h,4h,1d,1w, or1M. - Map the CSV columns.
- Submit the upload and wait for processing to finish.
The browser accepts CSV text files up to 30 MB and rejects binary or UTF-16 input. Uploaded data is stored for your account and can be edited or deleted from Data.
Column mapping
Timestamp and Close are required. Open, High, Low, and Volume are optional in the mapping, although complete OHLCV data is recommended for realistic backtests. The mapping editor can retain extra columns as metadata, but the supported data type remains OHLCV.
Example:
timestamp,open,high,low,close,volume
2024-01-02T00:00:00Z,100,102,99,101,1200000Map each field to the matching CSV column and verify the preview before uploading. Lona records the detected date range and available frequencies after processing. Uploaded data is not the same as a validated vendor feed; inspect its timestamps, prices, units, timezone, and gaps yourself.
Selecting data for a run
The data selector supports up to five symbols. When multiple symbols are selected, Lona computes the frequencies they have in common and the overlapping date range. The run or optimization can use only a frequency and date range covered by every selected symbol.
Global data includes an attribution message in the selection and run flows. User-uploaded symbols appear with their own metadata and coverage information.
Manage sources
From Data you can:
- search and browse global symbols;
- view a symbol’s coverage and available frequencies;
- view your uploaded symbols;
- edit supported metadata for an uploaded symbol; and
- delete an uploaded symbol after confirmation.
Deleting a source removes it from future selections. Existing reports retain the data-source identity recorded for the run, but you should keep your original files for reproducibility.