An open-source web frontend for AI-driven algorithmic trading.
Helm is an open-source alternative to the OpenBB Workspace/Terminal. It pairs a customizable, tiling dashboard with a long-running AI trader so you can digest the trader's insights and decisions — not just stare at charts.
- Execution engine: Nautilus Trader (orders, risk, portfolio, live/sandbox/backtest parity).
- Research layer: optional OpenBB Platform integration for fundamentals/news/macro — used as a data source, not the trading engine (OpenBB has no execution path).
- Frontend: React + Vite + TypeScript, a
dockviewtiling workspace, and a Zod-driven widget registry.
OpenBB's Workspace UI is closed source. Helm reproduces the parts that matter for an AI trader — a dockable widget grid, a widget catalog, layout persistence — and adds a first-class AI Decision Feed plus a set of exotic indicator widgets that pull in signal from outside the order book.
Trading — Portfolio, Positions, Orders, P&L / equity curve, Price Chart
(TradingView lightweight-charts), and the AI Decision Feed (rationale cards
with confidence, cited signals, and realized-P&L follow-through).
Exotic indicators — embedded windows for signal that moves markets but lives outside them:
| Widget | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Twitter / X feed | oEmbed / embed.js | Single posts + best-effort timelines |
| White House press releases | whitehouse.gov RSS | Native cards, server-parsed |
| Reddit threads | subreddit .rss / oEmbed |
r/wallstreetbets, r/stocks, etc. |
| Discord activity | Widgetbot / server widget JSON | Opt-in per server |
| SEC EDGAR filings | SEC EDGAR Atom feeds | 8-K / 10-Q / Form 4 flow |
| Congressional trades | House/Senate disclosure feeds | Politician stock disclosures |
| Economic calendar | public econ-calendar feed | CPI, FOMC, NFP, etc. |
| Crypto Fear & Greed | alternative.me API | Daily sentiment index |
| Hacker News sentiment | HN Algolia API | Tech-sector chatter signal |
All external content is fetched/sanitized server-side where a feed exists, and
sandboxed in iframes where only an embed exists. See docs/ARCHITECTURE.md.
cd backend
python -m venv .venv
.venv\Scripts\activate # Windows (source .venv/bin/activate on *nix)
pip install -r requirements.txt
uvicorn helm.main:app --reload --port 8000The backend runs in demo mode out of the box — a built-in market + AI-trader
simulator — so you can explore the UI with zero broker credentials. Install
nautilus_trader and configure backend/helm/config.py to connect a real venue.
cd frontend
npm install
npm run devOpen http://localhost:5173. The dev server proxies /api and /ws to the
backend on port 8000.
helm/
backend/ FastAPI: Nautilus integration, AI trader, feeds proxy, OpenBB
frontend/ React + Vite: dockview workspace, widget registry, widgets
docs/ Architecture notes
MIT for Helm's own code. Note that Nautilus Trader is LGPLv3 and OpenBB is
AGPLv3 — Helm keeps them in separate processes (HTTP/WebSocket boundary) so
their licenses do not propagate. See docs/ARCHITECTURE.md.