Signal-Managed Exits: Let Your TradingView Strategy Decide When to Take Profits

Overview

By default, RelayDesk monitors your open positions and automatically exits them when your configured take-profit targets are hit. This is called Relay-Managed mode, you define the targets once in your bot settings and RelayDesk handles everything from there.

Signal-Managed Exits give you a different model: instead of RelayDesk watching price levels, your TradingView indicator sends the exit signal directly. When your strategy fires, RelayDesk receives the signal and immediately places a market order to close the specified portion of your position.

This is the right choice when your TradingView strategy already has its own exit logic, a moving average cross, a momentum reversal, a volatility squeeze, and you want RelayDesk to act on that signal rather than an independent price target.

How it works

The two exit modes

The key distinction: in Signal-Managed mode, RelayDesk does not watch for price-based TP targets. It sits ready and waits for your TradingView alert. When the alert arrives, it acts immediately.

Your stop loss remains automated in both modes. RelayDesk always manages the safety net. You only take control of the take-profit side.

Signal Exit Levels

Signal exit levels are named rules that map a TradingView action name to a percentage of your remaining position to close.

Example configuration:

When TradingView sends { "action": "tp1" }, RelayDesk closes 50% of the remaining contracts at market. When it later sends { "action": "tp2" }, the remaining 50% is closed.

Reserved signal names

Two signal names are built in and require no configuration:

• `exit`: Closes 100% of the remaining position immediately
• `close`: Identical to exit, closes 100% of the remaining position

These work on any signal-managed bot without needing to add a level. Use them for full, unconditional closes.

How percentages are applied

Close percentages always apply to the remaining position at the time the signal arrives, not the original entry size.

Example with 10 contracts:

1. tp1 arrives → closes 50% of 10 = 5 contracts
2. tp2 arrives → closes 100% of remaining 5 = 5 contracts (fully closed)

This means you can chain multiple partial exits without worrying about calculating absolute contract counts. RelayDesk tracks the remaining position and applies the percentage to whatever is left.

Race condition protection

If two signals arrive close together, say tp2 fires 200ms after tp1, RelayDesk serializes them automatically. The second signal waits for the first fill to complete before evaluating, so it always sees the correct remaining quantity. You won't accidentally over-sell or send duplicate orders.

What you'll see in the platform

Live Monitor

Signal-managed trades display a purple Signal Managed badge on their trade card. The Target Progress bar is hidden, there are no fixed price targets to show progress against.

Trade detail page

• Exit Mode: Signal Managed is shown in the Bot Strategy section
• The stop loss card is labeled Safety Net to distinguish it from a price-target stop
• The exit timeline shows Entry → Signal Exit → Safety Net instead of TP1/TP2/TP3
• When an exit fires, the node shows the actual price and P&L% achieved
• The R:R ratio is hidden (not applicable without fixed TP targets)

Trade History

Trades exited by a signal show a blue Signal Exit badge in the execution type column.

Tier requirements

When to use Signal-Managed Exits

Signal-Managed exits are a strong fit when:

• Your TradingView indicator already has an exit signal you trust
• You trade with a strategy like UT Bot, SuperTrend, or any momentum-based system where exits are event-driven rather than percentage-based
• You want more discretionary control over exits while keeping entry and stop-loss automated
• You run multiple partial exits at different indicator conditions (not at fixed % gains)

Relay-Managed exits remain the better choice when:

• You want a clean "set it and forget it" setup with defined profit targets
• You're trading a strategy where % gain from entry is the logical exit metric
• You don't want to maintain separate TradingView alerts for each exit level

Setting up Signal-Managed Exits

Step 1: Open bot builder

Navigate to Bots and create a new bot or edit an existing one.

Step 2: Configure the exit strategy section

In the Exit Strategy section, select Signal-Managed from the exit mode toggle. The TP levels configuration will be replaced with a Signal Exit Levels editor.

Step 3: Add signal exit levels

Click Add Signal Level and configure each level:

• Signal Name — The exact name your TradingView alert will send in the action field (e.g., tp1, tp2, half, quarter). Case-insensitive.
• Close % — The percentage of the remaining position to close when this signal arrives (1–100).

You can add as many levels as your strategy requires. Most setups use 1–3.

Step 4: Copy your webhook token

Your webhook token is shown in the Strategy / Connections section of the bot. You'll need this to build your TradingView webhook URL.

Step 5: Configure TradingView alerts

See How to Connect TradingView to Signal-Managed Exits for the step-by-step TradingView alert setup.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if a signal arrives when there's no open trade? It's silently skipped. No error is thrown and no order is placed. The bot simply waits for the next entry.

What if I send an unknown signal name? The signal is rejected with a log message: "unknown signal name 'X' — configure signal exit levels in bot settings". The position is not affected.

Can I mix signal-managed exits with TradingView entries? Yes — this is the standard setup. Your entry alert fires on the buy condition, and separate exit alerts fire on each exit condition. All alerts use the same webhook URL, just different action values in the payload.

Does the stop loss still work automatically? Yes. The stop loss is always managed by RelayDesk's exit engine regardless of exit mode. Signal-Managed only changes who controls the take-profit side.

Can I change exit mode on an existing bot? Yes. You can switch between Relay-Managed and Signal-Managed at any time from the bot settings. The change takes effect on the next trade, any currently open positions continue under the previous mode until they close.