# Current recommendations

Last reviewed: 2026-08-11 03:19 CDT.

This file is the short list of work worth considering next. Verified history,
measurements and completed work remain in `docs/IMPLEMENTATION_PLAN.md`.

## Fix next

### Keep snapping out of the price axes

`ConfluenceChart.withinPlot()` currently checks plot-relative coordinates
against `chartEl.clientWidth` and `clientHeight`. The element also contains the
price and time axes, so hovering the right price axis can leave the snap dot
visible at the plot edge.

Recommended fix:

1. Compare against the measured plot canvas width and height.
2. Add a Playwright page-pixel test that moves from a bar into the actual right
   axis rectangle and expects the snap dot to disappear, then return over the
   plot and expect it to reappear.
3. Reuse the same plot-relative conversion for selection and anchor dragging;
   do not add another coordinate frame.

This was discovered by test research but deliberately not committed as a
failing test because it requires production code to correct.

### Show unambiguous market freshness

The best location is the status strip directly below the chart. Keep the header
for coarse transport state (`LIVE · SCHWAB`, `DELAYED · YAHOO 10m`) and replace
the ambiguous `LAST BAR` age with browser-observed receipt time:

```text
UPDATED 3s AGO
```

On mobile use a compact form:

```text
Updated 3s ago · Live
```

No additional request is needed. Record `Date.now()` when an existing WebSocket
`bar` message arrives. A snapshot should initially say `LOADED JUST NOW`; level,
alert and preference messages are not market updates and must not refresh it.

Do not derive update age from `bar.t`: it is the bucket start, and selected
timeframe bar messages currently overwrite `status.last_bar_t`, making an hourly
bar appear stale even when just received.

A later, more complete implementation can add these fields to the existing
WebSocket rather than add polling:

- exact `last_trade_t` where the source supplies it;
- `last_settled_m1_t`, measured from the end of the minute;
- `last_source_received_at`;
- an application heartbeat for transport health.

Stale warnings must distinguish market closure from transport failure and must
subtract Yahoo's declared delay before calling delayed data overdue.

## Mobile authoring

The detailed plan is in `docs/mobile_enhance.md`. Recommended first tranche:

1. Use one plot-relative pointer path for placement, selection and anchor drag.
2. Add touch-sized invisible hit regions without enlarging the visual marks.
3. Keep the first tap's trendline anchor visible with price/time, Cancel and
   Undo anchor.
4. Add a compact sticky mobile tool rail next to the chart.
5. Add a selected-drawing action bar so End here and Delete do not require
   right-click or a hardware keyboard.

Prefer tap-tap trendlines on touch devices. Reserve one-finger vertical movement
for page scrolling, retain horizontal chart panning and pinch zoom, and offer a
chart-focused landscape/fullscreen mode.

## Market-data alternatives

No durable unauthenticated source of free real-time CME `/ES` data has been
identified. CME real-time access is normally broker-subsidized and tied to an
authenticated exchange entitlement, not a public free API.

Practical ranking:

1. Keep Schwab for verified entitled real-time streaming and Yahoo for delayed
   development/history seeding.
2. Pilot Tastytrade/dxLink on a live futures-approved account. Confirm actual
   delay, candle retention, continuous/root symbol behavior and server-side-use
   terms before integrating it.
3. Consider IBKR as the strongest low-cost fallback if literal zero cost is not
   required; resolve and roll the active contract explicitly for live data.
4. Consider TradeStation only if its account-funding/API-access requirements are
   already acceptable.
5. Evaluate Nasdaq Data Link CHRIS only for continuous daily seeding after
   confirming current freshness and free-key availability.

Do not build a backend around scraped TradingView, CME, Barchart, Investing.com,
MarketWatch or Stooq pages. Public display access is not a supported market-data
API or a CME redistribution license.

References:

- Tastytrade streaming: https://developer.tastytrade.com/streaming-market-data/
- IBKR market data: https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/pricing/research-news-marketdata.php
- TradeStation API: https://www.tradestation.com/platforms-and-tools/trading-api/
- Nasdaq Data Link API: https://docs.data.nasdaq.com/

## Deferred test tied to production work

When startup seeding is changed to bulk-load bars, add an integration test that
asserts expensive level rebuilding happens once and that final stores/levels
match incremental ingestion. Do not assert a wall-clock duration and do not add
a test that merely codifies today's slow startup.

## Test and deployment commands

README is authoritative for local pytest, local Playwright E2E, pre-deploy and
production smoke-test commands. Browser E2E creates and deletes drawings, so it
must remain pointed at the local stack rather than production.