Skip to content
RaamTrade Docs
Open RaamTrade

RC2_IND_ON_UNKNOWN

Indicator <name> on= references a Symbol slot — or an indicator — that was never declared.

What it means

on= is resolved at compile time against two lists: the Symbol() slots in the class body, and the indicators already declared above it in execute(). A name in neither list is an error, not an empty series.

The “above it” part matters. Indicators are hoisted in source order, so a chain can only ever point backwards — on= is resolved against what has been declared so far, which is what makes the dependency order unambiguous and cycle-free.

Why it happens

A Symbol slot that isn’t there — usually a slot renamed in the class body but not in execute():

class Bad(Strategy):
    trade = Symbol()
    sizing = FixedCapital()


    def execute(self):
        spy_sma = SMA(20, on=self.spy)    # ❌ no Symbol named spy
        if spy_sma.value > 0 and self.trade.is_flat:
            self.buy(self.trade)

A chain declared in the wrong order — the source indicator exists, but below the one that reads it:

class Bad(Strategy):
    trade = Symbol()
    sizing = FixedCapital()


    def execute(self):
        smooth = EMA(5, on=rsi)           # ❌ rsi is declared on the NEXT line
        rsi = RSI(14, on=self.trade)
        if smooth.value > 50 and self.trade.is_flat:
            self.buy(self.trade)

How to fix it

Declare the thing you are pointing at — a Symbol() in the class body for a feed, or the source indicator earlier in execute() for a chain.

class Good(Strategy):
    trade = Symbol(trade=True)
    spy = Symbol(ticker="SPY")
    sizing = FixedCapital()


    def execute(self):
        spy_sma = SMA(20, on=self.spy)    # ✅ spy is a declared slot
        rsi = RSI(14, on=self.trade)
        smooth = EMA(5, on=rsi)           # ✅ rsi is declared above


        if self.spy.close > spy_sma and smooth.value > 50 and self.trade.is_flat:
            self.buy(self.trade, percent=0.5)

A second Symbol() is a data feed: the strategy reads it but never trades it. With more than one slot, exactly one must be marked trade=True.