Heartbeat

Name: SimpleFunctions
Author: SimpleFunctions

The heartbeat is the automated monitoring engine that periodically scans for new information, runs evaluation cycles, and triggers strategy actions. It keeps your thesis alive and responsive 24/7.

CLI:sf heartbeat status

The Heartbeat Engine

The heartbeat is what makes SimpleFunctions an agent rather than just an analytics tool. It's the scheduled process that runs continuously, monitoring the world and acting on your behalf.

What the Heartbeat Does

On each heartbeat tick:

Checks for new signals: Searches news sources, monitors price changes, checks webhooks
Filters noise: Maps signals to causal tree nodes, discarding irrelevant information
Runs evaluation: Updates probabilities, recalculates edge
Checks strategies: Evaluates entry/exit/stop conditions
Sends notifications: Alerts you to significant changes

Heartbeat Frequency

The default heartbeat runs every 30 minutes during active market hours. But frequency can be adjusted:

High-frequency: Every 5-10 minutes during volatile events (FOMC day, CPI release)
Low-frequency: Every 2-4 hours for long-dated theses with slow-moving fundamentals
Burst mode: Continuous scanning when a trigger event occurs

Why the Heartbeat Matters

Markets move while you sleep. A news event at 3 AM could create a 20-point edge that evaporates by market open. The heartbeat catches these opportunities and can execute strategies automatically.

Heartbeat Monitoring

You can check heartbeat status with sf heartbeat status to see:

When the last heartbeat ran
How many signals were processed
Whether any strategies were triggered
Current thesis state summary

Example

sf heartbeat status

Thesis: "US Recession by 2026"
Heartbeat: Active (every 30 min)
Last run: 2 minutes ago
Next run: in 28 minutes

Last 24h summary:
  Heartbeats completed: 48
  Signals ingested: 23
  Signals mapped to nodes: 8
  Probability updates: 4
  Strategy checks: 48
  Strategy triggers: 1 (buy 50 KXRECSSNBER-26 at $0.29)
  Notifications sent: 2

Current state:
  Thesis confidence: 72%
  Root probability: 42%
  Active strategies: 3
  Open positions: 2

Related Terms

Thesis

A thesis is a structured investment argument that combines a directional view, a causal model of why the view is correct, and specific market positions that express the view. In SimpleFunctions, a thesis is the core unit of analysis.

Evaluation Cycle

An evaluation cycle is the automated process by which the agent reviews new signals, updates causal tree probabilities, recalculates edge, and determines whether any strategy conditions are met.

Signal

A signal is any piece of new information that could affect a thesis — a news article, a price movement, a data release, a user note, or an external webhook event. The agent evaluates signals against the causal tree.

Edge Detection

Edge detection is the systematic process of scanning prediction markets to find contracts where the market price diverges from your thesis-implied fair value by more than the cost of execution.

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