The bottom line: which tab to export

The download inside the Strategy Tester writes out the data for the tab you are currently viewing. When you want to analyze each trade’s entry, exit and profit or loss, open the List of Trades tab first, then export. If you only need aggregate KPIs, that is Performance Summary; if you only want a price history, that is a chart-data CSV. Because button names and icons can change by version and language, confirm the current label in the official help just before you export.

Right after you run a backtest in TradingView, it is common to be stuck at “I can open the Strategy Report, but I am not sure which data to export.” The reason is simple: the same download icon produces a completely different file depending on which tab is active. If you want the full picture first, reading the parent article on the complete TradingView backtesting workflow (BT01) makes it easier to see where this lesson fits.

The goal of this guide is to help you pull the right CSV from the right tab, tidy up its encoding and columns, and move on to external analysis. From here we work through the differences between the three kinds of CSV and resolve, one at a time, the places where people most often get stuck.

Three kinds of CSV

The CSV files you can obtain around TradingView fall broadly into three kinds. Their names look similar, but their contents and uses differ, so separating them at the outset saves confusion later.

In short, when you want to analyze backtest trades, the file to choose is the List of Trades from the strategy-report CSV. Everything below assumes this file.

How to export the CSV

The overall flow has four stages: open the strategy, show the Strategy Tester, choose the tab, download, and then load into the Lab. Let us fix the big picture with a diagram first.

1. Apply the strategy to the chart

   Add your strategy to the chart and set the symbol, timeframe and period as you intend. The conditions you pick here become the assumptions baked into the CSV.

2. Open the Strategy Tester panel

   Show the Strategy Tester below the chart. Tabs such as Performance Summary, Trades Analysis and List of Trades sit side by side.

3. Choose the tab you need

   If you want per-trade detail, open List of Trades. The download exports the active tab, so this choice matters most.

4. Download and check the contents

   Use the download control at the top of the panel to save the CSV (XLSX in some environments). Once it opens, confirm that the encoding, delimiter and date format are what you expected. Because button names and export formats can change, confirm the current label in the official help on exporting strategy data.

What each tab gives you

Each tab in the Strategy Tester differs in granularity and purpose. Choose the tab according to what you want to analyze. The example below uses fictional, illustrative data.

Performance Summary is convenient for the overall picture, but because it has no detail you cannot study the sequence of losing streaks or verify individual trades. Per-trade analysis needs List of Trades. How to read each KPI itself is covered in depth in the guide to profit factor, expectancy and other metrics (BT03).

Assumptions to note before exporting

A CSV may look like a string of numbers, yet you cannot interpret it correctly without knowing the assumptions behind it. Before you open the file, note the following. Each one is essential for reproducing or comparing the backtest conditions.

• Period: the start and end dates. A sample that is too short is easily swayed by chance.
• Symbol and timeframe: for example, USD/JPY on the 1-hour (H1) timeframe (fictional).
• Position currency and initial capital: the unit of profit and loss and the basis for percentages.
• Order sizing: fixed, percentage or compounding. It changes what a profit figure means.
• Commission and slippage: whether they are included changes profit and loss substantially.
• Time zone: whether times are on the chart or the exchange clock.

Sample columns and column mapping

A List of Trades CSV lines up columns such as trade number, type, date and time, price, quantity and profit or loss. Because column names can vary by version and language, they cannot be asserted as a fixed specification. The Lab supports generic column mapping, so you can map the original CSV columns to analysis fields and load the file.

If the file has Run-up (the peak of unrealized profit) and Drawdown (the trough of unrealized loss) columns, you can use them to analyze exit efficiency. This angle is also touched on in the overview of the backtesting workflow (BT01). Even when column names differ from what you expected, mapping each one manually to the analysis field with matching meaning is all it takes.

Import errors and how to fix them

The CSV will not load, the columns drift, the text is garbled — most of these come down to one of the following. Working through them in order resolves nearly every case.

Common causes and fixes

• Encoding: anything other than UTF-8 shows as garbled text. Re-save as UTF-8 (with BOM if needed).
• Delimiter: a comma versus a semicolon makes columns drift. Specify the delimiter when you import.
• Decimal mark: a period versus a comma (regional settings). If numbers break, check the decimal notation.
• Date format: the order of year, month and day, or a time-zone difference. State the format explicitly on import.
• Blank rows and duplicates: a trailing blank row or a repeated header creates a row-count mismatch.
• Open trades: a trade left open at the end of the period has no finalized profit or loss — keep that in mind.
• Multiple files and changed headers: watch for naive merging of files with different assumptions, and for column names that change by language.

Pre-export checklist

We provide the pre-import checks both as a static table and as an interactive checklist. Everything is tallied on this device only; no file or entered value is ever sent over the network.

Load into the free Lab in three steps

Once the assumptions and the file are in order, load the CSV or XLSX into SG Group’s TradingView Backtest & Robustness Lab. The free plan lets you try core KPIs, equity and drawdown, Monte Carlo and stress tests, with no cap on the number of runs (the free scope can change, so confirm the latest on the plan page).

1. Load the file

   Drag and drop the List of Trades CSV or XLSX into the Lab. Removing personal data and unnecessary columns before uploading gives you peace of mind.

2. Map the columns

   With generic column mapping, assign date and time, type, price, quantity and profit or loss to the analysis fields. Even if names differ, you can map by meaning.

3. Review the analysis

   KPIs, the equity curve, drawdown, Monte Carlo and more appear automatically. Compare files with different assumptions separately so you do not misread the results.

What to analyze next

Once the CSV loads, the next task is interpreting what is inside. Reading the following in this order lets you check the reliability of a backtest step by step.

• Reading the KPIs: grasp what profit factor, expectancy, Sharpe, win rate and drawdown mean → how to read backtest results (BT03).
• Testing sequence risk: check how losing streaks and trade order affect the result → Monte Carlo and risk of ruin (BT04).
• Applying costs: include commission and slippage for a realistic view → cost and stress testing (BT09).

For all of these, the List of Trades CSV you exported in this guide is enough to review straight away in the free Lab.

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