User Guide
Everything you need to know
A complete guide to detecting hidden market cycles with FractalCycles. No technical jargon, just practical steps.
Quick Start
Get from raw data to cycle insights in 5 simple steps.
Get Your Data
Upload a CSV file or fetch live data from Yahoo Finance.
Create Analysis
Select your data and run cycle detection.
View Results
See detected cycles ranked by significance.
Select Cycles
Choose which cycles to include in your projection.
See Projection
View the composite wave overlaid on price.
Feature Guide
Learn what each feature does and where to find it.
Market Data
Dashboard → Market Data
This is where you manage your price data. You can upload CSV files with OHLCV (Open, High, Low, Close, Volume) data, or fetch live data directly from Yahoo Finance. Your uploaded datasets appear in a list here.
Analyses
Dashboard → Analyses
View all your cycle analyses here. Each analysis shows its status (completed, processing, or failed), the data source, and when it was created. Click on any analysis to see detailed results.
Chart View
Dashboard → Chart
The main visualization page. See your price chart with cycle overlays, the power spectrum showing detected frequencies, and the composite wave projection. This is where you select which cycles to include.
Settings
Dashboard → Settings
Manage your account settings, change your password, and configure advanced analysis options like Nest-of-Lows detection. You can also restart the product tour from here.
Billing
Dashboard → Billing
View your current subscription plan, upgrade to Pro or Ultra for more analyses and features, and manage your payment method.
Live Data Fetch
Market Data → Fetch Live
Search for any stock, ETF, crypto, or index symbol and fetch historical price data directly. Choose your timeframe (daily, hourly, etc.) and FractalCycles will pull the data automatically.
Understanding Your Results
What each part of the analysis results means.
The Cycle Table
After analysis, you'll see a table of detected cycles. Each row represents a cycle with:
- •Period: How many bars (days, hours, etc.) until the cycle repeats
- •Amplitude: The strength of the cycle movement
- •Strength: How dominant this cycle is in the data (higher = stronger)
- •Fit: How well the cycle fits the actual price data
- •Phase: Where the cycle currently is in its pattern (Rising, Peaking, Falling, or Bottoming)
The Power Spectrum
This chart shows all the frequencies detected in your data. Peaks indicate cycles:
- •Higher peaks = more significant cycles
- •The x-axis shows the cycle period (in bars)
- •Green highlighted peaks are statistically significant
The Composite Wave
When you select cycles, FractalCycles combines them into a single projection:
- •The wave shows where the combined cycles suggest price may go
- •Peaks suggest potential resistance or reversal points
- •Troughs suggest potential support or reversal points
- •The projection extends into the future based on the cycle patterns
Analysis Page Controls
Master the tools available on the analysis results page.
Top Action Buttons
Located in the top-right corner of the analysis page:
- •Regenerate Composite: Updates the composite wave after you change cycle selections. Click this after checking/unchecking cycles in the Cycle Spectrum table.
- •Rerun Analysis: Runs the entire cycle detection again from scratch. Use this after cropping your data or if you want a fresh analysis.
Chart Toolbar
Controls above the price chart for customizing your view:
- •Bars Dropdown: Choose how many bars of data to display (100, 250, 500, 1000, or All). Fewer bars zoom in on recent data.
- •Crop Data: Click this button, then click on the chart to set a new starting point for analysis. Only data from that point onward will be used. Great for excluding old, irrelevant data.
- •Chart Type: Switch between Line chart (simple view) and Candlestick chart (shows OHLC detail).
- •Linear/Log: Toggle between Linear scale (default) and Logarithmic scale. Log scale is useful for data with large price movements over time.
- •Indicators: Opens a panel to enable additional technical indicators like CCI (Commodity Channel Index) to complement your cycle analysis.
Cycle Spectrum Table
The table on the right side showing all detected cycles:
- •Checkbox: Check cycles you want to include in the composite wave projection. After selecting, click "Regenerate Composite".
- •Len (Length): The period of the cycle in bars (e.g., "399" means 399 bars from peak to peak).
- •Str (Strength): Visual bar showing how dominant this cycle is in the data. Longer bar = stronger cycle.
- •Fit/Align: Percentage showing how well the cycle aligns with actual price movements. Higher = better fit.
- •Phase: Current position in the cycle - Rising, Peaking, Falling, or Bottoming.
Nest-of-Lows Detection
A powerful feature for identifying high-probability reversal points:
- •Enable in Settings: Go to Dashboard → Settings and toggle on "Nest-of-Lows Detection".
- •What it shows: Highlights areas where 3 or more selected cycles reach their trough simultaneously.
- •Why it matters: When multiple cycles bottom together, it often signals a strong potential reversal point.
- •On the chart: Look for vertical shaded zones marking these confluence areas.
Summary Statistics
The info cards at the top of the analysis page:
- •Cycles Detected: Total number of cycles found in your data.
- •Significant Cycles: Cycles that passed statistical validation (genuine, not noise).
- •In Composite: How many cycles you currently have selected for the projection.
- •Hurst Exponent: Market regime indicator - above 0.5 = trending, below 0.5 = mean-reverting.
- •Next Turn: Bars until the next projected turning point based on your selected cycles.
Glossary
Key terms explained in plain language.