How to use the Trader Hand Market Analysis agent skill

What an agent skill is and what this one does

An agent skill is a folder containing a SKILL.md file of instructions and knowledge that an AI agent loads when a task matches it. This skill is prompt-only: it runs no scripts and adds written expertise to the agent.

The reviewed SKILL.md is organised as a reference. It gives formulas, step-by-step calculations, worked numerical examples and interpretation tables for RSI, MACD, Bollinger Bands, VWAP, moving averages, ATR and volume analysis (OBV is started in the file). The skill's description also mentions risk management, the Alpaca API and financial data sources, but the reviewed text ends before those sections, so their content could not be verified.

• Explains and calculates RSI, MACD, Bollinger Bands, VWAP, moving averages and ATR
• Interprets signals such as overbought/oversold levels, crossovers, squeezes and divergences
• Uses the worked examples in the file to show the arithmetic

Install the trader-hand-skill ZIP

Download the ZIP from the directory page, then unzip it. The skill folder should contain HAND.toml and SKILL.md. Place the folder in one of two locations: your personal skills directory at ~/.claude/skills/, or a project-specific .claude/skills/ folder inside the project you work in.

If you use the Claude apps instead, upload the skill under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.

• Personal install: put the unzipped folder in ~/.claude/skills/
• Project install: put it in the project's .claude/skills/ folder, so it applies only to that project
• Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload

Trigger the skill with natural requests

You do not need a special command. Ask in plain language about the indicator or concept you want, and name the asset and the data you have. The skill is most useful when you give the agent actual prices, highs, lows or volumes to work from.

Good requests name the indicator and the inputs, for example asking for the RSI of a list of closing prices, or whether a stock is above its 200-day simple moving average. Ask the agent to show the working so you can check it against the worked example in the file.

• "Calculate the 14-period RSI for these closes and tell me whether it is overbought."
• "Explain what a MACD bullish crossover means and when it is weak."
• "Compute VWAP for these three bars and say whether price is above or below it."
• "Using ATR(14) of 3.50 and entry at $100, where would a 2 × ATR stop sit?"

Examples of what the skill covers

The file contains concrete numbers you can follow by hand. The RSI example works from an average gain of 1.02 and average loss of 0.68 to an RS of 1.50 and an RSI of 60.0. The Bollinger Bands example uses a 20-period SMA of 150.00 and a standard deviation of 3.50 to show a %B of 0.857 at a price of 155.00. The VWAP example computes 100.94 from three bars. The ATR example updates an ATR of 3.50 to 3.536 with a true range of 4.

Safety notes: scripts, network and tools

The skill declares that it runs no scripts and uses the network. Its tool list includes shell_exec, file_read, file_write, web_fetch, web_search and memory_store, so an agent using it may be able to act on the internet or your files. Review what the agent does before accepting its output, and do not run it unsupervised.

The Alpaca API is needed only if you use the trading features described in SKILL.md, and the reviewed text does not include setup details for it. The file is educational and does not by itself place trades.

• Keep a human in the loop; do not use it for autonomous trading without review
• Check any calculated value against the formula before acting on it
• Be aware that the indicator buy and sell labels are generic rules of thumb, not financial advice

Tips for getting reliable results

Give the agent complete, ordered price data. Indicators such as RSI and ATR depend on the number of periods and on smoothing, so state the period you want (the file defaults RSI to 14). Ask for the formula steps as well as the answer.

Do not rely on a single signal. The file itself says RSI should not be used alone and should be combined with trend direction and volume. VWAP is an intraday measure and resets each day, so do not carry it across sessions.

• State the period and inputs (for example, 14 periods for RSI)
• Ask for a combined read: indicator plus trend plus volume
• Reset VWAP each session; do not carry it over
• Ask the agent to show its arithmetic so you can verify it