Local-First · Zero API Fees · Self-Hosted Software

Not financial advice · Trade decisions are yours alone

FirstBell™

Know Before The Bell*

You wake up at 8:30 AM. Your setup list is already built. Your rules are already enforced. Your position size is already calculated. You walk into the market prepared — not reacting.

FirstBell is a local AI-powered decision-structure system that runs every morning before the bell — scanning 500+ stocks, scoring every setup against your defined rules, and enforcing your discipline so you don’t have to.

Get FirstBell — from $97/mo → ▶  See Your Morning

Runs locally · Your data stays yours · No chart subscription required · Cancel anytime

The big firms have billion-dollar systems. You have FirstBell.

🟢 FINRA removed the Pattern Day Trader minimum equity requirement, effective June 4, 2026 — trade with any account size, no $25K minimum  [FINRA Notice 26-10] ($2K minimum remains for margin accounts)

500+
Stocks scanned
every morning
5
Criteria your setup must
satisfy before you proceed
100%
Local AI — your strategy
and trade data stay yours
$0
AI API fees — runs
on your GPU, free
What FirstBell Actually Is

FirstBell is not a signal service of any kind.
It is not an auto-trading bot.
It is not a “hot picks” or “trade alerts” product.

FirstBell is a trading operating system built to help discretionary traders arrive prepared, enforce their own rules, and build repeatable process discipline — morning after morning.

  • ✓ Arrive prepared before the bell
  • ✓ Enforce your own rules — not someone else's signals
  • ✓ Validate setups statistically before risking capital
  • ✓ Track live edge drift over time
  • ✓ Reduce emotional decision-making
  • ✓ Build repeatable process discipline

The same scoring engine used in live scans is continuously compared against historical expectancy and live outcome tracking inside the platform — so the system validates itself, not just your trades.

Why FirstBell Exists

You already know the rules.
You just need something
that holds you to them.

The opening bell rings at 9:30 AM. Hedge funds arrive with proprietary scanners, risk algorithms, and systems built by teams of PhDs. Retail traders arrive with hope, a charting app, and rules they promised themselves they'd follow this time.

Knowledge was never the problem. Discipline was — along with having a statistically-validated edge to execute with confidence.

FirstBell closes both gaps: a scoring engine validated across 3 years and 4,634 swing setups, running inside a decision workflow that enforces your rules and keeps emotion out of execution. Edge without discipline fails. Discipline without edge is theater.

FirstBell was built to close that gap — not by telling you what to trade, but by enforcing the structure you already know you need. The Φ symbol on the bell represents the golden ratio — the mathematical principle behind Fibonacci retracements, natural balance, and perfect proportion. It's a reminder that this system isn't random. It's architecturally sound. Designed to bring order to chaos, structure to emotion, and discipline to the one thing most traders can't enforce on themselves: their own rules.

FirstBell isn't for everyone. It's a professional-grade decision-structure system that runs on your machine, respects your privacy, and never sells your data. If you're a serious trader who values structure over signals and discipline over hype — this is your system.

Read the full story behind FirstBell →
Backtest Results

Not claims. Historical backtest analysis.

The scoring algorithm powering FirstBell was validated across 3 years of historical market data — 6,939 setups evaluated across 32 tickers, walk-forward methodology, no lookahead bias. Confirmed +0.868% measured edge. Intraday ORB/VWAP: positive edge on Gap Up and High Volatility days only — FirstBell tells you which days qualify every morning.

+0.87%
Avg expectancy per setup
6,939 signals · 3-year backtest window
+1.46%
Breakout setup expectancy
Best-performing setup type · 465 signals
6,939
Setups evaluated · 32 tickers
3-year walk-forward · No lookahead bias

Simulated backtest results on 2023–2026 historical data. Past performance does not guarantee future results. The identical scoring algorithm runs live inside your FirstBell subscription — run the Backtest Validator page to reproduce these numbers yourself. FirstBell also flags tickers with historically negative expectancy (e.g. SMCI, COIN) so you trade the strongest setups and avoid the weakest — based on data, not opinion.

CFTC Rule 4.41 — Required Disclosure: HYPOTHETICAL OR SIMULATED PERFORMANCE RESULTS HAVE CERTAIN INHERENT LIMITATIONS. UNLIKE AN ACTUAL PERFORMANCE RECORD, SIMULATED RESULTS DO NOT REPRESENT ACTUAL TRADING. ALSO, SINCE THE TRADES HAVE NOT BEEN EXECUTED, THE RESULTS MAY HAVE UNDER- OR OVER-COMPENSATED FOR THE IMPACT, IF ANY, OF CERTAIN MARKET FACTORS, SUCH AS LACK OF LIQUIDITY. SIMULATED TRADING PROGRAMS IN GENERAL ARE ALSO SUBJECT TO THE FACT THAT THEY ARE DESIGNED WITH THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT. NO REPRESENTATION IS BEING MADE THAT ANY ACCOUNT WILL OR IS LIKELY TO ACHIEVE PROFIT OR LOSSES SIMILAR TO THOSE SHOWN.

How It Works

Your morning system,
built to run before the bell.

Each morning FirstBell runs a five-stage pipeline before the bell rings.

1
SCAN — Identify setups that meet defined criteria
Screens 500+ stocks for breakouts, pullbacks, and momentum setups before 9:30 AM. Every result is scored by a multi-factor rule-alignment score. You wake up with a scored watchlist — not a blank chart. Setups are ordered by your defined scoring criteria — not recommendations.
2
AI AUDIT — Validate your thesis
Before you enter any trade, type your reason. The local AI reads it and returns THESIS ALIGNS WITH RULES or THESIS DEVIATES FROM RULES — with a rule-alignment score and a specific critique. It evaluates your logic against your defined rules, not the trade itself.
3
TRADE GATE — 7-gate checklist
Reward-to-risk ratio, position size cap, daily kill switch, max trades per day, sector concentration, pre-flight clearance, and AI conviction score. All seven gates must pass before the trade moves forward. Execution decisions remain entirely yours — the system enforces your own rules, not its own.
4
RISK ENGINE — Size and protect
Automatic position sizing from your account size and max risk. Daily loss limit, kill switch at 75%, and a 3-consecutive-loss behavioral lockout. You set the rules. The system holds them.
5
JOURNAL & COACH — Learn from yourself
Every trade logged with your reasoning, emotional state, and outcome. Weekly AI coaching reviews your patterns — catching FOMO, overconfidence, and discipline gaps before they compound into account damage.
Your Morning With FirstBell

Stop reacting.
Start arriving ready.

Most traders open their charts at 9:29 AM and improvise. Here’s what the same morning looks like with FirstBell.

8:30 AM
Scanner finishes. Your list is ready.
500+ stocks screened overnight. Setups scored against your criteria — breakout, pullback, momentum. You open the dashboard and your morning work is already done. You review, you don’t scramble.
8:45 AM
You write your reason. The AI reads it.
Before you touch a position, you type your thesis. The local AI — running on your own machine, not a cloud server — reads it and tells you whether your reasoning aligns with your defined rules or deviates from them. It catches FOMO before your broker does.
9:00 AM
7 gates. Your rules. Enforced automatically.
R:R ratio, position cap, daily kill switch, max trades per day, sector concentration, pre-flight clearance, and AI conviction score — all checked against the rules you set on Sunday. If your setup fails any gate, FirstBell shows you exactly which condition failed and why. Your position size is calculated. You know your max loss before you place a single order.
9:30 AM
The bell rings. You’re already prepared.
While other traders are still deciding what to watch, you already know what you’re looking at, where your entry is, where your stop is, and how many shares to take. The market opens. You execute your plan — or you wait. Either way, it’s your decision, fully informed.

FirstBell enforces YOUR rules — not its own.

Every rule in the system was defined by you. FirstBell is the enforcement layer — the part of you that doesn’t feel the rush, doesn’t get excited, and doesn’t break the plan.

Simulated Demo

Watch FirstBell scan the market.

8:45 AM. Before the open. Here's what your morning looks like inside FirstBell. (Simulated for display — actual scanner output mirrors this format.)

FirstBell™ — Pre-Market Scanner · 08:45:02 AM EST
# ── FirstBell Pre-Market Scanner v1.2.0 ─────────────────────
→ Initializing scan engine... universe: 514 symbols
Fetching pre-market quotes + relative volume data...
Calculating EMAs, VWAP, ATR, key levels...
→ Filter pass: min_avg_volume=1,000,000 min_rvol=1.5×
Scoring setups: Breakout / Trend Pullback / Momentum...
→ Local AI conviction model running (qwen2.5-coder, GPU)...
✓ Scan complete — 23 setups scored · top 5 below
 
SCORE TICKER TYPE SCORE RVOL NOTE
──── ────── ──────────── ───── ───── ──────────────────────────
1 NVDA Breakout 94.2 3.1× Above key resistance $876
2 AAPL Trend Pull 88.7 2.4× 8EMA reclaim, sector bid
3 META Momentum 82.3 1.9× Earnings gap hold + VWAP
4 MSFT Breakout 79.1 1.7× Flag break pre-market
5 AMD Trend Pull 74.8 1.6× Daily 21EMA support hold
Setups ordered by defined scoring criteria — not recommendations
 
→ Opening dashboard → http://localhost:8501

Simulated demo — actual FirstBell output mirrors this format every trading morning at 8:30 AM

Watch It Work

See FirstBell In Action

Full walkthrough — from pre-market scan to trade gate to journal. The complete morning routine.

Illustrative examples only · Not actual results · FirstBell provides information, not investment advice

Who This Is For

Built for serious traders.
Not for everyone.

FirstBell requires your judgment. It amplifies it — not replaces it.

This is for you if…
  • You want a structured pre-market routine you can repeat every single morning
  • You've had the discipline to make a plan — and the weakness to break it
  • You want AI that challenges your thinking instead of just agreeing with you
  • You're tired of paying $200–$300/mo for tools that don't enforce your rules
  • You value privacy — your broker keys and trades stay on your machine, always
  • New regulatory freedom: FINRA removed the Pattern Day Trader minimum equity requirement, effective June 4, 2026 — FirstBell works with any account size, including accounts under $25K. [FINRA Notice 26-10] ($2K min remains for margin accounts)
This is NOT for you if…
  • You want "hot picks" or someone to tell you what to trade
  • You want fully automated execution — FirstBell requires your approval
  • You're a complete beginner with no trading knowledge
  • You want a cloud-based SaaS with a phone app
For Serious Traders

This is not beginner software.

FirstBell was built for traders who already understand markets and want:

🏛️
Structure
Not impulse trades driven by news and emotion
✅
Validation
Not hype, hot takes, or trade alert calls
📋
Process
Not predictions — repeatable decision discipline
🛡️
Risk Control
Before execution — not as an afterthought
📊
Statistical Feedback
Live edge tracking instead of random outcomes
🎯
Behavioral Lockout
System-enforced rules — not willpower

If you are looking for hot picks, auto-trading, or guaranteed profits — FirstBell is not the right product.

Why FirstBell Is Different

Institutional-grade process.
Built for disciplined retail traders.

Most trading tools give you data. FirstBell gives you a system that enforces discipline, validates itself, and tracks whether your edge is actually holding.

🔒

Local-First Architecture

Your journal, broker credentials, scans, and AI analysis stay on your machine. No cloud servers see your strategy.

⚙️

Rule Enforcement

FirstBell does not tell you what to buy. It enforces the process you defined — every morning, without compromise.

📊

Live Validation Engine

Historical expectancy and live outcomes are continuously compared to monitor edge drift over time. The system validates itself — not just your trades.

🔭

Discovery Signal Framework

High-scoring setups outside the validated universe are tracked separately and graduate into research coverage over time — expanding your edge systematically.

System Intelligence

How FirstBell Thinks

Most tools show you data. FirstBell runs a continuous decision pipeline — from raw scan to live edge validation — every single morning.

🔍
Market
Scan
500+ stocks
screened daily
→
★
Technical
Score
Multi-factor
ranking
→
🚧
Risk
Gate
7-gate analysis
before entry
→
🤖
AI Thesis
Audit
Rule-alignment
check
→
📈
Live
Tracking
Outcome
logged
→
⚠️
Drift
Detection
Edge monitored
over time
→
🔭
Research
Expansion
Discovery signals
graduate in

This pipeline runs locally on your machine — private, fast, and continuously self-validating. No external AI servers process your strategy.

What Traders Say

Used by traders who want structure,
not signals.

Testimonials reflect user experiences with workflow and decision structure — not financial outcomes. Individual results vary. FirstBell does not influence trade outcomes.

★★★★★

"I used to walk into every session reacting. Now I walk in with a scored list, a plan, and rules I actually keep."

— Beta Tester · Retail Day Trader, Atlanta · Individual results vary
★★★★★

"The AI conviction audit helped me recognize three times in the first week that I was reacting to FOMO, not a structured setup."

— Beta Tester · Swing Trader, 6 yrs experience · Individual results vary
★★★★★

"Nothing I've seen at this price level comes close to the structure FirstBell gives you. This is how institutional desks think."

— Beta Tester · Options Trader, Chicago · Individual results vary
From The Builder

FirstBell was built by a trader who was tired of expensive subscriptions that gave signals with no context, no risk control, and no accountability.

Every feature in this system was built to answer one question: What would a professional trader actually use? The result is a system that enforces discipline — not just displays data.

Know Before The Bell*

— T. Hodges Co., LLC™ 2026 · firstbell.trade

Built For
  • ✓ Discretionary traders
  • ✓ Swing traders
  • ✓ Structured day traders
  • ✓ Rule-based operators
Runs On
  • ✓ Windows (primary)
  • ✓ Mac (Docker)
  • ✓ Linux
  • ✓ 8GB RAM minimum
Works With
  • ✓ Schwab / thinkorswim
  • ✓ Alpaca
  • ✓ IBKR
  • ✓ Paper trading accounts
Pricing

Choose your plan.
Everything included.

Digital software subscription · ZIP archive + license key by email · Cancel anytime

Less than most traders lose from a single undisciplined trade.

Monthly
$97
per month · cancel anytime
Start Monthly →
MOST POPULAR
6-Month
$485
every 6 months · save $97
Start 6-Month →
Annual
$970
per year · save $194
Start Annual →

View full plan details and feature list →

Secure checkout · Digital product: ZIP archive + license key by email · T. Hodges Co., LLC — Mississippi · Support

FAQ

Common questions answered.

Does FirstBell trade automatically for me?
No. FirstBell is a decision-support system, not an execution bot. It scans, scores, and enforces your rules — but every trade requires your manual approval. You are always in control.
What broker do I need?
Charles Schwab (live OAuth connection), Public.com (REST API), or Paper Trading (built-in — start today, no broker required). Schwab ThinkorSwim manual mode is also supported.
Does the AI require an OpenAI account or monthly AI fees?
No. FirstBell uses Ollama — a free, local AI runner that runs entirely on your machine. No API key. No monthly AI bill. If you have an NVIDIA GPU with 8GB+ VRAM, the model runs there. Otherwise it falls back to CPU.
Is my brokerage data safe?
Yes. Your broker API keys, trade data, and all market activity are stored locally on your own machine — we never see them. License verification only contacts our billing provider to confirm your active subscription; no trading data, account numbers, balances, or trade history is ever transmitted.
What does "Never expires" mean on my license key?
The key itself has no hard-coded end date. Access is controlled by your subscription status. Active subscription = active key. Cancel and resubscribe later — the same key works again automatically. No reinstall needed.
What happens if I miss a payment?
If your subscription lapses, your license key becomes inactive and FirstBell shows a renewal prompt on next launch. When you resubscribe, that same key reactivates. Your journal and settings are untouched.
Can I transfer my license to another machine?
Each subscription allows 1 active machine. You can deactivate your current machine and activate on a new one by contacting support@firstbell.trade. License keys are non-transferable to other people.
Do I need to be a programmer to set this up?
No. The only requirement is Docker Desktop (free). Double-click the start script and the setup wizard guides you through the rest. No terminal, no coding, no configuration files to edit manually.
I already use TradingView / ThinkorSwim — do I need to switch?
No. FirstBell works alongside the tools you already use — not instead of them. TradingView handles your charts. ThinkorSwim handles your execution. FirstBell adds the decision-structure layer in between: scanning, risk enforcement, conviction audit, and trade review. See exactly how FirstBell fits your current stack →
What Happens After You Buy

You are scanning real markets in under 20 minutes.

1
Buy
License key + download link delivered to your inbox immediately.
2
Install
Run the included setup script. Docker Desktop handles the rest automatically.
3
Connect
Select your broker or start with Paper Trading — no API keys required to begin.
4
Trade
Run your first pre-market scan. Your morning routine starts today.
Before You Buy — Know This
Setup time
~20 minutes on Windows with Docker Desktop already installed. First-time Docker install adds ~10 minutes.
AI response speed
With an NVIDIA GPU (8GB+ VRAM): near-instant. CPU-only: 15–40 seconds per audit. Both work — GPU is faster.
Schwab connection
Requires a free Schwab developer app (OAuth). The INSTALL guide walks you through every click. ~5 minutes extra.
If something breaks
Re-run setup.bat — resolves 95% of issues automatically. Full support guide →
Compatible Brokers
  • ✓ Schwab (live trading, OAuth)
  • ✓ Public.com (live trading, REST API)
  • ✓ IBKR Client Portal (beta)
  • ✓ Paper Trading (built-in — no keys needed)
  • ✓ Manual Mode (works with ThinkorSwim)
System Requirements
  • ✓ Windows, Mac, or Linux
  • ✓ Docker Desktop (free — installer included)
  • ✓ 8GB RAM minimum (16GB recommended)
  • ✓ Internet connection for market data
  • ✓ Optional: NVIDIA GPU for faster AI (8GB VRAM)

No coding required. No terminal commands. The setup wizard handles everything.