A coding agent can do more than a Script Lab indicator. ATAS exposes a .NET API for any platform extension: modules, Smart DOM and Watchlist columns, connectors to your own data. The agent reads the documentation at docs.atas.net, writes the project and builds it. To check the result, it reads chart data and takes screenshots of modules through the connection to ATAS. This works on crypto.
What you can write
| Extension | What it does | Where to start |
|---|---|---|
| Chart indicator | Calculates and draws on the chart from bars, trades and the order book | First indicator |
| Strategy | An indicator that also trades: orders, position, trading events | Strategies |
| Heatmap indicator | Draws on top of the Heatmap module from trades, profiles and MBO | Heatmap indicators |
| Smart DOM column | Your own order book column: a cell for each price level | Smart DOM columns |
| Watchlist column | Your own value for each instrument in the list | Watchlist columns |
| Custom module | A separate panel in ATAS or a widget in ATAS X, drawn entirely by your code | Custom modules |
| Connector | A connection to your own data source: instruments, trades, order book | Connectors |
One build works in classic ATAS and in ATAS X, on Windows and macOS. Modules, columns and options data are available starting with ATAS 8.0.15.
What data an indicator can use
| Data | What you can build | Documentation |
|---|---|---|
| MBO, individual orders in the order book | Icebergs, large limit orders, the queue at a level | MBO |
| Options on the underlying | Open interest by strike, put/call, volatility smile | Options |
| Other timeframes and instruments | Hourly levels on a minute chart, spread and correlation with another instrument | Other timeframes and instruments |
| Candles, footprint, ticks | Conditions on levels inside a bar, cumulative trades | Candles and footprint |
| Volume in money | Volume and delta in currency instead of contracts | Volume in money |
Script Lab or a .NET project
| Script Lab | .NET project | |
|---|---|---|
| What the agent writes | An ATAS Script indicator right inside the platform | A .NET library with any of the extensions from the table above |
| What you need | ATAS and an agent connected to ATAS | .NET 10 SDK, Visual Studio, Rider or VS Code, and an agent that works with code: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor |
| Examples in the course | An indicator from a description, Port an indicator from another platform, The indicator-builder skill | Start with project setup |
Where to start
Give the agent a link to the relevant section of the documentation and describe the task the way you would describe an indicator: what to show, from what data, how to check it. For example:
Read https://docs.atas.net/en/smartdom/columns.html and https://docs.atas.net/en/getting-started/project-setup.html. Make a Smart DOM column that shows the traded volume for the last 5 minutes at each price level. Build the project, tell me where to put the DLL and how to test the column on my BTCUSDT.
Ready-made code samples are in AtasPlatform on GitHub, and you can ask API questions in the ATAS developer chat. The documentation is built from the development branch, so it includes features from the next version; those places are marked.