Claude-trading-skills vcp-screener

Screen S&P 500 stocks for Mark Minervini's Volatility Contraction Pattern (VCP). Identifies Stage 2 uptrend stocks forming tight bases with contracting volatility near breakout pivot points. Use when user requests VCP screening, Minervini-style setups, tight base patterns, volatility contraction breakout candidates, or Stage 2 momentum stock scanning.

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/tradermonty/claude-trading-skills

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/tradermonty/claude-trading-skills "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/vcp-screener" ~/.claude/skills/tradermonty-claude-trading-skills-vcp-screener && rm -rf "$T"

manifest: skills/vcp-screener/SKILL.md

source content

VCP Screener - Minervini Volatility Contraction Pattern

Screen S&P 500 stocks for Mark Minervini's Volatility Contraction Pattern (VCP), identifying Stage 2 uptrend stocks with contracting volatility near breakout pivot points.

When to Use

User asks for VCP screening or Minervini-style setups
User wants to find tight base / volatility contraction patterns
User requests Stage 2 momentum stock scanning
User asks for breakout candidates with defined risk

Prerequisites

FMP API key (set
```
FMP_API_KEY
```
environment variable or pass
```
--api-key
```
)
Free tier (250 calls/day) is sufficient for default screening (top 100 candidates)
Paid tier recommended for full S&P 500 screening (
```
--full-sp500
```
)

Workflow

Step 1: Prepare and Execute Screening

Run the VCP screener script:

# Default: S&P 500, top 100 candidates
python3 skills/vcp-screener/scripts/screen_vcp.py --output-dir skills/vcp-screener/scripts

# Custom universe
python3 skills/vcp-screener/scripts/screen_vcp.py --universe AAPL NVDA MSFT AMZN META --output-dir skills/vcp-screener/scripts

# Full S&P 500 (paid API tier)
python3 skills/vcp-screener/scripts/screen_vcp.py --full-sp500 --output-dir skills/vcp-screener/scripts

Strict Mode (Minervini pure setup)

Only return stocks with

valid_vcp=True

AND

execution_state

(Pre-breakout, Breakout)

python3 skills/vcp-screener/scripts/screen_vcp.py --strict --output-dir reports/

Advanced Tuning (for backtesting)

Adjust VCP detection parameters for research and backtesting:

python3 skills/vcp-screener/scripts/screen_vcp.py \
  --min-contractions 3 \
  --t1-depth-min 12.0 \
  --breakout-volume-ratio 2.0 \
  --trend-min-score 90 \
  --atr-multiplier 1.5 \
  --output-dir reports/

Parameter	Default	Range	Effect
`--min-contractions`	2	2-4	Higher = fewer but higher-quality patterns
`--t1-depth-min`	10.0%	1-50	Higher = excludes shallow first corrections
`--breakout-volume-ratio`	1.5x	0.5-10	Higher = stricter volume confirmation
`--trend-min-score`	85	0-100	Higher = stricter Stage 2 filter
`--atr-multiplier`	1.5	0.5-5	Lower = more sensitive swing detection
`--contraction-ratio`	0.70	0.1-1	Lower = requires tighter contractions
`--min-contraction-days`	5	1-30	Higher = longer minimum contraction
`--lookback-days`	120	30-365	Longer = finds older patterns
`--max-sma200-extension`	50.0%	—	SMA200 distance threshold for Overextended state and penalty
`--wide-and-loose-threshold`	15.0%	—	Final contraction depth above which wide-and-loose flag triggers
`--strict`	off	—	Minervini strict mode: only Pre-breakout or Breakout with valid VCP

Step 2: Review Results

Read the generated JSON and Markdown reports
Load
```
references/vcp_methodology.md
```
for pattern interpretation context
Load
```
references/scoring_system.md
```
for score threshold guidance

Step 3: Present Analysis

For each top candidate, present:

Quality (
```
composite_score
```
/ rating) — how well-formed is the VCP pattern?
Execution State (
```
execution_state
```
) — is it buyable now? (Pre-breakout / Breakout = actionable)
Pattern Type (
```
pattern_type
```
) — Textbook VCP / VCP-adjacent / Post-breakout / Extended Leader / Damaged
```
★
```
marker if a State Cap was applied (raw score was downgraded)
Contraction details (T1/T2/T3 depths and ratios)
Trade setup: pivot price, stop-loss, risk percentage
Volume dry-up ratio and breakout_volume_score
Relative strength rank

Step 4: Provide Actionable Guidance

By Execution State (primary filter):

Pre-breakout / Breakout: Pattern is in the active entry window — apply rating-based sizing
Early-post-breakout: Breakout underway but above ideal entry — reduced size or wait for pullback
Extended / Overextended: Trade missed — add to watchlist for next base
Damaged / Invalid: Setup invalidated — do not enter

By Rating (secondary, after state confirms actionability):

Textbook VCP (90+): Buy at pivot with aggressive sizing (1.5-2x)
Strong VCP (80-89): Buy at pivot with standard sizing (1x)
Good VCP (70-79): Buy on volume confirmation above pivot (0.75x)
Developing (60-69): Add to watchlist, wait for tighter contraction
Weak/No VCP (<60): Monitor only or skip

3-Phase Pipeline

Pre-Filter - Quote-based screening (price, volume, 52w position) ~101 API calls
Trend Template - 7-point Stage 2 filter with 260-day histories ~100 API calls
VCP Detection - Pattern analysis, scoring, report generation (no additional API calls)

Output

```
vcp_screener_YYYY-MM-DD_HHMMSS.json
```
- Structured results
```
vcp_screener_YYYY-MM-DD_HHMMSS.md
```
- Human-readable report

Resources

```
references/vcp_methodology.md
```
- VCP theory and Trend Template explanation
```
references/scoring_system.md
```
- Scoring thresholds and component weights
```
references/fmp_api_endpoints.md
```
- API endpoints and rate limits