Install previous versions of Freqtrade (Patreon)

It seems that a lot of Patrons suffer from errors that are caused by deprecated functions in the current Freqtrade version. For example, the MacheteV8b algo caused a lot of problems due to missing libraries but also Freqtrade that did not accept some of the deprecated functionalities in the code. I did not experience this since I still use Freqtrade 2023.7 and installed additional Python modules on my system. 

Therefore, one possible solution is to 'downgrade' to an earlier Freqtrade version.

In this posted video I am going to explain the ways I use to install a previous versions of the Freqtrade bot to solve these problems.

Now ofcourse you will not benefit anymore from the newest features  and are stuck with that particular version. And it could be that other  factors, like the exchange you use wil change API settings, that will  break the bot's workings.

But if you do not mind, and can live with the risks involved, then this is a sure way to run a previous version.

And by the way, I do this on a Linux Mint virtual machine so if you  use any other OS or distro, and you experience problems, then refer to  the documentation of that particular platform for troubleshooting.

Previous versions with the Github directory

If you usually install the freqtrade bot with help of the install script, then you normally clone the github repo and choose the main repo for production environments.

However if you want to use an earlier version than the most current one, then I have a trick that you might not yet know about.

Enter the cloned freqtrade directory and use the git tag command.

A git tag is something like a marker that a developer can use to mark important of his or her software. Like specific releases.

Knowing all these tags now, you can revert to a previous point in history in the github repo.

For example, if I want to use the version 2023.7, then I will use the following command:

This effectively sets you back in time in that specific version of the bot.

Now you can install and use the bot with the features from that version.

Note though that you have to be aware that there is a risk in using  the bot in this state. There is a chance that the repository 'resets'  itself to the main branch, which is the current branch. I've not  experienced this yet but you never know.

To be absolutely sure you want to prevent this, you could copy the  contents of that directory to another bot directory or delete or rename  the .git repository.

It will break the connection with the original github but since you  deliberately choose this option and know the risks involved, there is  not much need for updates.

After you have done this, you can install the bot with the regular installation script.

Then use the --version switch to find out which version you installed.

And from this moment on, you can use the bot from that specific version.

Previous Docker versions

The second tip is for the Docker users among us.

At this point I assume you have Docker and docker-compose already  installed. And if you do not have this, I have a super usay tutorial  where I show you this in about 10 minutes or so.

So, If you want to use a previous Docker image version of Freqtrade, then do the following:

First go to the Docker hub site: https://hub.docker.com/

Then search for the Freqtrade bot and open that page: https://hub.docker.com/r/freqtradeorg/freqtrade

Next to the overview tab there is the Tag tab. Click on that tag tab.

You can now enter the version you are looking for in the search box.

Scroll a little bit down the page.

There you will find a tag 2023.7.

You can click on that tag to open the page for more information.

Now, Above the page you will see the following description: freqtradeorg/freqtrade:2023.7.

This is the image name you can use in the docker-compose.yml file.

First make a backup of that file like so: cp docker-compose.yml{,.backup}

Now open that file and edit the line that says: image: freqtradeorg/freqtrade:stable

Remove the stable part and enter "2023.7". With other software you  sometimes have to change the complete line, but here it is not  necessary.

I will also remove some commented out lines, so that the file is more clean.

Now the file reflects the following:

Save and close the file and run the following command: docker-compose pull

This pulls the 2023.7 image to your system.

After that docker image has been downloaded, you can now use the next  command to check out the freqtrade Docker image file version:

And from this moment on, your bot will use the 2023.7 version of the Freqtrade bot.

End

Now you can combine this also with the build of custom Freqtrade images that contain non default Python modules.

In these cases you should edit the Dockerfile that you created for  the instructions of the build and use the specific freqtrade Docker  version. Like the example below:

How to build a custom Docker image is explained in my other video about this subject.

So I hope this short tutorial helps you a little bit with combining  Freqtrade versions and possibly adding additional TA modules. Hopefully I  explained this clear enough and that you now can run your preferred  strategy on your system.

If you like this content, then please give a thumbs up and I will see you in the next video or post.

Goodbye!