Pre-Built Functions

NightShark ships with a handful of helpers that remove tedious boilerplate from your automation scripts. Mastering these functions lets you focus on strategy logic instead of UI handling.

Function Overview

Function	Purpose	Typical Use Case
read_areas()	Polls the on-screen regions you configured in the desktop app	Capture live P/L, bid/ask spreads, or indicators
Click(point)	Simulates a mouse click at a saved point (e.g., buy/sell buttons)	Submit orders, acknowledge popups, toggle modes
toNumber()	Converts area text (e.g., $152.34) into a numeric value you can compare	Build conditional checks and trailing logic
Log(message)	Writes a message to the NightShark application log	Trace script flow, debug data, audit actions

Keep reads fresh

read_areas() captures a single snapshot each time it runs. For continuous monitoring, call it inside a loop (with a small sleep or exit condition) so your strategy always works with up-to-date data.

Putting Them Together

; Refresh live data
read_areas()

; Store values for later checks
currentPL := toNumber(area[1])
dailyPL   := toNumber(area[2])

; React to the latest state
if (currentPL >= 50) {
    Click(point.b) ; Take profit by clicking the sell button
}
Log("Current PL: " . currentPL)

Troubleshooting clicks

If the button click doesn’t register, re-record the point in the NightShark desktop app or add a short Sleep 250 before the Click() call.

Logging Output

Use Log() whenever you want to capture a breadcrumb without pausing execution. Open the Log window from the NightShark toolbar (Log button) to review entries in real time.

Log("Application started")

loop {
    read_areas()
    signal := area[1]
    openPL := toNumber(area[2])

    Log("Current signal: " . signal)
    Log("Open P/L: " . openPL)
}

Formatting log messages

Concatenate strings with . and convert non-strings (numbers, booleans) before logging so the output remains readable.

Stopping a Script Safely

Use the stopCode() helper to halt execution cleanly from your script. Log first, then call stopCode() so the message reaches the application log.

if (dailyPL <= -400) {
    Log("Daily loss limit reached—script stopped")
    stopCode()
}

You can still press F2 in the NightShark console (default stop hotkey) whenever you want to interrupt manually.

With these building blocks in place, you’re ready to start capturing data and reacting to it in later lessons.