VCP Screener - Minervini Volatility Contraction Pattern

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

# 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

Advanced Tuning (for 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/

--min-contractions

--t1-depth-min

--breakout-volume-ratio

--trend-min-score

--atr-multiplier

--contraction-ratio

--min-contraction-days

--lookback-days

Step 2: Review Results

1. Read the generated JSON and Markdown reports
2. Load

   references/vcp_methodology.md

   for pattern interpretation context
3. Load

   references/scoring_system.md

   for score threshold guidance

Step 3: Present Analysis

• VCP composite score and rating
• Contraction details (T1/T2/T3 depths and ratios)
• Trade setup: pivot price, stop-loss, risk percentage
• Volume dry-up ratio
• Relative strength rank

Step 4: Provide Actionable Guidance

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

3-Phase Pipeline

1. Pre-Filter - Quote-based screening (price, volume, 52w position) ~101 API calls
2. Trend Template - 7-point Stage 2 filter with 260-day histories ~100 API calls
3. 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