Ninjatrader 8 Account Copier

Features

The Account Copier tool has a set of unique features:

• Copies one source account into up to 20 target accounts
• Targets can be NinjaTrader accounts (Tradovate) or Rithmic accounts, mixed freely
• Can copy every instrument traded on the source account with a single copier
• Optional maximum order quantity per target account
• No pending orders are placed — only market orders
• Very lightweight, with very fast execution — each target account is sent in parallel, so a slow account never delays the others

The strategy watches for any order filled on the source account and sends the same order to every target account. For example, if a buy trade is opened on the source account, the strategy opens a buy trade on each target account; when the source account's trade is closed, the strategy closes the trade on each target account.

Entries and Exits Are Both Copied

The strategy doesn't care how a trade got on the source account — you can place it manually, with an ATM strategy, or let another automated strategy trade it. Both the entries and the exits are copied the moment the source account's order is filled, and that includes exits triggered by a stop loss or a take profit sitting on the source account. Partial fills are copied as they come, with the quantity that was actually filled.

Copy All Instruments

By default the copier copies the trades of the instrument of the chart it is running on. Turn on Copy All Instruments and every fill of the source account is copied, whatever the instrument — so one copier is enough, whatever you trade on the source account. In this mode, do not run two copiers on the same source account: every trade would be copied twice.

Rithmic Accounts as Targets

Since NinjaTrader bought Tradovate, NinjaTrader has stopped integrating further Rithmic accounts into its platform — which is why, when you purchase a new propfirm account, you now need to choose between a Tradovate or a Rithmic account. There are exceptions, like the Apex Funded Trader propfirm, which still allows connecting its Rithmic accounts into NinjaTrader, but generally speaking Rithmic accounts can no longer be connected from NinjaTrader. This copier can act as a bridge: it copies your trades to an externally connected Rithmic account. Choose the Rithmic Account entry in a Target Account list and enter the Rithmic system and gateway, the user, the password and the id of the account — the copier then logs in to Rithmic by itself and sends the copied orders straight to that account. This is how you copy into propfirm accounts that can't all be connected at the same time in one NinjaTrader instance, for example accounts of two different Rithmic propfirms. Targets that use the same Rithmic login share a single connection.

• Rithmic targets receive futures trades only, on the CME, CBOT, NYMEX and COMEX exchanges. An instrument the copier can't map to one of them is skipped, and the status card shows which one and why.
• The copier only uses Rithmic's order connection: it subscribes to no market data and sends market orders only. The position it expects on the Rithmic account is read back from Rithmic, so exits never exceed what the account really holds.

Maximum Quantity per Target Account

Propfirm accounts often have different contract limits. Tick Limit Quantity on a target account and set its Max Quantity: an entry bigger than that number is clipped to it, a smaller one is copied unchanged. Exits are never clipped — they close at most what the account holds. The status card shows the limit next to the account, for example "| max 5".

Fast and Independent Target Accounts

Every target account has its own queue: the orders of one target are always sent in order, while the targets themselves are sent in parallel and never block each other, nor the source account. A slow or disconnected target account never delays the copy to the others.

Safe by Design

• A copied exit can never be bigger than what the target account actually holds, so an exit never flips a target account into the opposite position.
• Only new fills are copied. Trades that already exist on the source account when the strategy starts, or that NinjaTrader re-sends after a reconnection, are history and are never copied.
• A target account that is not selected, can't be found, is the same account as the source, or is already used by another slot is left out and reported on the status card.

Good to Know

• Needs a chart: the copier needs to be added to a chart to run — it copies the trades of that chart's instrument and shows its status card there.
• One instrument per instance, unless you copy all: by default the strategy copies the trades of the instrument of the chart it is running on. To copy another instrument, add another instance of the strategy on that instrument's chart — or turn on Copy All Instruments and let a single instance copy them all.
• Rithmic passwords are stored in the parameters: a Rithmic password is saved in clear text in the strategy parameters, and so in parameter templates and workspaces. Don't share a template or a workspace that contains one.
• Rithmic sessions are limited: Rithmic limits the concurrent sessions of a user. The copier opens only one connection per login, however many accounts or copier instances use it — but a login that is also open elsewhere may be disconnected by Rithmic.
• Start while the source account is flat: a position that is already open on the source account when the strategy starts is not copied, and neither is its exit — the target accounts hold nothing to close.
• Market orders, separate fills: every target account fills at its own price and can be rejected on its own (for example by a propfirm's rules or a lost connection). A copy that can't be sent is written to the NinjaScript Output window and is not retried, so keep an eye on the status card.
• No protective orders on the targets: the strategy does not place stop loss or take profit orders on the target accounts. It copies the exit when it happens on the source account.

Examples

The strategy shows a status card on the chart. It lists the license, the source account, and one row per target account, each with a colored indicator and a short message, and a summary line in its header. The card can be moved anywhere on the chart with a simple mouse drag and drop. Let's look at two examples of it.

Example #1: Source and Target Accounts Not Set

Right after adding the strategy to a chart, before the accounts are selected in the parameters, the status card tells you exactly what is missing. The Source row and the Target 1 row turn red and read "must be set in the parameters", and the header summary reports what is preventing the copy from starting. Nothing is copied until the source account and at least one target account are selected.

Example #2: Valid State, Good to Go

When everything is set up correctly — a valid license, and the source account and the target accounts selected and connected — the strategy is ready to copy. The License row turns green and reads "valid", the Source row and every Target row turn green and show the account name followed by its connection status, and the header summary confirms that copying is active, for example "Copying to 3 target accounts". From this point on, every trade filled on the source account is copied to the target accounts. If only some of the target accounts are connected, the header tells you how many are, so you notice right away that an account is missing. A Rithmic target shows its account id and "connected" once the login is up, and if the id isn't found it lists the ids the login really has. A target with a maximum quantity also shows it, for example "| max 5".

Parameters

We try to keep the parameters to a minimum — only the most important are exposed.

Download & Installation Instructions

Installation Steps

1

Download and extract the Rithmic API dependency (rapiplus.zip, which contains rapiplus.dll) into your NinjaTrader Custom bin directory (C:\Users\{Your Windows Username}\Documents\NinjaTrader 8\bin\Custom\) — make sure the DLL file lands directly in that folder, not a subfolder, and don't overwrite a newer version already there. Then restart NinjaTrader so it loads the new file.

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2

Import the downloaded .zip file into NinjaTrader using the Import NinjaScript menu item.

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3

Open a new chart window or use a chart already open where the source strategy is running, on the instrument whose trades you wish to copy. The Tick Replay checkbox is not important — it can be checked or not.

4

Set the number of days to load on the chart according to the source strategy you are running — enough days for that strategy to calculate correctly.

5

Right-click the chart and choose Strategies (or press Ctrl+S) to open the Add New Strategy dialog, then add the ATCHAccountCopier strategy.

6

Paste your license (found on the billing page) into the License parameter. The license is free — you get it just by signing up.

7

Select the Source Account, set the Number Of Target Accounts, then select each Target Account. To copy into a Rithmic account, choose Rithmic Account in the list and fill in its endpoint, user, password and account id.

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8

Optionally, turn on Copy All Instruments to copy every instrument of the source account with this one copier, and tick Limit Quantity on the target accounts that need their own maximum order quantity.

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9

At this step the strategy checks the license and shows the result on the status card on the chart, and activates/deactivates copying according to the license state.

10

At this stage the strategy is ready — if the status card shows a valid license and connected accounts, it will keep running live and copy every trade filled on the source account into the target accounts.

Frequently Asked Questions

General

Release Notes