Frequently asked questions

The basics

What is Mastbound Trader?

Windows software that runs the trading rules you choose on your own NinjaTrader 8. Each built-in template stops at its own trades per day, stop and cut-off time and closes the bot's position at your flatten time while a run is going (not after Stop or /pause), and Home shows your room to each firm limit you typed (a template's orders are not checked against those limits one by one, and trades you place by hand are not guarded). It runs on your PC. NinjaTrader holds your account and places every order; Mastbound Trader's small add-on inside NinjaTrader, Order File Connector (listed as OrderFileConnector in NinjaTrader), sends price bars to Mastbound Trader and orders back. Its screen is a window on your PC, not a website.

Does it make money? Do you give trading advice?

We make no claim that it does, and we don't give advice. Mastbound Trader runs the rules you choose. The built-in templates are generic examples, the same for everyone; they're not recommendations, and we haven't shown that any of them makes money. Replays and practice results are simulated. On calls and by email we help with installing, connecting and using Mastbound Trader, never with what or how to trade.

Practice or live: what can it trade today?

This beta places orders only on NinjaTrader's practice accounts: Sim101 (live prices, practice money) and Playback101 (NinjaTrader's Market Replay). It does not connect to real or prop accounts, including prop evaluations, even where a firm calls those "simulated". (If you connect your own Tradovate account directly instead of through NinjaTrader, the beta uses its demo account only.)

Live accounts are being built and tested. Pro and Operator include prop accounts at no extra cost once they're switched on after acceptance testing. No date is promised. If live is the only reason you'd buy, don't pay yet: ask us to tell you when it's ready.

Which prop firms ban automation?

These firms' own published rules ban automated trading or bought bots. Mastbound Trader isn't for accounts at these firms.

Other firms' rules differ, and all of them change. Many set conditions on automated trading, for example about hedging, copying, or who owns the bot. Your firm's written rules win. Read them before you use Mastbound Trader with any account, and if you're not sure, ask your firm in writing. Mastbound Trader is not affiliated with any of these firms.

Topstep: its rules are shown in the app for reference only. Topstep requires its own TopstepX platform, so Mastbound Trader's NinjaTrader add-on can't place orders on a Topstep account.

Do the firm tiles show my real prop account?

No. In this beta Mastbound Trader doesn't read your real account. The tiles show the practice account (Sim101) measured against your firm's rules, as you entered them. Don't use them to make decisions about your real account.

My firm or account size isn't in Mastbound Trader's list

Mastbound Trader has presets for a few firms and programs, copied from their public pages with the date we checked. If yours isn't listed, choose My firm isn't listed (the last choice on Account & rules), pick your account size and type your own numbers from your firm's dashboard. Don't pick another firm's preset instead: its numbers would be wrong for you. The tiles still measure the practice account (Sim101), not your real account. Whatever you type, your firm's own dashboard and written rules win. Not sure what your firm's rules say about automation? Ask us before you buy, and ask your firm in writing.

Installing

Will it run on my PC, a VPS or a Mac?

It needs your own Windows 10 or 11 PC with virtualization switched on, about 10 GB free, 16 GB of memory suggested, NinjaTrader 8 and a live MNQ price feed. Not a VPS, cloud PC or virtual machine: Setup checks this and stops at once on one, with a plain message ("Mastbound Trader needs your own Windows PC"). If it stops on your own PC, email us. Not a Mac yet either. The full list: Will it run on my PC?

What do the Windows warnings mean?

The installer isn't code-signed yet, so Windows doesn't know us. Expect:

• The browser: "isn't commonly downloaded". Choose Keep (in Edge: … > Keep > Show more > Keep anyway).
• "Windows protected your PC": click More info, then Run anyway.
• "Do you want to allow this app to make changes?": Yes. It says "Unknown publisher" until the installer is signed.
• No "Run anyway" at all (Smart App Control on some Windows 11 PCs): email us. We won't ask you to switch it off; we'll find another way, and if it still won't install, you get the install refund.

To check the file is exactly ours, compare its SHA-256 with the one in our email: in PowerShell, type Get-FileHash "<path to the file>" -Algorithm SHA256.

I'm installing on a weekend (or in the evening): what can I do?

Nothing is wrong. The futures market is closed from Friday 5 PM to Sunday 6 PM New York time, every weekday from 5 to 6 PM, and on exchange holidays. While it's closed NinjaTrader sends no new bars, and Mastbound Trader says so: "Market closed until Sunday 6:00 PM ET. Nothing is wrong." Finish the install and the three NinjaTrader steps, then, as Mastbound Trader's "Weekend? Here's what you can do" card says:

1. Replay a practice day (made-up prices) or a day your PC recorded: More › Replay. A new install has three practice days; Mastbound Trader keeps the last 30 days it records from NinjaTrader.
2. Practise with NinjaTrader's Market Replay: download the replay data for MNQ for a recent day (Tools > Historical Data), connect to the Playback connection, pick that day and press play. Put OrderFileConnector on a Playback101 chart and choose Market Replay in Mastbound Trader's Quick setup on Home (Bars). Play at 1× (at most 5×). We show this on the setup call.
3. Never use NinjaTrader's Simulated Data Feed for this: it invents prices.

You can also press Start my day before the Sunday 6 PM open: the run waits for the first bars.

What do I have to do in NinjaTrader?

Three things, once. Setup has already copied the files, and Mastbound Trader ticks each step off by itself as soon as it sees it done. Mastbound Trader's add-on, Order File Connector, is listed in NinjaTrader as OrderFileConnector.

1. Compile: Control Center > New > NinjaScript Editor, press F5, wait for 0 errors. Warnings are fine.
2. Add it to a chart: New > Chart, MNQ, the front-month contract (Start my day names it), Minute, 1, at least 2 days. Right-click the chart > Strategies… > add OrderFileConnector (Mastbound Trader's add-on), with Account = Sim101 (Playback101 for Market Replay).
3. Tick Enabled, then OK. In Mastbound Trader, Connect > NinjaTrader should turn green within seconds.

Use a 1-minute chart, and add OrderFileConnector to one chart only.

F5 shows errors

• "The type or namespace name 'Web' does not exist": right-click inside the NinjaScript Editor > References… > Add > choose C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\System.Web.Extensions.dll > OK, then press F5 again.
• Errors in a file that isn't OrderFileConnector: NinjaTrader compiles every script together, so another add-on's broken script blocks ours. Right-click that file in the NinjaScript Editor > Exclude from compilation, then F5. (That switches that script off until you include it again.)
• Still stuck? Send us a screenshot of the error list, or book the setup call.

Why do I switch OrderFileConnector off and on after F5 or an update?

A compile replaces the running add-on. Without the off and on, a new entry could go out without its stop and target. So after every compile and every Mastbound Trader update: untick Enabled on the chart's OrderFileConnector strategy, then tick it again. Do it while flat: never compile, or switch Mastbound Trader off, while an order is working. Also: if you close a position with NinjaTrader's Close button, NinjaTrader switches the strategy off; tick Enabled again afterwards.

Updating from an earlier version: while flat, turn off and remove the old ApexAtmFileBridge strategy from your chart before you run Setup; then press F5 and add OrderFileConnector.

The Mastbound Trader icon says "Starting Mastbound Trader…"

Right after you switch the PC on, Mastbound Trader needs up to a minute to start in the background. On Windows the icon shows "Starting Mastbound Trader… (up to a minute after you switch the PC on)" and opens Mastbound Trader when it's ready. If it says "Mastbound Trader didn't start", restart the PC. If it keeps happening, email us.

Every day

My chart stopped updating ("NinjaTrader connected · no new bars")

Outside market hours this is normal, and Mastbound Trader says "market closed". During market hours the chart can stop updating, for example after the daily break or a short drop in the price feed. After 3 minutes without a new bar while the market is open, Mastbound Trader shows a banner on every screen, turns its NOW line red and sends a phone message (if you set up phone alerts). The fix: make sure you're flat, then right-click the chart > Reload All Historical Data. If that doesn't help, untick and tick Enabled on OrderFileConnector (while flat), or restart NinjaTrader. NinjaTrader feeding in green in Mastbound Trader's top bar is what you want.

Replay, Market Replay and live: what's the difference?

• Replay (inside Mastbound Trader, under More): plays a past day through the same engine, with simulated fills, in a minute or two: a day your PC recorded from NinjaTrader (it keeps the last 30), or one of three practice days with made-up prices, clearly labelled as such (they're not market data and not a real result). A new install has the practice days. NinjaTrader doesn't need to be running, and nothing is sent anywhere.
• Market Replay (inside NinjaTrader): NinjaTrader plays back a recorded day on the Playback101 account. Mastbound Trader's orders go to Playback101. Choose Market Replay in Quick setup on Home (Bars).
• Live connection on Sim101: today's real prices, with practice money. Mastbound Trader's paper orders go to Sim101.

All three are practice. None of them is real trading, and their results are simulated.

Observe or Paper orders?

Observe is the default every time: Mastbound Trader shows what your strategy would do and sends nothing. Paper orders send orders to NinjaTrader's Sim101 practice account; you choose them in Quick setup on Home (Orders) and tick "I understand this places orders". The top bar turns red: PAPER ORDERS · Sim101.

Stop or Flatten & stop?

Stop ends the strategy, so nothing new is sent, and cancels the practice entry it left waiting in NinjaTrader. It doesn't close an open trade, and a stopped strategy doesn't close a trade at your flatten time, so when a trade is open Stop asks first: Flatten & stop, Stop anyway or Cancel. Flatten & stop cancels a waiting entry and asks NinjaTrader to close the position. Afterwards, check NinjaTrader's Orders and Positions tabs. If anything looks wrong, NinjaTrader is the place to check and act.

Which time zone does Mastbound Trader use?

New York time (US Eastern) for every setting and every time on screen, whatever your PC is set to. If you're in Chicago, Denver or Los Angeles, Mastbound Trader shows your own time beside each one ("= 6:30 AM your time"), but you type the New York time: the 9:30 AM open is 6:30 AM in Los Angeles, and you type 09:30.

Does my PC need to stay on?

Yes, while a run is going. Mastbound Trader and NinjaTrader both run on your PC; if it sleeps, restarts for an update or loses power, Mastbound Trader stops and can't manage anything. Set Sleep to Never while you trade, and set Windows Update's active hours around your session. After a restart, a run doesn't start again by itself: check NinjaTrader's Positions and Orders tabs, then press Start my day again. Closing Mastbound Trader's window is fine: it keeps running in the background.

What about trades I place by hand?

Mastbound Trader doesn't guard them. Don't trade MNQ by hand on Sim101 while a Mastbound Trader run is going: Flatten & stop would close your hand trade too, and the day's numbers would mix both.

Can I be logged in to NinjaTrader on two computers?

Log in to NinjaTrader, and to your data login, on one computer at a time. A second login elsewhere, including on a phone, can cut the first PC's price feed, and Mastbound Trader then sees no new bars.

How do phone alerts and phone control work?

Phone alerts (Settings > Phone alerts) use a free Discord webhook or Telegram bot, set up in a few minutes. They can tell you when an order is sent, filled, stopped out or hits its target, when the strategy stops, when NinjaTrader goes quiet in market hours, when a limit blocks something, and give you an end-of-day summary.

Phone control (Settings > Phone control) adds three commands: /status, /pause (no new entries, waiting entries cancelled; an open trade stays open with its stop and target, and Mastbound Trader won't close it at your flatten time while paused) and /flatten (asks first, then closes everything). These commands cannot start a run or submit entries. A command that arrives more than 60 seconds late is ignored.

Approve on phone (in testing, not in the beta build yet) is separate: Take can submit or move the displayed entry after fresh checks. The tested version supports MNQ strategy runs on Sim101, with a tested private Telegram chat or linked Discord owner. Webhook alerts can wait for your Take too (choose "Ask on my phone first"), on Sim101 with no strategy run going. Market Replay, other accounts and instruments, and Tradovate approvals are not supported yet. The official Discord bot ("Connect Discord") is coming soon; until then you connect your own bot. Start and any increase in the trading mode require action on your computer.

Both need your PC, Mastbound Trader and NinjaTrader running. Messages can arrive late or not at all, and an alert can't wake you. If NinjaTrader isn't answering, /flatten sends nothing and tells you to close the trade in your broker's app.

"Describe your own": does the chatbot pick my strategy?

No. Mastbound Trader gives you a prompt to paste into any chatbot you like. The prompt tells the chatbot to ask you for every number (times, points, bars, minutes) and not to pick one, and not to invent a strategy: only to turn your rules into a file. Chatbots can ignore that, so read the card. Mastbound Trader checks the file on your PC and shows a rules card in plain sentences, listing anything it can't run. Nothing runs until you tick "This is exactly how I trade this setup" and approve it.

Do I need an AI key?

No. AI drafting is included with your subscription (Coming soon): From your recording and Describe my strategy use Mastbound Trader's AI service with your license key, and you need no AI key or AI account of your own. AI included isn't switched on yet: until it is, From your recording and Describe my strategy can't draft rules. Each analysis round of a recording uses about 10 units of your monthly allowance and each Describe my strategy message about 1; the app's Settings show your allowance, what you've used and the reset date. Each AI reply brings it back, and Check my units in Settings › AI asks our AI service how many are left only when you press it; that request carries your license key and nothing else. The allowance resets on the 1st of each month (counted in UTC, so the evening before in New York). If it runs out, or while AI drafting isn't available, you can still write your rules yourself, use Copy prompt with any AI chat, or choose a template ("Describe your own" gives you the prompt). Nothing is sent until you consent on that screen, and the AI only drafts rules for you to check: it never places an order. What is sent, and what we keep: Privacy Notice, section 4.

Can it take webhook alerts?

Yes. Mastbound Trader can receive alerts sent to a web address by an alert service you already use, and turn them into orders on NinjaTrader's practice account, or hold each one for your Take on your phone. Alerts are only logged until you arm them. Good to know:

• the address changes when your PC or Mastbound Trader restarts, and alerts go back to observe. Mastbound Trader then shows a banner and sends a phone message: paste the new address into your alerts and arm again;
• Start my day also switches alerts back to observe (it asks first), because your strategy and your alerts never both send orders. If you only use alerts, arm them on the Connect screen instead;
• in observe, an alert is only logged, never sent: the screen and your phone say "NOT sent (observe)";
• the address contains a secret: treat it like a password;
• most alert services need a paid plan to send webhooks, and some services' terms say alerts are for display, not for placing orders. Check yours: using alerts to place orders is your decision.

What happens at the contract roll?

MNQ moves to a new contract every quarter. The next roll is Thursday 10 December 2026, from MNQ 12-26 to MNQ 03-27. NinjaTrader doesn't move your chart by itself. From 8 days before, Start my day reminds you. Switch between sessions (after the 5 PM close, before the 6 PM open), flat and with no working order: untick Enabled, type the new contract in the chart's instrument box, tick Enabled again.

Money and privacy

What does it cost?

The download is free and works on practice accounts. Pro is $299 a month and Operator is $449 a month, renewed monthly until you cancel. Details: Pricing. Founding price: the first 50 paying members pay $199 (Pro) or $349 (Operator) a month instead, and keep it as long as they stay subscribed; if you cancel, it ends with your subscription.

Do I need a license key? What if my internet or your server is down?

Not for the free download: practice works without a key. Pro and Operator come with a license key. Mastbound Trader activates it on your PC with our license server, then checks in about once a week. If it can't reach us (no internet, or our server is down), it keeps working for 14 days after the last check-in. A license problem never stops Flatten & stop, Stop, Pause, your exits or a session that's already running. If your license has ended, or after 14 days without a check-in, it won't start a new paid session or paid feature, and it tells you why. One license works on 2 computers at a time with Pro and 3 with Operator: to change PCs, choose Move to another computer on the old one's License screen, or email us and we free it. What it sends: Privacy Notice, section 3.2.

What's the refund policy?

No refunds, except one: if Mastbound Trader won't install or connect on your PC and we can't fix it in one support session, a full refund of your most recent payment, whatever the date. No other payment is refunded, your first one and renewals included, so try the free download on a practice account first. You can cancel online any time and keep access until the end of the month you paid for. The refund never covers trading losses or firm fees. Details: Refunds and cancellation.

How do I cancel?

Online, any time, at [CUSTOMER PORTAL URL], without talking to anyone, or by email. You keep access until the end of the month you paid for, and you're not charged again. Then your license moves to the free plan.

What does the app send you?

On the free plan, nothing on its own. Mastbound Trader runs on your PC; your settings, strategies, trade journal and logs stay there. There is no tracking. With a Pro or Operator license, it activates the license and checks in about once a week: your license key, a hashed computer ID, an install ID and the app version, never your trades, settings or logins (section 3.2). The update check runs only when you click it, and the AI features send only what you approve on their screen, when you press send. With AI included (coming soon), pressing Check my units in Settings › AI asks our AI service how many units you have left, with your license key; we count the units you use and don't keep what you send. We see your data only if you email us a diagnostics file: it removes passwords, keys and tokens, but it does include your settings and trade journal, so look before you send it. Full details: Privacy Notice.

Will you ever ask for my passwords or take over my PC?

We never ask for your broker, NinjaTrader or prop-firm passwords. On a setup call we never take control of a PC that has an open position or a working order, and we don't set anything for you: you type every number yourself. If a position is open and you're unsure, close it in NinjaTrader or your broker's app first, then write to us.