If you run several prop firm accounts on Tradovate, you can place the same order in each one by hand. Every extra account is another click at the moment price is moving, and sizes and exits start to drift apart. This guide shows how to copy trades between Tradovate accounts with TradeCloner instead: you trade one Master account, and every follower account gets the same orders.
TradeCloner is a cloud-based futures trade copier for prop firm traders. Copying runs on TradeCloner's servers, so your PC does not need to stay on. The whole setup takes five steps.
Before you start
You need three things:
- Accounts you own. Copy trading is for your own accounts.
- A Tradovate login for each set of accounts. Each Tradovate login you connect brings in every account under it. If your accounts sit under different logins, you connect each login once.
- A TradeCloner plan or trial. Copy trading starts with a 7-day free trial. See Pricing for how many connections and accounts each plan includes.
Prop firms set their own copy trading rules and change them often. Check your firm's current rules before you connect a copier.
Step 1: Connect Tradovate
Tradovate connects with a sign-in on Tradovate's own page (OAuth), not a password typed into a TradeCloner form.
- In TradeCloner, go to Connections, then Add Connection.
- Choose Tradovate.
- Sign in on Tradovate's page and click Authorize.
- You return to TradeCloner and your accounts sync. Check that every account you expect is listed and the connection shows Healthy (green dot).
- Repeat for each other Tradovate login.
Step 2: Create a copy group
A copy group is one Master plus the followers that copy it.
- Go to Groups, then + Add Group.
- Enter a Group Name you will recognize.
- Pick the Master Account: the one you will actually trade.
- Select your Follower Accounts.
- Click Create & Activate.
You can have one active copy group at a time. Activating a group pauses any other active group, and a Master account can be in only one active group.
Step 3: Set sizing and caps
Sizing is set per follower, so each account can trade a size that suits its balance and rules.
- Multiplier. A whole number from 1 to 50. The follower copies the Master's quantity times its multiplier: at 2x, a 1-contract Master trade becomes 2 contracts on that follower.
- Fixed sizing. Instead of a multiplier, a follower can trade an exact contract count on every copy, whatever size the Master trades.
- Max Contracts. An optional cap on the most contracts that follower may hold. Set it at or below your firm's position limit for that account.
To trade a micro on some followers while the Master trades the full-size contract, see how to copy NQ as MNQ on a follower.
Step 4: Turn on protection
- Follower Protection. In Groups, open the group's copy settings (gear icon) and switch on Follower Protection. When your Master goes flat, any follower still holding the copied position is closed. Pick a short FP Delay so followers have time to fill their own exits first.
- Daily limits. On the Risk Management page, set a daily profit target and daily loss limit for each follower. A follower that reaches either one is flattened and locked until the next session.
The full picture is in prop firm risk management for copied accounts.
Step 5: Place a test trade and check the Console
- Open the Console. Your Master and every follower should be listed with a green status dot.
- On the Master, in Tradovate, place a 1-contract market order. This places real orders on every follower, so keep it small.
- Watch the Filled tab. Each follower's copy appears there.
- Close the trade on the Master and check that every follower closes too.
- Place a limit order on the Master, check that it shows in the Pending tab for your followers, then cancel it on the Master and check that the follower orders cancel.
TradeCloner's own processing adds well under 100 ms. The rest is the broker's order handling.
What copies: market, limit and stop orders; OCO brackets (take profit and stop loss); modifications and cancellations.
What does not copy: stop-limit orders, trailing stops, multi-bracket orders and auto breakeven.
Common errors
Most problems show up in the Console. The Failed tab shows the broker's own reason for every copy that did not go through.
| What you see | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing copies at all | The group is paused, or another group is active | In Groups, check the group shows ACTIVE. Only one group is active at a time. |
| Nothing copies at all | You are trading a different account than the one set as Master | Check the Master Account in the group matches the account you trade. |
| A connection is not green | The connection dropped or its sign-in expired | In Connections, click the refresh icon. If that does not help, click Reconnect. |
| Market fills copy, limit and stop orders do not | Market-exec-only is on (Mkt Exec Only in the Console, Market Exec in group settings), or copy limits or stops is off | Turn off market-exec-only, or switch on Copy Limits and Copy Stops in the group's copy settings. |
| Copies are listed in Skipped | They were deliberately not copied, for example with market-exec-only on | Check the group's copy settings. |
| Copies are listed in Failed | The broker rejected the order, often a position limit or a firm risk rule | Read the reason in the Failed tab. Lower the multiplier, set Max Contracts, or check your firm's rules. |
| A follower trades the wrong contract | Cross Order is switched on for that follower | Switch Cross Order off for that follower in the group. |