🖥️

Setting Up Tradovate: The Complete Guide for Prop Firm Traders

Everything you need to know — from login to your first trade

For more guides like this, check out my blog →

Platform Tradovate

Type Futures

TradingView Compatible

Difficulty Beginner

🚨 You do NOT need to create a Tradovate account yourself. When you sign up for a prop firm that uses Tradovate, they will create and provide your Tradovate credentials for you. You just log in with the details they send you — that's it.

Tradovate is one of the most popular platforms in the prop trading world — and for good reason. It's browser-based, works on any device, and connects directly to TradingView. If you're getting into futures prop trading, there's a very good chance your account will be on Tradovate.

This guide walks you through everything from your first login to placing your first trade. No fluff, just the steps you actually need.

Which Prop Firms Use Tradovate?

Not all prop firms use Tradovate, but the best ones for futures trading do. Here are two that stand out — both offer $50K Tradovate accounts that can be directly connected to TradingView:

⚡ Lucid Trading

$50K Tradovate account
Direct TradingView connection
Direct funded accounts
Fast payouts

⚡ Tradeify

$50K Tradovate account
Direct TradingView connection
Simple evaluation process
Competitive rules

💡 Why TradingView connection matters: If you already use TradingView for your analysis, you can place trades directly from your TradingView charts — no need to learn a new platform's charting tools. You just connect your Tradovate account in TradingView's trading panel and trade from the charts you already know.

Step 1: Logging In for the First Time

Once your prop firm sends you your Tradovate credentials (usually via email), here's what to do:

1 Go to Tradovate

Open trader.tradovate.com in your browser. Tradovate is fully web-based — no downloads required. It also has a desktop app if you prefer that.

2 Log in with your prop firm credentials

Use the username and password provided by your prop firm. Do NOT create a new account — your firm has already set one up for you.

3 Select your account

In the top-right corner, you'll see an account selector. Make sure your prop firm's funded account is selected (it will usually have a name like "SIM" or the firm's name in it).

⚠️ Important: Never change the password or account settings without checking with your prop firm first. Some firms will close your account if you modify credentials without authorization.

Step 2: Understanding the Interface

When you first log in, Tradovate will show a default layout with multiple modules on screen. Here's what it looks like:

The default Tradovate home screen — DOM ladder, chart, market overview, and positions

It can look overwhelming, but you only need a few things.

The Key Modules

Module	What It Does	Do You Need It?
Chart	Price chart with candlesticks, indicators, drawing tools	Essential (unless using TradingView)
DOM Ladder	Depth of Market — shows bid/ask levels, lets you place orders visually	Useful for scalpers
Order Ticket	Manual order entry (market, limit, stop)	Optional
Positions	Shows your open positions, P&L, and fills	Essential
Performance Center	Detailed reports on your trading performance	Good to have

Customizing Your Layout

Tradovate is modular — you can drag, resize, add, and remove any panel:

Remove or add tabs — Use the ✕ to close a tab and the + to add new ones within a module:

The ✕ and + buttons on module tabs — highlighted in yellow

Add new modules — Click the large + icon in the top-left corner of the screen:

The large + icon in the top-left opens the module selector

You'll see a drag-and-drop screen with all available modules. Just drag what you want onto your workspace:

Drag modules to your screen and save layouts as Workspace Templates

🎯 Pro tip for prop traders: Keep your screen clean. If you're using TradingView for charting, you really only need the Positions panel open in Tradovate to monitor your P&L and drawdown. Don't clutter your screen with modules you won't use.

Step 3: Connecting to TradingView

If your prop firm supports it (Lucid Trading and Tradeify both do), you can connect your Tradovate account directly to TradingView and trade from there. This is the setup most traders prefer.

Open TradingView

Go to tradingview.com and open any futures chart (e.g., ES1!, NQ1!, MNQ1!).

Open the Trading Panel

At the bottom of your chart, click on "Trading Panel" and select Tradovate from the list of brokers.

Log in with your prop firm credentials

Enter the same username and password your prop firm gave you. Authorize the connection.

Select your account

Once connected, make sure you select the correct account from the dropdown in the trading panel. You should see your balance and positions.

Start trading from TradingView

You can now place orders directly from your TradingView charts — market orders, limit orders, brackets, the works.

✅ Once connected, you barely need to open Tradovate at all. Your charts, analysis, and order execution all happen in TradingView. Tradovate just runs in the background handling the actual order routing.

Step 4: Placing Your First Trade

Whether you're trading from Tradovate or TradingView, the basics are the same.

Market Orders (Quick Entry/Exit)

The fastest way to enter a trade. In Tradovate, use the Buy Mkt and Sell Mkt buttons at the top of the chart. To close everything, hit Exit at Mkt & Cxl — this will flatten your position and cancel all pending orders.

Buy Mkt, Sell Mkt, and Exit at Mkt & Cxl — the three buttons you'll use most

Limit Orders

Click on the chart at the price level where you want to enter. An amber line will appear — adjust it to your exact desired price, then click Buy or Sell.

A limit buy order and a stop sell placed directly on the chart

Bracket Orders (Stop Loss + Take Profit)

This is the one you'll use most as a prop trader. A bracket order automatically places your stop loss and take profit when you enter a trade.

1 Open bracket settings

Click the ⚙️ cog icon next to the "BRACKETS" dropdown at the top of the chart.

The cog icon next to BRACKETS — click it to configure your TP and SL

2 Configure your bracket

Set your Take Profit and Stop Loss in ticks. Choose TP + SL as the type. Save it with a name (e.g., "10-tick bracket") so you can reuse it.

Bracket settings — set your TP, SL, and save it as a preset

3 Turn it on and trade

Select your saved bracket from the BRACKETS dropdown. When you enter a trade, your stop loss and take profit will be placed automatically. You can drag them on the chart to adjust, or hit the ✕ next to them to cancel.

💡 Always use bracket orders with a prop firm account. Having your stop loss automatically placed means you're protected even if your internet drops. No excuses for "I forgot to set my stop." Prop firms don't care — breach the drawdown and the account is gone.

Step 5: Things to Know for Prop Firm Trading

Trading on a prop firm account isn't exactly the same as trading your own account. Here are the key differences to keep in mind:

Check your contract size

Make sure you're trading the right contract. Most prop firms limit you to micros (MES, MNQ, etc.) until you scale up. Trading a full ES contract when you're only allowed micros = instant rule violation.

Know your position size limit

Your prop firm will set a max number of contracts. In Tradovate, the quantity is shown next to the Buy/Sell buttons. Double-check it before every trade.

Watch for the daily reset

Tradovate resets P&L at the end of each trading day (5:00 PM CT for CME futures). Your EOD trailing drawdown updates at this time — not during the session.

Don't hold through the close

Most prop firms require all positions to be flat before the daily close. Holding overnight without permission can get your account closed.

Avoid news events (if your firm requires it)

Some firms restrict trading around high-impact news. Check your economic calendar before the session opens.

Step 6: Monitoring Your Performance

Tradovate has a built-in reporting suite that tracks everything — P&L, orders, position history, cash history, and more.

Account Reports — pull performance data, download as CSV or PDF

1 Add the Performance Center module

Click the + button in the top-left → drag "Performance Center" onto your screen.

2 Access Account Reports

Go to the Reports module to see Performance, Orders, Position History, Cash History, Order Details, and Fills. Set your time range and hit Go.

3 Export your data

You can download your reports as CSV or PDF — useful for keeping a trading journal or tracking your progress toward payout targets.

"You can't improve what you don't measure. Even if you journal in a notebook, pull your stats from Tradovate at least once a week."

Quick Tips for Prop Firm Traders on Tradovate

Link your modules — Click the colored dot next to the symbol on any tab. Set it to the same color across your Chart, DOM, and Positions panel — when you change the symbol on one, they all update together.

The colored dots next to the symbol — match colors to link modules

Lock your chart toolbar: Hover over the chart to reveal the toolbar, then click the lock icon at the bottom of the menu. This keeps drawing tools and settings visible at all times.
Use the "Continuous AutoFit" toggle: If your chart keeps jumping around, go to Chart Settings and toggle off Continuous AutoFit.
Set bar countdown alerts: Go to the cog icon in the top-right of your chart → "Bar countdown settings." Useful for timing entries on candle closes.
Save your workspace: Once your layout is set, save it as a Workspace Template. If anything goes wrong, you can reload it instantly.

Final Thoughts

Tradovate looks intimidating at first, but once you strip it down to just what you need, it's actually one of the cleanest platforms out there. And if you connect it to TradingView, you get the best of both worlds — TradingView's world-class charting with Tradovate's execution.

Remember: your prop firm provides the account. You just log in, set up your brackets, and focus on what actually matters — taking good trades and managing your risk.

Looking for a prop firm with Tradovate + TradingView support? Lucid Trading and Tradeify both offer $50K Tradovate accounts with direct TradingView connection.

Quick Reference: First-Time Setup Checklist

Receive Tradovate login credentials from your prop firm
Log in at trader.tradovate.com (do NOT create a new account)
Select the correct account in the top-right dropdown
Clean up your layout — remove modules you don't need
Set up bracket orders (stop loss + take profit)
Save your workspace as a template
Connect to TradingView (if your firm supports it)
Verify your contract type and position size limits
Take your first trade

Tradovate Keyboard Shortcuts

B — Buy market order
S — Sell market order
Esc — Cancel/close dialogs
+ / - — Zoom in/out on chart
Click on chart → Place limit order at price level
Drag order line → Move limit/stop order