How to Connect NinjaTrader to a Trade Copier (Step-by-Step Guide)
Learn how to connect your NinjaTrader account to a trade copier for automated trade replication across multiple prop firm accounts. Covers the OAuth setup, environment selection, and troubleshooting no-accounts-found errors.
Introduction
You're managing several funded accounts at MyFundedFutures. You place a trade on your master account and then — by hand — log in to each of your other accounts to replicate the same entry. You switch platforms, re-enter the same size, check your fills. By the time you've done it twice, the market has already moved.
A trade copier handles that replication automatically. This guide covers exactly how to connect a NinjaTrader account to SyncFutures, the specific differences between how NinjaTrader and other brokers connect, and the most common issue traders run into — not seeing their accounts after connecting.
How NinjaTrader Connects in SyncFutures
NinjaTrader runs on Tradovate's infrastructure. That means in SyncFutures, a NinjaTrader connection goes through the same OAuth2 flow as a Tradovate connection — you authorize via Tradovate's login popup, pick an environment (Live or Demo), and you're done.
There is no separate NinjaTrader API key or username/password entry for NinjaTrader. When you select NinjaTrader as your broker in SyncFutures, you're authorizing via Tradovate.
Your connected accounts will appear with a "NinjaTrader —" prefix in SyncFutures to distinguish them from accounts connected as plain Tradovate. The underlying broker link is the same.
Which Prop Firms Use the NinjaTrader Connection?
MyFundedFutures (MFFU) is the confirmed NinjaTrader use case in SyncFutures. MFFU accounts can run on Tradovate or NinjaTrader — both connect through the same Tradovate OAuth2 flow in SyncFutures. If you have MFFU accounts on the NinjaTrader platform, you connect them under the NinjaTrader broker option, not Tradovate.
If you're with another prop firm and your platform is listed as NinjaTrader, check your firm's help center to confirm whether their NinjaTrader accounts run on Tradovate's infrastructure (most do). Connect as NinjaTrader in SyncFutures if so; otherwise, contact SyncFutures support.
One important note: some prop firms list NinjaTrader as a charting or front-end option only — not as a separate execution connection. For those firms, your underlying broker is Tradovate, and you'd connect as Tradovate, not NinjaTrader.
MyFundedFutures Copy Trading Policy
Before setting up copying on MFFU accounts, know the policy:
- Own accounts only. You may copy between your own MFFU accounts. Copying between different traders' accounts is prohibited.
- MFFU is not obligated to support copy trading setups. If a copy results in a problematic state on your account (a runaway position, a failed close), MFFU is not required to provide support, troubleshooting, or resets for issues that stemmed from copy trading. That risk is yours.
Both points are plainly stated so you can make an informed decision before connecting.
Live vs Demo — The Critical Environment Choice
This is where most connection issues come from. When you connect a NinjaTrader account in SyncFutures, you'll be asked to choose between Live and Demo environments. Getting this wrong is the top reason accounts don't show up after connecting.
Understanding the Environments
NinjaTrader accounts at prop firms can be on either environment, but the large majority are on Demo. Evaluations and sim-funded accounts run on simulated infrastructure, and that covers most funded accounts too. Live is for a personal, self-funded brokerage account, or for a prop account that has been moved to live status.
So unless one of those applies to you, Demo is the one to try first. The only way to know for certain is to check your prop firm dashboard or account documentation.
What Happens When You Pick Wrong
If your account is on Live and you connect as Demo, SyncFutures won't find any accounts. If your account is on Demo and you connect as Live, same result — no accounts. The fix is to delete the connection and reconnect with the correct environment.
There's no way to switch environment on an existing connection — you need to remove it and add it again.
| Account Type | Environment to Try First |
|---|---|
| Prop firm evaluation / sim-funded account | Demo |
| Prop firm funded account | Demo |
| Prop account moved to live status | Live |
| Personal, self-funded brokerage account | Live |
| Unsure | Try Demo first; if no accounts appear, try Live |
If you're still unsure after trying both, check your MFFU dashboard under your account details — it will state whether your account is on a live or simulated exchange.
Prerequisites
Before connecting:
- An active NinjaTrader account at a supported prop firm (MFFU confirmed).
- Your Tradovate credentials (email and password) — these are what you use in the OAuth popup.
- A SyncFutures account. A 7-day free trial lets you connect your actual accounts and run a live session before committing.
Step-by-Step: Connecting NinjaTrader to SyncFutures
Step 1: Go to Accounts Management
Log into SyncFutures at app.syncfutures.com. From the navigation, go to Accounts Management. This is where all your broker connections live.
Step 2: Click Add Broker Connection
Click Add Broker Connection. You'll see a list of supported brokers: Tradovate, Rithmic, NinjaTrader, and ProjectX. Select NinjaTrader.
Step 3: Name the Connection
Give this connection a descriptive name so you can identify it later. Something like:
- "MFFU 50K NinjaTrader Master"
- "MFFU 100K NinjaTrader Eval"
If you end up with several connections, clear names make managing copy rules much easier.
Step 4: Select Your Environment
Choose Live or Demo based on your account type (see the table above). Double-check this before proceeding — it's the most common source of connection errors.
Step 5: Authorize via Tradovate OAuth
Click Connect (or Authorize). A popup will open on Tradovate's site — not SyncFutures. Enter your Tradovate credentials in that popup. Tradovate asks you to authorize SyncFutures to access your account; click Allow or Authorize.
The popup closes and you return to SyncFutures. Within a few seconds, your connection status should show as Connected.
Note: Your Tradovate password is never entered into SyncFutures. The OAuth flow means Tradovate handles authentication entirely; SyncFutures receives a token, not your credentials.
Step 6: Verify the Connection
Once connected, your accounts should appear with a "NinjaTrader —" prefix in SyncFutures. Verify:
- Status shows Connected
- Your account number(s) are listed
If no accounts appear, see the troubleshooting section below.
Step 7: Repeat for Additional Accounts
If you have multiple NinjaTrader accounts to connect (for example, a master and several slave accounts), repeat Steps 2–6 for each one. Each gets its own connection with its own descriptive name.
Troubleshooting: No Accounts Found After Connecting
This is the most common NinjaTrader connection issue in SyncFutures, and the fix is almost always the same: you connected with the wrong environment.
Switch the Environment
Delete the connection you just added. Go back to Add Broker Connection, select NinjaTrader, name it, and this time pick the other environment. Go through the OAuth popup again.
If you connected as Live and saw no accounts, reconnect as Demo. If you connected as Demo and saw nothing, reconnect as Live.
A common mistake is picking Live because the account is funded and "funded" sounds like it should be live. On a prop firm account it usually isn't — funded accounts typically trade in a simulated environment, so Demo is the correct choice.
Other Issues
| Problem | Likely Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| OAuth popup blocked | Browser popup blocker | Allow popups from app.syncfutures.com |
| "Authorization Failed" in the popup | Wrong Tradovate credentials | Re-enter email/password on Tradovate's login screen |
| Connected but showing Disconnected later | OAuth token expired | Click Reconnect and go through the OAuth flow again |
If none of these fix it, open a support ticket in SyncFutures at /support on mobile or /dashboard/support on web. Include your account type and which environment you selected — that's usually enough to identify the issue.
Setting Up Copy Rules
Once your NinjaTrader accounts are connected, go to Copier Rules and click New Copier Rule to set up automated replication.
A copy rule specifies:
- Master account — the account you trade on
- Slave accounts — the accounts that copy the master
- Quantity multiplier — how to scale position sizes per slave (0.1x to 100x)
- Contract symbol — the specific contract the rule copies
One rule can feed multiple slave accounts. If you update the rule's symbol at quarterly rollover (see the note below), that update applies to all slaves in the rule at once — you don't need to update each slave separately.
Rollover note: Copy rules in SyncFutures are pinned to a specific contract symbol (for example,
ESZ6for the December E-mini S&P 500). At quarterly rollover, update the symbol in your copy rule before the front month expires — master fills will copy correctly, but the rule won't auto-update to the new front month. It's a 30-second fix; worth doing a few days before the roll.
Next Steps
You've connected your NinjaTrader account and set up a copy rule. A few resources that may be useful:
- Multiple MyFundedFutures accounts trade copier guide — setup specifics for running several MFFU accounts at once.
- MyFundedFutures trade copier setup guide — full guide covering MFFU-specific copy rule configuration.
- Cross-broker copying: Tradovate + Rithmic — if you have MFFU accounts on both Tradovate/NinjaTrader and Rithmic.
- Pricing — plans start at $39/mo (3 connections). The 7-day free trial connects your real accounts so you can verify everything works before the trial ends.
Start Copying NinjaTrader Trades Today
Connecting NinjaTrader to SyncFutures takes a few minutes. The main things to get right: pick the correct environment (Demo for prop firm accounts, Live only for a personal brokerage account), and understand that the connection goes through Tradovate's OAuth — you're never entering a separate NinjaTrader password.
Once your accounts are connected and a copy rule is live, every trade on your master copies automatically. You trade once per session; every connected account fills.
Start your 7-day free trial and connect your NinjaTrader accounts today.