Moved to a Live Rithmic Account? Keep NinjaTrader and Your Other Prop Firm Accounts
Passing an evaluation, getting funded and even taking payouts often all happen on simulated accounts. The real change comes when your prop firm moves you to a live account: it opens an account at a clearing broker and sends you new credentials. If you trade in NinjaTrader 8, two things change at that moment, and only one of them gets talked about.
The first is the connection. The live account needs its own connection with the new login, often on Rithmic’s live system instead of the paper trading one. The second is how many Rithmic logins you now hold. Most traders who go live still have evaluations or simulated funded accounts running, at the same firm or at others. That is two or more Rithmic logins, and NinjaTrader keeps one Rithmic connection at a time.
The short answer
- Expect new credentials. Your old connection will not reach the live account.
- Use the System entry your firm names for the live account. Live Rithmic accounts usually use Rithmic 01 (Chicago), not Rithmic Paper Trading.
- Check that your live agreement allows NinjaTrader. Some firms’ live programs support only certain platforms.
- Your charts, indicators and strategies stay. They belong to your NinjaTrader installation, not to the connection.
- To keep your other Rithmic accounts connected alongside the live one, you need Unlimited Prop Firm Connections.
What a live account looks like at three firms
Firms handle the move differently, and their published pages say so. Checked on October 1, 2026:
| Firm | What its live stage runs on | What that means in NinjaTrader |
|---|---|---|
| Funded Futures Family | Evaluation and professional stages sign in to NinjaTrader with FFF credentials. The live stage moves you to Rithmic infrastructure after a migration review and broker paperwork, and live market data is a subscription you pay for yourself. | Possibly your first Rithmic login: a new Rithmic connection in NinjaTrader, with its own System entry. |
| Elite Trader Funding | Its LIVE ELITE program supports Rithmic platforms only, and its page says Tradovate and NinjaTrader are not currently supported. | The firm does not support NinjaTrader for that program. Read your LIVE ELITE agreement before you connect it anywhere. |
| Lucid Trading | Live accounts can be Tradovate Live or Rithmic Live, with different daily cutoffs (4:45 PM and 4:15 PM Eastern). | Match the connection to the feed you were issued. A Tradovate live account uses NinjaTrader’s Tradovate connection; a Rithmic one needs a Rithmic connection. |
“Not supported” is a firm’s support position, and it varies from firm to firm. Our add-on manages connections inside NinjaTrader; it does not change what your live agreement allows. If your agreement names the platforms you may use, follow it.
Your workspace stays with NinjaTrader
Chart layouts, templates, indicators and strategies live in your NinjaTrader installation. A new connection does not touch them, so you do not need to rebuild anything because your account moved from simulated to live. What does not carry over is the account itself: the live account starts with its own balance, positions and permissions, and you have to select it on purpose.
Back up before you change anything. Disconnect every connection, then use Tools, then Export, then Backup File. NinjaTrader’s backup can include your workspaces, templates and NinjaScript files, third-party add-ons included.
Setting up the live connection
- Check the new login outside NinjaTrader first. Log in to R|Trader Pro with the live credentials and the System entry your firm gave you, complete any agreements it asks for, and confirm the live account appears. If it does not appear there, the firm has not finished setting it up.
- Add the connection. In NinjaTrader open Connections, then Configure, add Rithmic for NinjaTrader Brokerage, enter the live username and password, and pick the System entry your firm named, usually Rithmic 01 (Chicago). On NinjaTrader 8.1, Multi-provider has to be on for the Configure button to appear; on 8.0.28.0 there is no such setting.
- Name it so you cannot mix it up, for example “Lucid LIVE”, next to connections named for your simulated accounts.
- Select the live account deliberately in Chart Trader, the SuperDOM and every strategy. Keep automated strategies disabled until you have switched their account and checked your firm’s live rules on automation, position size and daily loss.
- Decide what happens to the old connection. If the simulated account is closed, remove it. If it is still running, read the next section.
When you still have other Rithmic accounts running
This is where most traders who go live get stuck. The live login is a separate Rithmic login. Your remaining evaluations and simulated funded accounts, at the same firm or at other firms, sit on their own logins. NinjaTrader connects one Rithmic login at a time, so the second connection is refused with “Provider ‘Rithmic for NinjaTrader Brokerage’ already has a running connection,” and you are left disconnecting the live account to check on an evaluation, then reconnecting it.
Doing that on a live account is a real risk. A disconnect while you hold a position, or a reconnect that fails at the open, costs actual money. Unlimited Prop Firm Connections keeps every Rithmic login connected at once in the same NinjaTrader, so the live account never has to come down. It also guards the parts of a live day that hurt most:
- It warns you before you disconnect a connection that has open positions or working orders, and tells you how many.
- It alerts you the moment a connection drops while you are holding a position, so a dead feed never sits unnoticed in a live trade.
- It shows two status lights per connection, because orders and market data fail independently, and names the cause of a failure instead of showing a raw error.
- It reconnects a dropped connection for you, and stops if the broker rejects the login rather than hammering it.
If you trade the same setup on the live account and your remaining prop firm accounts, a trade copier such as Duplicate Account Actions can mirror it once they are all connected. Check your firm’s rules on copying into or out of a live account first; firms treat that differently.
Unlimited Prop Firm Connections
Your live Rithmic account and your other Rithmic prop firm accounts, connected together in one NinjaTrader, with connection health in one window and an alert the moment one drops. Runs on NinjaTrader 8.1.x.x and 8.0.28.0.
$495 once for 1 PC ($795 for 2 PCs), free updates, human live chat support, and a 30-day money-back guarantee if your Rithmic prop firms will not connect or will not stay connected together and we cannot get it working. See Unlimited Prop Firm Connections
If the live account will not connect
- Login rejected: check you are using the live credentials, not the old simulated ones, and the live System entry. NinjaTrader shows the same “check your account connection parameters” error for a wrong password and a wrong System entry.
- “The IB you are trying to connect to is not authorized to use NinjaTrader”: in our customers’ logs this message has always cleared on a later attempt with the same settings, so wait a few minutes and try again. If it never clears, the live route may not be approved for NinjaTrader; ask your firm.
- Connected, but the live account is missing: confirm it appears in R|Trader Pro with the same login. If it does not, the firm’s onboarding is not finished.
- Connects, then drops seconds later: the same live login is open somewhere else, such as R|Trader Pro or another PC. Your firm limits sessions per login.
FAQ
Does getting funded mean I am trading a live account?
Often not. Many firms keep funded accounts simulated, even through payouts, and move you to a live account only after a separate review. When the live account opens, the firm sends new credentials.
Which System entry does a live prop firm account use in NinjaTrader?
The one your firm names for the live account. For a live Rithmic account that is usually Rithmic 01 (Chicago). Simulated accounts usually stay on Rithmic Paper Trading (Chicago) or the firm’s own entry.
Will I lose my charts and indicators when I switch to the live account?
No. They belong to your NinjaTrader installation, not the connection. Back up with Tools, Export, Backup File before you change connections anyway.
Can I keep my evaluations connected while I trade the live account?
Not with NinjaTrader alone if they are all on Rithmic; it holds one Rithmic connection at a time. Unlimited Prop Firm Connections keeps the live login and your evaluation logins connected together.
Does my firm allow NinjaTrader on its live accounts?
It depends on the firm. Elite Trader Funding’s LIVE ELITE page, for example, says NinjaTrader is not currently supported there. Check your live agreement or ask the firm before you connect.
Firm details were checked on each firm’s own pages on October 1, 2026; firms change their programs, so confirm with yours. Affordable Indicators, Inc. is not affiliated with or endorsed by NinjaTrader, Rithmic, or any prop firm named here; your firm’s own terms govern how you may use your account.