Which Rithmic System Entry Does Your Prop Firm Use in NinjaTrader?
When a Rithmic prop firm account will not connect in NinjaTrader 8, the password is usually fine. The System entry is wrong. NinjaTrader shows the same “Please check your account connection parameters” error for a wrong System entry and for a wrong password, so traders re-type a correct password again and again. One of our customers re-typed a correct password 14 times over two days; the System entry was the problem all along.
This page lists the System entry each prop firm actually connected on in NinjaTrader 8. The numbers come from the connection logs of 44 traders who use our Unlimited Prop Firm Connections add-on, between August 6 and October 1, 2026. They are not copied from firm help pages, which disagree with each other and go out of date.
The short answer
- Evaluation and simulated funded accounts at most firms: Rithmic Paper Trading (Chicago).
- Live brokerage accounts (AMP, Ironbeam, EdgeClear and other futures brokers): Rithmic 01 at the gateway nearest you, usually Rithmic 01 (Chicago).
- A few firms have their own entry already in NinjaTrader’s list: Apex, Funded Futures Network and MES Capital.
- Some firms run their own Rithmic system that NinjaTrader does not list at all, including Lucid Trading, Tradeify, DayTraders.com and Legends Trading. Those need the entry added before they can connect.
Where the System entry is in NinjaTrader 8
Configure only shows on the Connections menu once Multi-provider is on. If you do not see it: Tools > Settings > General, tick Multi-provider, click OK, then close NinjaTrader and open it again (why Configure is missing).
In the NinjaTrader Control Center, open Connections, then Configure, and add or select your Rithmic connection (prop firm accounts use the connection type Rithmic for NinjaTrader Brokerage). Under your username and password is the System dropdown. It holds Rithmic’s shared gateways, such as “Rithmic Paper Trading (Chicago)” and “Rithmic 01 (Chicago)”, plus a handful of firms that have a dedicated entry of their own.
The System entry tells NinjaTrader which Rithmic server your credentials belong to. A login created on a firm’s own Rithmic system will not log in on the shared paper trading gateway, however many times the password is typed.
The entry each prop firm connected on (measured)
“Traders connected” is the number of different traders who connected that firm at least once with that entry. A small number is still proof that the entry works; it does not prove it is the only one that does. Firms our customers have not connected yet are not listed, and your firm’s own credentials email always wins over this table.
| Prop firm | System entry that connected | Traders connected |
|---|---|---|
| Apex Trader Funding | Apex (its own entry, already in NinjaTrader) | 29 |
| Bulenox | Rithmic Paper Trading (Chicago) | 18 |
| Lucid Trading | Lucid Trading (added by the add-on) | 7, six of them on the added entry |
| DayTraders.com | DayTraders.com (added by the add-on) | 4 |
| Funded Futures Network | Funded Futures Network (its own entry) | 4 |
| Take Profit Trader | Rithmic Paper Trading (Chicago) | 4 |
| Phidias | Rithmic Paper Trading (Chicago) | 2 |
| Humble Futures Funding | Rithmic Paper Trading (Chicago) | 2 |
| Tradeify | Tradeify (added by the add-on) | 2 |
| TradeDay (Rithmic accounts) | Rithmic Paper Trading (Chicago) | 1 |
| OneUp Trader, EdgeProp, NextPropTrader, FundedSeat | Rithmic Paper Trading (Chicago) | 1 each |
| Legends Trading, HalcyonTrader | The firm’s own entry (added by the add-on) | 1 each |
| AMP Futures (live brokerage account) | Rithmic 01 (Chicago) | 1 |
Two patterns stand out. Bulenox, Take Profit Trader and most smaller firms share Rithmic’s paper trading gateway, so the stock entry is all they need. Lucid Trading is the one that catches people out: six of the seven traders who connected a Lucid login did it through the Lucid entry the add-on adds, and only one of the six who tried Rithmic Paper Trading (Chicago) got through.
Firms NinjaTrader does not list
NinjaTrader ships a fixed System list, and only a handful of prop firms have a named entry in it. A firm that runs its own Rithmic system but is missing from that list cannot be reached by picking something close. The connection settings for that system have to be entered first.
That is half of what Unlimited Prop Firm Connections does. Its Find My Firm tab lists 114 prop firms and brokers. For the 100 that already connect through an entry NinjaTrader ships, it tells you which entry to pick, and that part works without a license. For the firms that need their own entry, such as Lucid Trading, Tradeify, DayTraders.com, Legends Trading, The Trading Pit, 4PropTrader, Thrive Trading, HalcyonTrader and TradeSea, one click adds the firm to NinjaTrader’s own System dropdown. You then connect exactly as you would with any other Rithmic firm, through NinjaTrader’s own Rithmic adapter. Nothing in NinjaTrader is patched or replaced.
NinjaTrader 8.0.28.0 is the exception: its System list is fixed, so nothing can be added to it. There the add-on shows a How to Set Up button with the exact steps for each supported firm instead. Our NinjaTrader 8.0.28.0 guide covers that version.
Two entries that no longer work
NinjaTrader’s list still includes Day Trading Academy and UProfitTrader, but Rithmic no longer serves either system, and none of our customers has ever connected on them. If one of those is your firm, ask the firm which entry it uses now.
Watch the near miss as well: DayTraders.com and Day Trading Academy are different companies with almost the same name. A DayTraders.com login on the Day Trading Academy entry fails with the generic error every time.
Wrong entry, wrong password, or neither: reading the error
These are the messages our customers actually hit, and what each one means.
| What NinjaTrader says | Traders who saw it | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| “Please check your account connection parameters and internet connection.” | 27 | A wrong System entry or a wrong username or password. NinjaTrader cannot tell which, so check the entry first; it is the more common mistake. |
| “The IB you are trying to connect to is not authorized to use NinjaTrader with Rithmic for NinjaTrader Brokerage.” | 23 | It reads like your firm is blocked, but in our logs every one of 32 cases connected later with exactly the same settings. Wait a few minutes and connect again. Do not change the entry. |
| “Provider ‘Rithmic for NinjaTrader Brokerage’ already has a running connection.” | 6 | Your settings are fine. You tried to open a second Rithmic login, and NinjaTrader allows one at a time. See how to run multiple Rithmic connections. |
| “Unable to connect … bad input” | 6 | The username or password box is empty. |
| Connects, then drops a few seconds later | (no message) | The same Rithmic login is open somewhere else: R|Trader Pro, another PC or a VPS. Your firm limits sessions per login, and the newer one wins. |
Unlimited Prop Firm Connections reads these failures for you. Instead of the raw message it names the cause, such as no password saved, password rejected, wrong entry for this firm, or the login already in use by another named connection, and lists the steps to fix it. If it cannot tell, it says so rather than guessing.
Running more than one Rithmic firm
Picking the right entry gets one firm connected. The moment you add a second Rithmic firm, you hit NinjaTrader’s one-Rithmic-connection limit, which is the third error in the table above. Tradovate accounts never had that limit; Rithmic accounts do.
Unlimited Prop Firm Connections
Keeps several Rithmic logins connected at the same time in one NinjaTrader, adds the System entries NinjaTrader is missing, and tells you why a connection failed or dropped. One of our customers has run 16 Rithmic connections at once. 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 firm will not connect, or will not stay connected alongside your others, and we cannot get it working, you get every dollar back. See Unlimited Prop Firm Connections
FAQ
Which Rithmic System do I pick for a prop firm evaluation in NinjaTrader?
For most firms, Rithmic Paper Trading (Chicago). Apex, Funded Futures Network and MES Capital have their own entries in NinjaTrader’s list, and firms with their own Rithmic system, such as Lucid Trading and Tradeify, need that system’s entry added first. Use whatever your firm’s credentials email names if it disagrees with this page.
Should a funded account use Rithmic 01 or Rithmic Paper Trading?
Most funded accounts at evaluation firms are still simulated accounts, so they stay on the entry your evaluation used. When a firm moves you to a real live account, it issues new credentials and names the live entry, usually Rithmic 01 (Chicago). Our guide to moving to a live Rithmic account covers that switch.
Why is my prop firm missing from the System dropdown?
Because NinjaTrader names only a few firms. Most firms are reached through a shared gateway entry such as Rithmic Paper Trading (Chicago), so not seeing your firm’s name is usually fine. If your firm runs its own Rithmic system, the entry has to be added; Unlimited Prop Firm Connections does that in one click, and added firms appear at the bottom of the dropdown.
Do I need an add-on to connect one Rithmic prop firm account?
Not if your firm connects through an entry NinjaTrader already ships, which covers most firms. You need one only if your firm’s system is missing from NinjaTrader’s list, or when you want a second Rithmic firm connected at the same time.
The error says my IB is not authorized to use NinjaTrader. Is my firm blocked?
Probably not. In our customers’ logs, all 32 cases of that message later connected with exactly the same firm and System entry. Wait a few minutes and connect again before changing anything.
Connection counts come from Unlimited Prop Firm Connections installs that reported a connection result between August 6 and October 1, 2026, excluding our own test machines. Affordable Indicators, Inc. is not affiliated with or endorsed by Rithmic, NinjaTrader, or any prop firm or broker named here; your firm’s and broker’s own terms govern how you may use your account, so check with them first.