How to Connect Alpha Futures to NinjaTrader (Rithmic)

Alpha Futures supports several platforms and routes NinjaTrader over Rithmic. There is one decision to get right before you pay, because it cannot be changed afterwards.

What you need before you start

• NinjaTrader selected as your platform at the point of purchase. Alpha Futures ties the platform to the account and you cannot switch mid-account.
• The Alpha-provided Rithmic credentials, which are not your Alpha Futures trader login.
• NinjaTrader 8 Desktop on Windows.

Connecting Alpha Futures to NinjaTrader

Get your Rithmic credentials from Alpha Futures

This is the single most common mistake with this firm. NinjaTrader needs the Rithmic credentials Alpha issued, not the username and password you use on the Alpha Futures website. Using the trader login means you are not connected to your Alpha account at all.

Download the NinjaTrader Desktop platform

NinjaTrader 8 Desktop. Your platform choice was fixed at purchase, so confirm it was NinjaTrader before you go further.

Enable Multi-Provider

Tools, Options, General, tick Multi-Provider, apply, restart.

Add the Rithmic connection

Control Center, Connections, Configure, add, then Rithmic for NinjaTrader Brokerage.

Enter your credentials and choose the System

Type the Rithmic username and password. Select the System entry matching your account stage, evaluation or funded. For initial setup keep selective mode off and market data off.

Select your new connection

Connections, then your Alpha Futures connection.

If it will not connect

If the login is rejected outright, check first that you are using the Rithmic credentials rather than your Alpha website login. That accounts for most of them.

• Logon failed. Nearly always a trailing space copied with the credential, the wrong System entry for your account stage, or an agreement still unsigned in the provider portal. Worked through in Rithmic logon failed.
• Connected, but no accounts. Usually account status at Alpha Futures rather than anything in NinjaTrader. See no accounts were found.
• No Configure option. Multi-Provider is switched off. See why Configure is missing.
• Connects, then drops. Something else is holding a Rithmic session — R|Trader Pro elsewhere, a second machine, a VPS. See session count exceeded.

Alpha Futures and NinjaTrader: questions we get

Can I run Alpha Futures next to another prop firm?

Not on the Rithmic route, not out of the box. NinjaTrader marks its Rithmic connections as one at a time, so connecting a second Rithmic firm displaces the first. NinjaTrader Desktop connects one Rithmic account at a time. Unlimited Prop Firm Connections lets you keep several connected at the same time.

A Rithmic session cap still applies per login on top of that, and no add-on can raise it.

Do I need a trade copier as well?

Only if you want one order to reach several accounts. Having the connections open at the same time is what makes copying possible; the copying itself is a separate job, handled by the trade copier.

Is the website login the same as the connection login?

No, and this is the most common setup mistake. NinjaTrader needs the Rithmic credentials Alpha Futures issued you, not the username and password you use on their website.

Related

• Connection guides for every prop firm
• How to run multiple Rithmic connections in NinjaTrader 8
• Is Rithmic down, or is it your connection?

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.