How to Connect E8 Markets to NinjaTrader (Tradovate)

E8 Markets runs its futures product on Tradovate, and Tradovate is the only feed that will reach NinjaTrader Desktop (NinjaTrader 8) here. There is no Rithmic route at this firm, so ignore anything that tells you to install R|Trader Pro. The thing that catches people out sits outside NinjaTrader: until you have logged into Tradovate’s own platform once and accepted every document it puts in front of you, the account will not connect to an outside platform. E8 document that gate for TradingView. NinjaTrader reaches your account through the same Tradovate credentials, so clear it before you start either way.

What you need before you start

• Your Tradovate account credentials, which appear in the E8X dashboard under account credentials once your challenge is purchased. E8 are explicit that these are not the same as your E8X dashboard login.
• One completed login to Tradovate’s own web platform, with all documents accepted. Treat this as a prerequisite rather than a formality.
• NinjaTrader Desktop on Windows, on an 8.1 release. In the Configure list this connection is labeled NinjaTrader, not Tradovate, so a missing Tradovate entry does not mean your build is out of date.
• Your account number to hand. E8 issue several accounts to one dashboard, and you will be picking between them in NinjaTrader.

Connecting E8 Markets to NinjaTrader

Get your credentials from the E8X dashboard

Log into E8X and find your account credentials there. E8’s own instruction is worth repeating because it is the single most common setup mistake across every prop firm: the username and password you use on the E8 website are not the credentials NinjaTrader wants. You want the Tradovate credentials issued against the trading account itself, where the username is the Login number shown in the dashboard.

One firm-specific trap follows from that. E8 say you must not change your username inside the Tradovate platform, because the credentials in your dashboard will then no longer work. If you have already changed it, set it back to the Login number from the dashboard under Tradovate Settings in your profile.

Log into Tradovate first and accept the documents

Do this before you open NinjaTrader. Go to Tradovate WebTrader, sign in with those credentials, and accept everything you are asked to accept.

E8 state this plainly in the context of TradingView: if you have not logged into Tradovate and accepted all documents, the account will not connect to that platform. They do not document the NinjaTrader route at all, so treat the same gate as applying here — it costs you two minutes, and skipping it leaves you retyping a password that was correct all along.

Enable Multi-Provider

In NinjaTrader, go to Tools, then Settings, then General. Tick Multi-Provider, apply, and restart NinjaTrader. Without it the Configure option does not appear under the Connections menu at all.

Add the Tradovate connection

Control Center, then Connections, then Configure. In the Available list, double-click NinjaTrader. That is the connection type that carries Tradovate prop accounts. Current builds do not list a separate Tradovate entry. Rename the connection to E8 Markets so you can tell it apart later — worth doing now if you run more than one firm.

Enter your credentials and set the Account Type

Type the username and password rather than pasting them. A trailing space carried along with a credential is a leading cause of logon failures and it is invisible in the field. E8’s own advice is to copy from the dashboard; if you do that, check that nothing extra came with it.

Set Account Type to Simulation. This is not a compromise or a test mode. E8 state that every account they issue is a demo account inside a simulated environment — the SimFi Challenge accounts and the SimFi Performance accounts you reach after passing, alike — and their own Tradovate instructions tell you to always select Simulation as the trading mode. Live is for a retail Tradovate brokerage account, which is not what you hold.

Select the connection and check you are on the right account

Connections, then E8 Markets. Once it comes up, confirm which account is selected before you place anything. If you hold several E8 accounts they will all appear, and they are easy to confuse.

If it will not connect

• Logon failed. On this firm, check the Tradovate documents first. If you have never logged into Tradovate directly, that is your answer. Otherwise it is a trailing space, or the E8X website login used by mistake.
• Logon failed after you changed something in Tradovate. E8 warn that changing your username inside the Tradovate platform breaks the dashboard credentials. Change it back to the Login number from your dashboard.
• Connected, but no accounts. E8 acknowledge a specific fault here: newly issued accounts sometimes show in the E8X dashboard but never appear in Tradovate. Nothing in NinjaTrader will fix that. Email E8 support with the account numbers that are missing. Background in no accounts were found.
• A failed account still looks active. Also a known E8 fault — an account that has hit its drawdown limit can keep showing as active in both the dashboard and Tradovate. Again, support and account numbers.
• No Configure option. Multi-Provider is switched off, or you have not restarted since ticking it. See why Configure is missing.
• Connected, but charts are blank. The market data agreement has not been signed. That is done in the Tradovate web app, not in NinjaTrader. See connected but no data.
• Charts are fine but the SuperDOM is empty. A different thing entirely — that is the order-flow entitlement, which is separate from the market data agreement. Do not go back and re-sign the latter looking for a fix.
• Opposite orders flatten instead of hedging. Not a fault. E8’s futures accounts run on a netting model, so a sell against an open buy of the same size cancels it out rather than opening a second position. On their forex and crypto side that behaviour is reversed.

E8 Markets and NinjaTrader: questions we get

Does E8 Markets officially support NinjaTrader?

No, and it is worth being straight about that. E8’s futures help centre documents Tradovate’s own apps and TradingView, and nothing else. Their platform-change article states that they offer one trading platform for the futures product and cannot move you to a different one or offer an alternative solution.

What makes NinjaTrader work anyway is that E8 issue genuine Tradovate credentials, and NinjaTrader’s Tradovate connection accepts them. The practical consequence is that E8 support will help you with your account and with Tradovate, but they will not troubleshoot NinjaTrader for you. That is our side of the fence.

Can I run E8 Markets next to another prop firm?

Yes, and on the Tradovate route this is genuinely straightforward. NinjaTrader restricts you to one Rithmic connection at a time, but that restriction is specific to the Rithmic route — it places no such limit on Tradovate. No add-on is needed for that.

If what you actually want is one order reaching several accounts, that is a different job, handled by a trade copier. E8 permit copy trading across accounts that belong to you and say you may use whatever copying tool suits you. They do not permit signal services or teams trading the same positions, so keep the copying to your own accounts.

Which E8 futures product does this apply to?

All of them. The futures line has been through a rename, so their own material is inconsistent — you will see both Signature Futures and Zero Futures in the help centre, while the futures storefront sells E8 Signature alongside E8 Zero Starter and E8 Zero MAX. The platform position is the same either way: Tradovate, in Simulation mode, with credentials from the E8X dashboard.

E8 also run forex and crypto products, and those sit on entirely different platforms. If you are reading E8 material that mentions MT5, TradeLocker, cTrader or Match Trade, none of it applies here.

Related

• Connection guides for every prop firm
• The Tradovate connection guide
• NinjaTrader connected but no data

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.