TradingBoss Strategy Setup Guide -(Charts, Instruments, Licensing, Enabling)

This guide is where everything comes together.

You already have:

• a VPS (recommended) running,

• NinjaTrader open,

• and a broker connection working (green).

Now you will:

1. Create the correct chart (instrument + timeframe)

2. Add one of the TradingBoss strategies

3. Enter your license key

4. Select your correct prop firm account

5. Enable the strategy and confirm it is truly running

6. Save your workspace so you never lose the setup

If you’re brand new, this might feel like a lot the first time. That’s normal. You’re learning a new platform with real financial infrastructure behind it. Go slow and follow the steps exactly.

✅ IMPORTANT UPDATE (READ THIS FIRST)

TradingBoss strategies now auto-refresh daily.

That means:

• You do NOT need to restart strategies every morning.

• You do NOT need to disconnect/reconnect daily.

Once you set them up correctly and enable them, you can leave them running continuously on your VPS.

You only intervene if you see errors or connection problems.

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What You’ll Learn

By the end of this guide, you will know how to:

• Run a quick pre-flight checklist before setup

• Create a new chart with the exact instrument + timeframe required

• Understand NQ vs MNQ vs ES vs MES and how to choose

• Understand why instrument + timeframe matters (wrong = strategy won’t work correctly)

• Add a TradingBoss strategy to a chart with exact menu locations

• Understand the strategy settings window and which settings matter

• Enter your license key correctly and verify LICENSE VALID

• Select the correct account (and avoid SIM mistakes)

• Enable the strategy and interpret status states:

  • ACTIVE, SCANNING, WARMUP, IN TRADE, DONE FOR DAY, UNLICENSED

• Save your workspace and confirm setup persists

• Verify everything is working end-to-end

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Overview: What You Are Doing (In Plain English)

In NinjaTrader, a “strategy” does not run by itself.

A strategy is attached to a chart.

That chart must be:

• the correct instrument (NQ/MNQ/ES/MES),

• the correct timeframe (30s/1m/3m),

• and connected to live data.

Then the strategy must be:

• licensed,

• pointed at the correct trading account,

• and enabled.

Think of it like putting an engine into a car:

• The chart = the car frame (instrument/timeframe)

• The strategy = the engine (logic that trades)

• The license = the key that starts the engine

• The account selection = choosing which car you’re actually driving

• Enabling = turning the ignition on

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Pre-Flight Checklist (Do This Before You Touch Strategy Settings)

This checklist prevents the top beginner errors.

✅ Confirm these are true:

1. You are on your VPS

   • Your VPS is connected via Remote Desktop

   • You did not shut it down (disconnect is fine)

2. NinjaTrader Control Center is open

   • You can see the main Control Center window

3. You are connected to your broker

   • Control Center connection indicator is green

   • You can see your real accounts (not only SIM101)

4. You have your license key ready

   • Format like XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX

   • Copy/paste available

5. You know which strategy you are setting up

   • Only choose from these five:

     • FastPass

     • MONEYBAGS

     • Blitz

     • Pulse

     • 60M (TradingBoss60MES)

⚠️ Warning

Do not “experiment” by adding random strategies or changing random parameters. Beginners should follow defaults and only change:

• License Key

• Account selection

• (If applicable) contract quantity or risk setting as instructed

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Part 1 — Creating a New Chart (Step-by-Step)

In NinjaTrader, charts are created from Control Center.

Step 1 — Open a New Chart

1. In Control Center, click New

2. Click Chart

Screenshot description (what you should see)

A window pops up titled something like “Select instrument” or “Data Series.” It has:

• an instrument search box

• a list of instruments

• timeframe settings (minutes/seconds)

• days to load

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Step 2 — Choose the Correct Instrument (NQ vs MNQ vs ES vs MES)

This matters because contracts control your money movement per tick.

Quick instrument explanation

• NQ = Nasdaq mini futures (bigger movement)

• MNQ = Nasdaq micro futures (10x smaller than NQ)

• ES = S&P 500 mini futures (bigger movement)

• MES = S&P 500 micro futures (10x smaller than ES)

Micros are usually the best beginner choice because they reduce the dollar swings.

The “10x rule” (easy to remember)

• Minis are 10x the size of micros.

• That means the same market move is 10x the profit and 10x the loss.

💡 Tip

If you’re not sure which to use, start with micros:

• MNQ instead of NQ

• MES instead of ES

You can always scale later once you understand behavior and drawdown rules.

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Step 3 — Choose the Correct Timeframe (THIS IS CRITICAL)

TradingBoss strategies are built for specific chart timeframes.

If you use the wrong timeframe:

• the strategy may not trade,

• or it may behave incorrectly.

Strategy → required timeframe table

Strategy	Required Instrument	Required Timeframe
FastPass	NQ	1 Minute
MONEYBAGS	NQ or MNQ	30 Seconds
Blitz	NQ or MNQ	3 Minutes
Pulse	NQ or MNQ	1 Minute
60M (TradingBoss60MES)	ES or MES	3 Minutes

⚠️ Warning

“Close enough” is not close enough.

• 1-minute vs 30-second is not interchangeable.

• 3-minute is not interchangeable with 1-minute.

Wrong timeframe = wrong bar structure = wrong strategy behavior.

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Step 4 — Check “Days to Load” (What It Means)

This setting controls how much historical data NinjaTrader loads.

For most setups:

• leaving it at 5 days is fine.

This setting usually does not break strategy behavior.

📝 Note

Loading more days can make charts slower. Beginners should leave the default unless support instructs otherwise.

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Step 5 — Create the Chart

Once your instrument and timeframe are correct:

1. Click OK

✅ Success Indicator

A new chart opens with candles. The chart should be updating (moving) if your connection is correct.

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Part 2 — Chart Settings: What Matters vs What You Can Ignore

NinjaTrader has a lot of settings. Beginners often get lost here.

Here’s what matters for TradingBoss:

Settings that matter

• Instrument (NQ/MNQ/ES/MES)

• Timeframe (30s/1m/3m)

• Connection/data flow (chart updates)

Settings you can ignore (as a beginner)

• colors and themes

• indicator templates (unless you’re adding TradingBoss indicators later)

• chart background settings

• drawing tools

• fancy chart styles

💡 Tip

Your goal is not to make the chart look pretty. Your goal is to make the strategy run correctly.

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Part 3 — Adding a TradingBoss Strategy to the Chart

Now you attach the bot to your chart.

Step 1 — Open the Strategies Menu

1. On the chart, right-click

2. Click Strategies

Screenshot description

You should see a “Strategies” window with:

• a list of available strategies on the left

• a section where configured strategies appear

• settings panels when you select a strategy

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Step 2 — Add the Strategy

1. Find your strategy in the list:

   • FastPass

   • MONEYBAGS

   • Blitz

   • Pulse

   • TradingBoss60MES (60M)

2. Double-click it (or click Add)

It should now appear in the configured list.

✅ Success Indicator

You see your strategy in the configured strategies list, ready to edit settings.

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Part 4 — Understanding the Strategy Settings Window (So You Don’t Panic)

This window can look intimidating because it has many fields.

Here’s the truth:

Most fields are already correct.

You only need to focus on a few critical ones:

1. License Key

2. Account selection

3. Strategy-specific “risk/quantity” settings (only if applicable)

4. Enable checkbox

Everything else should be left default unless support tells you otherwise.

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Part 5 — Entering Your License Key (Step-by-Step)

Licensing is built into every TradingBoss strategy.

If licensing fails, the strategy will show UNLICENSED and refuse to trade.

Step 1 — Find the License Key Field

Inside the strategy settings window:

Look for a group/section labeled something like:

• “License”

• “Group 0. License”

• “License Key”

Screenshot description

You should see a text field labeled “License Key” where you can paste a long code.

Step 2 — Paste Carefully (No Spaces)

1. Click into the License Key field

2. Paste your key exactly

3. Check for:

   • no spaces before or after

   • no missing characters

⚠️ Common Mistake

Copying an extra space at the end. This is surprisingly common and causes “validation failed.”

Step 3 — Apply and Close

1. Click Apply (if available)

2. Click OK

Now verify license status.

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Step 4 — Verify “LICENSE VALID” (How to Check)

In Control Center:

1. Click New

2. Click Output

3. Look for licensing messages

✅ Good messages often include:

• LICENSE VALID

• Licensed

• ACTIVE

❌ Bad messages include:

• No license key provided

• License validation failed

• Maximum accounts allowed

• Connection error (to license server)

✅ Success Indicator

You see confirmation that licensing is valid AND strategy status is not UNLICENSED.

📝 Note

Licensing also checks:

• your subscription status

• your machine ID (VPS binding)

• account limits

• key correctness

Full details and every error message are covered in licensing.md.

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Part 6 — Selecting the Correct Account (Most Important Beginner Step)

This is where many beginners accidentally sabotage themselves.

If you select:

• the wrong prop account, or

• SIM101,

then the strategy will trade somewhere you didn’t intend.

Step 1 — Find the Account Dropdown

Inside strategy settings:

Look for “Account” dropdown.

Step 2 — Choose Your Real Prop Account

Select the account that matches your prop firm account.

✅ Success Indicator

Your real account name appears selected (not SIM101).

⚠️ Common Mistake

Only seeing SIM101.

That means your broker connection is not active or not loading accounts. Fix the connection first (see broker-connection.md).

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Part 7 — Enabling the Strategy (Turning It On for Real)

Adding a strategy is not enough. It must be enabled.

Step 1 — Enable Checkbox

In the strategy settings window, look for:

• a checkbox labeled Enabled

1. Check Enabled

2. Click OK

What should happen next

The chart will update with strategy status indicators.

Some strategies show status text at the top-right of the chart.

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Part 8 — Strategy Status Indicators (What They Mean + What To Do)

TradingBoss strategies may display status like:

ACTIVE

Meaning: Licensed and functioning.

Ready to trade when conditions appear.

What you do: Nothing. Let it run.

SCANNING

Meaning: Looking for setups.

It is “awake” and watching the market.

What you do: Nothing. This is normal.

WARMUP

Meaning: Strategy is initializing / building internal state.

Pulse may show warmup behavior.

What you do: Wait. Do not restart repeatedly.

💡 Tip

Warmup does not mean broken. It means the strategy is preparing itself to trade safely.

IN TRADE

Meaning: A position is currently open.

What you do:

• Normally nothing.

• Only intervene if you have a serious reason (covered in daily operations and troubleshooting).

DONE FOR DAY / SESSION COMPLETE

Meaning: Strategy reached its daily trade limit or completed its session rules.

What you do: Nothing. It will reset automatically with the daily refresh.

✅ IMPORTANT

With the new auto-refresh system, “done for day” is not a problem.

The strategy will handle the next day automatically as long as it remains enabled and the VPS remains running.

UNLICENSED

Meaning: The strategy is refusing to trade due to license validation issue.

What you do:

• Go to licensing.md and troubleshooting.md

• Verify key, internet access, machine binding, account limit

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Part 9 — Strategy-Specific Setup Notes (So You Don’t Mix Them Up)

This section gives you “setup correctness rules” for each strategy.

1) FastPass (Aggressive, Eval-Only)

Purpose: Attempt to pass evaluations in one trade. High risk.

Required Setup

• Instrument: NQ

• Timeframe: 1 Minute

• Trades/day: 1

• Intended account: Evaluation only (do not use on funded/PA)

What “correct” looks like

• Chart title shows NQ (not MNQ)

• 1-minute candles

• Strategy enabled

• License valid

• It will trade only in its configured window (typically around 9:45 ET)

⚠️ Warning

FastPass is designed to pass or fail quickly. Do not use this on funded accounts.

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2) MONEYBAGS (One Trade Per Day, 20 Tick Target)

Purpose: One trade/day targeting 20 ticks.

Required Setup

• Instrument: NQ or MNQ

• Timeframe: 30 Seconds

• Trades/day: 1

• Target: 20 ticks

• Stop: 100 ticks

What “correct” looks like

• Chart shows 30-second bars (not 1 minute)

• Strategy status shows active/scanning

• It will not spam trades — it’s designed for one trade/day

💡 Tip

MNQ is usually safer for beginners because tick value is smaller.

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3) Blitz (Power Hour, High-Quality Filters)

Purpose: Precision trade during a time window with quality filters.

Required Setup

• Instrument: NQ or MNQ

• Timeframe: 3 Minutes

• Trades/day: typically 1

• Trades in a “power hour” style window (default is defined in strategy)

What “correct” looks like

• 3-minute chart

• Strategy enabled

• It may not trade every day (because filters can reject low-quality conditions)

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4) Pulse (Higher Frequency Scalping)

Purpose: More frequent opportunities throughout the day.

Required Setup

• Instrument: NQ or MNQ

• Timeframe: 1 Minute

What “correct” looks like

• 1-minute chart

• Strategy enabled

• Status may show scanning/warmup initially

• It may take multiple trades depending on settings

⚠️ Hedging warning

Running multiple strategies on the same prop account can cause hedging violations. Best practice is one strategy per account.

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5) 60M (TradingBoss60MES) — Trend Following, ATR-Based Dynamic Sizing

Purpose: Trend-following logic with dynamic sizing based on volatility (ATR).

Required Setup

• Instrument: ES or MES

• Timeframe: 3 Minutes (yes, even though logic is based on 60-minute structure)

• Strategy calculates contract size automatically based on risk-per-trade

What “correct” looks like

• 3-minute ES/MES chart

• Risk-per-trade setting exists (dollar risk)

• Strategy waits for high probability signals + time window

💡 Tip

Beginners typically prefer MES (micro) to reduce volatility.

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Part 10 — Saving Your Workspace (So You Don’t Lose Setup)

This is one of the highest leverage habits you can build in NinjaTrader.

If you don’t save workspaces, you might:

• close a chart accidentally,

• restart NinjaTrader,

• and lose your entire configuration.

Step-by-step: Save Workspace

1. In Control Center, click Workspaces

2. Click Save Workspace

3. Name it clearly, for example:

   • TB - Moneybags MNQ

   • TB - 60M MES

   • TB - Pulse MNQ

✅ Success Indicator

After restarting NinjaTrader, you can load the workspace and charts reappear.

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Part 11 — Verifying Everything Is Working (End-to-End Confirmation)

This is where you confirm you didn’t miss anything.

Verification Checklist

✅ Broker connection:

• Connection dot is green

• Accounts appear

✅ Chart:

• Correct instrument

• Correct timeframe

• Candles updating

✅ Strategy:

• Added to chart

• License key entered

• Account selected correctly

• Strategy enabled

• Status shows ACTIVE/SCANNING/WARMUP (not UNLICENSED)

✅ Output/Log:

• No repeating red errors

• License validation message looks good

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Common Beginner Mistakes (And Exact Fixes)

Mistake 1 — Wrong timeframe

Symptom: “It isn’t trading” or behavior feels wrong.

Fix: Rebuild chart using the exact timeframe required.

Mistake 2 — Wrong instrument (NQ vs MNQ or ES vs MES)

Symptom: Risk feels way too big, or strategy doesn’t match intended setup.

Fix: Confirm instrument symbol at the top of chart.

Mistake 3 — Selected SIM101 by accident

Symptom: Trades occur but don’t affect prop account.

Fix: Edit strategy → Account dropdown → choose correct prop account.

Mistake 4 — License key pasted incorrectly

Symptom: UNLICENSED or validation failed.

Fix: Paste again carefully, verify Output window.

Mistake 5 — Strategy is added but not enabled (gray)

Symptom: “It’s just sitting there.”

Fix: Right-click chart → Strategies → check Enabled.

Mistake 6 — Running multiple strategies on one prop account

Symptom: Risk spikes, hedging violations.

Fix: Use one strategy per account.

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“If You See X, Do Y” Quick Guide

If you see…	Do this…
Strategy shows UNLICENSED	Follow licensing.md + troubleshooting.md
Chart candles not moving	Check connection (green), reconnect only if needed
Account dropdown only shows SIM	Fix broker connection first
Strategy is gray/inactive	Enable it in strategy settings
No trades taken	Verify time window + probability filters + correct chart setup
Errors in Output window	Copy exact error text, follow troubleshooting symptom match

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Summary

You now know how to fully set up a TradingBoss strategy inside NinjaTrader:

• Create the correct chart (instrument + timeframe)

• Add the strategy

• Enter license key and verify validation

• Select the correct prop account

• Enable strategy

• Interpret status states correctly

• Save workspace and confirm persistence

• Verify the system is running end-to-end

✅ Reminder

With auto-refresh daily, you don’t need a manual morning routine. Your system is designed to run continuously on the VPS.

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Next Steps

1. Read strategy-reference.md next This is the deep guide to all five strategies:

   • who each is for,

   • how each works,

   • what you can adjust safely,

   • what you should never change,

   • and detailed risk examples with real numbers.

2. Then read licensing.md So if you ever see UNLICENSED, you know exactly what it means and how to fix it.