Terminology
This guide defines key terms and concepts used throughout the Tradovate Partner API documentation. Understanding these terms will help you navigate the API more effectively and make better integration decisions.
Detailed Definitions
Core Concepts
Entity A data type in the Tradovate API. Accounts, Positions, Orders, Fills, Risk Categories, and other data types are all entities. Each repository available in the Query Builder represents one entity type.
Organization Your business within the Tradovate system, represented by a set of entities configured to suit your needs. When you view data in the Admin Dashboards or via the API, you see only the subset of data partitioned to your organization.
Middleware A software application that you create and host to interface with the Tradovate API. Your middleware handles the business logic between your platform and Tradovate’s services.
Environments
See the Environments page for detailed environment URLs and configuration.
Demo Account An account on the Demo (simulation) environment. You typically provision Demo accounts for your users. Users who register directly also receive a Demo account by default.
Demo Environment The trading environment where users trade on their Demo accounts. Most of your users trade exclusively in this environment. The exception is users who graduate to a funded account.
Account States
Account states help you understand and manage your users’ trading accounts effectively:
SOD State (Start of Day State) The initial state of an account at the beginning of a trading session. You can return accounts to their SOD state on a given date to reset accounts or handle specific trading scenarios.
Session Date vs Calendar Date
- Session Date: A trading session-based date system used for account state management, different from regular calendar dates.
- Calendar Date: The standard calendar date system.
Risk Management
Risk management terms help you understand how to control and monitor trading risks:
Risk Category An account risk classification system that determines trading permissions and restrictions. You can use risk categories to:
- Apply different rules to individual accounts
- Halt trading for entire categories in emergencies
- Upgrade accounts to new types
- Adjust baseline risk rules
Max-Net Liquidity The maximum net liquidity limit for Demo accounts. You can adjust these limits via the API to control how much risk your users can take.
Halted-Trading Category An emergency trading stop mechanism. You can apply it to individual accounts or entire categories to stop trading in emergency situations.
Trading Operations
These terms relate to how you’ll handle trading operations in your integration:
Automated Orders
Orders placed via code or automated processes (like trade bots). You MUST include the isAutomated flag set to true in the request body. This is required by exchange policies and helps distinguish between human and automated trading.
Market Data Subscription Real-time market data feeds that require proper subscription management and renewal handling. You’ll need to manage these subscriptions carefully to ensure your users get the data they need.
Non-Professional Market Data Agreement
A document that users must sign before they can receive market data subscriptions. Users in your organization see this agreement on their first login. Your middleware detects the signed event (via adminAlertSignal) and assigns the user a market data subscription. See Create and Manage Users and Accounts for the detection workflow.
Tradovate Subscription A subscription you assign to a user that grants access to the NinjaTrader and Tradovate platforms. Tradovate subscriptions auto-renew until you cancel them. See Revoke and Cancel Users and Accounts for cancellation details.
Membership See Tradovate Subscription.
Time-Sensitive Operations
Some operations have critical timing requirements:
End-of-Month Processing Critical timing windows for market data subscription renewals and account management operations. You’ll need to handle these carefully to avoid issues.
Maintenance Windows Scheduled system maintenance periods that may impact API availability and functionality. You should plan your operations around these windows.
WebSocket Operations
WebSocket terms help you understand real-time communication:
Heartbeat
A client-side mechanism to keep WebSocket connections alive. You send empty array frames ([]) every 2.5 seconds to prevent disconnection.
User Sync Request
A WebSocket endpoint (user/syncrequest) for real-time user data synchronization and updates. Essential for keeping your application in sync with user changes.
API Conventions
These terms relate to API authentication and usage:
Access Token The authentication credential required for API access. You obtain it through the standard Access procedure.
Bearer Token
The authorization method using the access token in the Authorization: Bearer \<token\> header format.