How FirmGated works — start here.
New to FirmGated? This page explains what it does, how to get set up, and where to go for help. No technical background needed.
Start Here
FirmGated sits between your trading alerts and your broker. When your chart fires an alert, FirmGated catches it, checks it against your rules, and then — if everything looks good — sends the trade to your account automatically.
FirmGated does not hold your money, pick your trades, or replace your broker. Think of it like a security guard at the door: every alert has to pass the check before it gets through. You set the rules. FirmGated enforces them.
Guides
Pick whatever you need below. If you are just starting out, go in order — connect your account, set up your alerts, then test before you go live with real money.
Overview
New here? Start with this. It explains what FirmGated does and how to get set up.
TradingView Setup
How to connect your TradingView alerts to FirmGated so trades happen automatically.
Signal Format
The exact message your alert needs to send so FirmGated knows what trade to place.
Prop Firm Accounts
How to protect your funded account — daily limits, drawdown rules, and trading hours explained simply.
How Trades Get Placed
What FirmGated checks between your alert firing and your trade actually hitting your broker.
Before You Go Live
Things to check and test before sending real alerts to a live or funded account.
Alert Limits
How many alerts FirmGated accepts and what happens if too many come in at once.
FAQ
Quick answers to the most common questions traders ask.
Glossary
Every word on this platform explained in plain English. No jargon.
Tradovate Connection
How connecting your Tradovate account works right now and what's coming next.
Platform Updates
When FirmGated does maintenance and how that affects your trading.
What Your Alert Needs to Say
When your chart fires an alert, it sends a message to FirmGated. That message needs to include a few things so FirmGated knows what trade to place:
| Field | Required | What it means |
|---|---|---|
ticker | Yes | What you want to trade — for example, MNQ or ES. |
action | Yes | Which direction — either buy or sell. |
qty | Yes | How many contracts you want to trade. |
id / positionRef | Recommended | A unique label for this alert so FirmGated does not accidentally place the same trade twice. |
{
"ticker": "MNQ",
"action": "buy",
"qty": 1,
"id": "tv-2026-04-27-001"
}How Strategies and Accounts Connect
- A strategy is like a rulebook. It has its own unique link that your alerts send to, and it decides whether each trade is allowed to go through.
- A route connects your strategy to a real account — your broker account, a practice account, or a funded evaluation account.
- Practice accounts and real accounts are always kept separate so you can test without risking real money.
- Every alert and every trade is logged so you can go back and see exactly what happened and when.
Protecting Your Account
- Before any trade goes through, FirmGated checks it against the rules you set — daily loss limits, drawdown rules, trading hours, and more.
- Your broker login is stored in encrypted form and is only used in the moment a trade actually needs to be placed.
- Your account details and settings are never visible on public pages — they stay private to you.
- Always test your setup on a practice account before you switch to a real or funded account.
Before You Go Live
- FirmGated is designed for alert-based trading — not for strategies that need to fire trades in under a second. If you need ultra-fast execution, this is not the right tool for that.
- Some broker connections are still being built out. Check the connection page to see what is available for your broker right now.
- If you trade a prop firm account, make sure you have your firm, your account phase, and your account ID all set up correctly so the protections actually work.
- Before you send real alerts to a live or funded account, test everything on a practice account first. No exceptions.