Trade a Topstep account from Sierra Chart
TopstepX runs on the ProjectX Gateway API and Sierra Chart doesn't speak it. Here's the free mirror that connects them — and the Topstep rules that decide whether you're allowed to use it.
You can trade a Topstep (TopstepX) account from Sierra Chart, but not directly: TopstepX's order surface is the ProjectX Gateway API, and Sierra Chart has no native connector for it. A local mirror closes the gap — you place the order on the Sierra Chart chart or DOM, and it copies that order to your TopstepX account through the API. It generates nothing on its own. Whether you're permitted to run it depends on which Topstep account you're on: the Trading Combine and Express Funded Account allow ProjectX API automation, the Live Funded Account prohibits it.
Which Topstep accounts allow automation
Topstep's rules are stage-gated, and they tighten at the live stage rather than relaxing. Every row below links to Topstep's own help center — this is not a review site's summary.
| Stage | Environment | API automation | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trading Combine | Simulated | Allowed | Trading Combine parameters |
| Express Funded (XFA) | Simulated — but pays real money | Allowed | Express Funded parameters |
| Live Funded (LFA) | Live brokerage | Prohibited | Live Funded parameters |
The call-up is not declinable
“No, it is not possible to stay in an Express Funded Account and decline to move to a Live Funded Account. Once our Risk Managers determine you're ready to move to a Live Funded Account, your options are to make the switch from Express to Live or close your Express Funded Account.”
The Express Funded Account is simulated but pays real money — and it isn't somewhere you get to stay. When Topstep's risk team promotes you, every Express account closes and ProjectX API automation becomes prohibited. The permission ends exactly when your trading starts working well enough to get noticed. That's a fuse, not a ban, but you should know it's there before you plan around it.
Express → Live Funded FAQYour own machine only — no VPS
“All trading activity must originate from your personal device. The use of VPS, VPNs, and remote servers is prohibited by Topstep's Terms of Use.”
Remote infrastructure may do historical data storage, research and backtesting, and read-only dashboards. It may not place, modify, cancel, trigger or relay an order. Run the mirror locally on the machine you trade from. If a paid bridge product routes your orders through its cloud, that isn't a convenience feature — it's a rule violation with your account attached.
TopstepX API accessWhere a manual mirror sits: genuinely unsettled
A manual mirror is a human clicking and software relaying. Whether that counts as "automated trading via the ProjectX API" under the Live Funded rule is not something Topstep has published an answer to, and anyone telling you confidently either way is guessing. On the Combine and Express Funded Account it's moot — automated strategies are permitted outright, so a mirror that generates nothing is comfortably inside the rules. On a Live Funded Account, email Topstep and get the answer in writing before you connect anything. The risk of guessing wrong is your account.
All quotes retrieved 2026-08-30 from Topstep’s own documentation. Prop rules move — check the linked pages before you act on them.
Ways to connect
Sierra Chart → TopstepX (the free mirror)
A local process watches for an order you place on the Sierra Chart chart or DOM and submits the matching order to the ProjectX Gateway API against your TopstepX account. You keep Sierra Chart's ladder, footprint and chart; Topstep gets the fill.
This is the free script. It copies human decisions — it contains no strategy and cannot open a position on its own.
TradingView → Topstep
Route TradingView alerts to the ProjectX API via webhook. A different shape of problem — the alert generates the order rather than a person — so read the stage rules above before using it on a funded account.
Copy trading across Topstep accounts
Mirror one account to several evaluation accounts through the same API session. Subject to the same stage rules, and to Topstep's prohibition on high-frequency trading.
Step by step
- 1
Check which stage your account is on
Trading Combine or Express Funded: ProjectX API automation is permitted. Live Funded: stop and get Topstep's answer in writing before you connect anything. This step is first for a reason.
- 2
Get your TopstepX (ProjectX) API key
Enable API access in your TopstepX dashboard and generate a key. It authenticates every request the mirror makes. Treat it like a password — it can place orders, and Topstep does not reverse errant orders caused by your code or a third-party bridge. The subscription is $29/mo, or $14.50/mo with the code `topstep`.
- 3
Run the mirror on your own machine
Start it locally with your API key. Not a VPS, not a cloud box, not a remote server — Topstep requires all trading activity to originate from your personal device.
- 4
Dry-run it on a Practice Account
There is no ProjectX sandbox; Topstep's own recommendation is to point a Practice Account at the same endpoints. Place orders in Sierra Chart, confirm size and direction match on the TopstepX side, confirm a cancel cancels. Do this before an evaluation dollar is involved.
- 5
Know what happens when the two sides disagree
The failure mode that matters is Sierra Chart thinking you're flat while TopstepX thinks you're long two — after a disconnect, a rejection, or a fill that lands while the link is down. Know how to flatten from the TopstepX interface by hand, reconcile before you trust it, and never assume the sides agree because they did five minutes ago.
Sierra Chart → TopstepX mirror
Open-source mirror that copies the orders you place in Sierra Chart to a Topstep (TopstepX / ProjectX) account. Execution plumbing only: no strategy, no edge, it cannot open a position on its own. Runs locally, MIT-licensed.
FAQ
Does Topstep allow automated trading?
It depends on the stage. On the Trading Combine and the Express Funded Account, automated strategies via the TopstepX / ProjectX API are explicitly permitted. On the Live Funded Account, automated trading via the ProjectX API is prohibited. The rules tighten at the live stage rather than relaxing — see the table above, which links to each of Topstep's own pages.
Can I use the mirror on a Live Funded Account?
Unclear, and we won't guess for you. The LFA rule names ProjectX API automation; a manual mirror is a human clicking and software relaying, and Topstep has not published a ruling on that specific case. Email Topstep and get it in writing before you connect an LFA.
Can Sierra Chart connect to Topstep directly?
For charting and market data, yes. For placing orders on a TopstepX account, no — that requires something that speaks the ProjectX Gateway API, which is what this mirror does.
Can I run it on a VPS?
No. Topstep requires all trading activity to originate from your personal device, and prohibits VPS, VPNs and remote servers under its Terms of Use. Run the mirror on the machine you trade from.
How do I get a Topstep API key?
Enable API access in your TopstepX dashboard and generate a key. It authenticates the mirror to the ProjectX Gateway. See the step-by-step guide.
What does the ProjectX API cost?
$29 per month, or $14.50 per month with the code `topstep` — a permanent 50% discount.
Is the mirror script really free?
Yes, and it stays free. It's execution plumbing, not an edge, so we open-source it. Paid bridges charge a monthly fee for the same wire. What's paid on the desk is the validated research tooling, never the plumbing.
Get the mirror
Free, open-source, and documented. Drop your email to get it the moment it ships, plus how the rest of the desk is built.