Sierra Chart to TopstepX: The Free Trade Copier, Set Up Step by Step

The written companion to the video above: how to trade a TopstepX account from Sierra Chart with a free, open-source trade copier. The setup, step by step, what it really costs each month, and the limits you need to know before you trust it.

Short answer: yes, you can trade TopstepX from Sierra Chart, but not natively. Topstep gives Sierra Chart no order connection and no data feed. A free mirror copies the orders you click in Sierra Chart to TopstepX through the ProjectX API. All-in, it runs about $64 a month before you buy any eval.

Topstep doesn't give you the Sierra Chart connection, so I built one. It runs on your own Windows machine and copies the orders you place in Sierra Chart over to TopstepX. You don't have to write any code. The code is on GitHub, and it's free.

I run it every day. One Sierra Chart instance, Rithmic's own copier for my Lucid accounts, and this mirror for Topstep: ten accounts at two firms, traded from one chart. The mirror is the leg that reaches the one platform Rithmic can't.

If you want the full breakdown of which Topstep accounts allow this, that's its own post. This one is the build.

What this trade copier actually does

One click in Sierra Chart creates the matching order in TopstepX. You place a limit on the DOM, and the same limit shows up on TopstepX. When you cancel it in Sierra Chart it gets cancelled on TopstepX, and when you drag it, it moves there too. A bracket works the same way: when the target fills and Sierra Chart cancels the stop, the stop on TopstepX gets cancelled as well.

It runs one way. Sierra Chart is the side you control and TopstepX follows it. Nothing comes back the other way.

There are two pieces:

It handles market, limit and stop orders. Anything more exotic (stop-limit, trailing stop, MIT) is logged and skipped rather than guessed at.

A mirror, not a trading strategy

This is the distinction that matters most, so it goes near the top. The copier can't decide when to enter a trade. It waits for you to place an order and translates it into the format ProjectX expects. With no order from you, it has nothing to copy.

That's also what separates it from an automated trading system, and prop firm rulebooks treat the two very differently. If you want Sierra Chart to place the orders itself, that's a different build, with its own safety requirements.

What it costs to trade TopstepX from Sierra Chart

The code is free, but running it isn't. Topstep doesn't provide a data feed into Sierra Chart. If Topstep is your only account, you still need Sierra's own data before you have a chart and a DOM to trade from.

Prices checked 2026-09-10. They change, so check the pages.

One trap before you trust that $64. The exchanges only sell the $13.50 non-professional feed if you have a real brokerage account on file. It doesn't have to be funded or traded, it just has to exist. If all your trading lives in prop accounts and you've never opened one, that feed costs $145 a month instead. Opening a brokerage account is the cheap fix. I cover it in the Sierra Chart package guide.

What I actually run is the Integrated Advanced package (Package 11), because I use a lot of order-flow tools like Numbers Bars, the footprint and the DOM. That's $46 a month, or $39.10 paid quarterly, so my version comes to about $67. It's what I use, not necessarily what you need. The package guide walks through which one fits.

Check Topstep's rule for your account stage first

Do this before you connect anything. Topstep's automation rules depend on the account stage, and they get tighter at the stage most people assume would be looser.

The Live Funded page draws a narrow line:

"Automated strategies are permitted, but Topstep cannot help set them up or troubleshoot them."

"Automated trading via the ProjectX API is prohibited in the LFA."

Those are Topstep's rules, not my interpretation. Whether a human clicking plus software relaying counts as "automated trading via the ProjectX API" is a question Topstep hasn't answered publicly. If you're on an LFA, email them and get the answer in writing before you connect it. The rules post goes deeper, including why the call-up from XFA to LFA can't be declined.

Topstep also requires every order to come from your own machine:

"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."

(TopstepX API access)

This mirror runs on the same Windows machine as your local copy of Sierra Chart, so it meets that requirement. A bridge that routes your orders through someone's cloud server doesn't.

Rule quotes retrieved 2026-08-30. Prop rules change, so read the linked pages before you act on them.

How to set it up, step by step

The README has every detail. Here's the path, in order. Most of it is configuration, not coding.

1. Get the code

Clone the repo inside your Sierra Chart install folder, named sc-topstepx-mirror. Every default in the repo assumes that layout, so if you follow it you never have to make up a path.

cd C:\SierraChart
git clone https://github.com/drewautomates/optd-sierrachart-topstepx-mirror.git sc-topstepx-mirror

You'll need Python 3.9 or newer. The two packages it uses install themselves the first time you run start-bridge.bat.

2. Get your ProjectX API key

In the ProjectX dashboard, subscribe to API access, enter topstep as the discount code, and link your TopstepX profile. That generates the key that connects the two platforms.

This key can place trades. Treat it like a password: never put it in a public repo, and never show it on screen.

3. Fill in the two config files

Copy the two example files in bridge\:

cd sc-topstepx-mirror\bridge
copy manual_bridge.example.env manual_bridge.env
copy manual_config.example.yaml manual_config.yaml

Put your TopstepX username and API key in manual_bridge.env. Then get the id of the account you want to trade:

python manual_bridge.py --list-accounts

Paste that id into manual_config.yaml. It's a real account, so any order the bridge sends to it is real.

4. Map your contracts (and remember the roll)

The config maps each symbol to a ProjectX contract id. One detail catches people: on ProjectX the full-size E-mini roots are EP and ENQ, not ES and NQ. The micros keep their tickers, MES and MNQ. To get current ids, use ProjectX's contract search.

Contract ids change at every roll. The roll checklist is three edits: the contracts: map in the YAML, the study's Scan Symbols input, and a bridge restart.

5. Run the doctor

python manual_bridge.py --doctor

It checks your credentials, config, folders, contract months and TopstepX account, and prints PASS or FAIL for each. It also prints the exact outbox path the study needs. That path is the one thing that reliably goes wrong, so paste it rather than typing it. Don't go on until everything says PASS.

6. Build the study in Sierra Chart

Move the two study files, Manual_Mirror.cpp and tsx_manual_emit.h, into the ACS_Source folder inside your Sierra Chart install. The repo ships a deploy script that does this for you. Then in Sierra Chart: Analysis → Build Custom Studies DLL → Build.

This is the most technical step in the setup, and it's still just moving files and clicking Build. If the build throws errors, paste them into Claude Code or ChatGPT and it'll walk you to the fix. If you've never built a study before, this walkthrough covers the compile path.

7. Add it to one chart

Open the chart you trade from, select the trade account you're mirroring from, and add the TopstepX Manual Mirror study. Paste the outbox path from step 5, list the exact symbols to watch in Scan Symbols, and leave Enable set to No for now.

Run exactly one copy of the study per Sierra Chart instance. It refuses a second one.

Every trading day

Start the bridge by double-clicking start-bridge.bat. It runs the doctor first and won't start if anything fails, so a broken config can never look like a working one. Confirm you're flat on both sides, then set the study's Enable to Yes. Only orders placed after that moment get mirrored.

Test it on your Topstep practice account first

ProjectX has no sandbox, so Topstep tells you to test on a practice account. It uses the same endpoints, so it behaves the same way as an eval or funded account. This is where you should start.

Here's what I ran in the video, and what to check each time:

1. A limit that rests. Place a one-contract limit far from the market. It should show up as a working order on TopstepX. Cancel it in Sierra Chart and it should disappear from TopstepX.
2. A fill. Get filled on Sierra Chart and confirm the size and direction match on TopstepX.
3. A bracket (OCO). Put a stop and a target on the position. When one side fills, Sierra Chart cancels the other, and the copy on TopstepX should be cancelled too.
4. A moved stop. Trail the stop up in Sierra Chart and watch the price change on TopstepX.

Place every one of those orders from the Sierra Chart side. Anything you do inside TopstepX is invisible to Sierra Chart.

Before you trust it: TopstepX is the record of truth

Because the mirror only runs one way, if the two sides ever disagree, TopstepX is your record of truth. Sierra Chart only knows what you did. TopstepX knows what actually happened on your account.

They can drift even if you follow every rule. I've had partial fills and limit orders that didn't match once they actually executed on the Topstep side. A Sierra Chart limit can fill while its TopstepX copy doesn't, just because of where each one sits in the queue. A crashed bridge or a failed API call can mean an order never reaches Topstep at all.

So:

• Keep the TopstepX portal open the whole time you trade. It's how you see what's really there.
• Know where Flatten All is. It's your emergency stop, and it works whether or not the bridge is running.
• To stop mirroring right now, set the study's Enable to No. Don't just kill the bridge. Sierra Chart keeps writing to the outbox either way, so the study is the real switch.

What the mirror doesn't fix

Since it's just a mirror, it isn't a fully reconciled trading connection. Know these limits before you trade size through it:

• No read-back. The bridge never reads your TopstepX position back into Sierra Chart. The TopstepX portal is still the authority.
• It can't tell your orders from a study's orders. If you run an automated study in the same Sierra Chart instance, on the same account and symbol, those orders get mirrored too. Keep automated trading in a separate Sierra Chart installation, or put it in a different chartbook and set Scope To This Chartbook to Yes. Otherwise the manual mirror quietly stops being manual.
• Partial fills aren't mirrored. The TopstepX copy stays at full size.
• OCO isn't linked on the TopstepX side. The cancel travels through the mirror, so for a brief moment (one scan plus one API round-trip) the sibling order on TopstepX could fill on its own.
• It doesn't give you an edge. It moves one order from the platform you already trade on to the account where you want to use it. It can't tell you whether that trade is any good.

Why the code is free

The ProjectX API has public documentation, and anyone can build this. I'd rather there be one standard project people can inspect, test and improve than another black box. If you find a problem, open an issue. If you can make it better, send the change.

Paid versions of this plumbing do exist. SierraStep charges $20 a month (checked 2026-08-30) and connects through Sierra Chart's DTC server as a separate process. That's a reasonable design, and it has one real advantage: it survives a study reload. This one runs inside Sierra Chart as a study, so it needs no DTC server and sees each order's state change directly, but it goes down if Sierra Chart does. Both are valid trade-offs, and now you know which one you're choosing.

This is one leg of the desk, the plumbing. It's free, it runs on your machine, and it does one job. The other leg is proving the trades are worth mirroring in the first place, and that's where most of the work on this desk goes.

FAQ

Can you use Sierra Chart with Topstep? Yes, for charting and order entry, but not natively. Topstep's platform is TopstepX, and Sierra Chart has no built-in connection to it. A mirror like this one copies the orders you place in Sierra Chart to TopstepX through the ProjectX API.

Does Topstep give you a data feed for Sierra Chart? No. You need Sierra Chart's own data. The Denali CME feed with market depth is $13.50 a month (non-pro, with a brokerage account on file), and it needs one of the Integrated packages (10, 11 or 12).

How much does it cost to trade TopstepX from Sierra Chart? About $64 a month: Sierra Chart Package 10 at $36, Denali CME data at $13.50, and ProjectX API access at $14.50 with the code topstep. That's before any eval fees. Without a brokerage account on file, the data line is $145 instead.

Is this a trade copier? Yes, a one-way one. It copies the orders you place by hand in Sierra Chart to a TopstepX account. It doesn't generate trades, and nothing flows back from TopstepX.

Can I test it on the Topstep practice account? Yes, and you should start there. ProjectX has no sandbox, and the practice account uses the same endpoints as eval and funded accounts.

Can I run it on a VPS? No. Topstep requires all trading activity to come from your personal device, and VPS, VPNs and remote servers are prohibited. Run it on the machine you trade on.

Is it allowed on a Live Funded Account? Topstep prohibits automated trading via the ProjectX API on the LFA, and hasn't said publicly whether a manual mirror counts. Email Topstep and get an answer in writing before you connect an LFA. On the Combine and XFA, automation is allowed.

Do I need to know C++ or Python? No. You copy files, fill in a config, and click Build in Sierra Chart. If the build throws an error, paste it into Claude Code or ChatGPT.

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Get the code. Free, open source, MIT: github.com/drewautomates/optd-sierrachart-topstepx-mirror. Test it on a practice account before you trust it. Next up is the other prop firm connection on my desk, trading Lucid accounts from Sierra Chart over Rithmic, where no custom mirror is needed. For more of the parts nobody puts in the setup guide, the newsletter is below. Not signals, not hype.