summary: the fastest path from signed up to live algo — what you need, what to do in order, and which article to open for each step.
this is the front door for algo automation. 4 steps, 4 articles, one live algo at the end.
if you already have an algo running and something's broken, skip straight to → my algo didn't trade — start here.
before you start
3 things need to be in place before you touch the dashboard:
a TradingView plan that supports webhooks. Essential (formerly Pro) or higher. free and Basic plans don't have the webhook field — you'll get halfway through alert setup and hit a wall.
a backtested and optimized algo. run your algo through TradingView's Strategy Tester first. if you automate before you're happy with the win rate, profit factor, and drawdown, you're automating a losing strategy.
a supported broker account. Tradovate, NinjaTrader, or any ProjectX-based prop firm (including Topstep and TopstepX). see → which broker accounts work with edgeful algo automation?
if any of those 3 aren't ready, fix them first — the rest of the setup won't hold together without them.
how the chain works — 30 seconds
your algo fires a signal on TradingView → TradingView sends a webhook to edgeful → edgeful routes the order to your broker → your broker executes the trade.
each link is independent. when something goes wrong, you narrow down which link broke — that's what the troubleshooting flow below is built for.
the 4 steps
step 1 — connect your broker. in edgeful, go to algos → dashboard. click connect Tradovate/NinjaTrader or connect ProjectX, log into your broker, approve the connection, and confirm the status shows connected in green.
full walkthrough — including 2FA pitfalls and the ProjectX errorCode=3 fix: → using the algo dashboard
step 2 — create a strategy. in the same dashboard, click create strategy. give it a clear name (e.g. "NQ ORB live"), pick your broker account, and pick market or limit for entries. the dashboard generates a unique webhook URL and a JSON message for that strategy. copy both — you need them in step 3.
one strategy per broker account. 3 accounts = 3 strategies = 3 separate TradingView alerts.
same article covers the walkthrough: → using the algo dashboard
step 3 — build your TradingView alert. add your edgeful algo indicator to a chart, open the alert dialog, paste the webhook URL into the Webhook URL field, toggle the webhook notification on, and paste the JSON message into the message field. match your chart timeframe to your algo's timeframe.
full walkthrough, including what to do after a settings or script update: → setting up TradingView alerts for algo automation
step 4 — verify it's working. run the 5-minute SIM pre-flight before trusting the algo with real money. point your strategy at a SIM/demo account, wait for a real signal to fire, and confirm the notification log at edgeful.com/algos-automation/trade-notifications shows a row with status filled.
full walkthrough: → test your webhook before going live. for what each log status means, see → understanding the algo notification log.
if something breaks
when a trade doesn't execute, the problem is always in one of 3 places — the algo didn't find a setup, TradingView didn't fire the alert, or the webhook didn't reach edgeful.
start here: → my algo didn't trade — start here. the article walks you through 3 diagnostic questions and points you to the right fix.
if you're already looking at an exact error string in the notification log, jump straight to the → algo error message decoder — every common error is indexed there with a direct fix.
going deeper
once you've got an algo running, the reference article is worth a read for background — how TP and SL exits are delivered (they're always market orders, not sitting at your broker), where slippage comes from on exits, and what happens when you trade manually on the same account the algo is on.
related articles
→ using the algo dashboard — connect your broker and create strategies
→ setting up TradingView alerts for algo automation — build the alert that fires your strategy
→ test your webhook before going live — the 5-minute SIM pre-flight
→ position sizing and how edgeful uses strategy.position_size — one input controls contracts per trade; worked example with numbers
→ understanding the algo notification log — read the trade log and spot failed or rejected trades
→ my algo didn't trade — start here — diagnostic flow when something doesn't execute
→ how the algo automation chain works — the under-the-hood reference
→ algo error message decoder — every common error string and how to fix it