summary: when your broker shows disconnected in the algo dashboard — how to tell, why it happens, and exactly how to reconnect for Tradovate, NinjaTrader, and ProjectX/TopstepX.
how to tell your broker is disconnected
the algo dashboard is the source of truth. open it and look at the connected trading accounts table — if the broker's status is red and reads disconnected, the connection has dropped and any active algos won't be able to send orders.
if your algo dashboard shows everything connected but a trade still didn't fire, that's a different problem — start with my algo didn't trade — start here.
the universal reconnect flow
the same 4 steps work for every broker. try them in order — most disconnects clear at step 1.
click the red "reconnect" button in the connected trading accounts table next to the disconnected broker
wait a few seconds — the status should flip from red to green if the session refreshed cleanly
if step 1 fails, remove the broker entirely — your algos and strategies stay intact, only the broker link is reset
re-add the broker using the same flow you used during initial setup (connect Tradovate / NinjaTrader / ProjectX)
if you're at step 4 and still can't connect, the cause is usually broker-specific. jump to your broker below.
create strategy button is disabled or strategy won't enable
sometimes the algo dashboard looks fine on the surface — broker shows connected, no error message — but the create strategy button doesn't respond when you click it, or you can't toggle a strategy on after building it. those are 2 different problems with 2 different fixes.
the create strategy button doesn't do anything
the button stays disabled until all 4 required fields on the strategy form are filled in. the one people miss most often is the description field — it's easy to overlook because the form looks complete without it.
check that all 4 are filled:
name
description (this is the one that's usually missing)
broker account
entry order type (market or limit)
once all 4 are filled, the create strategy button activates. if it still doesn't, refresh the page and try again — sometimes a stale form state blocks the button.
strategy is built but you can't enable it
if the strategy created fine but the enable toggle won't flip on, this is almost always a stale broker session. the broker shows connected in the dashboard, but the access token has expired in the background — so edgeful can't actually push to it.
fix it with the universal reconnect flow above:
click reconnect on the broker in the connected trading accounts table
sign back in if prompted
try enabling the strategy again
you don't need to recreate the strategy or change your TradingView webhook URL — those stay intact. reconnecting just refreshes the broker session.
Tradovate — what's different
most common cause: 2FA is enabled on Tradovate. edgeful's connection breaks when 2FA is turned on.
fix:
disable 2FA on Tradovate
reconnect Tradovate from edgeful
other Tradovate causes worth checking:
broker-side maintenance — try again in 15-30 minutes
credentials changed on Tradovate (password reset, account recovery)
contract rollover to liquidation-only status caused silent order rejections — different problem, see contract rollover: why your algo silently stopped trading
don't use continuous symbols. Tradovate routes to the front-month contract — NQ1! won't work, you need NQM2026 (or whatever the current front month is). symbol details: which broker accounts work with edgeful algo automation?
NinjaTrader — what's different
most common cause: session timeout or credential change on the NinjaTrader side.
fix: the universal reconnect flow above usually handles this — click reconnect, and if that fails, remove and re-add.
worth checking:
2FA was enabled mid-flight (same fix as Tradovate above)
broker-side maintenance
the same contract symbol rule applies — front-month only, no continuous symbols
ProjectX / TopstepX — what's different
ProjectX and TopstepX have the most disconnect-causing scenarios because the connection is API-key based, not session-based. several things outside edgeful can break it.
most common causes:
API key was deleted or regenerated in ProjectX
ProjectX API subscription ($29/mo) lapsed or was canceled
TopstepX account was closed for a rule break
errorCode=3 — username, email, or API key doesn't match what's on file in ProjectX
fix when the API key was regenerated:
disconnect ProjectX in the edgeful algo dashboard
copy the new API key from ProjectX
reconnect using the new key
fix when the subscription lapsed:
reactivate the $29/mo ProjectX API subscription
generate a new API key
reconnect in edgeful with the new key
fix for errorCode=3: your username, email, or API key doesn't match between ProjectX and edgeful. confirm all 3 fields are exactly what's on file in ProjectX, then reconnect. setup details: TopstepX broker setup guide.
silent rejections to be aware of:
account closure due to rule break — orders stop firing without an edgeful-side error. check the TopstepX dashboard directly for the rejection reason
trading hours lockouts and contract size limits — same pattern, no edgeful-side notification
linked accounts only show in ProjectX, not TopstepX. and the same continuous-symbol rule applies — use front-month, not NQ1!.
when "reconnect" doesn't work
if you've tried the universal flow plus the broker-specific fixes above and you're still disconnected:
check the broker's own status page or dashboard — sometimes the broker is having an outage
check that your trading account is funded, active, and within any rule-break or daily-loss limits
confirm 2FA is in the same state as when you first connected (either both on or both off)
verify your API key (ProjectX) is current and tied to an active subscription
if your trade fired on edgeful but didn't reach the broker, the issue may be execution-side: TradingView to broker execution mismatch guide
still stuck? open a support chat from inside edgeful — include a screenshot of the connected trading accounts table and the broker name, and we'll get you back online.
common questions
will I lose my strategies if I remove the broker?
no. removing the broker only resets the broker link. your algos, settings, and webhook URLs all stay intact — you just need to relink the broker.
how often do brokers disconnect?
session-based brokers (Tradovate, NinjaTrader) usually only disconnect on session timeouts, credential changes, or 2FA changes. API-key based brokers (ProjectX) stay connected as long as the key and subscription are valid — but they're more sensitive to anything that changes the key.
why does my algo dashboard say connected but my trades aren't firing?
connection is fine but something else broke — usually a contract symbol mismatch, a webhook routing issue, or an account-level limit. start with my algo didn't trade — start here.
should I use continuous symbols (like NQ1!) on any broker?
no. all 3 brokers route to the front-month contract. always use the explicit front-month symbol (e.g., NQM2026). full mapping: which broker accounts work with edgeful algo automation?.