Every automated strategy should earn its way onto a real account. NinjaTrader 8's Sim101 account and Market Replay make that cheap to do. This checklist is the order we suggest working through it, with the specific things to verify for FlowPilot and BookPilot.

Before the first session

  • Installed and compiled. The package is installed with Install.ps1 -Clean and compiled in the NinjaScript Editor with F5, with no errors.
  • Right data on the chart. FlowPilot: Tick Replay ticked on the data series. BookPilot: Level 2 depth arriving, which you can confirm by checking that the SuperDOM shows several levels.
  • Chart Trader open. Both strategies put their buttons below it.
  • Licence accepted. The key is in the License Key setting, and the NinjaScript Output window shows no licensing errors.
  • Account set to Sim101. Check this twice. It is the single most important line on this list.

First-session checks

FlowPilot

  • With Mode Auto, it arms Both by itself at the next bar close.
  • The Mode button shows a regime, Auto (Trend) or Auto (Regression).
  • When it enters, the target and stop appear at 16 ticks each by default, and the stop moves to entry plus 1 tick once the trade is 11 ticks in profit.

BookPilot

  • The Output window prints the bracket in ticks for your instrument, for example 150 $ target = 30 ticks on NQ. Make sure the numbers make sense.
  • Pressing With Bias arms it. If no depth has arrived in the last 5 seconds it refuses and says why.
  • Entries appear as limit orders behind the touch and are cancelled after 3 seconds if unfilled.

Test the safety limits on purpose

Limits that have never triggered have not been tested. On SIM you can make them trigger deliberately.

  • Daily max loss. Temporarily set a small Daily Max Loss, let a losing trade close, and confirm the strategy locks and the Output window says which limit was reached.
  • Daily profit goal. Do the same with a small goal. On BookPilot use a real small amount: a goal or max loss of 0 locks after the first trade rather than switching off.
  • Cooldown. After a loss, confirm no new entry appears until the cooldown has passed: 20 seconds by default on FlowPilot, set by the risk preset on BookPilot.
  • Manual exits. Press Close on FlowPilot and Flatten All on BookPilot while in a position, and check the result in the Orders and Positions tabs.
  • Trading window. On BookPilot, confirm no new entries are taken outside the Start and End Time.

Then put your real values back and write them down.

Know what backtests and replay cannot show

  • FlowPilot can be backtested in the Strategy Analyzer with Tick Replay, but the daily goal, max loss and cooldown are not applied there. Only SIM or replay shows them working.
  • BookPilot gives no trades in the Strategy Analyzer at all, because historical bars carry no order book. Market Replay with downloaded depth is its test bench.
  • In Market Replay, rewinds and jumps reset BookPilot's cooldowns and hourly trade count. Play sessions through without jumping.

What to record each session

  • Settings used, including any change from the day before.
  • Number of trades, wins, losses and the average of each.
  • Whether a daily limit locked the day, and which one.
  • For BookPilot, the reasons shown on the Blocked line for skipped signals.
  • Anything that surprised you, such as an entry you did not expect or one you expected that never came.

Deciding when SIM is done

There is no magic number of sessions. The guides ask for at least a few sessions on FlowPilot and several on BookPilot. A better test is whether you can predict what the strategy will do: you know why it trades, why it skips, and how its limits behave. If you are still surprised regularly, keep going.

Remember that SIM fills are friendlier than real ones, especially for limit orders. Treat SIM results as an upper bound, not an estimate.

The step-by-step first runs are in the FlowPilot guide and the BookPilot guide. If you have not chosen a strategy yet, start with BookPilot or FlowPilot's product page.

Passing SIM does not make a strategy safe; futures trading always carries a risk of real loss. Read the risk disclaimer and keep validating in SIM and Market Replay before any evaluation, funded or live account.