Welcome to AutoTrade Bot.

Before you go live, lock in strict risk limits and stop-loss rules. That is the difference between a test that teaches you something and a live account that bleeds.

1) Generate your paper or live API keys in your brokerage dashboard (e.g. Alpaca)

Open your brokerage dashboard. Create paper keys first. Copy the key and secret once, store them somewhere you control, and never paste them into chat, Discord, or a screenshot.

2) Securely input your keys into AutoTrade Bot settings

Paste keys only in AutoTrade Bot settings. Confirm you are on the paper/sandbox connection until you have proven the rule. Do not share keys with anyone, including support impersonators.

3) Select your rules and define risk parameters

This is the step that matters most. Before any live execution:

• Set a hard max position size (dollar or % of equity).

• Set a daily loss cap. When it hits, trading stops for the day.

• Attach a stop-loss on every rule. No exception.

• Cap open positions so one ticker cannot run the book.

• Decide max trades per day so a loop cannot grind you down.

If a rule has no stop-loss and no daily loss cap, do not enable it.

4) Run in simulation mode to verify trade triggers before enabling automated execution

Turn simulation on. Watch a few full cycles: entry, stop-loss, daily cap. Confirm fills and exits match what you wrote. Only then switch from paper keys to live, with the same risk limits still in place.

If something looks off in sim, fix the rule. Do not go live to “see what happens.”

Questions on stop-loss or daily caps? Reply on this post.