This article covers what to check when Replikanto is not copying trades from the leader account to the follower accounts — the copier looks like it is running, but the followers receive nothing and the trades are not replicated. Work through the checks below in order. Most cases come down to one of four things: Replikanto is not open, NinjaTrader is in Global Simulation Mode, the instrument or its expiration date does not match, or the follower is not enabled.
How to test safely
Set the test up first, so you can see whether the copy happens without risking a fill.
- Use a limit order placed far from the current price on the leader account. After testing you can cancel the order.
- During tests, set the Replikanto copy method to Exact Quantity, just to make sure the copy is being made.
- During tests, do not use the Market Only copy for the followers.
Basic checks
- Check if Replikanto is open.
- Check if you have selected the leader account and the instrument you are trading.
- Make sure the follower is checked — it needs to be enabled to copy the leader's trades.
Global Simulation Mode must be off
Make sure to turn Global Simulation Mode off. The toggle is in the NinjaTrader Control Center → Tools → Global Simulation Mode; a checkmark next to it means it is on.
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Global Simulation Mode removes followers from the list. While NinjaTrader is in Global Simulation Mode, Replikanto cannot route to a live follower, so it drops the follower from the followers list and writes a log line such as
The follower account was removed from the followers list because NinjaTrader is in Global Simulation Mode from tab '<tab id>'. Turning Global Simulation Mode off does not automatically restore the follower, so after disabling it, reopen the Replikanto window and check the follower again before testing. - A broker evaluation or demo account (for example a Tradovate evaluation account) is not the same as NinjaTrader's Global Simulation Mode. Replikanto copies between two evaluation accounts normally; it is the Global Simulation Mode that blocks the copy.
Trading more than one instrument
Each Replikanto tab works with a single instrument at a time. You can either change the Instrument selector to the contract you want to trade, or open a separate tab for each instrument using the + button next to the tab name. With one tab per instrument, each tab keeps its own leader account, followers, and Instrument setting, so you do not have to keep switching the selector. Either way, the instrument shown in the active tab must match the contract being traded on the leader account.
Instrument expiration and rollover
Check if the instrument you are trading on the leader account has the same expiration date as the one selected in Replikanto — both must match. Be aware of the instrument rollover by checking this post.
What is rollover?
CME U.S. equity index futures (ES, NQ, YM, RTY) expire on the third Friday of each quarter month (March, June, September, December). Liquidity typically migrates to the next contract on the Monday of that same week. When this happens, you need to update the instrument in Replikanto to match the new front-month contract (for example, from NQ 09-26 to NQ 12-26).
Rolling over in NinjaTrader
Go to Control Center → Tools → Database Management and click Rollover futures instruments. This updates charts, DOMs, and instrument lists to the new expiry. Note that NinjaScript strategies must be updated manually.
After rolling over
Make sure the instrument in the Replikanto window also reflects the new contract.
Submitting trades from TradingView
If you are using TradingView to submit trades on the leader account, you also have to make sure that the instrument you are trading has the same expiration date as the one selected in the Replikanto window. To check that:
- Place a limit order on TradingView, distant from the price.
- Check the NinjaTrader Orders tab for the order recently submitted.
- Check the Instrument column and compare it with the instrument set in the Replikanto window.
- Make sure both are identical.
- If not, change the Replikanto instrument and try it again.
Important note for TradingView continuous contracts: TradingView symbols like NQ1! (front month) and NQ2! (second month) are synthetic continuous contracts that roll based on TradingView's own internal schedule, which may differ from the CME roll date and from NinjaTrader's rollover calendar. This means TradingView may switch to the new contract on a different day than NinjaTrader does, causing a temporary instrument mismatch and stopping trade copying. Always verify the actual contract executing in the NinjaTrader Orders tab and confirm it matches the instrument set in Replikanto.
Ratio and Cross Order
- If you use a ratio of less than 1 (for example, 0.5), trades made by the leader with 1 contract will not be copied.
- Ratio with Cross Order (mini to micro): When using Cross Order to copy from mini contracts (NQ) to micro contracts (MNQ), the ratio is applied to the contract count, not the notional value. For example, if the leader trades 3 mini NQ and you want 6 micro MNQ on the follower, set the ratio to 2 (3 × 2 = 6). A ratio of 0.67 would give you 2 contracts (3 × 0.67 = 2), not 6. Cross Order allows copying to a correlated instrument but does not automatically multiply the quantity for value equivalence.
NinjaTrader and Replikanto version compatibility
- Replikanto is not compatible with NinjaTrader 8.1.4.0 — you need to install the 8.1.4.1 release or above.
- NinjaTrader 8.1.7.0: if you are running NinjaTrader 8.1.7.0 with Replikanto 1.6.1.6 or earlier, copied orders may get stuck in a "pending cancel" or "initialized" state instead of executing. Update to Replikanto 1.6.1.7 or later to resolve this issue. Download the latest version from your account downloads page.
"Unknown symbol" errors in the NinjaTrader log
Check the NinjaTrader Control Center Log tab for these kinds of errors:
20XX-XX-XX XX:XX:XX:XXX|3|32|Order '123456789101112' received for unknown symbol ''
20XX-XX-XX XX:XX:XX:XXX|2|32|An execution for unknown symbol '' was received. Check your symbol map.If you are having these errors, NinjaTrader is not being able to recognize the order instrument, so Replikanto will not copy the trades. If this is the case, please contact support@ninjatrader.com and give them the logs to fix this NinjaTrader issue. There is a dedicated article on this error: Unknown symbol '' was received. Check your symbol map.
Other situations where the trade will not be copied
Replikanto will always copy its leader's trades to followers if the configuration was properly set, but in addition to the tests above, there are some additional situations in which the copy will not take place:
- The follower account disconnected before copying the trade.
- The internet went down while the trade was being received by a remote leader.
- The internet failed at the leader's side when it was sending the trade to a remote follower.
- The trade was rejected on the follower account, due to margin requirements or another issue.
- A copied stop or stop limit order was rejected on the follower because the market moved between the leader and the follower. If the market trades past the stop level before Replikanto places the copied order, NinjaTrader rejects it with a message such as "Sell stop or sell stop limit orders can't be placed above the market" (or the buy stop equivalent below the market). This is more common in fast markets and on remote followers. To avoid it, enable the Market Only feature so Replikanto copies only the leader's executions as market orders, which fill immediately and are not subject to stop placement rules.
- The leader account is a simulated (SIM) account and the followers are real accounts. SIM accounts fill orders instantly (no real exchange execution), while real accounts depend on actual market liquidity and exchange processing. If the leader's ATM strategy triggers a breakeven or closes the position within seconds of the entry fill, the real follower accounts may not have enough time to get their entries filled on the exchange. This is especially common with micro contracts (MES, MNQ, M2K, MYM), which have lower liquidity than their full-size counterparts (ES, NQ, RTY, YM). To avoid this, use a real account as the leader so that fill timing is consistent across leader and followers.
- The Replikanto window was closed before the trade was submitted.
These are some of the cases that can happen and that cause Replikanto not to copy the trades to the follower accounts. Please check them and try it again.
Still not copying? Send us this
Submit a limit order distant from the price on the leader account and send us a screenshot of the Replikanto window as well as the Orders tab in the NinjaTrader Control Center window, showing the Instrument and Account columns. With that we will check if Replikanto has the same instrument and account as the leader account trade.
Related articles
- When Replikanto will not copy the trades?
- Navigating Futures Rollover: A Guide for NinjaTrader & Tradovate Traders
- Differences in the expiration dates of futures instruments on TradingView and NinjaTrader
- Does Replikanto support automatic instrument rollover?
- Why was my entry order filled in the leader but not the followers?
- Copy Market Orders (Executions) only
- Unknown symbol '' was received. Check your symbol map.
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