NinjaTrader and Replikanto both show a colored bubble (circle, dot or indicator) next to an account, but the two use color to report completely different things. NinjaTrader colors describe the connection status to your broker or data provider. Replikanto colors describe the trade-copying status of a follower account or a remote node. This article explains what each color means on each platform, and where yellow and red differ the most.
Quick comparison
| Color | NinjaTrader connection | Replikanto follower account |
|---|---|---|
| Green | Active / connected | On, and synchronized with the leader |
| Yellow | Connecting, or stuck while connecting | Out of Sync — position divergence, but the account keeps receiving trades |
| Gray | Not connected | Off — the account is disabled and receives no trade copies |
| Red | Connection lost (order/account side) | Disarmed — the account receives no new trade copies (a Close on the leader still closes it) |
The single most common source of confusion: in NinjaTrader, yellow means the platform is still trying to establish the link. In Replikanto, yellow does not mean something is broken or paused — trades are still being copied.
NinjaTrader account connection colors
In the NinjaTrader Control Center, under the Connections dropdown, the color reports the state of the link between the platform and the brokerage or data provider:
- Green — an active connection to a brokerage account or data provider.
- Yellow — a "Connecting" status. A connection that stays yellow for a long time usually points to a connectivity or credentials problem that needs troubleshooting on the NinjaTrader side.
- Red — the order/account connection to the brokerage was lost.
NinjaTrader Control Center: 1 = Connections menu, 2 = connection status dot (green = connected).
This color says nothing about whether Replikanto is copying trades. A green NinjaTrader connection only confirms the platform is talking to the broker.
Replikanto follower account colors
Replikanto adds a layer of functional status on top of the NinjaTrader connection. A follower account (an account that receives copied trades) has four states, each with its own color:
- Green ("On") — the follower is enabled and synchronized with the leader.
- Gray ("Off") — the follower is disabled and will not receive trade copies.
- Yellow ("Out of Sync") — the follower's position diverges from the leader's position. The follower still receives trades as normal; the color is a visual alert, not a stop.
- Red ("Disarmed") — the follower is disarmed and will not receive new trade copies. If the leader closes its position, the close is still copied to it (unless it is Market Only), so it is not left holding a position.
The On column of the Follower Accounts grid: 1 = On (green), 2 = Off (gray), 3 = Out of Sync (yellow), 4 = Disarmed (red). A disarmed follower also turns the grid frame red and enables the Rearm button.
Only On and Out of Sync accounts keep receiving trades from the leader. Disarmed and Off accounts do not; the one exception is the leader's Close, which still reaches a Disarmed follower that is not Market Only.
When the sync check runs
Replikanto checks synchronization only on active (On) follower accounts, and only when the leader's or the follower's position changes. That is why the bubble may stay green until the next fill, even if you already suspect a divergence.
Why a follower turns yellow
Common reasons a follower account shows the Out of Sync color:
- The leader has an open position and the follower does not — for example insufficient margin on the follower, a trade closed manually on the follower, or an error while entering the position.
- The follower has an open position and the leader does not — usually a position closed on the leader but not on the follower, or a position opened manually on the follower.
- Leader and follower hold positions on opposite sides (long vs. short), which can follow from partial fills, order modifications, or manual trades.
- The follower's order was only partially filled, so the position sizes differ.
- Manual trades or manual changes to position size, stop loss, or profit target on either account.
- Connectivity or platform issues — temporary disconnections, platform restarts, or delays that cause missed or late trades.
For the full diagnosis and recovery procedure, see Why is my follower yellow? (Out of sync).
Why a follower turns red
Red means the account was disarmed. Follower Guard can disarm an account automatically in protective situations — for example after a rejected order, or when the account goes out of sync — depending on how you configured it. Follower Guard settings live in the Replikanto Properties menu, and it can also email you when an account is disarmed.
See Follower Guard: Overview for the settings and the alert configuration.
Replikanto node colors
Nodes are the remote computers or network connections used for remote trade copying. A node has three states:
- Green ("On") — the node is connected.
- Gray ("Off") — the node is disconnected.
- Red ("Away") — the node either did not receive the trade, or received it and returned an error. Replikanto does not resend that trade; it keeps sending the next trades to the node and turns it green again as soon as one gets through. You are informed so you can correct the communication problem.
The On column of the Replikanto Nodes grid: 1 = On (green), 2 = Off (gray), 3 = Away (red). An Away node also turns the node grid frame red.
Note that red means different things in the two places: on a follower account it means trades are no longer being delivered at all, while on a node it means a delivery failed but new trades are still being sent to it.
In short
NinjaTrader's green confirms the platform is successfully linked to the broker or data provider. Replikanto's colors sit on top of that and tell you whether the replication itself is active, merely diverging, or halted.
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