How to Connect a Broker to Your Trading Bot

To trade live, your strategy needs a broker. Setup.Cash connects to broker and exchange accounts so a blueprint can place orders — in a sandbox or for real. This guide covers the connection options and the three ways to run.

Three Ways to Run a Strategy

Before connecting anything, understand the run modes:

1. Demo Money — a virtual balance inside Setup.Cash. No broker required. Perfect for rehearsing logic with live prices.
2. Simulator — runs against a connected broker's practice/sandbox account.
3. Real Money — runs against a connected broker's live account.

Start with demo money, graduate to simulator, then real — only after backtesting and paper trading give you confidence.

Connecting OANDA

OANDA is a popular forex/CFD broker with a clean API. In Settings → Trading, add your OANDA credentials and choose the environment (practice or live). Once connected, your forex bots can route orders through OANDA in simulator or real mode.

Connecting MetaTrader

MetaTrader (MT4/MT5) is widely supported by retail forex brokers. Setup.Cash connects through a MetaTrader connector so your strategy can execute on your existing MT account. See the MetaTrader help guide for setup specifics.

Connecting a Crypto Exchange

For crypto bots, connect a supported exchange so orders route to your crypto account. Because crypto trades 24/7, these bots run continuously — make sure your risk guards are set accordingly.

Live Trading Requirements

Before a real-money run starts, Setup.Cash checks that you have:

• A valid strategy with a working graph
• A complete risk configuration (stop, target, sizing)
• At least one active broker connection
• Live trading enabled and risk acknowledged in Settings → Trading

These gates exist so you do not accidentally send a half-configured bot to a live account.

One Broker Per Market

Because each bot scans one market type, it uses the matching broker: a forex broker for forex bots, an exchange for crypto bots. Run separate bots — and separate connections — per market.

Keep Credentials Safe

Treat broker API keys like passwords. Use practice/sandbox keys while testing, scope permissions to trading only (never withdrawals where avoidable), and rotate keys if you suspect exposure.

The Safe Path to Live

1. Backtest the strategy.
2. Run it in demo money with live prices.
3. Connect a broker and run the simulator on a practice account.
4. Only then enable real money, starting small.

Manage every run from the runs page, where you can pause, resume, or cancel a bot at any time. Connecting a broker is the easy part — earning the right to use it through testing is what protects your capital.