TradeStation not taking orders from your alerts? Check these first

Autoview · Guide · Updated October 6, 2026

Your alert fired. Autoview received it. And TradeStation shows no order. This page walks through the places that chain can stop, in the order worth checking them. Each one leaves a specific line in your Autoview log, so you can match what you see to a cause instead of guessing.

Everything here was read from Autoview's TradeStation connector code, not run live against a TradeStation account. Where a reason sits on TradeStation's side and we could not confirm it in TradeStation's own documentation, the page says so.

If you haven't connected TradeStation yet, start with getting started with TradeStation. If your alert never shows up in the Autoview log at all, the problem is before TradeStation; see why your alert isn't reaching Autoview.

On this page

First: read the log line

Open your log (reading your log shows where it lives on each surface) and find the entry for your alert. For every trade, the TradeStation connector writes the order it built before it decides whether to send it. That entry lists the account, the TradeStation action, the symbol, the quantity, the order type and the route. Read it first. A wrong account number or a wrong symbol is usually visible right there.

Then look for what came after it: a TradeStation answer, an error, or nothing. The sections below go through each case.

The dry run is still on

If the command has d=1, Autoview builds the order, writes it to the log, and stops. Nothing is sent to TradeStation. That is the point of a dry run, and it is the right first check for any new alert. It is also the most common reason a working setup "does nothing": the d=1 from testing is still in the alert message.

Remove d=1 from the alert and fire it again. Under a dry run you see the order entry and no answer from TradeStation. Without it you should see TradeStation's answer underneath.

The sign-in lapsed

TradeStation connects through its own sign-in, not an API key. When Autoview has no usable TradeStation sign-in for the account, the connector stops with:

Invalid OAuth2 client. https://autoview.com/guides/getting-started-tradestation/

Reconnect through the same TradeStation sign-in and approve access again. How often you reconnect your broker covers how long a TradeStation sign-in normally lasts.

A different line means the request never got an answer at all:

Unable to reach TradeStation. Try again shortly.

That is a network failure between Autoview and TradeStation, not a problem with your command. On the Simulator connection the name in the message reads TradeStation Simulator.

Live versus Simulator

TradeStation Simulator is a separate connection in Autoview. It runs the same connector code but sends every request to TradeStation's simulator host instead of the live one. An alert sent to the Simulator connection never shows up in your live TradeStation account, and the reverse is true too.

TradeStation's SIM vs. LIVE page (checked October 6, 2026) describes the simulator as "fake trading accounts seeded with fake money" where "Orders are not actually executed - only simulated executions occur with instant 'fills'." So a simulator order that filled instantly is expected behavior there.

On the extension, check the e= value: e=tradestation is live, and the Simulator uses its own codes such as e=tradestationsim. On the webhook platform, check which connection the webhook belongs to. The TradeStation Simulator guide covers connecting it.

The wrong TradeStation account

One TradeStation sign-in can carry several accounts, for example a cash or margin account for stocks and a separate futures account. Autoview picks the account like this:

  • No aid= in the command: it uses the first account TradeStation lists for your sign-in. If that is your stock account and the alert trades a futures contract, the order goes to the wrong account.
  • With aid=: it looks for a TradeStation account number that matches exactly (case does not matter). If none matches, you get Account Name "X" not found: followed by the account numbers it can see. Copy the right one from that list.
  • No accounts at all: No available Accounts. Reconnect and check that the sign-in you approved is the one that holds your accounts.

The account number Autoview chose is in the logged order entry, so you can confirm it without guessing. Example: e=tradestation aid=<ACCOUNT_ID> s=MSFT b=buy q=1 d=1.

The symbol

Before every trade Autoview looks the symbol up on TradeStation. If TradeStation's answer does not contain that exact symbol, the connector stops with:

Unknown market symbol: XYZ https://autoview.com/guides/command-reference/

Use the symbol exactly as TradeStation quotes it. For futures that means the dated contract, such as MESU26, not the root MES. An older version of the connector sent the root for futures orders, and TradeStation refused them with BadRequest Failed to build order: FAILED, INVALID SYMBOL. That bug is fixed, and the connector now sends the contract symbol, but a root symbol in your alert is still the wrong input. When a futures contract rolls, update the alert to the new contract.

Command shapes TradeStation ignores or refuses

A few command problems never reach TradeStation, or reach it in a shape you did not intend.

  • No side. A trade with no b= stops with Invalid Order Book (b=) parameter. See the Invalid Order Book guide.
  • sl= and tp=. The TradeStation connector does not read them. They are dropped without an error, so an entry with an attached stop goes out as a plain entry. Send the stop as its own order with px= or fpx=, which places a Stop Market or Stop Limit order, and the take-profit as its own limit order.
  • A route that doesn't exist. With route=, Autoview checks the name against the routes TradeStation lists for you. A miss stops with Route "X" was not found within: and the list of valid routes. Leave route= off and Autoview sends Intelligent.
  • Extended hours. By default Autoview sends the order as good till cancelled. With eh=1 it asks for TradeStation's extended-session version of that duration instead. If you trade outside regular hours and orders are refused, check whether the alert carries eh=1.

TradeStation rejected the order

When TradeStation answers with an error, Autoview passes TradeStation's own error text through to your log, followed by a link to common error messages. The wording comes from TradeStation, not Autoview. The futures example above, BadRequest Failed to build order: FAILED, INVALID SYMBOL, is that shape.

TradeStation can also accept the request but reject the order inside its answer. Autoview logs that order as failed with TradeStation's message, and logs any accepted orders from the same answer as placed.

Read the text, fix what it names, and resend. Some reasons that can sit behind a rejection are on TradeStation's side, and we did not verify them in TradeStation's documentation (its API reference pages did not load content when we checked on October 6, 2026). Treat these as possibilities to check in your TradeStation account, not as confirmed rules:

  • The market for that symbol is closed.
  • The account is not set up for that product, such as futures or options.
  • The account does not have enough buying power for the size.

If the message is unclear, place the same order by hand in TradeStation. If TradeStation refuses it there too, the fix is in your TradeStation account.

Close and cancel commands that find nothing

Exits fail quietly in a different way. A close command looks for open positions on the exact symbol in the chosen account. If it finds none, the log says No positions found. and no order goes out. A cancel command that finds no matching open orders logs No open orders. Both usually mean the symbol or account differs from the entry that opened the trade, or the entry never filled.

A quick order of checks

  1. Find the alert in the Autoview log. Not there? Go to alert not reaching Autoview.
  2. Remove d=1 if it is still in the alert.
  3. Read the logged order: account number, symbol, side, quantity.
  4. Match any error line to the sections above.
  5. Confirm you are looking at the right TradeStation account, live or Simulator.

Back to the TradeStation setup guide