TradeStation Simulator: testing Autoview before you trade live
TradeStation Simulator is a free, separate connection on Autoview for testing your commands against TradeStation's simulated trading environment, running the exact same order-placement code Autoview uses for live TradeStation. If you want to prove a new alert or a new stop shape works before it touches a funded account, this is the connection to test it on.
One thing to know before you start: TradeStation's own Simulated Trading isn't an open signup the way some exchanges' demo accounts are. Per TradeStation's site, it's only available to customers who have funded their TradeStation brokerage account. If you're not a TradeStation customer yet, start with the TradeStation getting-started guide first.
What TradeStation Simulator is
TradeStation Simulator is a first-class connection on Autoview, separate from live TradeStation, priced at $0. It isn't a stripped-down copy of the live integration -- the Simulator connection literally wraps the same order-placement function live TradeStation calls, and only swaps two things: the API endpoint (TradeStation's sim-api.tradestation.com host instead of its live api.tradestation.com one) and the OAuth redirect that tells TradeStation which environment to hand back a token for. Every order type, the no-bracket rule, and the sizing behavior documented for live TradeStation apply identically on Simulator.
TradeStation's own simulator runs on real-time market data with unlimited paper dollars and balance resets, so fills and rejections behave like a live account would -- only the money isn't real.
Getting access to Simulated Trading
Unlike some exchanges' demo accounts, TradeStation doesn't hand out a Simulator account to anyone who asks. TradeStation's own Simulated Trading page states plainly that it's available to customers who have funded their TradeStation brokerage account. So the practical order is: open and fund a TradeStation account first (covered in the TradeStation getting-started guide), then simulated trading becomes available alongside it inside TradeStation's own platform.
Once it's available, there's nothing extra to request or approve on Autoview's side -- the same TradeStation sign-in you already use covers both.
Connect it to Autoview
TradeStation Simulator currently doesn't have its own card in Autoview's exchange picker -- it isn't listed as ready or as coming soon there. The connector is fully live and functional regardless; you just reach it with a direct link instead of browsing for it:
https://autoview.com/account/credentials/tradestation-simulator/create/
Open that URL while logged in to Autoview. It starts the same OAuth sign-in flow live TradeStation uses -- you sign in through TradeStation's own secure login screen and approve the access Autoview asks for. There's nothing to paste; like live TradeStation, Simulator has no manual API key or secret field at all.
Sending commands: what changes, what doesn't
Command syntax is identical to live TradeStation: the same b=/q=/t= parameters, the same order-type switch, and the same no-bracket rule. Only the account and the money behind it differ.
On the extension, swap e=tradestation for e=TRADESTATIONSIMULATOR (or one of the equivalent aliases, e=TRADESTATIONSIM / e=TRADESTATION-SIM / e=TRADESTATION-SIMULATOR). On the webhook platform, a webhook is already tied to whichever account you connected it to, so you never set an exchange in the command itself.
| Live TradeStation (extension) | TradeStation Simulator (extension) |
|---|---|
e=tradestation s=MSFT b=buy p=-5% q=1 | e=TRADESTATIONSIMULATOR s=MSFT b=buy p=-5% q=1 |
Add d=1 to any command first, on Simulator the same as live, and Autoview parses it and reports what it would have done without sending anything to TradeStation.
A stop-loss or take-profit isn't attached to your entry. Send the entry in one alert, then send the stop or the limit close as its own separate order -- Simulator and live TradeStation both work this way. A trailing stop is the exception: fts=/ts= can be placed directly with the entry, as either a percent or a fixed amount.
Trading futures on Simulator? Use the exact dated contract symbol TradeStation quotes (for example MESU26), not the root symbol (MES). Autoview sends whatever symbol you put in s= straight through -- it doesn't expand a root symbol into a dated contract for you.
Leverage isn't a command parameter here. Autoview reads l= on TradeStation only to scale how much of your buying power a percentage-sized order represents -- it never sends a leverage instruction to TradeStation. Your actual buying power and margin come from your TradeStation account settings, mirrored identically on Simulator.
Once Simulator looks right
Simulator proves your command syntax and your alert wiring on the same account credentials you already connected for testing -- since TradeStation requires a funded account before Simulator is even available, there's no separate live setup step waiting afterward the way there is on exchanges with an open-signup demo. Once your dry runs and a real simulated order both look right, point the same alert at your live TradeStation connection (e=tradestation on the extension, or your live webhook) and repeat the same dry-run-then-live check at a small size.