Tradovate Sim account: testing Autoview before you trade live
Tradovate calls its demo environment Simulation, Sim for short: a free, separate account with its own demo balance and its own API endpoint, running the exact same order-placement code Autoview uses for live Tradovate. If you want to prove a new alert or a new bracket shape works before it touches a funded account, this is the connection to test it on.
The one catch: Sim still needs a funded live account. Tradovate gates its API Access add-on behind a live account funded with at least $1,000 -- even if every order you place afterward stays in Simulation. This is Tradovate's own requirement, not Autoview's, and it applies to Sim credentials the same as live ones. See the section below before you start.
What Tradovate Sim is
Tradovate Simulation is a first-class connection on Autoview, separate from live Tradovate, priced at $0. It isn't a stripped-down copy of the live integration -- the Sim connection literally wraps the same order-placement function live Tradovate calls, and only swaps two things: the API endpoint (Tradovate's demo host instead of its live one) and the exchange aliases you reference it by. Every parameter, every order type, every bracket shape documented on the Tradovate command reference behaves identically on Sim.
Tradovate credits a Simulation account with demo funds automatically. Orders fill against Tradovate's real market data and matching engine, so fills and rejections behave like a live account would -- only the money isn't real.
The catch: the $1,000 funded-account gate
This is the part that trips people up, and it's worth reading before you start: Tradovate's API Access add-on, the thing that lets any external tool (including Autoview) place orders at all, only unlocks once you've funded a live Tradovate account with at least $1,000. That requirement applies even if you have zero intention of ever trading live and only want to automate Simulation. Once API Access is subscribed, you can withdraw the funding back down -- but you have to clear that bar first to generate any API key, Sim included.
There is no way around this on Autoview's side. It's a Tradovate account-tier requirement, enforced before a key is ever issued, not something either exchange config or Autoview's integration code touches.
Get a Simulation account
If you don't already have a Tradovate account, sign up at tradovate.com/signup and create a free Simulation account at demo.tradovate.com to practice with before you touch the funded-account requirement above.
Generating an API key is the same process either way: fund a live account with at least $1,000, subscribe to API Access under Application Settings, then generate a key -- you'll get a CID and a Secret, usable for both Live and Simulation once issued. The Connect Tradovate guide's Step 2 walks through that flow in full; this page doesn't repeat it.
Connect it to Autoview
In Autoview, add an account and choose Tradovate Simulation from the exchange list rather than Tradovate. It takes the same four credentials as live Tradovate: your Tradovate Username and Password (the same ones you sign in with), plus the CID and Secret from the API key you generated above.
Save, then run the connection test. It's read-only -- it calls Tradovate's /v1/auth/accesstokenrequest endpoint to confirm your four credentials, and follows up with a read-only account list. It places no orders.
Sending commands: what changes, what doesn't
Command syntax is identical to live Tradovate: same symbol format (front-month futures contract names like ESZ5), same b=/q=/t= parameters, same bracket and OCO shapes. Only the account and the money behind it differ. The full parameter table lives on the Tradovate command reference; the cheat sheet has copy-ready lines for each order type.
The one thing that changes is how the Chrome extension picks the exchange. 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. On the extension, swap e=tradovate for e=TRADOVATESIM (or the equivalent e=TRADOVATE-SIM):
| Live Tradovate (extension) | Tradovate Sim (extension) |
|---|---|
e=tradovate s=ESZ5 b=buy t=market q=1 | e=TRADOVATESIM s=ESZ5 b=buy t=market q=1 |
Add d=1 to any command first, on Sim the same as live, and Autoview parses it and reports what it would have done without placing anything.
Resetting your Sim balance
Changing or resetting a Simulation account's balance is a Tradovate account setting -- Autoview only reads whatever balance Tradovate reports when a command runs, and has no control over it. Tradovate publishes their own support article on changing a demo balance; check Tradovate's account settings or their help center directly, since the exact steps live entirely on their side.
One thing worth knowing before you build a long track record on Sim: Tradovate's own community forum has at least one report of a Simulation balance resetting unexpectedly, with no documented cause given. Treat Sim as a place to prove command syntax and alert wiring, not as a permanent paper-trading ledger.
Once Sim looks right
Sim proves your command syntax and your alert wiring, not your live account's credentials -- those are separate on Tradovate, so a working Sim connection doesn't skip the setup steps on live Tradovate. When you're ready, the Connect Tradovate guide walks through the live side: the same $1,000-funded-account step you've likely already cleared, generating (or reusing) your API key, and running a small real test order.