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Home / Guides / NinjaTrader 8 / PFX Journal
Guide · NinjaTrader 8 · about 15 minutes

Connect NinjaTrader to your journal.One calm step at a time.

By the end, every fill on your chosen NinjaTrader accounts lands in your PrecisionFX journal on its own. It never trades: it only reads fills and sends them. Take your time. There's no wrong speed.

~15 minstart to finish
7 stepstick each one off
Never tradesreads fills only
Freev1.02, source included
✓
You can't break anything doing this.

The add-on never creates, changes or cancels an order. If it can't reach the journal it logs a message and tries again. If a step doesn't look like the picture, that's normal: open the "Not seeing it?" box under it.

0

Before you start

Four quick things. Tick them as you go.

Find your account names

The add-on needs each account's name exactly as NinjaTrader shows it: capital letters, numbers and all. They're in the Accounts tab, under Display name.

Control Center · Accounts
ConnectionDisplay nameCash value
Playback ConnectionSim101$100,000.00
Playback ConnectionSim102$100,000.00
These are your account names
Why exactly? If the name in the file is sim101 but NinjaTrader says Sim101, the add-on can't find it. Copy and paste the name rather than typing it.
1

Add an NT8 account in your journal

This gives you a private link. Think of it as a key.

  1. Sign in and open Accounts in your journal.
  2. Add an account and choose the type NinjaTrader 8.
  3. Copy its private link. It starts with https://app.precisionfx.io/api/ingest/nt8/pfx_.
Journal · Accounts · New account
FieldValue
TypeNinjaTrader 8
Private linkpfx_••••••••••
Copy the private link
Keep the link private. Anyone who has it can add trades to your journal. Never post it, screenshot it or send it to us. The add-on never prints it in full.
Not seeing it?

I can't find NinjaTrader 8 as a type. Reload the page and look again in the account type list. If it's still missing, tell us.

I lost the link. Open the same account in your journal and copy it again. Nothing has been lost.

2

Put the add-on in NinjaTrader

One file, one folder.

  1. Download PFX_Journal_NT8.cs. It's plain text you can open and read.
  2. Copy it (Ctrl + C).
  3. Open this folder, and paste (Ctrl + V):
    Documents\NinjaTrader 8\bin\Custom\AddOns
    Tip: click the address bar at the top of File Explorer, paste the path, press Enter.
File Explorer
Documents › NinjaTrader 8 › bin › Custom › AddOns
.csPFX_Journal_NT8.cs
other files already here
.csPFX_Journal_NT8.cs
Ctrl+C then Ctrl+V
The file is now in AddOns
Not seeing it?

Windows says the download might be unsafe. That warning appears for any new file from a small website. Choose Keep.

I can't find the Documents folder. It's usually C:\Users\YourName\Documents. Or open NinjaTrader → New → NinjaScript Editor, right-click in the left list and choose Open Folder.

3

Tell NinjaTrader to read it

One key press. This is called "compiling".

  1. In NinjaTrader: New → NinjaScript Editor.
  2. Click anywhere in the editor, then press F5.
  3. Open New → NinjaScript Output. That's where the add-on talks to you.
You should see this line in the Output window:
PFX Journal - v1.02 starting - config: …\PFX\journal.txt
NinjaScript EditorReady
namespace NinjaTrader.NinjaScript.AddOns
{
  public class PfxJournal : AddOnBase
  …
F5
NinjaScript Output
PFX Journal - v1.02 starting - config: C:\Users\you\Documents\NinjaTrader 8\PFX\journal.txt
PFX Journal - no …\PFX\journal.txt yet - made a template; put a line in it like: Sim101 = <your private link>
That second line is expected. You'll fix it next.
That "no journal.txt yet" message is good news. It means NinjaTrader loaded the add-on, made you a template file, and is waiting for your account lines.
Not seeing it?

I see red errors after F5. Make sure the file is in AddOns (not Indicators or Strategies). If it still errors, copy the red text and send it to us.

The Output window is empty. Press F5 once more with the NinjaScript Editor in front. It can take a few seconds.

Windows blocked it ("Smart App Control"). Windows can occasionally block new NinjaScript files. Send us a message and we'll walk you through it.

4

Tell it which accounts to send

A tiny text file. One line per account.

  1. Open the folder Documents\NinjaTrader 8\PFX. Step 3 made it and put a template journal.txt inside.
  2. Open it in Notepad and write one line per account, using your account name and the link you copied:
1# lines starting with # are ignored
2Sim101 = <paste your private link here>The account name, then its link

Save it. The file is re-read every minute, so a new line needs no restart.

NinjaScript Output
PFX Journal - watching Sim101
1 min
It read your file
One link per account. Each NinjaTrader account gets its own journal account and its own private link. Never reuse one link for two accounts.
Funded account that starts at $0? Some prop-firm accounts show $0 in NinjaTrader while the firm's account is 50,000. Add offset=50000 after the link on that line and your journal's balance matches. It never touches your fills.
Not seeing it?

"skipping … - that isn't an NT8 private link from the journal's Accounts page". The text after the = isn't a link from an NT8 account. Copy it again from your journal (step 1).

"skipping a line without '='". Every line needs the form Name = link.

"couldn't read … the only option is offset=50000". Anything after the link other than offset=50000 is not understood. Remove it or fix the spelling.

5

Check a fill arrives

One small trade on Sim, then look.

  1. Buy 1 contract on your Sim account, then close it.
  2. Open your journal and look in Trades.
  3. Fills already made today are sent when the add-on starts, so earlier ones show up too.
When it starts watching an account, the Output window says:
PFX Journal - watching Sim101 - 2 fill(s) from today queued

The number is however many fills that account already has today.

NinjaScript Output
PFX Journal - watching Sim101 - 2 fill(s) from today queued
Fills are on their way to your journal
Safe to repeat. Each fill has its own ID, and the journal ignores any it already has. A retry or a restart never double-counts.
Not seeing it?

The trade isn't in my journal yet. Wait a minute and refresh. Check the Output window for a line that starts PFX Journal - send failed.

"queue full (5000) - is the journal reachable?". The add-on couldn't reach the journal for a long time. Check your internet. Today's fills are sent again the next time NinjaTrader starts.

Older trades. The add-on sends today's fills. For older history, use the journal's CSV import.

6

Know where to look

A busy Output window can hide messages. The log keeps them.

  1. Every message is also saved in Documents\NinjaTrader 8\PFX\journal.log.
  2. Open it in Notepad any time something looks odd.
  3. Every line starts with PFX Journal -.
Documents\NinjaTrader 8\PFX\journal.log
Well done! This is the whole thing. To add more accounts later, add more lines to journal.txt. No restart needed.
Your safety nets

Three ways to pause it.Always available.

The add-on can't trade, so nothing here is an emergency. Press the switch to see what commenting out a line does.

1

Remove the add-on file

Delete PFX_Journal_NT8.cs from AddOns and press F5. Nothing more is sent. Your journal keeps what it has.

2

It reads, it never writes orders

No order is created, changed or cancelled by this add-on. Web calls run in the background, never on NinjaTrader's own threads.

3

Comment a line out

Put a # at the start of an account's line in journal.txt and save. That account stops sending, within about a minute.

The line starts with #, so it is ignored. Nothing is sent for Sim101.
Sim101 sendingSim102 sending
!

Before you connect funded or prop-firm accounts

Your journal will then hold real results. Check your firm's rules on third-party tools first, keep each private link private, and start with one account.

If something looks off

What the add-on is telling you.In plain English.

Every line starts with PFX Journal -. Find yours here.

It saysWhat it meansWhat to do
no … journal.txt yet - made a templateThe add-on is running and has no accounts yet.Do step 4.
skipping a line without '='A line isn't in the form Name = link.Fix the line and save.
skipping … - that isn't an NT8 private linkThe link isn't from an NT8 account in your journal.Copy it again from Accounts.
skipping … - couldn't read … (the only option is offset=50000)Something after the link isn't understood.Remove it, or write offset=50000 exactly.
watching Sim101 - N fill(s) from today queuedIt found the account and is sending today's fills.Nothing. This is good.
send failed - …The journal couldn't be reached just now.Nothing. It retries every few seconds.
queue full (5000) - is the journal reachable?Fills piled up while offline.Check your internet. They resend on the next start.
All done

You're connected.Nicely done.

Next: add more accounts one line at a time, and open your journal to review your trades.

Download PFX Journal ↓All guides →

Risk warning: Futures trading carries a high risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. Your journal records what happened; it is not investment advice. NinjaTrader is a registered trademark of NinjaTrader Group, LLC; PrecisionFX is not affiliated with or endorsed by NinjaTrader.