Free Auto Breakeven Tool for NinjaTrader 8

On this page

On the chart
Quick info
What it does
Purpose
Why choose it
How it works
Key capabilities
Setup guide
FAQ
Works well with
Conclusion
Download

FF Auto BE on a 1-minute NQ chart with a 2-contract long on Sim102: two targets above, the stop at 30909.25, the dashed goldenrod Breakeven Trigger line at 30935.25, and the FF AUTO BE card reading ARMED, Waiting for 30935.25, with the AUTO BE pill at bottom left — NQ, 1-minute, on a Sim account. A 2-contract long from 30,927.50, with its stop at 30,909.25 and two targets above. The dashed goldenrod line at 30,935.25 is the FF Breakeven Trigger you placed, and the card reads ARMED: Waiting for 30,935.25, with breakeven at 30,927.50. Tap to enlarge.

Quick info

Platform: NinjaTrader 8 on Windows
Concept: A line on the chart that moves your stop orders to breakeven when price trades to it
Designed for: Traders who move their stop to entry by hand once a trade has gone far enough their way
Best used when: The price where you want the stop at entry changes from trade to trade
What it changes: The price of stop orders already working on your account. It never places, cancels or closes an order
Parts: The FF AutoBE indicator, which watches and moves the stops, and the FF Breakeven Trigger line you draw
Data: Any NinjaTrader data feed, on a live or Sim account. No Order Flow+ and no Tick Replay
Access: Free download

What Auto BE does

You draw a line at the price where you want your stop at breakeven. When price trades to it, FF AutoBE moves every working stop on your position to your average entry price and removes the line.

It watches one account: the one selected in Chart Trader, or one you name in the settings. On that account it finds the stop orders for the chart’s contract that would close your position: sell stops on a long, buy stops on a short. Each is changed to your average entry plus an optional offset in ticks. ATM stops, bracket stops and stops you placed yourself are all ordinary stop orders on the account, so they are handled the same way.

Before it changes anything, it checks the new price against the live market. If breakeven would be closer than 2 ticks (by default) to the bid on a long, or the ask on a short, it does not send the change and the card says why. It works on live data only, never during the historical load.

Purpose

Moving the stop to entry is often decided by a price on the chart: the last swing, a level, a target. Doing it by hand means watching for that price and dragging the stop in time. An ATM breakeven step is set in ticks in the template, before the trade starts.

Without Auto BE Watching price and dragging the stop to entry by hand A breakeven step fixed in ticks in an ATM template A late move when you were looking at another chart

With Auto BE A line at the price you choose, placed after you are in Every working stop on the position moved to entry when price trades there A card that says armed, done or blocked, and why

Why choose it

Your price, per trade. The trigger is a line you place and drag, not a number in a template.
One click to place. BE on the AUTO BE pill, or on the Drawing Kit’s DRAW pill when the kit is on the chart.
Every stop on the position. ATM, bracket and hand-placed stops on the account are moved together.
Refuses instead of guessing. A move that would land too close to the market is not sent, and the card shows the prices.
Never backwards. With Only improve stop on (the default), a stop already at or past breakeven is left where it is.
The line stays until it works. A blocked or failed attempt keeps the line armed and visible.
Always says what it is doing. The status card shows the account, the trigger, the breakeven price and the state.

How it works

Get into the trade. With no line on the chart, the card shows NO LINE: In Long, draw a BE trigger. You can also place the line before you enter.
Place the line. Press BE on the pill and click the price. A dashed goldenrod line appears with its price on the axis, and the card turns ARMED. Drag it any time.
Price trades to it. In Touch mode (the default), as soon as a trade prints at or beyond the line. In CloseBeyond mode, when a bar closes at or beyond it.
The safety check runs. Breakeven is your average entry plus the offset. If that is closer than 2 ticks to the bid (long) or the ask (short), nothing is sent and the card shows BLOCKED with the reason.
The stops move. Each matching stop is changed to breakeven, the line is removed, a NinjaTrader alert is raised and the card turns AT BE.

The same NQ long after FF Auto BE fired: price traded up through 30935.25, the stop now sits at the 30927.50 entry, the trigger line is gone, and the FF AUTO BE card reads AT BE, Trigger consumed — The same trade a few minutes later. Price traded up through 30,935.25, so the stop moved from 30,909.25 to the 30,927.50 entry, the trigger line was removed, and the card reads AT BE: Trigger consumed. The targets are untouched. Tap to enlarge.

Key capabilities

FF Breakeven Trigger line, placed with one click from a pill or from the chart’s Drawing Tools menu
Touch or CloseBeyond firing
Moves every working stop-market and stop-limit order that would close the position, on the Chart Trader account or one you name
Breakeven offset in ticks, from −100 to 1000
Wrong-side guard with a minimum distance from the bid or ask
Only improve stop, on by default
The line is removed once it has fired and kept after a blocked attempt
Status card with six states and the reason for every block
A NinjaTrader alert on every move, and an optional log in the Output window
Its own toolbar pill, which steps aside when the Drawing Kit is on the chart

How to set up Auto BE in NinjaTrader 8

Add FF AutoBE from the Indicators window to the chart you trade. Chart the exact contract you trade, such as NQ 12-26, not a different month.
Select the account in Chart Trader, or set Account name override to always watch one account.
Optional: set Breakeven offset (ticks) so the stop lands beyond entry, and choose the Trigger mode.
Try it on a Sim account first. Enter a trade with a stop, press BE and click a price beyond your entry.
Watch the card go from ARMED to AT BE, and check that your stop order moved to the breakeven price.

New to NinjaTrader add-ons? The install guide covers importing, Tick Replay and common fixes.

Auto BE FAQ

How does Auto BE work?

Draw a breakeven line on the chart while you are in a trade. When price trades to it (or, in CloseBeyond mode, a bar closes beyond it), every working stop on the position moves to your entry, with an optional offset, and the line is used up.

How is it different from NinjaTrader’s ATM Auto Breakeven?

NinjaTrader’s Auto Breakeven moves an ATM strategy’s stop after a fixed profit trigger set in the ATM template. Auto BE moves the stop when price reaches a level you draw, and it works with ATM, bracket and hand-placed stops.

Can it move my stop to the wrong side of the market?

No. Before it changes anything it checks the new price against the live market. If breakeven would be closer than 2 ticks (by default) to the bid on a long or the ask on a short, it does not send the change and the card says why.

Does it act on historical data?

No. It works on live data only and never touches orders during the historical load. The card stays IDLE until the chart is live.

Does it need Order Flow+ or Tick Replay?

No. Any NinjaTrader data feed works, on a live or Sim account.

Works well with

Drawing KitFree ICT drawing tools TallyLive P&L and R-multiple overlay Risk/RewardRisk/reward and position size tool

Conclusion

Auto BE does not decide when your stop goes to breakeven. You place the line; it watches price, moves the stops when price gets there, and tells you when it could not:

The price you choose, set and moved on the chart
Every working stop on the position moved together
A refusal you can see on the card, never a silent one

Auto BE is one of the free FlowForged tools for NinjaTrader 8. For the order-flow indicators, see the paid FlowForged tools.

Auto BE is free

It comes in one download with all eight free FlowForged tools. Run it on a Sim account before you use it live.

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Futures trading involves substantial risk and is not for every investor. The charts on this page are illustrations, not past market activity. Auto BE is an analytical tool, not trading advice. Auto BE manages orders on your account; test it in Sim first. It can modify live stop orders: when price reaches your trigger line, it changes the price of working stop orders on the selected account, live or Sim. A stop at breakeven is not a guaranteed exit at breakeven; stop orders can fill with slippage.

On this page

How to read it
Card states
When it fires
Which stops move
Limits
Settings
Alerts and log
Toolbar
Requirements
Download

How to read it

Two things on the chart: the line you place, and the card in the corner that reports what FF AutoBE is doing.

- - - 30935.25

The dashed line is the trigger

The FF Breakeven Trigger: a goldenrod dashed line with its price on the axis. Only this drawing counts; a plain horizontal line is ignored.

ARMEDAT BEBLOCKED

The chip is the state

Top right of the card, with a colored dot. Six states, listed below.

Breakeven 30927.50

The rows are the numbers

The account it watches, the trigger price (with the number of lines in brackets when there is more than one) and the breakeven price the stops would move to.

Waiting for 30935.25

The last line is the detail

What it is waiting for or what it just did, in amber while armed. When it refuses, a red line underneath gives the reason.

FF AUTO BEARMED

AccountSim102

Trigger30935.25

Breakeven30927.50

Waiting for 30935.25

FF AUTO BEAT BE

AccountSim102

Trigger–

Breakeven30927.50

Trigger consumed

FF AUTO BEBLOCKED

AccountSim102

Trigger30927.75

Breakeven30927.50

Stops NOT moved

BE 30927.50 too close to bid 30927.50

Mock-ups with example values and default colors. The card sits in the bottom-right corner of the price panel by default.

Card states

IDLE

Before the chart is live, or with no account to watch: No Chart Trader account, or Account ‘name’ not found when the override does not match an account.

FLAT

No position in the chart’s contract on the account: No trigger line set, or Waiting for a position when a line is already placed.

NO LINE

In a position without a usable line: In Long, draw a BE trigger (or In Short), or Trigger not beyond entry, followed by your entry price, when the line is on the losing side.

ARMED

A position and a valid line: Waiting for the line’s price.

AT BE

Moved 2 stops to 30927.50 (for example) at the moment it fires, then Trigger consumed once the line is gone, or Stops at breakeven if you keep the line. Stops already at or better than BE when nothing needed to move.

BLOCKED

Stops NOT moved, with the reason in red: BE too close to bid (long) or too close to ask (short) with both prices, No working stop found, or the error NinjaTrader returned for a change. The line stays.

The AT BE message with the stop count lasts only until the next tick. The NinjaTrader alert keeps the record, see Alerts and log.

When it fires

Trigger mode

Touchdefault

Fires when the last traded price reaches the line: at or above it on a long, at or below it on a short. Checked on every tick.

CloseBeyondoption

Fires when a bar closes at or beyond the line. It is checked on the first tick of the next bar, once per bar.

Which line, and how often

Which linenearest entry

FF AutoBE reads the FF Breakeven Trigger lines on its own chart. With one line, it uses that line. With several, it uses the one nearest your entry on the favorable side, and the card’s Trigger row shows how many it sees.

Once per positionre-arms

After it fires, it stays done for that position. It arms again when the position closes, when it reverses, or when you place or move a line to a new price.

Before you enterallowed

You can place the line while flat. The card shows FLAT: Waiting for a position, and arms when a position opens with the line beyond your entry.

Place the line further from entry than your offset plus Min ticks from market. With the defaults on NQ, the bid has to be at least 0.50 (2 ticks) above entry on a long before the stop can move there. A line closer than that is reached before the guard allows the move: Touch retries every 1.5 seconds while price stays at or past the line, and CloseBeyond gets one attempt for each bar that closes beyond it.

Which stops move

When price reaches the line, FF AutoBE looks at the orders on the watched account and changes those that match all of these:

The chart’s contract, matched by its full name (for example NQ 12-26)
A stop-market or stop-limit order
On the side that closes the position: a sell stop on a long, a buy stop on a short. NinjaTrader marks a short’s stop Buy or BuyToCover depending on how it was placed, and both count
Not an ATM entry. A stop entry for another ATM, which NinjaTrader names Entry, is left alone even when it sits on the closing side
Live: working, accepted, trigger-pending or part-filled. An order with a change or cancel already pending is skipped
With Only improve stop on: not already at or better than breakeven

Price and safety

Breakeven priceentry + offset

Your position’s average entry price plus the offset in ticks (minus on a short), rounded to the tick. Each matching order is modified to that price, and a stop-limit gets the same price for its limit. The existing orders are changed, not cancelled and replaced.

Wrong-side guard2 ticks

Before anything is sent, breakeven is checked against the live bid (long) or ask (short). Closer than Min ticks from market, and nothing is sent. A stop change at or through the market is rejected, and a rejected change leaves the old stop in place, so FF AutoBE refuses first and shows it on the card.

Never backwardsOn

Only improve stop skips any stop already at or better than breakeven, such as one you or an ATM have trailed.

Realtime onlyalways

Orders are never touched during the historical load. The card stays IDLE until the chart is live.

The line outlives a failurealways

The line is removed once a stop has moved, or when every stop was already at or better than breakeven. A block, an error or no working stop keeps it armed.

Limits

FF AutoBE changes the price of existing stop orders and nothing else. Know these before you use it live:

It never places a stop. With no working stop when price reaches the line, the card shows BLOCKED: No working stop found, and the line stays. In Touch mode it keeps checking every 1.5 seconds while price is at or past the line, so a stop you place then is moved to breakeven straight away if the guard allows.
It never places, cancels or closes an order, and it does not change targets, entries or quantities.
A strategy’s stops look like yours. If a NinjaScript strategy works stop orders on the same account and contract, its stops on the closing side are moved too, and so is a buy-stop entry it has working while you are short. Keep strategies on another account or contract.
Stop-limits: the limit is set to the same price as the stop. If price moves through it quickly, the order may not fill.
One account, one contract. A position on another account, or in another contract month, is not seen.
Once per position. Stops added after it fires, for example when you add to the position, are not moved. Place a new line to arm it again.
The chart has to be open and live. It keeps working when the chart’s tab is not in view. Closing the chart or removing FF AutoBE stops it.
No off switch on the pill. Hiding the card, hiding the pills or switching off FlowForged rendering from the Master Switch does not disarm it. To stop it, delete the line or remove FF AutoBE from the chart.
ATM templates that move the stop themselves, with an auto breakeven or a trailing stop, can move the same order. Let one of the two manage the stop.
A used line is hidden at once. If NinjaTrader keeps it and it comes back after a workspace reload, it is live again: delete it.

Settings

1. Trigger

Trigger modeTouch

Touch or CloseBeyond. See When it fires.

Require trigger beyond entryOn

Ignores a line on the losing side of your entry: at or below it on a long, at or above it on a short. Off uses such a line too; price is usually already past it, so the move can come as soon as the guard allows.

2. Breakeven

Breakeven offset (ticks)0

Ticks beyond your average entry, in your favor, for the new stop. 0 is the exact entry. −100 to 1000: a negative value leaves the stop that many ticks short of entry, a larger one moves it into profit.

Only improve stopOn

Never moves a stop backwards. Off moves every matching stop to breakeven, which pulls a tighter stop back to it.

Remove trigger after firingOn

Removes the line once it has fired. A blocked attempt keeps it. Off leaves the line on the chart; it does not fire again for the same position unless you move it.

3. Safety

Min ticks from market2

1 to 200. The move is refused if breakeven would be closer than this to the bid (long) or the ask (short).

Account name overrideblank

Blank follows the account selected in Chart Trader, including when you switch it. An exact account name pins that account instead; case does not matter.

4. Status card

Show status cardOn

Same as the Card button on the pill.

CornerBottomRight

TopLeft, TopRight, BottomLeft or BottomRight of the price panel.

Offset X (px)10

0 to 800. Distance from the left or right edge.

Offset Y (px)72

0 to 800. Distance from the top or bottom edge. The default leaves room for NinjaTrader’s bar timer at the bottom right.

5. Diagnostics

Enable alertsOn

A NinjaTrader alert each time stops move.

Verbose logOff

Prints every stop move and every block reason to the NinjaScript Output window.

6. Toolbar

Show on-chart toolbarOn

The AUTO BE pill. It appears only while FF DrawingKit is not on the chart.

Alerts and log

With Enable alerts on, every successful move raises a high-priority NinjaTrader alert, in goldenrod, reading “FF Auto BE: 2 stop(s) moved to 30927.50” (with your count and price). It plays no sound. A blocked attempt raises no alert; it shows on the card.

With Verbose log on, every stop change, every block reason and every removed line is printed to the NinjaScript Output window, each line starting [FFAutoBE].

Requirements

Platform: NinjaTrader 8 on Windows. No Order Flow+ subscription and no Tick Replay required.
Account: An account selected in the chart’s Chart Trader, or an exact name in Account name override. Live and Sim accounts are treated the same.
Chart: The exact contract you trade (for example NQ 12-26), on live data. Leave Calculate at On each tick, the default.
The line: The FF Breakeven Trigger drawing tool, from the BE button on the AUTO BE or DRAW pill, or from the chart’s Drawing Tools menu. A plain horizontal line is not used.
Before live use: Run it on a Sim account and confirm that each kind of stop you use, ATM, bracket or manual, moves as you expect, on a long and on a short.

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