Copy rules & sizing · updated 2026

Copy groups: run more than one leader at once

A copy group is one leader account, one instrument, and a roster of followers. Each group runs its own copy engine, and every group runs at the same time. That is how you copy two leaders at once (one account trading ES and another trading NQ) without the two setups touching each other.

What a group contains

One leader account. The account whose fills the group copies. A group with no leader is off: the Leader account field's first choice is No leader (group off), the group's tab shows an OFF chip, and its strip reads "GROUP OFF · NO LEADER". Starting copying skips a group that is off. It still refuses to start when no group has a leader at all.
One instrument. The root this group copies (ES, NQ, CL, and so on), picked in the group's Leader instrument field. The group ignores the leader's fills on other instruments.
Its followers. Every group is a tab on the Trade Desk (its name and its instrument). The tab lists the leader first, then every account you have: every discovered account, plus any stored account that has not been discovered yet. The accounts that copy this group's leader come first. Each follower has its own sizing, Cross order and Max.

Each row has one Follow switch, and it means one thing: this account copies this group's leader. Switched off, the row keeps its settings and its Status reads Off (Paused, in amber, while copying runs). There is no Add or Remove button: the Follow switch is how an account joins or leaves a group, and it applies at once, never through Save.

A row the group already holds flips at once, in this group only. That works while copying runs too.
An account the group does not hold yet joins at once while the copier is stopped. While copying runs its switch is greyed and says: "Stop copying to add an account to this group."
A brand new group has to be saved first: "Save this new group first, then switch accounts on."

Press Manage rules to see and edit the rules in place, in the same rows. With the copier stopped, every row's Cross order, Sizing, Amount and Max are editable, and those edits are saved with Save changes on the amber save bar that docks at the bottom of the screen as soon as something changes. The bar counts your unsaved changes and names the tabs holding them, and a changed field turns white with a dark ring until it is saved. Editing the fields of an account the group does not hold yet adds it to the group switched off: saving stores it as a switched-off rule. Switch it on when you want it to copy.

Sort by Connection and a thin header row sits above each broker login: the login's name and how many of its accounts copy in this group, for example "1 of 2 copying". Within each login, the accounts that copy this group's leader come first. The box at the start of the header switches that login's accounts in this group on or off at once (an account the group does not hold yet joins with its own Follow switch). It switches every one of them off, but switches on only the accounts Start copying would accept: an account not discovered yet, or on a broker login that is switched off, stays off, and the header row says why ("switch the login on in Accounts" or "press Test in Accounts to find them").

While the account list is still loading, stored rows sit under a Loading accounts header. If it could not load, they sit under Accounts not loaded, and a note above the rows offers Retry.

A tab carries a dark dot while its group holds a change you have not saved, and an amber dot while copying runs and one of its accounts is catching up or locked.

Add a group

Stop the copier. Structural edits are refused while it runs.
On the Trade Desk, press + Add group after the tabs. A new tab named "New group" opens with the rules shown. With no groups yet the desk reads "No copy groups yet" and offers Add group in the middle too, or Open Accounts when no accounts have been found yet. With no broker login at all, it offers Add connection instead.
Pick the leader account and the leader instrument. Only accounts that already lead another group are left out of the list.
Press Save changes in the save bar. It saves every tab as one unit. Nothing changes until the save succeeds, and accounts can join the group only once it is saved.
Switch Follow on for each account that should follow. It applies at once, without Save. An account whose fields you edited first joins with those settings; otherwise it starts at a 1× multiplier with a Max of 100.

If no accounts have been found yet, the Leader account picker says so: "No accounts yet: press Test on a connection".

Change the leader of an existing group

You change a group's leader on the Trade Desk, under Manage rules.

Stop the copier. The leader is locked while copying runs.
On the Trade Desk, open the group's tab and press Manage rules.
Pick the new account in the group's Leader account field. Accounts that already lead another group are left out of the list. The new leader's own follower row leaves this group, because a leader cannot also follow in the group it leads.
Press Save changes in the save bar, then start copying again.

The group keeps its name, its instrument and its other followers. See editing rules while the copier runs for why there is no live leader swap.

The rules the app enforces

Any account can follow in any group, leaders included: the leader of an ES group can follow an NQ leader, or an MES leader, in another group. The app refuses only what the copier cannot do safely, and says why in a message at the top right of the screen. In these sentences, [account] is the account, [group] a group's name and [ES] an instrument:

An account can lead only one group: "[account] already leads [group]: an account can lead only one group."
A leader cannot follow in its own group: "[account] is the leader of [group], so it cannot also be a follower there."
One account copies a given instrument in only one group at a time: "[account] already copies [MES] in [group]. Switch it off there first."
A leader cannot copy its own instrument from another leader: "[account] leads [group] on [ES], so it cannot also copy [ES] from another leader: its own [ES] trades would look copied. Pick another instrument or leader." Only the exact instrument counts: a leader on ES may copy MES from another leader. Watch Cross order, though: ticked on a row that copies an MES leader, it makes that row trade ES, which is refused.

Switched-off rows, and groups with no leader, never clash with anything.

When a leader account also copies another leader, two things are worth knowing:

The copier manages the instrument the account copies. If you trade that instrument by hand on the account, the copier treats it as a difference from the other leader and takes it back to match. Switch that copy off first if you want to trade it yourself. Your trades in the instrument the account leads are copied as usual.
Your own position and the copied one can point in opposite directions, for example long ES of your own and short MES copied from someone else. Many prop firms ban opposite positions in a big contract and its micro, so check your firm's rules first. See hedging between accounts.

One more refusal can only happen while copying runs. An account that was switched off in every group when copying started cannot be switched on until copying restarts, because the copier is not receiving its trades: "[account] was switched off in every group when copying started. Stop copying, switch it on, then start again."

Two engines must never fight over the same position, and a leader's own trades must never be mistaken for copied ones. That is what these rules protect.

Renaming and deleting

Renaming is cosmetic and a saved group's new name saves at once, without the save bar: with the copier stopped and the rules shown, press the pencil beside the group's name, type the new one, and press Save next to the field (Enter saves, Escape cancels). A new group's name is saved with the rest. Deleting is structural: press Delete group at the right of the group's name, and the dialog spells it out: the group's follower rules go with it, and "Nothing is deleted until you press Save changes." Deleting your last group shows "No copy groups yet" right away, but nothing is deleted until you press Save changes in the save bar.

Groups and your plan

Groups are what your plan counts. Standard includes two copy groups; Pro and Private have no limit. Accounts are never counted, so a group can hold as many followers as you connect. Every saved group counts, one with no leader yet included. On Standard, + Add group greys out at two groups, and a save or Start copying with more is refused with: "Your plan includes 2 copy groups, and you have 3. Upgrade your plan, or delete a group on the Trade Desk." See plans and copy group limits.

Quick answers

Can one account lead two groups?

No. The app refuses it: "an account can lead only one group." Use one group per leader.

Can a leader in one group follow in another?

Yes, as long as it ends up trading a different instrument from the one it leads. The leader of an ES group can follow an NQ leader or an MES leader in another group. It cannot copy ES itself from another leader, because its own ES trades would be mistaken for copied ones, and it can never follow in the group it leads. Watch Cross order: on a row that copies an MES leader it makes the row trade ES, which is refused.

Why can't I switch an account on while copying runs?

Two cases. An account the group does not hold yet can only join while the copier is stopped ("Stop copying to add an account to this group."). And an account that was switched off in every group when copying started stays off until you stop and start again, because the copier is not receiving its trades.

Where do I change my leader account?

On the Trade Desk, under Manage rules, in the group's Leader account field. Stop the copier first, pick the new leader, and press Save changes in the save bar.

Can I rename a group while copying?

No. The rename pencil shows only while the copier is stopped. Stop it, rename the group, then start again.