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TopstepTopstepXProjectX APIFutures9 min · Updated 2026-10-26

Topstep setup guide: Trading Combine, TopstepX, and the ProjectX API

Start a Topstep Trading Combine, set up TopstepX risk settings, get and link a ProjectX API key, and test read-only before you automate anything.

This guide gets you from zero to a working Topstep API connection in four steps: start a Trading Combine, set up TopstepX, get and link your ProjectX API key, and prove the connection with read-only calls before any order can go out. Every step links Topstep's own help pages, because Topstep can change its rules at any time and its Terms of Use make staying current your job.

1. Start a Trading Combine

The Trading Combine is Topstep's simulated evaluation. Per Topstep's start-here page, signup takes four steps:

  1. Create your Topstep account at dashboard.topstep.com (email, Google, or Facebook). MFA is required for the Dashboard.
  2. Pick a Combine size that fits your risk. Topstep offers 50K, 100K, and 150K, each with its own Maximum Loss Limit and position limits.
  3. Enter your payment info. The Combine is a monthly subscription that rebills every 30 days until you pass or cancel.
  4. Check your email for your TopstepX platform credentials.

Topstep allows one profile per trader, so if you've signed up before, log in and click "Start a Trading Combine" instead. For prices, see Trading Combine subscriptions; for each size's limits, see Trading Combine parameters.

2. Set up TopstepX

TopstepX is Topstep's only trading platform. Sign in at topstepx.com with the platform username and password from your email, which aren't your Dashboard login. Then select the right account in the account selector at the top left before you do anything else.

Open Settings → Risk Settings and set these before your first trade:

  • Bracket mode. Position Brackets (the default) attach one stop and one target to the position, so leftover orders aren't a risk. Auto OCO Brackets link a stop and target to each entry order: when one fills, the other cancels. Topstep's own comparison says Auto OCO means you "must manage bracket orders manually." You must be completely flat to switch modes.
  • Personal Daily Loss Limit. Set a PDLL and choose its action: Do Nothing, Liquidate, or Liquidate and Block (blocked until the next trading day).
  • Lock it. Lock Risk Settings freezes your PDLL, profit target, and trade limits until 5 PM CT, so you can't loosen them mid-session.
  • Contract Limits, Trade Limits, and Symbol Block cap what any order can do, including orders your code sends.

3. Get and link your ProjectX API key

TopstepX runs on ProjectX, and API access is a separate ProjectX subscription. Topstep lists it at $29/month, or $14.50/month with the trader code "topstep" (checked October 2026; see TopstepX API Access for the current price). You need an active Topstep account. Do the four parts in order:

  1. Create a ProjectX account: go to dashboard.projectx.com, click Register, and set an email, username, and password. This is separate from your TopstepX login.
  2. Subscribe: in the ProjectX Dashboard, open Subscriptions → ProjectX API Access, enter payment details and the Topstep promo code, and confirm.
  3. Link: in TopstepX, open Settings ⚙️ → API → ProjectX Linking → Add Link, and confirm the pop-up. Check that the account now shows in your ProjectX Dashboard. If it doesn't, turn off pop-up blockers or use an incognito window.
  4. Generate: in TopstepX, open Settings → API → Add API Key, and copy the key into a password manager or a permission-locked secrets file.

4. Test read-only first

Topstep says there's no sandbox and points you to a Practice account for testing. Either way, your first code should only read. Log in with your platform username (not your email) and the key to get a session token, as in the ProjectX auth docs:

Get a session token
curl -X POST https://api.topstepx.com/api/Auth/loginKey \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d "{\"userName\":\"$TOPSTEPX_USERNAME\",\"apiKey\":\"$TOPSTEPX_API_KEY\"}"
# Check "success": true and "errorCode": 0, then keep the token out of logs.
Read-only checks
# Accounts (id, name, canTrade)
curl -X POST https://api.topstepx.com/api/Account/search \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"onlyActiveAccounts": true}'

# Then, with YOUR_ACCOUNT_ID from the response:
#   POST /api/Position/searchOpen   open positions
#   POST /api/Order/searchOpen      working orders
#   POST /api/Trade/search          fills
#   POST /api/Contract/search       resolve the contract ID you'll trade
#   POST /api/History/retrieveBars  historical bars
  1. Run each read and compare it with the TopstepX screen: same accounts, positions, working orders, and fills.
  2. Keep reading until the numbers match every time, across a few sessions and at least one contract rollover.
  3. Only then add order code. Build in a dry-run mode that prints the exact request it would send, and make sending real orders a deliberate opt-in.

Want a written rule set to test against? V2Strat turns a trading video into an agent-ready strategy prompt. Have your code or agent compare the rules with live reads only, and see the copy-paste ChatGPT trading bot prompts for the format.

5. Topstep's rules for automation

Topstep allows custom bots through the API, subject to the standard platform rules and Topstep's ban on high-frequency trading (HFT), and "a rule violation is treated the same whether it originates from manual trading or third-party automation" (API Access).

All trading activity must originate from your personal device. The use of VPS, VPNs, and remote servers is prohibited by Topstep's Terms of Use. Running automation on a VPS can result in account suspension or removal from the program.
  • Personal device only. Trade only from your own personal device, with no VPN, VPS, virtual machine or remote server (API Access). The Terms of Use add: "Using any VPN or VPS on Accounts is strictly prohibited and may result in account termination and forfeiture of profits."
  • Maximum Loss Limit. "The MLL is a trailing limit. It rises as your end-of-day balance grows, but never moves down. Once it reaches your starting balance, it locks permanently." Both realized and unrealized P&L count, and a touch liquidates immediately (MLL).
  • News. Around Tier 1 releases (CPI, PPI, NFP, FOMC), Topstep blocks new mini equity-index and metals positions for a 10-minute window and caps micros, and pending orders won't fill (news restrictions). Also prohibited: "Purposefully trading your full Maximum Position Size directly into a scheduled major news event" (prohibited strategies).
  • Trading day and flat time. The trading day runs 5:00 PM CT to 3:10 PM CT, and "all positions MUST be closed prior to 3:10 PM CT or prior to the market close, whichever is sooner." The optional Daily Loss Limit flattens you and blocks trading until 5 PM CT.
  • No unfair tech or SIM exploits. That means no scalping algos built on unrealistic SIM fills, no hundreds of rapid trades for queue position, and no cross-account hedging or coordinated trading (prohibited conduct).
  • Copy trading. The built-in trade copier turns off most personal risk settings on follower accounts (PDLL and profit target stay on), and clearing it with open positions liquidates every account on it.
  • No Live Funded Accounts: Topstep says they "are not allowed to trade through the ProjectX API."

Gotchas once orders are live

  • Unlinked stop and target. A stop and a target sent as separate orders aren't linked. If one fills, the other can keep working and open a position you didn't want. Use linked brackets (Auto OCO), and after every exit check working orders and cancel leftovers once positions show flat.
  • Treat an API error as "unknown," never as "flat." Re-read positions before acting.
  • Token renewal. Tokens last 24 hours. Refresh with Validate Session before expiry, and log in again on any 401.
  • Rate limits. Per ProjectX: 50 requests per 30 seconds for retrieveBars and 200 requests per 60 seconds for everything else. Back off on a 429.
  • Bars. Request historical bars with an explicit start and end (max 20,000 per call), and check the edges of each window.
  • Contract IDs. API IDs (format like CON.F.US.SYMBOL.MONTHYEAR in ProjectX's docs, as of October 2026) differ from platform symbols. Resolve them with Contract/search instead of hard-coding, because TopstepX rolls contracts to the front month during the 4–5 PM CT close.
  • Expect order calls to fail outside trading hours and during the daily close.
  • Retry reads on network errors, but never blindly retry an order placement. Check order status first. Don't rely on one long-running process for safety, since it can die silently.
  • Fees. Commissions and fees are deducted automatically. Reconcile your P&L against the account balance and statement, not only the fill data.

Before going further, read agent trading guardrails: hard caps, a STOP word, and review-before-place apply to any bot.

FAQ

How do I get a TopstepX API key?

Create a ProjectX Dashboard account at dashboard.projectx.com, subscribe to ProjectX API Access, link the subscription in TopstepX under Settings → API → ProjectX Linking, then click Add API Key on the same tab. Topstep says the key-generation step fails if you skip the linking step.

How much does the TopstepX API cost?

Topstep lists API Access at $29/month, or $14.50/month with Topstep's trader code "topstep" (checked October 2026). It's billed by ProjectX separately from your Topstep subscription. Check Topstep's API Access page for the current price.

Can I trade Topstep from a VPS, VPN or virtual machine?

No. Trade only from your own personal device, with no VPN, VPS, virtual machine or remote server. Topstep's API Access page (https://help.topstep.com/en/articles/11187768-topstepx-api-access) says: "All trading activity must originate from your personal device. The use of VPS, VPNs, and remote servers is prohibited by Topstep's Terms of Use." Its Terms of Use (https://www.topstep.com/terms-of-use) add: "Using any VPN or VPS on Accounts is strictly prohibited and may result in account termination and forfeiture of profits."

Is there a TopstepX API sandbox?

No. Topstep says there's currently no sandbox and recommends testing with a Practice account, which uses the same endpoints and real-time hubs. Start with read-only calls either way.

Why do I get "User lacks subscription" when creating an API key?

Your ProjectX subscription isn't linked to your TopstepX profile. In TopstepX, open Settings → API, click Add Link under ProjectX Linking, confirm the pop-up, and check that the account appears in your ProjectX Dashboard. Then generate the key again.

Can I use the ProjectX API on a Live Funded Account?

No. Topstep says Live Funded Accounts can't trade through the ProjectX API because the API Gateway is built for the simulated environment.

Disclosures

Educational only, not financial advice. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss. Topstep accounts are simulated, rules and prices change, and Topstep's current help center and Terms of Use always win over this page. Topstep doesn't support or take responsibility for tools built on the API, and orders executed through it are final. V2Strat extracts educational strategy content from videos. It isn't a broker, not affiliated with Topstep or ProjectX, and makes no claim that any strategy will pass an evaluation or earn a payout.

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