PLATFORM GUIDE · TRADOVATE
Tradovate Trade Analysis: What Your CSV Data Is Really Telling You
Your Tradovate CSV shows you what happened. Edge Forensics shows you why — the behavioral patterns behind your losing sessions, with exact timestamps, dollar costs per pattern, and a specific rule-based fix for each one.
Analyze My Trades — It's Free →STEP 1
How to Export Your Trades from Tradovate
Open Tradovate and log in to your account.
Navigate to the Account tab in the top navigation bar.
Click the Trades sub-tab (not P&L Summary — that view does not contain individual trade timestamps).
Use the date range picker to select your desired analysis period. For best results, select 60–90 days of history.
Click the Export button (the download/arrow icon near the top-right of the trades table).
Select CSV as the export format and save the file to your computer.
Return to Edge Forensics, click "Upload CSV", and select your downloaded Tradovate file.
NOTE: Make sure you export the Trades tab, not the P&L tab. The P&L view shows daily aggregates without individual trade timestamps — it cannot be used for behavioral analysis.
STEP 2
What Your Tradovate CSV Contains
The standard Tradovate trade export contains the following columns. Understanding each column clarifies how Edge Forensics uses your data and why certain information (like fees) requires estimation.
| COLUMN | WHAT IT CONTAINS | HOW EDGE FORENSICS USES IT |
|---|---|---|
| Date/Time | Trade entry timestamp (UTC or local depending on account settings) | Required for all temporal pattern detection |
| Contract | Tradovate instrument symbol (e.g. NQH6, MNQH6, GCJ6) | Includes contract month code |
| Action | Buy or Sell — direction of the trade leg | Edge Forensics derives Long/Short from the sequence of Buys and Sells |
| Qty | Number of contracts traded in this leg | Used for contract escalation detection |
| Fill Price | Execution price of the trade leg | Used for P&L calculation and averaging-down detection |
| P/L | Realized P&L for the closed trade | Gross P&L only — fees are estimated separately |
What Your CSV Doesn't Show — And What Edge Forensics Surfaces
Your Tradovate CSV is a record of what happened — each trade, each price, each P&L. What it does not contain is the behavioral context: why you entered each trade, what happened in the minutes before each entry, and whether each entry was driven by your strategy or by your emotional state. This context is recoverable from the timestamp and sequence data — but only if you have tools that analyze trades relationally, not just individually.
Why you entered each trade
Timestamp analysis reveals whether entry followed a loss (revenge), a gap (open window), or a size increase (escalation)
Intraday equity curve
Edge Forensics reconstructs the running P&L within each session minute-by-minute from trade timestamps
Behavioral pattern sequences
Sequential analysis across trades reveals pattern events invisible in per-trade statistics
True net P&L (after fees)
Fee estimation using Tradovate rate tables converts gross CSV P&L to net after commissions and exchange fees
Fee Estimation for Tradovate CSV Uploads
Tradovate does not include fees in its trade-level CSV export. The P&L column in your CSV reflects the gross trading P&L only — the difference between entry and exit price times contract size times the instrument multiplier. Fees are billed separately and do not appear in the downloaded file.
Edge Forensics automatically estimates fees for every Tradovate trade using a lookup table based on the instrument symbol, contract size, and standard Tradovate commission rates. The estimate includes: Tradovate platform commission (per side), NFA fee (per contract, per side), and CME Group exchange fee (varies by instrument and margin eligibility). The estimated fee is displayed separately from gross P&L so you can see both figures.
| INSTRUMENT | EST. FEE / SIDE | EST. ROUND TRIP |
|---|---|---|
| NQ (full) | ~$1.09 | ~$2.18 |
| MNQ (micro) | ~$0.42 | ~$0.84 |
| ES (full) | ~$1.09 | ~$2.18 |
| MES (micro) | ~$0.42 | ~$0.84 |
| GC (gold full) | ~$1.32 | ~$2.64 |
| MGC (micro gold) | ~$0.42 | ~$0.84 |
Estimates based on standard Tradovate plan rates. Pro/Elevate plan holders may have lower commissions. Verify against your monthly Tradovate statement.
FREE ANALYSIS
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Analyze My Trades — It's Free →No credit card · Tradovate CSV supported · Fee estimation included
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I export my trades from Tradovate?
In the Tradovate desktop or web app, navigate to the Account section. Click the Trades tab (not the P&L Summary tab — that is an aggregate view without individual trade timestamps). In the Trades tab, select your date range using the date picker at the top. Click the Export button (download icon) and choose CSV format. The downloaded file contains one row per closed trade with entry time, exit time, instrument, side, quantity, entry price, exit price, and realized P&L.
Why does the Tradovate CSV not include fees?
Tradovate separates trading fees from trade P&L in their accounting system. The CSV export contains only the realized P&L from the trade itself (difference between entry and exit price times contract size). Exchange fees, NFA fees, and Tradovate commissions are billed separately and do not appear in the trade-level CSV. Edge Forensics estimates these fees automatically using a lookup table based on instrument, contract type, and account type.
How accurate is Edge Forensics' fee estimation for Tradovate?
The fee estimation uses a lookup table based on published Tradovate commission rates and standard exchange fees per instrument. For most traders on the standard Tradovate plan, the estimation is accurate to within 3–5% of actual fees. Pro/Elevate plan holders may have different commission structures. You can verify the estimated fees against your Tradovate monthly statement.
Can I analyze NQ, MNQ, ES, MES, GC, and MGC trades from Tradovate?
Yes. Edge Forensics supports all Tradovate-listed instruments including equity index futures (NQ, MNQ, ES, MES, RTY, M2K), metals (GC, MGC, SI, SIL), crude oil (CL, MCL), and others. The instrument is parsed from the contract symbol in the CSV. Micro contract positions (MNQ, MES, MCL, MGC) are handled separately from full-size positions in the analysis.
What is the difference between Tradovate and NinjaTrader CSV analysis?
The primary differences are: (1) Fee columns — Tradovate CSV does not include fees; NinjaTrader CSV may include them depending on your broker connection. (2) Market Position column — NinjaTrader uses a Market Position column (Long/Short/Both) for side detection; Tradovate uses Buy/Sell action codes. (3) Instrument format — Tradovate uses contract month codes (NQH6 for March 2026 NQ); NinjaTrader may use continuous contract symbols. Edge Forensics handles all of these format differences automatically.
How many months of Tradovate history should I upload?
For statistically meaningful behavioral pattern detection, 2–3 months of trade data (50–200 trades) is optimal. Less than 30 trades may not produce reliable pattern detection for lower-frequency patterns like session continuation. More than 6 months of data is fully supported but analysis may take 2–3 minutes for larger datasets. Start with your most recent 3 months for the most actionable analysis.