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 | If fee columns are absent, Edge labels fee-adjusted P&L as estimated |
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
Fee-adjusted P&L when fees are absent
Plan-aware Tradovate fee estimates are labeled as estimates; actual broker statements remain authoritative
Fee Estimation for Tradovate CSV Uploads
Some Tradovate trade exports do not include commission or fee columns. When fee data is present, Edge uses it. When it is absent, Edge treats the reported trade P&L as gross for fee-adjustment purposes and clearly marks the resulting net P&L as estimated.
Tradovate publishes different all-in rates for Free, Monthly, and Lifetime pricing plans. Edge lets you select the plan used for estimates. “Not sure” uses the current Free-plan all-in rate as a conservative fallback. No accuracy percentage is claimed: pricing can change and your actual broker statement remains the source of truth.
| INSTRUMENT | FREE / SIDE | MONTHLY / SIDE | LIFETIME / SIDE |
|---|---|---|---|
| NQ | $2.87 | $2.57 | $2.17 |
| MNQ | $0.94 | $0.84 | $0.64 |
| ES | $2.87 | $2.57 | $2.17 |
| MES | $0.94 | $0.84 | $0.64 |
| GC | $3.14 | $2.84 | $2.44 |
| MGC | $1.29 | $1.19 | $0.99 |
Published all-in rates per contract, per side · schedule 2026-08-14. Official Tradovate pricing. Actual broker P&L may differ from estimates.
FREE ANALYSIS
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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?
When a Tradovate export does not include commission or fee columns, Edge Forensics treats the trade P&L as gross and estimates fees from Tradovate’s published pricing schedule. If fee data is present in the CSV, Edge uses that data instead of an estimate.
How does Edge Forensics estimate Tradovate fees?
Edge uses Tradovate's published all-in per-side rates for the Free, Monthly, or Lifetime plan. If you choose “Not sure,” Edge uses the current Free-plan rate as a conservative fallback. This is an estimate, not a guaranteed broker reconciliation; your Tradovate statement is the source of truth. Rates used here are from the 2026-08-14 published schedule.
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 the exported columns and broker conventions. Edge checks whether fee data is present instead of assuming it is always absent, normalizes contract symbols, and uses the available timestamps/prices to reconstruct the trade. When Tradovate fee data is absent, the selected pricing plan controls the estimate.
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.