# PitBridge

> A local-first MCP bridge for NinjaTrader 8, with hard risk limits your AI cannot bypass. PitBridge sits between an AI agent and a futures trading platform and enforces deterministic guardrails (daily loss halt, position caps, trading windows, kill switch, human confirmation and more) before any order reaches the platform. Orders never route through PitBridge servers. Open core for trust; a paid tier unlocks live execution and advanced guardrails.

PitBridge is trading infrastructure, not financial advice. It sends no signals, defines no strategies, and makes no promise about trading outcomes. Futures trading carries substantial risk of loss. The guardrails are software controls that refuse orders which break the limits you configure; they do not prevent every loss.

Key facts for agents and developers:
- Front door is the Model Context Protocol (MCP). The daemon exposes MCP over stdio and, since 0.2.0, MCP over streamable HTTP at http://127.0.0.1:8873/mcp, plus a localhost REST API and a WebSocket event feed. A bearer agent_token guards the REST and /mcp surface: optional on a localhost bind, required on any non-localhost bind.
- Getting started (published on PyPI, uvx works): `uvx pitbridge init` scaffolds ~/.pitbridge/config.toml; `uvx pitbridge mcp` runs the stdio MCP server, and with no config at all it boots a safe paper demo sandbox (fake account, all guardrails on, cannot place a real order) so an agent can call get_accounts and get_guardrail_status before anything is configured; `uvx pitbridge doctor` is a read-only PASS/WARN/FAIL self-check of config, accounts, guardrails, deny-list, kill switch, live gate, and version.
- The daemon is cross-platform (macOS, Linux, Windows). The NinjaTrader 8 AddOn (C#) runs on Windows next to NinjaTrader and connects outbound to the daemon. Paired mode lets the daemon run on your Mac while NinjaTrader runs on your Windows box, over your own local network. No cloud relay in the order route.
- Order pipeline is fixed and not bypassable: schema validation, permission check (read-only / paper / live), guardrail check, optional human confirmation, submit, ack and reconcile, append-only audit log. Live mode is off by default and requires an explicit arm-live step. The kill switch blocks all order flow and is released only from the CLI.
- Not affiliated with or endorsed by NinjaTrader, LLC. "For NinjaTrader 8" is nominative use.

## Product
- [NinjaTrader 8 MCP bridge](https://pitbridge.com/product/ninjatrader-8-ai-agent-bridge/): Connect Claude, custom agents or scripts to NinjaTrader 8 over MCP, local-first, with guardrails. The primary money page and CrossTrade MCP alternative.
- [Guardrails](https://pitbridge.com/product/guardrails/): The twelve deterministic guardrails enforced in the daemon before orders reach the platform.
- [Local-first trading bridge](https://pitbridge.com/product/local-first-trading-bridge/): How paired mode runs the daemon on your Mac and the AddOn on your Windows box, with no cloud in the order path.
- [Pricing](https://pitbridge.com/pricing/): Free open core (paper and read-only, all guardrails). Pro $49 per month ($470 per year) unlocks live execution; founder price $39 locked for life, first 100 accounts.

## Safety
- [Trading AI guardrails](https://pitbridge.com/safety/trading-ai-guardrails/): Why prompt-level safety is not risk management and what deterministic controls add.
- [Prop firm compliance](https://pitbridge.com/safety/prop-firm-compliance/): Configuring guardrails for prop firm rules. Software controls, not certification; verify rules with each firm.

## Learn
- [MCP for futures trading](https://pitbridge.com/learn/mcp-for-futures-trading/): What a trading MCP server is, and MCP vs REST vs webhooks for trading automation.

## Compare
- [Prop firms for automated trading](https://pitbridge.com/compare/prop-firms-for-automated-trading/): Seven futures prop firms ranked by how clearly their written policy permits automated trading, every stance verified on the firm's own site or help center on 2026-07-12. Lucid Trading, MyFundedFutures and Tradeify state permission in writing; Topstep permits with conditions but prohibits ProjectX API automation in the Live Funded Account; Bulenox documents the path without an explicit policy sentence; Earn2Trade publishes no clear yes; Apex prohibits automation. Merit ranked, never for sale; any future affiliate links are disclosed on the page and cannot move a firm up the ranking. PitBridge enforces the numeric limits you configure locally and does not know or bypass any firm's policy.

## Knowledge base
- [How to connect Claude to NinjaTrader 8 safely](https://pitbridge.com/learn/articles/connect-claude-to-ninjatrader-8-safely/): Register the local PitBridge MCP server with an accurate uv config, start on Sim101, and watch a real tool call get blocked with a reason code.
- [What a trading MCP server does](https://pitbridge.com/learn/articles/what-is-a-trading-mcp-server/): The real nine tools split into reads and writes, the place_order schema (account, instrument, side, qty), and why a proposal is not an execution.
- [Risk controls an LLM cannot override](https://pitbridge.com/learn/articles/ai-trading-guardrails-llm-cannot-override/): Why a prompt limit is advice and an out of process guardrail is a control, with the real config keys and reason codes.
- [MCP vs webhooks for trading automation](https://pitbridge.com/learn/articles/mcp-vs-webhooks-for-trading-automation/): How a fixed webhook trigger and a state aware MCP agent differ, and why the deterministic guardrail check belongs in the same place either way.
- [Local-first trading automation: why it matters](https://pitbridge.com/learn/articles/local-first-trading-automation-why-it-matters/): What keeping the order route and your keys on your machine buys you for security, latency, and fail closed behavior.
- [Which futures prop firms allow automated trading](https://pitbridge.com/learn/articles/which-futures-prop-firms-allow-automated-trading/): Why there is no fixed list, what to verify with the firm in writing, and how software enforces only the limits you configure.
- [How to connect an AI agent to NinjaTrader 8](https://pitbridge.com/learn/articles/connect-ai-agent-to-ninjatrader-8/): The three ways to automate NinjaTrader 8 (in-platform NinjaScript, external MCP agent, cloud bridge), why NT8 ships no Python API, and the real uvx pitbridge quickstart per runtime with a local guardrail that blocks orders over your limits.
- [CrossTrade MCP alternative: local-first vs a cloud bridge](https://pitbridge.com/learn/articles/crosstrade-mcp-alternative/): A sourced comparison of CrossTrade's $99 hosted Elite MCP and PitBridge's free local MCP, cloud relay versus a local order path, prompt-level safety versus a deterministic guardrail engine, honest about what CrossTrade does better.
- [Is there a NinjaTrader 8 Python API?](https://pitbridge.com/learn/articles/ninjatrader-8-python-api/): Why NinjaTrader 8 ships no official Python API, the real routes (NinjaScript in C#, the ATI file and DLL interfaces, a cloud REST bridge, a local daemon), and the localhost REST and MCP seam for driving NinjaTrader 8 from Python.
- [Prop firm automation rules for AI agents and trading bots](https://pitbridge.com/learn/articles/prop-firm-automation-rules/): How to find and read your firm's written automation policy, why the evaluation phase trips bots hardest, and enforcing max position, daily loss and the kill switch locally. Compliance, not evasion; PitBridge does not know or bypass any firm's rules.
- [How to connect OpenClaw to NinjaTrader 8](https://pitbridge.com/learn/articles/connect-openclaw-to-ninjatrader-8/): Register the local PitBridge MCP server in OpenClaw, over stdio with openclaw mcp add or an mcp.servers entry in openclaw.json, or over streamable HTTP at http://127.0.0.1:8873/mcp. The nine tools, and the deterministic guardrail engine that blocks any order past your limits. Paper by default, live gated.
- [How to connect Hermes to NinjaTrader 8](https://pitbridge.com/learn/articles/connect-hermes-to-ninjatrader-8/): Add the local PitBridge MCP server under mcp_servers in Hermes config.yaml, as a stdio command or a url, then reload with /reload-mcp. The nine tools, and the guardrail engine that refuses any order over your limits. Paper by default, live gated.
- [How to connect Cursor to NinjaTrader 8](https://pitbridge.com/learn/articles/connect-cursor-to-ninjatrader-8/): Add the local PitBridge MCP server under mcpServers in .cursor/mcp.json (project) or ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global), over stdio with uvx pitbridge mcp or streamable HTTP at http://127.0.0.1:8873/mcp. Develop your trading agent and scripts in Cursor while the deterministic guardrail engine keeps every proposed order inside your limits. Paper by default, live gated.
- [What an AI trading kill switch must actually guarantee](https://pitbridge.com/learn/articles/ai-trading-kill-switch/): The five properties of a real kill switch: enforcement outside the model (checked first in the frozen chain), a reduce-only carve-out so close and flatten keep working, human-only CLI release, file-backed persistence across restarts, and a hash-chained audit trail. A kill switch stops new orders; it is not a promise about market outcomes.
- [How to automate NinjaTrader 8 without writing NinjaScript](https://pitbridge.com/learn/articles/automate-ninjatrader-without-ninjascript/): The honest no-code map for traders: the in-platform Strategy Builder, bought or commissioned Ecosystem strategies, the ATI file door, trade copiers, webhook relays, and a plain-language AI agent behind PitBridge's deterministic local guardrails. No option removes your responsibility for the risk rules; automation amplifies whatever you configure. Paper by default, live gated.
- [AI trading bot failure modes, and the control that catches each](https://pitbridge.com/learn/articles/ai-trading-bot-failure-modes/): The failure-first engineering catalog: wrong size or instrument, duplicate orders on retry (DUPLICATE_ORDER plus an idempotent client_order_id), stale-data decisions (LINK_DOWN, STALE_ACCOUNT_STATE), runaway loops (rate limits and cooldowns), prompt injection via market text, and position drift after reconnect (broker-truth reconcile, position_mismatch audit entries, persistent day ledger). Controls reduce named failure classes; they do not make trading safe or profitable.
- [NinjaTrader 8 ATI: the Automated Trading Interface explained](https://pitbridge.com/learn/articles/ninjatrader-8-ati-automated-trading-interface/): The reference on NinjaTrader's outside-in door: the OIF file interface (oif*.txt in the incoming folder, semicolon-delimited PLACE/CHANGE/CANCEL/CLOSEPOSITION/REVERSEPOSITION/FLATTENEVERYTHING, processed on write, filename-must-start-with-oif gotcha) and the NTDirect.dll route (Command plus OrderStatus/Filled/MarketPosition query functions, Windows-local managed .NET). What the ATI cannot do: no risk checks, and over the file route no order acks back. Contrasted with a NinjaScript AddOn on the Cbi object model (real Account/Order/Execution objects) behind a deterministic guardrail engine. ATI facts sourced to ninjatrader.com help guides, retrieved 2026-07-13.
- [Rithmic automated trading: the futures infrastructure explained](https://pitbridge.com/learn/articles/rithmic-automated-futures-trading/): What Rithmic is (trade-execution and market-data infrastructure under many brokers and prop firms, not a platform you trade in directly), the R|Trader Pro and R|API+ ecosystem, why firms like Bulenox and Apex route through it, and what automating on a Rithmic-backed account means: data-feed access, API cost and availability, and platform routing such as NinjaTrader connecting to Rithmic. Honest boundary: the firm's automation rules still apply, and PitBridge connects through NinjaTrader (not Rithmic) enforcing your numeric limits locally without bypassing any firm rule. Rithmic and prop-firm facts sourced to rithmic.com, bulenox.com and support.apextraderfunding.com, retrieved 2026-07-13.

## Docs
- [Quickstart](https://pitbridge.com/docs/quickstart/): Try the no-config demo sandbox, then pitbridge init, edit your config, run pitbridge mcp, and verify with pitbridge doctor. Attach Claude Code, Claude Desktop, OpenClaw, Cursor or curl. Paper mode by default, live locked.
- [Security model](https://pitbridge.com/docs/security-model/): Localhost bind, pairing tokens, permission tiers, arm-live, kill switch, audit log.

## Plain markdown twins (fetch these for clean text)
- [Quickstart](https://pitbridge.com/docs/quickstart.md)
- [Pricing](https://pitbridge.com/pricing.md)
- [Security model](https://pitbridge.com/docs/security-model.md)
- [Guardrails](https://pitbridge.com/product/guardrails.md)
- [PitBridge vs CrossTrade](https://pitbridge.com/compare/pitbridge-vs-crosstrade.md)

## Open source
- [Open source and open core](https://pitbridge.com/open-source/): What is open (core daemon, read-only and paper mode, guardrail engine) and where the paid tier begins.

## Get involved
- [Join the waitlist](https://pitbridge.com/waitlist/): Tell us your platform, prop firms, account count and biggest risk concern.

## Legal
- [Disclaimer](https://pitbridge.com/disclaimer/)
- [Risk disclosure](https://pitbridge.com/risk-disclosure/): Full CFTC Rule 4.41 hypothetical-performance legend.
- [Privacy](https://pitbridge.com/privacy/)