Robots and AI
Updated 7 October 2026, 4 min readeTrader Code is where you write your own trading robots and chart indicators. It runs in the browser at code.etraderweb.com with nothing to install, on any computer. You write in Tide, eTrader's own language, test the program on your Broker's price history, and build it into a file the terminal can run.
It needs a keyboard and a full screen. On a phone the page asks you to open it from a computer instead.
Signing in
eTrader Code signs in with your eTrader ID, not with a trading account. Type your email address, press Email Me a Code, and enter the 6-digit code from the email. There is no password to remember. The code expires after 10 minutes, and Send a New Code gets you another.
It is one sign-in for eTrader Code, eTrader AI and the ID page. Sign in on one and the others open signed in. You stay signed in until you sign out, as long as you open an eTrader app at least once a month, and Sign Out in the account menu signs you out of all three.
Your files are saved to that eTrader ID as you type, so the bot you started on one computer is waiting on the next one you sign in from.
Starting a file
The Project sidebar lists your files. The + button beside it opens the menu for a new one:
- New Bot: a robot that places trades.
- New Indicator: something that draws on the chart. It builds to an
.etifile. - New Library: functions you want to reuse in several bots, such as your own position sizing.
- Import a .tide File: open Tide source you already have on disk.
- Convert a Robot to Tide: rewrites a robot written for another trading platform into Tide. It has its own guide.
Each file in the list has its own menu with Open, Rename, Download and Delete. Search your files from the box above the list once there are more than a handful.
Writing and checking
The editor checks the program as you type. The status bar at the bottom shows the line and column you are on and whether the file has been checked. A mistake is underlined in place, and the Problems tab lists every error and warning with its line and column. Click a row and the editor jumps to it.
When the file is clean the Problems tab says so: the file compiles, and you can build it or run a backtest.
The Tide Reference pane sits beside the editor. Search the standard library from it when you cannot remember whether the function is crossesOver or something else. For the full manual, press Tide Docs in the top bar. It opens tide.etraderweb.com in a new tab.
The Inputs tab lists every input your program declares, with its type. These are the settings a trader fills in when the bot runs, and eTrader builds that form from your code. You never draw it yourself.
Testing
Press Run Test to replay history through the program. The results open in the Tester tab: net profit, the number of trades, profit factor, maximum drawdown, an equity curve and the list of trades. Anything your bot writes with log.info appears in the Journal tab.
Until you connect a trading account, the tester uses sample prices that are generated, not taken from a Broker. Connect an account from the tester bar and the test runs on that Broker's own price history for the symbol and timeframe you pick. The Login and password are checked once and never stored, and eTrader Code only reads the price history. The tester guide covers the settings and how to read the figures.
Building
Build checks the whole file and downloads its bundle: an .etb for a bot, an .eti for an indicator. If something is wrong the build stops and points you to the Problems tab.
What you do next depends on what it is:
| File | How it gets to the terminal | Where it runs |
|---|---|---|
| A bot | Open Bots in the terminal and press Add to This Account on it. eTrader builds the latest saved version for you, so there is no file to upload. | In eTrader's cloud, with your computer off |
An .eti indicator | Press Upload Indicator in the chart's Indicators list and pick the file. | On your chart, in eTrader Web |
When you change a bot that already runs on an account, press Update on it in the terminal's Bots window. The two guides for this step are running bots in the cloud and custom indicators.
What you need
eTrader Code is free to use with an eTrader ID. Writing a bot needs no Broker account. Testing it on real prices, and running it, needs a trading account with a Broker or prop firm, or an eTrader demo account.
An AI app such as Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor can also work with your eTrader Code files over MCP: list, read and write them, check and build them, and run the strategy tester. It needs an API key, which you create in eTrader AI. See API and MCP.