Creating a strategy using external data

[SmallAccountFuturesTrader]

Hello NinjaTrader Community,

I am looking for some guidance and assistance in building a custom trading strategy within NinjaTrader. My goal is to integrate live external data from Databento using their API, create a custom indicator based on that data, and develop a trading strategy that reacts to the signals produced by this indicator. Below are the details of what I aim to achieve:

Objectives:

1. Bring in Live Data from Databento API:

• I want to import live market data that I receive from the Databento API directly into NinjaTrader. This data will serve as the foundation for building my custom indicator.

2. Build a Custom Indicator Using Live Data:

• Using the live data from Databento, I intend to create a custom indicator within NinjaTrader. This indicator will analyze the incoming data and generate signals that can be used for trading decisions.

3. Develop a Trading Strategy:

• Based on the signals generated by the custom indicator, I want to develop a trading strategy. This strategy should automatically execute trades when specific conditions are met, based on the indicator’s signals.

Questions:

• Is it possible to integrate live external data from Databento’s API into NinjaTrader? If yes, could you provide a high-level overview of how this integration can be achieved? Any example code or references to similar implementations would be highly beneficial.

• What are the best practices for building a custom indicator in NinjaTrader that uses real-time data? Specifically, I am interested in understanding how to handle data fetching, processing, and updating the indicator in real-time.

• Can you provide guidance on developing a strategy based on the custom indicator? I would appreciate any tips or advice on best practices, especially regarding performance and reliability in a live trading environment.

Any assistance, pointers, or resources would be greatly appreciated. I am open to collaboration and would be happy to discuss this project further with anyone interested.


Thank you in advance for your help!

[NinjaTrader_Jesse]

Hello SmallAccountFuturesTrader,

While you can push data into the platform that would only be useful for sim trading, the external data feed connection cannot be used in combination with other connections to allow for live trading. You can find some information about using the unsupported external api here:

https://ninjatrader.com/support/forum/showthread.php?p=514442#post514442

To build custom indicators I would suggest looking at the indicators that come with the platform, you can model your indicator in the same way to process both historical and live data.

To learn about building strategies I would suggest watching the strategy builder webinar found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxU4FR6GWNA

https://support.ninjatrader.com/s/article/Developer-Guide-Getting-Started-with-NinjaScript?language=en_US