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Prop firm rules for automated strategies you run unattended
Short answer: there is no industry rule. Each futures prop firm writes its own, the rules differ between the evaluation and the funded stage, and they change often. Some firms that allow automation may still expect you to supervise it, so "allowed" and "allowed while you are away" are different questions. Read your firm's current rules page, and ask support in writing when the page does not answer your exact case.
The questions to answer before you run a strategy unattended
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Is automated trading allowed at all? At the evaluation stage, the funded stage, or both? | Some firms allow it in one stage only. Breaking the rule can void an account or a payout. |
| Must you monitor the strategy while it trades? | Some policies are reported to allow automation but prohibit "fully autonomous" trading. Running overnight with nobody watching may not qualify. |
| Must the strategy be yours? | Some firms require proof that you own the code, or ban purchased or shared bots. |
| Is there a trade-count or holding-time limit? | High-frequency limits (trades per day, minimum seconds in a trade) are common. |
| Are third-party tools allowed? Copiers? | Copiers and add-ons are often covered by separate rules. |
| Are a VPS or a remote server allowed? | Some firms restrict VPS or remote-server use; check yours. |
| When must you be flat? | End-of-day flat times and holiday early closes are fixed rules; a strategy running past them breaks them. |
| How are the daily loss and drawdown measured? | Some firms count open (unrealized) losses toward the limit, so an open position with no stop can breach it before it closes. |
| Are there news-time restrictions? | Some firms restrict trading around scheduled releases. |
Snapshot: what some firms' pages said about automation, September 2026
This is a summary to help you start reading, not a substitute for your firm's page. Rules change without notice, and the dates below are the dates we read or the dates the pages carry. Each line says how we know it.
Read on the firm's own help page (24 September 2026):
- Lucid Trading: automated trading systems and trade copiers are permitted (page dated 26 August 2026). [1]
- FundedNext Futures: automated trading systems, including expert advisors and trading bots, are allowed on challenge and live accounts (page updated 9 April 2026). [2]
- MyFundedFutures: automated trading strategies are permitted, so long as they do not aim to exploit the favorable fills of the simulated environment; high-frequency trading is banned (page dated 24 August 2026). [3]
- Tradeify: a bot is permitted only if you can prove you are its sole owner; shared bots and high-frequency trading are excluded. [4]
- TradeDay: algos and bots purchased from a third party and used by the trader are forbidden (page updated 28 November 2025). [5]
Reported by others, not read on the firm's own page (verify before relying on any of it):
- MyFundedFutures: secondary summaries describe more conditions than the firm's page above: fully autonomous bots prohibited, and the trader required to monitor trades. [6] The two disagree. Read the firm's current page and ask support in writing.
- Bulenox: comparison sites report that it permits expert advisors, bots and trade copiers. We could not read the exact wording.
- Apex Trader Funding and TakeProfitTrader: reported to prohibit automation. Both firms' pages blocked our reader, so we have search-result text and secondary summaries only. [7][8][9]
Several firm help pages block automated readers, so part of the above rests on secondary summaries. That is exactly why the last step below matters.
What "unattended" means in practice
Even where automation is allowed, a strategy that runs while you are asleep or at work is exposed to things no rule page covers: a disconnect, a crash, a restart, a stop that never reached the broker. Those are what turn a rule-compliant account into a breached one. Two habits help with both the rules and the risk:
- Stay reachable. Alerts for "position with no stop", "connection lost" and "platform down" let you hear about a problem without watching a chart. Whether that meets a firm's "monitor your trades" rule is the firm's call, so ask its support.
- Keep the evidence. Save the firm's rules page (with the date) and any support reply about your setup. If a rule changes, you can show what you relied on.
Before you switch it on
- Read the firm's current rules page for your account type, today.
- Email support with your exact setup (your own code or purchased, platform, VPS or not, hours it runs) and keep the reply.
- Run the strategy on a simulation account through at least one full session, including a restart and a disconnect.
- Check the platform settings in our overnight checklist.
Sources
- Firm page: Lucid Trading support, Other activities
- Firm page: FundedNext Futures help center, the automated trading article (updated 9 April 2026). To find it, search the help center for "automated trading".
- Firm page: MyFundedFutures help center, Fair play and prohibited trading practices
- Firm page: Tradeify help center, Guidelines for Traders
- Firm page: TradeDay help center, the algorithmic trading article (updated 28 November 2025). To find it, search the help center for "bots".
- Secondary summary: QuantVPS, MyFundedFutures now permits algo trading and automation tools on all accounts
- Firm page (blocked our reader; read through search results only): Apex Trader Funding help center, Prohibited Activities
- Secondary summary: QuantVPS, Does Apex Trader Funding allow automated trading bots?
- Firm page (blocked our reader; read through search results only): TakeProfitTrader help center, Universal Trading Policies
General information about prop-firm rules on automation. Not financial advice, and not legal advice. Firms change their rules without notice. This page says what each firm's own page said on the dates shown, and says where we have only secondhand reports. Read your firm's current terms before you run anything unattended.