# Set up a follower profile

> A follower profile is one copying setup: a leader, its followers, the size each follower trades, and its protection settings. You can save several, but only one runs at a time.

Last verified: 2026-09-14
Canonical page: https://copilink.com/standalone/user-guide/profiles-and-sizing
Product: Copilink Standalone
Markdown of: https://copilink.com/standalone/user-guide/profiles-and-sizing


## Quick facts

- Product: Copilink Standalone
- Direct Tradovate and Rithmic desktop workflow
- Windows x64, macOS Intel, and macOS Apple silicon
- Local copying with per-follower sizing, account safeguards, analytics, and journaling

## What it does

Create a follower profile: choose the leader and followers, set each follower's ratio and Cross option, limit instruments, and enable, switch, edit, or delete profiles.

## Why traders choose Copilink Standalone

- Choose a direct Tradovate and Rithmic desktop workflow on Windows or macOS, or stay entirely inside NinjaTrader 8 with the dedicated add-on.
- Manage exact or ratio-based follower sizing, per-account safeguards, and prop-firm-style risk rules from one focused workflow.
- Keep copying local on the trader's machine while cloud sync powers web analytics and journaling.

## Before you start

- The accounts you want to use are connected. Each account can belong to one profile only.

## Create a profile

1. **Open the editor.** Go to Follower profiles and press Create profile.
2. **Name it and choose the leader.** Enter a Profile name, then pick the Leader account. This is the account you trade; its orders drive everything the profile copies.
3. **Choose followers.** Tick each account that should copy the leader. The leader and accounts already used in another profile aren't listed.
4. **Set each follower's size.** Enter a Ratio for each follower (see below). Tick Cross for a follower that should trade the micro version of a mini contract, or the other way round.
5. **Limit instruments (optional).** Under Allowed instruments, add the symbols this profile may copy, such as MNQ. Leave it empty to copy everything.
6. **Set protection and save.** Choose the follower protection options and whether to keep stop-loss quantity in sync, then press Create profile.
   Success: A card for the profile appears on Follower profiles.

The protection options have their own pages: [Follower protection](https://copilink.com/standalone/user-guide/follower-protection) and [Stop-loss sync](https://copilink.com/standalone/user-guide/stop-loss-sync).

## Follower size (ratio)

A follower's ratio multiplies the leader's quantity. 1.0 copies the same number of contracts, 0.5 copies half, and 2.0 copies double. Copilink always rounds down to whole contracts, and a result below 1 means that follower gets no order.

_Follower size examples_
| Leader contracts | Ratio | Follower contracts | Why |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0.5 rounds down to 0, so no order. |
| 2 | 0.5 | 1 | Half of 2. |
| 3 | 0.5 | 1 | 1.5 rounds down to 1. |
| 1 | 1.0 | 1 | Same size. |
| 2 | 1.5 | 3 | 2 × 1.5 = 3. |
| 3 | 2.0 | 6 | Double. |

The smallest ratio is 0.1. Copilink has no maximum, but your broker and prop firm still limit size.

> **Use 1.0 or higher when you can.** Below 1.0, small trades round down, so a follower can miss a trade entirely and fall out of step with the leader. To trade smaller, a micro contract with Cross at 1.0 usually works better than a fractional ratio.

## Cross (mini and micro)

Cross swaps the leader's contract for its mini or micro pair on that follower and keeps the same contract month. The ratio still sets the number of contracts; Copilink doesn't adjust for the difference in contract value. With Cross on, 1 ES at a ratio of 1.0 copies as 1 MES, not 10 MES.

_Contract pairs that Cross swaps_
| Mini or standard | Micro |
| --- | --- |
| ES | MES |
| NQ | MNQ |
| YM | MYM |
| RTY | M2K |
| CL | MCL |
| GC | MGC |
| SI | SIL |
| BTC | MBT |
| ETH | MET |

Other symbols are copied unchanged, without a warning.

## Allowed instruments

When the list is empty, the profile copies every instrument. When it has entries, Copilink copies a leader order only if its symbol starts with one of them, so MNQ covers every MNQ contract month. Because it matches the start of the symbol, SI also allows SIL. The check uses the leader's symbol, before any Cross swap.

## Enable, switch, edit, and delete

Use the switch on a profile's card to enable or disable it. Only one profile runs at a time; enabling another asks you to confirm, then disables the current one.

- Enable: the profile shows Starting, then Active once the leader and at least one enabled follower are connected. A follower that isn't connected yet is skipped until it is.
- Disable: copying stops and Copilink cancels the working orders it copied. Positions stay open.
- Switch: the current profile is disabled, with its copied orders cancelled, and the new one starts.
- Edit: press Edit, make your changes, and press Save changes. If the profile is running, copying pauses while the change is applied, then restarts. Copied orders that are already working stay in place.
- Delete: removes the profile, disabling it first if needed. Positions stay open.

Ratio and Cross can only be changed in Edit. The card shows them, but you can't change them there.

> **Start flat.** Enabling a profile doesn't copy positions that are already open. If the leader already holds a position, followers won't match it until it's closed. Start with every account flat and no working orders.

## The profile card

Each card lists the leader and its followers with their position, working orders, balance, and P&L. Each follower row has an on/off switch, a Cross badge when Cross is on, a lock icon when a risk limit has locked the account, a flatten button, and a button to remove it from the profile.

Turning a follower off stops new copies to it. It doesn't close its position or cancel its working orders, and if it has an open position, Copilink asks you to confirm. When you turn it back on, it copies the leader's next trades, not the ones it missed. A locked follower can't be turned on until you unlock it.

Expand a follower's working orders to cancel one or a group. Copilink asks you to confirm, because this sends a real cancel to the broker.

## Choose what the cards show

Press Columns on the Follower profiles page to choose the figures every card shows. The default is Ratio, Position, Orders, Balance, Unrealized, Realized, Total P&L, and DDD. Reset to default brings those back.

_Optional columns_
| Column | What it shows |
| --- | --- |
| Loss Left | Room left before the daily loss limit. |
| Goal Left | Room left before the daily profit goal. |
| Trail Left | Room left above the intraday drawdown floor. |
| Eval Left | Room left before the evaluation goal plus its buffer. |
| Cons. Left | Today's remaining evaluation consistency allowance. |

A dash means the rule is off or has no fresh data. DDD is Tradovate's own drawdown distance, calculated from the broker's trailing drawdown threshold, not a Copilink limit. It can show a last-known value, so hover over it to see how fresh it is.

## Check it worked

- Your smallest planned leader trade gives every follower at least one contract: round down (leader contracts × ratio).
- After you enable the profile, its card shows Active.

## If something goes wrong

- The profile stays on Starting: check that the leader and at least one enabled follower show Connected.
- An account isn't offered as a follower: it's the leader or already belongs to another profile.
- A follower got a different size than expected: recheck the rounding, then see How copying works for partial fills and corrections.

## Sources

- https://copilink.com/standalone/user-guide/profiles-and-sizing
- https://copilink.com/standalone
- https://copilink.com/standalone/user-guide/safety-and-limitations