# FAQ and Troubleshooting

> Answers to common questions about TradeLabs, plus fixes for the problems people hit most: brokers, strategies, updates, and sign-in.

*Source: https://tradelabs.org/docs/reference/faq*

Answers to the questions people ask most, grouped by topic. Use the on-this-page menu to jump to a section.

## General

### What is TradeLabs?

TradeLabs is an automated trading platform. You connect your brokerage accounts, point it at a signal source (Discord, Telegram, TradingView, or serverside), and it places trades for you when a signal arrives.

### What are the two parts?

TradeLabs is a Companion App plus a Cloud Dashboard.

- **Companion App**: the desktop app that does the work. It connects to your brokers, watches your signal sources, and places every trade. You can create and run strategies here on their own.
- **Cloud Dashboard**: a web page you open from any browser to create, edit, start, and stop strategies and see results. It is a remote control.

The app has to be running for anything to trade. The dashboard can change a strategy from anywhere, but the app is what places the orders. See [How TradeLabs works](/docs/start-here/).

### What are the plans?

Two plans: **Copy Trading** (automate off Discord, Telegram, or TradingView signals) and **RSA+** (everything in Copy Trading plus Reverse Split Arbitrage).

### Which operating systems are supported?

The Companion App runs on Windows 10 and 11.

## Account and setup

### How do I move to a new computer?

Your license binds to one machine at a time. Open the Cloud Dashboard, go to your **Profile**, and use **Reset hardware binding**. Then sign in on the new machine so the license binds there.

> **Note**
>
> The Companion App shows your current **Hardware ID** under **Settings → Account**. The reset itself happens in the dashboard Profile at dashboard.tradelabs.org.

### Can I run TradeLabs on two computers at once?

No. The license is bound to one computer through the Hardware ID. To switch, reset the hardware binding from the dashboard Profile, then sign in on the other machine.

## Brokers

### Which brokers does TradeLabs support?

TradeLabs connects to Interactive Brokers, Tradier, Charles Schwab, Robinhood (stocks and crypto), SoFi, Public, Fennel, Fidelity, Chase, BBAE, DSPAC, WellsTrade, Firstrade, Webull, Solana, Polymarket, and DAS/STG. See the [Brokers reference](/docs/reference/brokers/) for the full list and setup for each.

### How do I connect a broker?

You connect brokers in the Companion App on the **Brokers** page. Find the broker's card, click **Add account**, fill in the connect form, and click **Save account**. Then click **Sign in** on the account row. The exact sign-in flow differs by broker, so follow that broker's page in the [Brokers reference](/docs/reference/brokers/).

![The Brokers page in the app](/docs-assets/app-brokers.png)
*Click a broker card, then Add account, to open the connect form*

### Is my broker login secure?

Yes. Broker credentials are stored on your own computer, encrypted, and are never uploaded to our servers. Some brokers connect with an API key or token (Tradier, Robinhood Crypto, Webull), and Charles Schwab uses your own developer app plus a browser sign-in. Others sign in with your username and password (Chase, Fidelity, SoFi, WellsTrade, Public, and more). Either way the credentials stay on your machine.

## Strategies

### How do I build my first strategy?

Build a strategy in the Companion App on the **Strategies** page, or in the Cloud Dashboard. They stay in sync. The steps are:

1. Choose a signal source (Discord, TradingView, Telegram, or serverside).
2. Pick your instrument and the broker or brokers to trade in.
3. Set your size and trade parameters (take profit, stop loss, and so on).
4. Try it with the **Simulate** button, then turn the strategy on.

See [Your first strategy](/docs/start-here/) for a full walkthrough.

### Can I run more than one signal source?

Yes. Create a strategy per source. They all run at once as long as the Companion App is running.

### What can I trade?

Stocks, options, option spreads, futures, crypto, memecoins, prediction markets, and reverse split arbitrage — each on the brokers that support it. Futures run on Interactive Brokers, crypto on Robinhood Crypto, memecoins on Solana, prediction markets on Polymarket, and RSA fans out across eleven smaller brokers. See the [brokers reference](/docs/reference/brokers/) for the grid.

## RSA trading

### What is Reverse Split Arbitrage (RSA)?

RSA is a strategy that acts on the price inefficiency around a stock's reverse split. The **RSA+** plan adds automated detection and execution of these opportunities.

### Which brokers work for RSA?

Eleven brokers fan out RSA trades: Fennel, BBAE, Public, SoFi, DSPAC, Fidelity, WellsTrade, Robinhood (stocks), Chase, Firstrade, and Webull. Interactive Brokers and Tradier are not RSA-compatible. See [RSA broker requirements](/docs/rsa-plus/) for the current list and per-broker account limits.

### How profitable is RSA?

It varies with market conditions and how many splits are available. Past results do not predict future ones.

## Troubleshooting

### My trades are not executing. What do I check?

1. Is the Companion App running? Nothing trades unless it is.
2. Is the strategy on? It should show **Running**, not **Paused**.
3. Is your signal source connected, and for Discord or Telegram, is your parser key set under **Settings → Signal Parser**?
4. Is the broker connected? **Idle** is a healthy state, not an error.
5. Are there enough funds in the account?
6. Is the strategy set up for the signals coming in (right channel, right instrument, filters not blocking)?
7. Check the **Activity** page for error messages.

### A broker shows Idle or Warming. Is something wrong?

No. Broker health has four states: Active, Idle, Warming, Offline.

- **Active** means it was verified in the last minute or so.
- **Idle** means it is logged in with a valid session, just not re-checked recently. This is the normal state overnight and between trades.
- **Warming** means a browser-based broker (Chase, Fidelity, SoFi, WellsTrade) is still starting up.
- **Offline** is the only state that means an actual problem.

### How do I update the Companion App?

The app checks for updates on its own. With **Automatic updates** on (**Settings → General → Updates**), new versions download in the background, then install and restart once no trades are running. To check right now, click the version widget at the bottom of the left rail. It kicks off an update check.

### I am getting an authentication error. What do I do?

An auth error usually means a session expired.

- For your TradeLabs account, sign out and back in from **Settings → Account**.
- For a broker, open its card on the **Brokers** page. Use the account row's **Sign in** button, or the row's menu (**Sign in by hand**, **Check connection**, **Edit credentials**). Re-enter credentials if needed. The app verifies the connection itself once you save.
- If you changed computers and cannot sign in at all, reset your hardware binding from the dashboard Profile at dashboard.tradelabs.org.

> **Note**
>
> Still stuck? Reach the support team through the Support section in the app.
