Cassette Deck™

Chart-window model

One NinjaTrader Chart window = one Cassette context. Use separate Chart windows for multiple independently managed instruments. Multiple native tabs inside one Chart window are not separate Cassette contexts.

Open the intended Chart window and enable/expand Cassette. Startup presentation is collapsed/SOLO; subsequent safe TapeDeck readiness recognition may change the operating mode. Verify the displayed context before entry.

Chart Trader account and quantity

When Cassette and that Chart window’s native Chart Trader controls initialize, Chart Trader wins initial account and quantity state. After initialization, safe account and quantity synchronization is bidirectional for that exact Chart context. A safely changed account or quantity on one surface is reflected on the other.

An unexpected mismatch is a reason to stop new entries and inspect the actual account, chart context and safety state. Verify both displays before submitting an order.

Account availability

Cassette presents currently connected and usable accounts together with appropriate simulation/playback contexts. Disconnected historical live accounts are not available execution targets.

If a selected live account disconnects, Cassette does not silently substitute another live account. A deliberate valid account selection is required. Do not assume Cassette automatically chooses a live account.

Entry controls

For an eligible Cassette-owned open position, the same controls use the selected Quantity to add or reduce: BUY adds to a Long and reduces a Short; SELL adds to a Short and reduces a Long. An opposite-side reduction is capped at the remaining confirmed reducible quantity, accounting for outstanding Cassette reductions, rather than deliberately crossing Flat. Price-based instructions are limit orders and may remain working. Use REVERSE when deliberately changing direction.

Open-position actions can be refused when ownership is not proven, the initial entry is still working, protection is not ready, CLOSE is in progress or working-order inventory cannot be verified. Resolve the displayed reason before another instruction.

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Cassette Strategies

A Cassette Strategy stores configuration such as strategy name, Stop Loss, Take Profit, units and Default Size. Selecting a saved strategy can supply its starting quantity. A trader-selected Quantity change affects the intended action without necessarily rewriting the saved strategy’s Default Size.

Use the Cassette Strategy selector to choose a saved strategy, Edit Selected or Create New. Review the saved values and units before using it. Stop/Target settings do not guarantee a maximum loss: actual loss can differ with gaps, movement, latency, slippage, rejection or other execution conditions.

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1. While safely Flat/clean, open the Cassette Strategy dropdown.
2. Choose Create New to make a preset, or select a preset and use Edit Selected.
3. Review name, Stop Loss, Take Profit, units (ticks, points or dollars) and Default Size. Choose values you understand for this instrument; there is no universally safe preset.
4. Save your configuration, select it, then verify the displayed strategy and Quantity before entry.
5. After a protected SIM entry fills, confirm the resulting native stop/target; saved settings are not a guarantee of maximum loss.

Protection and Strategy None

After an eligible Cassette Strategy entry fills, Cassette can create native protective Stop Loss and Take Profit orders. These may share an OCO relationship. When native Chart Trader displays the synchronized account, the orders can appear as native chart lines and can be adjusted on the chart. Verify the actual changed order after any chart adjustment.

A position that Cassette recognizes/manages after external/manual entry does not automatically receive new Cassette protection. A stop/target configuration is not a promise that an order was accepted or that loss is capped; verify native Orders and Positions.

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Manual / external positions

Cassette distinguishes owning an order from managing a confirmed position. A positively confirmed externally originated SOLO position can enter a management-only lifecycle. External entries, adds, reductions, closes and reversals can change the confirmed position Cassette manages.

Cassette does not automatically adopt external orders as owned protection. A manual stop or target does not become Cassette-owned because it resembles one or exists beside the position. External working orders do not universally disable Cassette merely because they exist; duplicate-submission, lifecycle, ownership, collision and inventory checks still apply.

Reductions are constrained not to cross Flat. Exposure-increasing, reversal-risk or over-reserved activity can be refused. Do not stack new instructions over pending reductions or force ownership of ambiguous protection. Inspect actual inventory and resolve warnings first.

Break even — BE

BE acts only on eligible, positively identified Cassette-owned protective stop orders. It does not modify arbitrary manual/external stops and is not promised for every externally opened or management-only position.

After requesting BE, verify the updated native stop order and chart line. If BE is unavailable, check protection ownership and eligibility rather than repeatedly pressing it.

CANCEL

CANCEL cancels ALL active orders in the captured account / current-instrument scope — including Cassette, ATM, Chart Trader, manual and other external active orders within that scope. It is not limited to Cassette-owned orders.

1. Check working-order count.
2. Check NinjaTrader Orders.
3. Check the actual position.
4. Confirm whether the remaining position is intentionally protected or intentionally unprotected.

Treat cancellation as a request until native order state settles. Do not assume cancellation means exposure is gone.

CLOSE

CLOSE closes the current scoped managed position. It cancels active orders in the captured account/current-instrument scope, settles cancellation/fill races, re-reads the actual position and requests the exact remaining offset necessary to reach Flat. Completion requires the scoped position and actionable working-order state to settle appropriately.

CLOSE is not all-account/all-instrument liquidation. In COPIER mode it acts on the TapeDeck Leader. TapeDeck independently responds to the confirmed Leader position change and manages Followers; Cassette does not directly close Followers.

Do not confuse trade CLOSE with collapsing the cockpit or closing an About/Support dialog. Verify the actual position and remaining orders after the request.

REVERSE

REVERSE deliberately changes direction. Cassette first performs required cleanup toward confirmed Flat. Only after Flat is confirmed does it request the opposite position. It is state-aware and completion-aware, not a blind twice-position market instruction.

• Verify the previous direction closes.
• Verify the Flat transition.
• Verify the opposite position is confirmed.
• Verify resulting protection and working orders.

FLATTEN

FLATTEN requests closure of the captured account/current-instrument scope and applicable cleanup. It may affect external/manual active orders within that scope.

Always verify final Orders and Positions.

KILL

KILL is the emergency cleanup path for the captured account/current-instrument scope. It performs applicable cleanup and places Cassette into a latched KILLED state. New Cassette entries remain blocked until deliberately re-armed.

RE-ARM after KILL

Before re-arming, cleanup must have completed, the captured scope must be connected, the position must be confirmed Flat, and the required working-order inventory must be zero/clean. Resolve any ownership or cleanup warning first.

1. Use RE-ARM to arm the deliberate confirmation.
2. Click CONFIRM RE-ARM within 5 seconds.
3. Verify the resulting ready state and account context before any new entry.

Flat transition and external-order cleanup

Cassette does not indiscriminately sweep every historical or unrelated order merely because the position reaches Flat. Direction-relative cleanup applies to positively associated active external reductions belonging to the immediately preceding non-flat position where current logic identifies them.

Historical, unrelated, non-reduction or uncertain orders are not automatically owned or automatically cancelled unless the explicit scoped control being used defines that behavior. When uncertain, check NinjaTrader Orders and Positions.

End of session

1. Stop submitting new Cassette entries.
2. Review each active Cassette Chart context.
3. Confirm mode.
4. Confirm account or Leader.
5. Confirm instrument.
6. Confirm position.
7. Open NinjaTrader Positions.
8. Confirm every intended finished account/instrument is Flat.
9. Open NinjaTrader Orders.
10. Resolve every unintended working order.
11. In COPIER mode, verify TapeDeck Leader and Follower states independently.
12. Resolve rejections, disconnects, KILLED states, ownership warnings or unexplained orders before closing NinjaTrader.

A quiet chart is not proof the session is complete. Do not collapse, unload or recreate a context to bypass an active-cycle or recovery refusal. Collect useful memory-only diagnostics before a safe shutdown.

COPIER mode with TapeDeck

COPIER makes Cassette the Leader-side execution and management surface for TapeDeck. TapeDeck independently owns Follower synchronization; Cassette does not directly manage individual Followers.

Cassette automatically recognizes TapeDeck when it is ready. When TapeDeck is ACTIVE and ready, Cassette can safely recognize/adopt the TapeDeck Leader context and reflect it through the chart’s synchronized account state. TapeDeck merely being open is not sufficient.

Before a COPIER entry

• TapeDeck is open, ACTIVE and ready.
• The intended Leader is correct and intended Followers are armed.
• Cassette displays the expected operating mode and Leader.
• Chart instrument/full contract, quantity and Cassette Strategy are correct.
• Native Chart Trader ATM Strategy is None for the Cassette-managed workflow.

Keep TapeDeck available whenever individual Follower status or Close may be needed. Review TapeDeck’s preflight and Flat-state START requirements.

Returning Cassette to SOLO suppresses automatic re-adoption while the current TapeDeck-ready condition persists. A later TapeDeck not-ready → ready cycle may permit recognition again. Mode changes remain subject to safe lifecycle/exposure gates.

Read before operating

Futures trading involves substantial risk and is not suitable for every trader. Losses can exceed expectations, and market, connection, provider or exchange conditions can prevent an order from filling at the price or time shown.

StreetLight products assist execution. They do not select trades, predict markets, provide investment advice, guarantee fills or execution quality, eliminate slippage or latency, ensure broker or prop-firm compliance, or prevent trading losses.

• Learn the complete workflow in simulation.
• Understand the NinjaTrader order-entry and account controls involved.
• Review the current rules for every broker, provider, prop firm and account program you use.
• Maintain an independent emergency path through NinjaTrader and the applicable broker/provider.
• Treat every software button press as a request — not proof that the requested action completed.
• Verify actual orders and positions in NinjaTrader.
• Stop trading whenever account state, connection state, working-order state or product state is unexpected.

What Cassette Deck does

Cassette Deck is a focused NinjaTrader Desktop execution and position-management workspace designed to operate beside the chart. It provides account and instrument context, quantity, order entry, Cassette Strategy selection, working-order and confirmed-position information, protection management, trade-management controls and emergency controls.

Cassette operates independently in SOLO or as the Leader-side execution and management surface for TapeDeck Copier. TapeDeck remains responsible for Followers. Cassette does not select trades, predict markets or guarantee fills/protection.

Multiple instruments

Two independently managed instruments require two separate NinjaTrader Chart windows. Native tabs within one Chart window do not create independent Cassette contexts. Configure and verify each chart’s account, quantity, strategy and operating mode separately.

Never change an active context’s instrument as a workaround. Finish and verify the active cycle first.

Streamer Mode

Open About from the Cassette footer to access Cassette Streamer Mode. It masks account identifiers displayed by Cassette and is independent of TapeDeck Streamer Mode.

1. Enable Cassette Streamer Mode.
2. Inspect Cassette in the intended SOLO/COPIER state.
3. Verify visible Cassette account identifiers are masked.
4. Inspect TapeDeck separately.
5. Inspect NinjaTrader separately.
6. Inspect provider/broker windows separately.
7. Inspect the rest of the desktop separately.

Streamer Mode changes presentation only. It does not change execution account, Leader selection, order routing, ownership or authority. It does not protect other applications or make raw diagnostic material safe to publish.

Support log and diagnostics

From Cassette About, Show Log displays diagnostic information and Get Support opens the support destination. The shared rolling buffer holds up to approximately 4,000 entries. It is memory-only and is lost when NinjaTrader exits.

There is no automatic diagnostic upload or automatic send function. Deliberately select/copy the relevant information and send reviewed material privately to StreetLight Support. Clear Log uses confirmation; do not clear useful evidence before collecting it.

Get Support returns to this Cassette documentation/support destination. General StreetLight inquiries go to Contact Us; product diagnostics go to support, not a public community channel.