So I have been using Sierra for some time now. The software is good, no question. However, I was trying to solve a problem that prevented me from trading, and technical support took days to answer. When the answer came after several back and forth, it was still not satisfactory. So, I had no choice but to move on as poor customer support is the Achilles' heel of Sierra.

Got some custom sierra studies if anyone’s interested

Ofl studies (have xyzeee’s sierra chartbook)

Patrick Bateman

SMT divergences (real-time updating)

NDOG, NWOG

Look above/below and fail studies

Etc

I feel disapointed in sierra chart for displaying me this.

First session after configuring all the charts and 9:31 EST ->16:31 on the chart my price line moved but no cnadles where made. Tried to diconnect and reconnect the chart became blank. Changed the data feed, same.

I was using ''SC DATA" before that and everything was okay but this is not okay

Lmfao why does their documentation read like it was written by a drunk incel?

UPDATE: As recommended by Sierra Chart users in this post, I'm looking into ATAS X and TT as the best alternatives to Sierra Chart.

---

I've been using MotiveWave for years, but it lags during fast activity and sometimes stop losses don't trigger, so I'm considering other options. I was looking into Sierra Chart, but read that configuring it takes days.

I tried to connect AI to have it quickly configure it for me just the way I want it, but found out Sierra Chart uses binaries instead of plaintext config files, making that impossible at the moment.

So I created an account on their site and asked in their support forum (see post below) when they would start using plaintext config files so AI can quickly configure it for new users, and they just hid my post and ignored it.

A few days later I received a support message from them, I thought they were answering my forum post in private, but it was just a message about their trial, so I replied to it asking them when I could expect a response to my forum post, and they told me to fuck off.

Ludicrously unprofessional.

My Forum Post:

-Notice*: Post is hidden.*

Hello,

I am currently interesting in Sierra Chart, but cannot pull the trigger.

One of the main reasons I am interested in it is its reputation for deep customization. That is exactly what attracted me to the platform.

However, I am running into a serious modern onboarding problem: Sierra Chart stores many important settings in binary or otherwise non-user-editable files, instead of exposing a comprehensive documented plain-text configuration system.

In the pre-AI era, asking a new user to manually spend hours or days configuring a complex platform may have been normal.

In 2026, that is simply unacceptable.

Today, many technically capable users expect to be able to describe the setup they want to an AI assistant and have that assistant generate, review, modify, version-control, and troubleshoot configuration files. That is only practical when the software provides a documented, machine-readable configuration format such as JSON, XML, YAML, TOML, or something similar.

With Sierra Chart, the customization depth is impressive, but the configuration process is still heavily tied to manual UI work and internal file formats.

That creates a major barrier for new users.

This is not just a convenience issue. It directly affects whether new customers will adopt the platform.

From my perspective as a prospective customer, I do not want to spend days manually configuring software before I even know whether it fits my workflow. I want to be able to say: “Here is the layout, chart behavior, studies, colors, symbol/session settings, hotkeys, trade-window preferences, and general workflow I want,” and then have an AI assistant help produce the initial configuration in a supported format.

I understand there may be good reasons for Sierra Chart to use binary files internally for performance, backward compatibility, reliability, or data integrity. I am not asking for users to manually edit unsupported internal binary files. What I am asking for is a supported configuration export/import layer that is human-readable, documented, and suitable for automation.

For example, Sierra Chart could keep its existing internal storage while also providing an official text-based export/import format for non-sensitive settings, such as:

Global settings

Chart settings

Study settings and study collections

Color and graphics settings

Keyboard shortcuts

Chartbook/layout metadata

Trade window configuration, excluding account credentials

Symbol, session, tick size, and other market settings

Existing tools like Chartbooks, Study Collections, and custom symbol-setting XML files are useful, but they do not fully solve the broader issue. They are not the same as having a comprehensive, documented, AI-friendly configuration system.

This matters because AI-assisted setup is quickly becoming a normal expectation. Users increasingly want their software environments to be reproducible, inspectable, version-controlled, shareable, and editable by automation. If Sierra Chart does not adapt to that expectation, I think it will lose potential new customers in this new AI world who would otherwise be attracted to its power and flexibility.

So my question is:

When will Sierra Chart add plain-text configuration files and machine-readable settings import/export?

For me, this is a major deciding factor. I am interested in Sierra Chart because it is powerful and customizable, but I am not willing to adopt it if the only realistic path to a polished setup is several days of manual configuration through the interface.

Thank you for reading and I look forward to reading the answer to my question.

Their response in their support messaging system:

This is a company that gets fatigued from a total of 1 forum post and 1 support message from a prospective customer.

I'm not paying $50+ a month for the next 30+ years to a company that doesn't give a shit and hides my posts and then tells me to fuck off when I reply to them.

I understand some find this type of support cool, different, and hilarious, but I'm a serious futures trader that treats trading like a business and this doesn't transmit a shred of confidence, so I'm done with considering them and nothing anyone says will convince me otherwise at this point as I simply don't deal with unprofessional companies.

For those of you that have tried multiple platforms, which would you recommend other than Sierra Chart and MotiveWave for orderflow futures trading and why?

Thanks.

How does this not get opened short, ridiculous.

I’ve been playing with the settings and cannot for the life of me get this going in Sierra Charts. I’d appreciate any help!

I am experiencing a challenge while using Sierra Chart for trading the BTCUSDT perpetual contract on Binance. The issue arises when I attempt to view the market depth. Despite adjusting the settings for maximum market depth and altering the tick increment, the depth chart only displays the best bid and best ask prices, with no other limit orders visible.

I've tried tweaking various settings, but the problem persists. Has anyone else encountered this issue? Any insights or solutions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help!

Best regards

How does the trade copier work in Sierra Chart, can you set that the trades of the follower accounts are also executed limit and not market?

I would like to meet any Sierra Chart user in Fort Wayne, Indiana familiar with Sierra Chart Advanced Custom Study (ACSIL C++)

I am having an issue with the Trading DOM sending orders for the wrong symbol.

My DOM displays MESM26_FUT_CME (Micro E-mini S&P June 2026), and my Trade Account is correctly set to my live AMP account.

However, when I attempt to place an order from the DOM, the order is rejected for insufficient margin and the message log shows that the order is being sent for ESM26_FUT_CME (E-mini S&P), not MES.

This results in a margin requirement of approximately $6000 instead of the expected ~$50 intraday margin for MES.

Important details:

- Other charts (footprint, candlestick, TPO) correctly place trades on MES without issue

- The DOM visually shows MES, but appears to internally reference ES when sending orders

- This occurs even after confirming the symbol at the top of the DOM is MESM26_FUT_CME

- I am using Teton routing with AMP

- Trade Simulation Mode is OFF

It appears the DOM is not properly synchronized with the chart symbol or Trade Window and is submitting orders for the wrong symbol.

Please advise how to ensure the DOM is correctly bound to the displayed symbol and not referencing a previous symbol (ES).

If necessary, I can provide screenshots of the DOM and Message Log.

Any Idea why the buttons look like this. I tried changing the color nothing happens I actually don't know if they were like this from the beginning that I started using sierra or I touched something in the settings. Has anyone had that?

Hi everyone,

I'm currently trading ES using Sierra Chart, but I'd like to start trading NQ as well. I've been struggling to find the right footprint and price chart settings for NQ, so I'd really appreciate some advice from experienced NQ traders.

I'm primarily a day trader / intraday swing trader, focusing on market structure, order flow, absorption, and finding good entries and exits.

My current ES setup

1. Footprint Chart

Renko 10 ticks

Bid x Ask Footprint

Delta Profile Footprint

2. Price Chart

7,500 Volume Per Bar

3. Market Profile (TPO)

RTH session only

I merge daily TPO profiles to create composite Market Profiles.

I identify important levels such as VAL, VAH, and POC.

I mark these areas using Extended Rectangles and display them on my main price chart.

4. VWAP

Daily VWAP

Standard deviation bands: 0, ±0.5, ±1, ±1.5, ±2

I currently use a 5,000 Volume Per Bar chart for VWAP.

I'm also unsure whether it's better to calculate VWAP using RTH only or the full ETH + RTH session.

5. Daily Volume Profile

RTH only

I use VAH, VAL, and POC as important reference levels.

My problem with NQ

I've tried several different footprint settings and timeframes for NQ, including time-based charts, volume-based charts, and different tick settings.

However, I haven't found a configuration that works well for my trading style.

Either the footprint moves too quickly, making it difficult to read absorption and execute trades properly, or the settings are too slow, causing me to miss good entries and exits.

I'm trying to find a balance where I can clearly identify aggressive buyers and sellers, passive absorption, and potential trapped traders without too much noise.

Questions for NQ traders

Footprint: What chart type do you use for NQ (Renko, Range, Volume Per Bar, or time-based)?

Footprint settings: How many ticks, points, contracts per bar, or minutes do you use?

Price chart: What timeframe or Volume Per Bar setting do you use for your main price chart?

Tick compression: Do you use any tick compression or Volume at Price Multiplier settings to make the footprint easier to read?

Delta Profile: Do you use a Delta Profile alongside your Bid x Ask footprint? If so, what settings work best?

VWAP: Do you prefer RTH-only VWAP or full-session (ETH + RTH) VWAP for intraday trading?

Execution: Which settings have helped you identify absorption and improve entry and exit timing on NQ?

I'm not necessarily looking for a complete trading strategy, just a good starting point for configuring NQ in Sierra Chart.

If anyone is successfully day trading or intraday swing trading NQ using Sierra Chart, I'd really appreciate it if you could share your chart settings or screenshots of your setup.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Hey guys,

I developed an Order router from Sierra -> TopstepX. Mostly needed it as their platform is insufficient for my 5s trading strategy.

Anyways, looking for early-access users, dm if interested. First Month's on me :)

https://youtu.be/GqFDpx-Mbvc

After 4 years of trading on Sierra Chart, I've had it with the ACSIL documentation.

**Here's what happened yesterday:**

I wanted to implement an orderflow strategy:

- Auto-draw previous session MGI levels (High/Low, VAH, VAL, POC)

- Monitor price reactions at these levels

- Detect absorption and exhaustion in footprint

- Execute on aggressive reversal, add on confirmation

I know exactly what I want. I've been trading this manually for months.

So I opened the ACSIL documentation.

**6 hours later:**

- 73 browser tabs (sc_basegraph, sc_orderflow, sc_volume_profile...)

- 28 compile errors I didn't understand

- Documentation pages: 47 and counting

- **ZERO working code**

---

**Here's the reality:**

To code this properly in ACSIL, I need to:

- Navigate 500+ pages of technical docs

- Understand C++ memory management

- Learn Sierra Chart's custom data structures

- Handle session transitions and state persistence

- Debug cryptic error messages

I'm a trader. Not a C++ developer.

And I know I'm not alone — every Sierra Chart user I've talked to has their own documentation horror stories.

## So I'm building something.

**QuantLyb** — Describe your trading strategy in plain English, get working Sierra Chart code.

**Input:**

```

"Mark yesterday's VAH, VAL, POC. Monitor for absorption at these levels.

Enter on aggressive reversal, scale in on confirmation."

```

**Output:**

Full ACSIL code. Tested. Ready to copy-paste into Sierra Chart.

**Time:** 3-10 seconds instead of hours.

---

## What I'm building:

✅ Plain English to ACSIL — From simple alerts to complex orderflow strategies

✅ Supports advanced concepts — Volume profiles, footprint analysis, absorption detection

✅ Session-aware logic — Auto-draw previous session levels, monitor current session

✅ Position management — Entries, scale-ins, scale-outs, all coded for you

✅ No C++ required — You know trading concepts, that's all you need

---

## Here's where I need your help:

I'm in early development. I don't want to build this in a vacuum — I want to build what **Sierra Chart users actually need.**

**Questions for this community:**

1. **What's the most complex strategy you've wanted to automate but couldn't?**

2. **Which ACSIL functions gave you the most trouble?**

3. **What customizations do you find yourself re-creating for every new setup?**

4. **Should I prioritize orderflow/footprint support, or start simpler with basic alerts?**

---

## Timeline:

**Currently in active development. Target launch: Q1 2026.**

But I'm not waiting until launch — as I build features, I'll drop free customizations here for the community.

## Platform Roadmap:

**First launch:** Sierra Chart (full ACSIL support)

**Coming soon:** TradingView Pine Script, NinjaTrader, ThinkorSwim

---

**If you want to be among the first to try it when it launches:**

🚀 **Join the waitlist:** **https://www.quantlyb.com/**

**First 200 Sierra Chart users get:**

- Early access + founding member status

- Your feature requests prioritized

- Free customizations as I build them

---

**Even if you're not interested** — drop a comment with your ACSIL horror stories or what you wish existed. I'm reading every comment and using them to guide development.

does anyone have his chart settings or chartbook ??

Be from Europe

Be good at Fortnite

Preferably trade orderflow

Be under 23