AphnaIntroduction to Aphna
Trade by rules, not emotion.
Aphna lets you build your own trading strategy, test it against a year of market history, and, once it passes, have it trade automatically on your own account or a prop firm account. You decide the rules. Aphna follows them every time, without hesitation, fear or second-guessing.
This page is for anyone new to automated trading or prop firms. No experience is assumed.
What Aphna is, and what it isn't
Aphna is a tool for building and running rules-based strategies. You build a strategy, Aphna tests it and judges it against fixed standards, and if it passes, it can trade for you.
Aphna is not a signal service, and it doesn't trade on your behalf with its own ideas. Every strategy is one you built. Aphna doesn't promise profits. A strategy that tested well on the past can still lose in the future. What Aphna gives you is a disciplined process: clear standards, honest testing, and trades placed exactly as the rules say.
The Aphna tools
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| Aphna Builder | Runs on a TradingView chart. You build a strategy and see how it would have performed over the last year, checked against Aphna's standards |
| Aphna Search | Optional. Tests many settings for you and shows the results in one table |
| Aphna Base | Suggested starting settings for a symbol, so you never start from a blank page |
| Aphna Live | Runs on a TradingView chart. Once a strategy passes, it sends each trade the moment the strategy calls for one |
| Aphna Link | Connects your cTrader account to Aphna, so trades are placed straight onto it |
How a trade travels
- Your strategy runs in Aphna Live on a TradingView chart.
- When the strategy calls for a trade, TradingView sends an alert to Aphna's server.
- The server checks the trading rules (news, the 21:00 rule, your account's limits) and passes the trade to your account.
- The trade opens with its stop and target already set.
You don't need to be at your computer. TradingView runs the alerts on its own servers.
Two ways to connect your account
cTrader, through Aphna Link (recommended). You connect your cTrader account once, and Aphna places trades directly on it. Nothing to install, nothing to keep running at home.
MetaTrader 4 or 5. For accounts on MetaTrader. This needs the Aphna EA running in MetaTrader all the time, usually on a VPS (a computer rented online that stays on), and, for prop firm accounts, a trade copier such as Traders Connect. It works, but it has more parts and more monthly costs.
What is a prop firm?
A proprietary trading firm ("prop firm") lets you trade its money instead of your own.
- You pay a one-off fee for a challenge: a trial account with a profit target and loss limits.
- If you reach the target without breaking the limits, you get a funded account.
- On the funded account you keep most of the profit you make, typically 70–90%. The firm keeps the rest.
The attraction is clear: your own money at risk is only the challenge fee. The catch is the rules. Break a loss limit once and the account is closed.
Why prop firms and Aphna fit together: passing a challenge is mostly about discipline: sticking to the rules, not over-trading, not chasing losses. That's exactly where people struggle and where automation doesn't. Aphna's standards are strict on purpose: low drawdown, limited losing streaks, consistent results.
Every firm has its own rules, and knowing them is your responsibility. Before you trade a firm's account, check at least:
- the daily loss limit and the maximum loss limit;
- whether they allow automated trading and trade copiers;
- any news trading restrictions;
- whether trades may be held overnight or over the weekend.
Aphna has settings for news and NFP (the big monthly US jobs report) that you can set to match your firm, but the firm's rules are the ones that count.
Drawdown: the builder and your prop firm count it differently
Aphna Builder counts a trade's loss when the trade closes. Your prop firm counts it while the trade is still open. A trade that dips hard before recovering can hit your firm's daily loss limit even though the builder never shows it. Always leave room between your strategy's drawdown and your firm's limit.
What you need
- TradingView Premium. It loads enough history for a full year's test, and its alerts don't expire.
- A trading account: cTrader (recommended) or MetaTrader 4/5. Personal or prop firm.
- Chrome, if you want to use Aphna Search.
- Time and curiosity. Building a strategy is a skill, and you get better at it with every one you build. Each attempt teaches you more about how your symbol moves, and Aphna's standards make sure that what you take live is strong.
Where to go next
- Guide 1: Aphna Builder. Every setting explained.
- Guide 2: Reading the numbers. How to tell whether a strategy is good.
- Guide 3: Building a strategy. The method, step by step.
- Guide 4: The search tool.
- Guide 5: Going live. Connecting your account, the alert, and when to stop a strategy.
- Guide 6: Common problems. Quick checks before you contact support.
Every cost is on the Full costs page.
Trading carries risk. Past results, including backtests, do not guarantee future results. Only trade money you can afford to lose.