# PitBridge

> A local-first MCP bridge for NinjaTrader 8, with hard risk limits your AI cannot bypass. PitBridge sits between an AI agent and a futures trading platform and enforces deterministic guardrails (daily loss halt, position caps, trading windows, kill switch, human confirmation and more) before any order reaches the platform. Orders never route through PitBridge servers. Open core for trust; a paid tier unlocks live execution and advanced guardrails.

PitBridge is trading infrastructure, not financial advice. It sends no signals, defines no strategies, and makes no promise about trading outcomes. Futures trading carries substantial risk of loss. The guardrails are software controls that refuse orders which break the limits you configure; they do not prevent every loss.

Key facts for agents and developers:
- Front door is the Model Context Protocol (MCP). The daemon exposes MCP over stdio, plus a localhost REST API and a WebSocket event feed. MCP over streamable HTTP is on the roadmap, not in the current build.
- Getting started (published on PyPI, uvx works): `uvx pitbridge init` scaffolds ~/.pitbridge/config.toml; `uvx pitbridge mcp` runs the stdio MCP server, and with no config at all it boots a safe paper demo sandbox (fake account, all guardrails on, cannot place a real order) so an agent can call get_accounts and get_guardrail_status before anything is configured; `uvx pitbridge doctor` is a read-only PASS/WARN/FAIL self-check of config, accounts, guardrails, deny-list, kill switch, live gate, and version.
- The daemon is cross-platform (macOS, Linux, Windows). The NinjaTrader 8 AddOn (C#) runs on Windows next to NinjaTrader and connects outbound to the daemon. Paired mode lets the daemon run on your Mac while NinjaTrader runs on your Windows box, over your own local network. No cloud relay in the order route.
- Order pipeline is fixed and not bypassable: schema validation, permission check (read-only / paper / live), guardrail check, optional human confirmation, submit, ack and reconcile, append-only audit log. Live mode is off by default and requires an explicit arm-live step. The kill switch blocks all order flow and is released only from the CLI.
- Not affiliated with or endorsed by NinjaTrader, LLC. "For NinjaTrader 8" is nominative use.

## Product
- [NinjaTrader 8 MCP bridge](https://pitbridge.com/product/ninjatrader-8-ai-agent-bridge/): Connect Claude, custom agents or scripts to NinjaTrader 8 over MCP, local-first, with guardrails. The primary money page and CrossTrade MCP alternative.
- [Guardrails](https://pitbridge.com/product/guardrails/): The twelve deterministic guardrails enforced in the daemon before orders reach the platform.
- [Local-first trading bridge](https://pitbridge.com/product/local-first-trading-bridge/): How paired mode runs the daemon on your Mac and the AddOn on your Windows box, with no cloud in the order path.
- [Pricing](https://pitbridge.com/pricing/): Free open core (paper and read-only, all guardrails). Pro $49 per month ($470 per year) unlocks live execution; founder price $39 locked for life, first 100 accounts.

## Safety
- [Trading AI guardrails](https://pitbridge.com/safety/trading-ai-guardrails/): Why prompt-level safety is not risk management and what deterministic controls add.
- [Prop firm compliance](https://pitbridge.com/safety/prop-firm-compliance/): Configuring guardrails for prop firm rules. Software controls, not certification; verify rules with each firm.

## Learn
- [MCP for futures trading](https://pitbridge.com/learn/mcp-for-futures-trading/): What a trading MCP server is, and MCP vs REST vs webhooks for trading automation.

## Knowledge base
- [How to connect Claude to NinjaTrader 8 safely](https://pitbridge.com/learn/articles/connect-claude-to-ninjatrader-8-safely/): Register the local PitBridge MCP server with an accurate uv config, start on Sim101, and watch a real tool call get blocked with a reason code.
- [What a trading MCP server does](https://pitbridge.com/learn/articles/what-is-a-trading-mcp-server/): The real nine tools split into reads and writes, the place_order schema (account, instrument, side, qty), and why a proposal is not an execution.
- [Risk controls an LLM cannot override](https://pitbridge.com/learn/articles/ai-trading-guardrails-llm-cannot-override/): Why a prompt limit is advice and an out of process guardrail is a control, with the real config keys and reason codes.
- [MCP vs webhooks for trading automation](https://pitbridge.com/learn/articles/mcp-vs-webhooks-for-trading-automation/): How a fixed webhook trigger and a state aware MCP agent differ, and why the deterministic guardrail check belongs in the same place either way.
- [Local-first trading automation: why it matters](https://pitbridge.com/learn/articles/local-first-trading-automation-why-it-matters/): What keeping the order route and your keys on your machine buys you for security, latency, and fail closed behavior.
- [Which futures prop firms allow automated trading](https://pitbridge.com/learn/articles/which-futures-prop-firms-allow-automated-trading/): Why there is no fixed list, what to verify with the firm in writing, and how software enforces only the limits you configure.

## Docs
- [Quickstart](https://pitbridge.com/docs/quickstart/): Try the no-config demo sandbox, then pitbridge init, edit your config, run pitbridge mcp, and verify with pitbridge doctor. Attach Claude Code, Claude Desktop, OpenClaw, Cursor or curl. Paper mode by default, live locked.
- [Security model](https://pitbridge.com/docs/security-model/): Localhost bind, pairing tokens, permission tiers, arm-live, kill switch, audit log.

## Plain markdown twins (fetch these for clean text)
- [Quickstart](https://pitbridge.com/docs/quickstart.md)
- [Pricing](https://pitbridge.com/pricing.md)
- [Security model](https://pitbridge.com/docs/security-model.md)
- [Guardrails](https://pitbridge.com/product/guardrails.md)
- [PitBridge vs CrossTrade](https://pitbridge.com/compare/pitbridge-vs-crosstrade.md)

## Open source
- [Open source and open core](https://pitbridge.com/open-source/): What is open (core daemon, read-only and paper mode, guardrail engine) and where the paid tier begins.

## Get involved
- [Join the waitlist](https://pitbridge.com/waitlist/): Tell us your platform, prop firms, account count and biggest risk concern.

## Legal
- [Disclaimer](https://pitbridge.com/disclaimer/)
- [Risk disclosure](https://pitbridge.com/risk-disclosure/): Full CFTC Rule 4.41 hypothetical-performance legend.
- [Privacy](https://pitbridge.com/privacy/)