From Paper to Live
Published Jun 22, 2026 · Updated Oct 16, 2026
Once a strategy runs steadily on paper and you can explain its behavior, you can run it with real funds. This page covers what to watch on paper, what live trading needs, and how to build a separate live strategy. Entry points: Account → Trading account and Strategy → My strategies.
Live trading uses real funds and can cause losses, including larger-than-expected drawdowns, slippage, fees, and funding. Read the Risk Notice first and commit only what you can afford to lose.
What should I watch on paper?
Set the paper account’s initial funds to roughly the size you plan to trade live, so drawdown numbers mean something (see First Paper Strategy). Observe it across different market conditions and answer:
- When does it trade? Is the frequency what you expected?
- Are position sizes and holding times acceptable?
- When the deepest drawdown hits, would you want to intervene?
- Do take profit and stop loss fire as configured?
Paper uses real market data with simulated execution. It does not reproduce your actual fills, queue position, or venue fee tier. Live results can differ materially, especially as size or conditions change. See Paper vs live differences.
Which trading account should I use for live?
In Account → Trading account, click Add trading account. The dialog has three tabs:
| Tab | Option | Where funds sit | AlphaFox run fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| HyperLiquid | Create trading account: AlphaFox creates it for you; transfer funds in from your Funding account, then trade | An AlphaFox-managed Hyperliquid trading account, custodied by AlphaFox | 0 once the start check passes, using no live plan slot; a Hyperliquid Builder Fee applies (usually 0.05% of filled notional) |
| HyperLiquid | Connect an existing HyperLiquid wallet: authorize a dedicated Agent Wallet from your browser wallet; the main wallet must already be funded on HyperLiquid | Stays in your own wallet; no private key required | Same as above; you approve the Builder Fee in your wallet during authorization |
| Other exchanges | Enter an exchange API key; Save config unlocks only after Test connection passes | Stays in your own exchange account (exchange API connections are non-custodial) | Uses your plan’s live slots first, then 0.07 credits per hour per strategy; billing stops when the strategy stops |
Give the exchange API key trade permission only, never withdrawals; if the connection test detects withdrawal permission, it does not pass and the key cannot be saved. See Connect an Exchange for the steps.
Pre-flight checklist
- Paper ran steadily for a while and its behavior is explainable
- The max drawdown is bearable with real money
- A live trading account is added: the exchange API passed Test connection, or the Hyperliquid trading account / wallet holds usable USDC
- Outside the Hyperliquid fee waiver, your Funding account holds enough credits for hourly overage, or auto-recharge is on
- The live account holds only money you can afford to lose
An hourly-billed strategy is stopped and its positions are closed when your credits run out. Check your credit balance before long runs; see Membership for slots and prices.
How do I create the live strategy?
Add a live trading account
Add one using an option from the previous section and confirm it appears in your trading account list.
Copy the paper strategy
Open Strategy → My strategies and click Copy on the validated paper strategy’s card. The create page opens pre-filled with the same strategy type and parameters.
Switch to the live trading account
In the Trading account dropdown, pick the live account you just added and make sure it no longer says “AlphaFox Paper”. Reduce the position parameters and start below your target size.
Check the cost and create
On the Review step, check the launch summary and Estimated cost, then click Create and start. “Strategy created and started” means it worked, and the card’s mode pill shows Live.
Scale up after observing
Once live behavior matches paper, raise the position parameters gradually. Keep the original paper strategy as a control group (it still uses a paper slot) or stop it.
A stopped strategy can also switch its trading account directly in Strategy config, but that clears its return curve and leaderboard return data. Copying into a new strategy keeps the paper record intact for comparison.
How do I monitor it after launch?
- Turn on notifications in the strategy’s Notification config and tick the message types you care about (such as failures and fills). See Configure Notifications for channels.
- To exit, Stop and close positions closes all of the strategy’s positions, while Stop and keep positions only ends the run; confirm on the exchange.
- If it fails to start or errors at runtime, follow Trader not starting.