Getting Started
cBots and indicators explained
An indicator and a cBot can calculate the same signal while doing very different jobs. Knowing which type you have makes installation, testing and troubleshooting much easier.
Indicators describe market data
An indicator takes inputs such as prices and calculates a result. A moving average draws a smoothed price line; a crossover marker can place an arrow when two averages cross. Other indicators display values in a separate panel. Their purpose is analysis and presentation, not automatically turning each mark into an order.
Inputs matter. A 20-period average of closing prices is different from an average of high prices, and a marker on an unfinished bar may change while that bar develops. Read the tool’s rules and check whether a signal is provisional or based on a closed bar.
cBots carry out programmed actions
A cBot is a program that can monitor conditions and perform trading operations according to its code. For example, it might detect a moving-average crossover, check a spread limit and submit an order only when it has no existing position. A cBot can also manage trades or log information without opening new positions.
The program must have a running instance before its rules can act. That instance has an account, symbol, period and parameters. Two instances of the same cBot can have different settings and act independently. Running several without understanding their position rules can create overlapping exposure.
Why an arrow does not place a trade
A crossover arrow is an output, not an instruction sent to a broker. To automate it, a cBot needs explicit rules for reading the signal, deciding when it is valid and choosing the order size and exits. Merely adding an indicator and a cBot to the same chart does not connect their logic.
For example, “buy on the green arrow” leaves several questions unanswered: should the cBot wait for the bar to close, act once per signal, ignore an old arrow at startup or close an existing sell position? Those decisions belong in the specification and code.
Choose a tool for the task
Use an indicator when you want to inspect a calculated value or visual condition while keeping the trading decision manual. Use a cBot when you need a defined process to act automatically. Neither tool type establishes that a strategy has an advantage; correct execution and trading performance are separate questions.
Custom indicators run in cTrader Windows and Mac. cBots can run locally in those desktop apps or, when compatible, in the cloud with management from Web and Mobile too. Cloud execution is for cBots, not a way to run a custom chart indicator on a phone.
Test what the tool actually does
For an indicator, compare a handful of historical marks with the written calculation and watch a new bar form. For a cBot, inspect its trade decisions in a backtest and then on demo. Include quiet periods when no action should occur; doing nothing can be correct behaviour.
Before installing, establish whether the supplied file is a cBot or indicator, which app it needs and whether source code is included. Continue with the installation guide when those details are clear.