Switching from paper to live
When you're ready to go live — what changes, what to check, and how the engine handles the switch.
Moving from paper to live trading means real orders, real fees, and real market impact. This article covers what changes across 7 key features, a pre-flight checklist, and what to expect from your first live execution.
What changes when you go live?
| Feature | Paper | Live |
|---|---|---|
| Orders placed | Virtual (no exchange) | Real orders on the exchange |
| Balance | Virtual $10,000 | Your real account balance |
| P&L | Simulated | Real |
| Fees | Estimated | Actual exchange fees |
| Slippage | Model estimate | Real market impact |
| Funding (perps) | Not charged | Charged every 8h |
| Plan required | Any (Free+) | Investor+ |
Pre-flight checklist before going live
- Connect a real exchange account — see the exchange guides.
- Set your capital allocation conservatively — start with 1–3% of portfolio per trade, not 20–50%.
- Add a stop-loss — even a wide one (e.g. -10%) protects against catastrophic entries.
- Run paper for at least a week — paper results give you confidence the conditions fire as expected.
- Check balance — make sure you have enough to cover the minimum trade size + fees.
How to switch
For a single-exchange paper strategy, open its detail page and click Go Live. Choose a connected exchange account if prompted, review the proposed order size, and confirm.
Coinrule creates a separate live agent using the saved strategy logic. Your paper agent continues running, so you can compare their results. Fixed USD sizing is scaled to your live balance for review; percentage sizing stays balance-relative.
Basket and multi-exchange strategies use their existing live launch flow. You can also create a fresh live strategy from the same description.
How do you go back to paper?
You can't "convert" a live agent to paper mid-flight while it has an open position. Stop the live agent first (which closes or holds the position depending on your exit policy), then launch a paper version.
What should you expect on your first live trade?
The first real execution is always slightly nerve-wracking. A few things to expect:
- The first fill will show in your exchange's order history within ~30 seconds
- Coinrule's activity feed shows the order ID, fill price, and fee
- Your portfolio balance updates on the next data poll (~30s)