Quantower setup

Quantower reads the same Rithmic connection as R|Trader Pro, with a workspace you build yourself and a much deeper set of charts and order flow tools.

Before you start

You need an account on Rithmic. Quantower logs in with Rithmic credentials, so if you are not sure what you bought, check the feed behind each platform.

You need your Rithmic username and password. They are emailed to you after checkout and they are in your dashboard.

You need Windows 10 or later. There is no Mac or Linux build, so on a Mac you need Windows in a virtual machine (Parallels, or VMware Fusion).

Quantower needs .NET 8. If it is missing, the installer sends you to Microsoft to get it.

Accept the Rithmic agreements first

Go to Rithmic's agreement page, sign in with your Rithmic credentials, and accept the agreements listed there.

If you are asked whether you use the data as a professional or a non-professional, choose Non-Professional unless you hold a financial licence, work for a financial firm, or use the data for a business. Professional status is billed by Rithmic, per exchange, every month.

Do this before you touch Quantower. Unsigned agreements are the most common reason the connection fails on market data rather than on your password, and nothing about the error says so.

Install it

Download it from quantower.com/download and run the installer. It is free.

Take the current version. Our server entry only appears in recent builds.

The connection

Quantower documents this window with screenshots. Follow it, but use our server: LumenFutures.

Open Connections from the top menu, find Rithmic, and press the plus button to add a connection.

Username and password are both case sensitive.

The last four live under Connection settings at the bottom of the panel, not on the login fields.

Aggregated market data. Leave it off unless you know you want it. It thins the quote stream, which is easier on a slow connection and worse for anyone reading the ladder tick by tick.

One login at a time. Rithmic expects your credentials in one place. If you are already logged in somewhere else, including R|Trader Pro, log out there first or Quantower will not connect.

If you want Quantower open at the same time as R|Trader Pro, that is the way to run two platforms rather than logging in twice. Start R|Trader Pro first with Allow Plugins on and log in there, then connect Quantower with the same credentials and the same server, and check that your firewall is not blocking the two from talking to each other. Both have to stay open.

Close the settings window and press Connect.

Once you are in

Before you place anything, check that you can see your account balance and live prices.

Rename the connection to something you recognise — right click it, and pick any name. Worth doing before you have two.

Level 1 data is included, and there is no separate data bill. What is included

When it does not work

LumenFutures is not in the server list. Your build is old. Download Quantower again from the link above and install over the top.

Password rejected. Check LumenFutures is the selected server, then check you are using your Rithmic credentials and not your Lumen website login — they are different logins to different systems.

An error about .NET 8 on startup. Install .NET 8 from Microsoft and restart Quantower.

Market data connection failed. Usually the Rithmic agreements are not signed. Go back to the link above, accept them, then reconnect. If you only just bought the account, give it up to an hour to finish activating. If neither is it, you are logged in somewhere else.

A "no handle" error when you log in. Your credentials are already in use on another platform or another machine. Close the other one and try again.

Only admins can place trades. This is not a Quantower fault and reconnecting will not clear it. Rithmic returns it when the account is no longer allowed to trade, which on our side means it is closed: either the drawdown was hit, or a position was still open at the 4:45 PM ET flat time and got closed for you. Check the dashboard, and talk to us rather than to Quantower.

No Level 2, or Market by Order shows nothing. Level 1 is what comes with the account, and Market by Order is built on depth we do not supply, so the setting turns on and the columns stay empty. Nothing is broken and there is nothing to fix. What is included

Charts have no history, or gaps in it. Right click the chart and pick Reload history (server). If it is still empty, try a front month contract to rule out the symbol, and check the event log for a permission error. Rithmic also caps tick history at 40 GB a week, so loading months of ticks across many charts can spend it before Friday.

The connection drops. Turn off your VPN. After that, disconnect and reconnect from the Connections panel, then restart Quantower.

Everything is laggy. Quantower is heavy, and charts are what make it heavy. Close panels you are not watching, cut the number of open charts, and drop indicators from the ones you are not trading. Cutting how much history each chart loads helps twice, because that is the same thing that spends your weekly tick allowance.

Who to ask

Quantower is not our software. We cannot fix its bugs and we do not have its source.

The platform itself — crashes, layout, charting, a feature you cannot find: Quantower's help center.

Your account — credentials, balances, what the rules are, billing: us, through the chat on any page.