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Install & Troubleshooting

Last updated: 2026-08-07

Getting an import error? Nine times out of ten it is because NinjaTrader was still running during the import. Close it completely, delete the old TradeMate.dll, restart, and import again — full steps in Troubleshooting.

1. Requirements

2. Before you import

Two minutes here prevents the vast majority of failed imports.

  1. Confirm your platform already compiles. Open New → NinjaScript Editor, click inside it, and press F5. If the compile fails, fix or remove the offending script first. NinjaTrader recompiles every custom script during an import, so a pre-existing error from any other vendor will abort our install and blame our file.
  2. Back up your custom folder. Copy Documents\NinjaTrader 8\bin\Custom\ somewhere safe.
  3. Do not unzip the archive. Import the .zip exactly as downloaded.

3. Installing

  1. Close NinjaTrader completely. Open Task Manager and confirm no NinjaTrader.exe process is still running.
  2. Start NinjaTrader again.
  3. In the Control Center, go to Tools → Import → NinjaScript Add-On…
  4. Select the TradeMate.zip file you downloaded and confirm.
  5. Wait for the success message, then restart NinjaTrader.

Your indicators now appear on any chart under Indicators, prefixed with TM. TMRiskReward is a drawing tool and lives in the chart's drawing-tools palette instead.

4. Updating to a new version

Do not import a new version on top of an old one. NinjaTrader loads and locks our file while it is running, so it cannot be replaced in place — the import will fail and roll back.

  1. Close NinjaTrader completely (check Task Manager).
  2. Open Documents\NinjaTrader 8\bin\Custom\
  3. Delete TradeMate.dll and TradeMate.cs if present. Delete any older TradeMate file you were sent under a different name too — leftovers are a common cause of import failures.
  4. Restart NinjaTrader and import the new archive as in section 3.

Your indicator settings, templates and workspaces are stored separately and are not affected by this.

5. Troubleshooting

"Import failed. The NinjaScript Archive File may contain duplicate method names…"

This is NinjaTrader's catch-all import-failure dialog. It is shown for almost any problem during the post-import compile, so the wording is usually misleading. Work through these in order:

Step 1 — NinjaTrader was running

By far the most common cause. Close NinjaTrader, verify in Task Manager that NinjaTrader.exe is gone, restart, and import again.

Step 2 — An old TradeMate file is still installed

Close NinjaTrader and delete TradeMate.dll and TradeMate.cs from Documents\NinjaTrader 8\bin\Custom\, along with any earlier TradeMate file sent to you under a different name. Restart and import again.

Step 3 — Your platform already fails to compile

Open the NinjaScript Editor and press F5 before importing. If it reports errors, the problem is an existing script on your machine, not the TradeMate archive — NinjaTrader will refuse every import until it is resolved.

Step 4 — Your NinjaTrader build is too old

Check Help → About. You need 8.1.8.1 or newer. Update through Help → Check for Updates, then import again.

The indicators do not appear after a successful import

Restart NinjaTrader — newly imported add-ons are not always registered until the platform reloads. If they are still missing, open the NinjaScript Editor and press F5 to confirm a clean compile.

"License not found" or the indicator refuses to load

TradeMate licenses are issued through NinjaTrader's vendor licensing system and are tied to your NinjaTrader account name — not your email address. Make sure the account name you gave us at checkout matches the one you are logged into. Send us your account name and we will confirm what the license is attached to.

6. Still stuck? Send us this

The dialog on screen does not tell us what actually failed — the log does. Please send:

With those we can normally identify the exact cause on the first reply.

Get help on Discord Email support

Common questions

Import failed — "The NinjaScript Archive File may contain duplicate method names that already exist on your PC"

This is NinjaTrader's generic import-failure message and it rarely means what it says. In almost every case it is one of three things: NinjaTrader was still running when you imported, an older TradeMate file is still in your bin\Custom folder, or another vendor's script on your machine already fails to compile. Work through the Troubleshooting section on this page in order — step 1 fixes the majority of reports.

Do I need to uninstall the old version before updating?

Yes. Close NinjaTrader completely, delete TradeMate.dll and TradeMate.cs from Documents\NinjaTrader 8\bin\Custom\, then restart and import the new archive. NinjaTrader cannot overwrite a file it currently has loaded, so importing over a running instance will fail and roll back.

Should I unzip the archive first?

No. Import the .zip exactly as you downloaded it, via Tools → Import → NinjaScript Add-On. Extracting it yourself and copying files in by hand will not register the indicators and usually breaks the install.

The import succeeded but I cannot find the indicators.

Restart NinjaTrader. The indicators appear on a chart under Indicators with the TM prefix; TMRiskReward is a drawing tool and appears in the chart drawing-tools palette instead.

What NinjaTrader version do I need?

NinjaTrader 8, build 8.1.8.1 or newer. Older 8.0.x and early 8.1.x builds are not supported and can fail to import or load. Help → About in the Control Center shows your build.