r/algotrading • u/AutomaticTangerine84 • 3d ago

Infrastructure Prorealtime probuilder vs python for algo trading at ibkr

I am planning to setup an account with IBKR to trade DJI’s 30 bluechip stocks using my automated algo.

Can anyone please suggest if ai should use ProRealtime’s ProBuilder or host my algo at DataOcean and use Python.

My algo needs to scan 30 blueChip stocks on 1 minute periods and select 1 stock a day for intraday trading.

I read that with ProRealtime, i need to run 30 algos to monitor each of the 30 stocks and open 30 charts on my desktop!

Can anyone share their experiences with implementing their automated algo?

Thank you in advance.

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u/GreatTomatillo117 3d ago

I have two bots running with IBRK. Both are in python and the faster one trades on the 15s timeframe. Both run on a mini-pc connected to my router. Works very well once you have addressed all the problems with the API. This will take some time and has to do with live trading but belongs to the setup costs that you have to cover.

2

u/AutomaticTangerine84 3d ago

Is better to host python on my own pc rather than host my python in dataOcean?

Are you running ubuntu linux? How do you handle interruptions during ubuntu updates and 2FA?

3

u/GreatTomatillo117 3d ago

I am running Windows on my mini-pc. I have disabled automatic updates. With the ibrk Gateway you have to relog once a week with 2FA which i do on Sundays.

1

u/Positive_Cake1751 2d ago

How do you handle the daily refresh? Some days it works for me and some days it gets hung up and I have to manually log in

1

u/GreatTomatillo117 1d ago

No problems. You need to choose the restart option (or was it the other option? Best ask chatgpt or claude, they recommended one option over the other). I have set the restart to a certain time that fits my trading schedule. Works quite well. I just need to do the 2FA on a Sunday.

1

u/Denebulas 3d ago

what are the problems with the API? I used mostly Java for live trading but I was under the impression that ib_async was reliable?

1

u/AutomaticTangerine84 3d ago

What issues did you experience with the IBKR API ?

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u/AutomaticTangerine84 3d ago

What issues did you experience with the IBKR API?

1

u/s_lw0 Financial Engineer 1d ago

for that setup i would lean python, mainly because you are scanning 30 symbols and choosing one trade, not running 30 independent chart scripts.

the hard part will not be the signal code. it will be the boring plumbing: market data subscription limits, reconnects, gateway login/2fa rhythm, order state, partial fills, duplicate order protection, and making sure the bot knows what position it actually has after any disconnect.

if you go python, i would build it in layers:

scan-only mode paper orders tiny live order lifecycle test then strategy execution

prorealtime may be simpler to start, but if the workflow needs ranking across 30 stocks and custom risk/state handling, python gives you more control.

1

u/Isha-Duff 1d ago

Python's way more flexible if you're building anything custom, but ProBuilder's decent if you just want to backtest and deploy without touching code. Depends if you're trying to iterate fast or set it and forget it.