How to install, update or force update a Ninjatrader indicator

1. Basic Ninjatrader indicator install

When you download a Ninjatrader indicator package, you will get a “zip” file.
Installing this indicator file in Ninjatrader is very easy. First, open your Ninjatrader software, and then expand the Tools -> Import -> NinjaScript Add-On menu:

Then choose the indicator zip file that you downloaded and you want to install:

Select the file and click “Open”, and you should get the following confirmation message:

Congrats, the indicator is now installed and should be available in your Ninjatrader indicators list!

2. Update a Ninjatrader indicator version

Let’s say you have an indicator version 2.01 installed in your Ninjatrader software and your vendor sent you an update, version 2.20:

Updating the indicator version is pretty much the same than installing a new indicator.
You can go into the Tools -> Import -> NinjaScript Add-On menu again and choose your new indicator version zip file:

You may get a confirmation message telling you that the indicator already exists in your Ninjatrader instance. Just click “Yes” to replace the actual version with the new one:

Then you will get a Ninjatrader restart request:

Shut down and restart your Ninjatrader software, and you should have the newest version from your indicator installed.

3. Force a Ninjatrader indicator update

Now there are some situations where updating an indicator version may be a bit harder.
When you have some custom strategies or indicators using the actual indicator you would like to update, you can’t just remove the actual version because it’s referenced in some other custom code. And, the compilation for these custom strategies or indictors will fail.

If you try to do the basic indicator update from 2., you will get this kind of dependencies warning:

If you want to force the indicator version update (and rework on your custom strategies/indicators as a second step), you can open New -> Ninjascript editor.

In the ninjascript editor, you can browse to your custom strategies, indicators or anything else by expanding it in the NinjaScript Explorer. Then right click on the problematic strategy/indicator, and click on “Exclude from compilation” :

The strategy should now be grayed:

Now you should be able to remove the actual indicator version that was referenced by the excluded strategy by going into Tools -> Remove NinjaScript Assembly:

Select the assembly you want to remove and click on the Remove button:

Click “Yes” on the confirmation box:

You will get a removal confirmation:

Now you can install the latest indicator version like you would do for a fresh indicator install (see 1. Basic Ninjatrader indicator install).

PS: if you try to include your custom strategies in compilation again, you may have errors that need to be fixed into your custom code. Send us an email or come talk in our Discord if you need assistance with this.

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