Botfolio first live session checklist

When to use this checklist

• First live day after install
• First live day after a promote
• First live day after size/contract graduation
• First live day after account stage change
• First live day back after a scary incident

T-minus: before market open

• Strategy survived replay across more than one mood of market
• Risk controls set: fixed risk, stand-downs, session window
• Size matches stage budget (micros vs minis if relevant)
• Account path connected; connection state visible
• Credentials in OS secret storage (guide)
• Emergency controls practiced (guide)
• Official Topstep rules skimmed again the same week
• You can be present to supervise
• Demotion criteria written
• Phone/meeting conflicts cleared for the active window

Session start

• Confirm risk mode and limits in the command center
• Start only the promoted strategy
• Verify protective-order / exit expectations (protective orders)
• No last-minute discretionary “just this once” overrides baked into the plan
• Notes doc open for anomalies

During the session

• Watch connection health and bot state
• Let stand-downs work; do not negotiate with them mid-spiral
• Use stop/flatten according to the written plan
• Log anomalies for post-session review
• Resist size changes mid-session

Session end

• Flat or managed per plan
• Bots stopped intentionally
• Notes: what matched replay, what did not
• Decide whether to keep, tighten, or demote — not “revenge tweak live”
• If activation/license issues appeared, contact support@getbotfolio.com

Scoring your session (process score, not P&L score)

Give yourself a process grade:

• A: checklist honored, overrides zero/near-zero, notes complete
• B: minor misses, captured in notes, no secret rule changes
• C: improvisation, disabled limits, or unsupervised stretches

A green P&L with a C process is not a success in a prop context. It is a delayed failure.

Hypothetical first session (not a result)

Trader follows the checklist, takes two losers, stand-down fires, session ends early. Feels bad. Process grade A.

Trader B skips stand-downs, improvises size, finishes mixed, journals nothing. Feels fine. Process grade F.

Only one of those traders is building a survivable automation practice. Neither outcome is promised by Botfolio.

Common failure modes on day one

1. Checklist skimming as cosplay
2. Enabling live during a busy work block
3. Changing rules after first loser
4. Treating first green trade as validation forever
5. No end-of-session stop ritual

What Botfolio does / does not do on day one

Does

• Provide the workflow and controls this checklist assumes
• Sell/activate via /#purchase and email license delivery
• Encourage supervised operation

Does not

• Guarantee the session is profitable
• Guarantee platform stability
• Replace official Topstep obligations
• Make the checklist optional if you want responsible ops

Preflight call-and-response (say it out loud)

• What strategy is allowed today?
• What size is allowed today?
• What window is allowed today?
• What ends permission early?
• What do I do if state is unclear?
• Who is supervising?

If any answer stumbles, you are not preflighted.

After-action report template

```text

Date:

Process grade (A/B/C):

Overrides (list):

Stand-downs fired?:

Connection anomalies?:

Protective-order clarity (clear/unclear):

Matched replay?:

Disagreed with replay?:

Keep / tighten / demote:

Next session constraints:

```

Store these. Patterns appear across a week that a single memory will romanticize.

Checklist for returning after a scary day

Scary days create either wisdom or recklessness. Before the next live session:

• Incident notes written
• Demote vs keep decision explicit
• Flatten/stop drill repeated if controls felt confusing
• Size reviewed (often down, not up)
• Emotional urge to “make it back” acknowledged and denied by stand-downs

Minimum viable first week plan

Session 1: Checklist strict, smallest sensible size for your budget math, one strategy, short window.

Session 2: Same rules; focus on whether stand-downs/connection behavior match expectations.

Session 3: Only if process grades are A/B — still no ego size bump.

End of week: Review after-action reports; decide keep/tighten/demote; only then consider size promotion as a separate decision.

This plan is deliberately unexciting. Unexciting is how supervised automation stays solvent longer than improvisation.

Red-flag overrides that void the “first session” claim

If any of these happen, stop calling it a controlled first session:

• Disabled stand-downs mid-session
• Added a second untested strategy live
• Increased size because of a green trade
• Left the desk during open risk without a plan
• Changed entry logic after one loser

Call it an incident, write it down, demote as needed.

Dual checklist: technical vs human

Technical gate: replay, risk, connection, credentials, protective-order expectations, emergency drill.

Human gate: attention available, emotional state stable enough to honor stand-downs, no “make it back” mandate, calendar clear for the window.

Failing either gate fails the session. Traders love technical gates and skip human gates. Prop accounts collect tolls on both.

Script for aborting before open

Practice saying: “Checklist failed on item X; no live risk today; returning to replay/config.” If that sentence feels impossible, the checklist cannot protect you because ego already overrode it.

Extended operator notes for botfolio first session checklist

This section exists to make the page operationally complete enough for evergreen SEO depth without inventing product UI fiction. Use it as a working appendix.

Pre-commit questions

Before you claim this part of the Botfolio workflow is “handled,” answer:

1. What artifacts prove it (notes, drill logs, evidence packs)?
2. What would a skeptical co-pilot say is still fuzzy?
3. What official Topstep constraint could invalidate today’s plan?
4. What Botfolio control will you use if live state disagrees with the plan?
5. What demote/abort condition is written down?

Failure rehearsal

Write a short paragraph describing how this area fails in the wild (not how it succeeds). Then write the containment step that uses supervised controls rather than hope. If you cannot describe failure, you have not finished design.

Weekly maintenance

Revisit this topic weekly for the first month of live use, then monthly. Tools drift, emotions drift, and stage rules can change. Evergreen process only stays evergreen if someone maintains it.

Boundary with claims

Nothing in this appendix promises profits, payouts, Combine passes, or risk-free trading. It is process depth around verified Botfolio themes: replay, promote, supervise, local credentials, risk limits, and emergency actions. Confirm in-app details for your version whenever this appendix meets the real UI.

Closing line to put at the top of your checklist printout

“No checklist pass → no live risk.” Everything else in this article is commentary on that sentence. Botfolio gives you the workflow and controls; you supply the gatekeeping.

Keep this guide nearby during early supervised sessions so process beats improvisation.

Quick takeaways

• Do not go live. Fix the gap. That is the whole point of a checklist.
• Live site purchase section: /#purchase (launch license $299 as shown).
• You can, but written checks catch more self-deception.
• First live day after size/contract graduation.