Importing a CSV file

Drop an export from a supported broker and preview before importing.

The quickest way to backfill history is a broker CSV. Head to the Brokers hub and drop your file on the dropzone, or use the import button on the Trades filter bar.

Trading a prop-firm account? Tradovate and TopstepX each have a quirk worth reading first — see Importing from Tradovate and TopstepX.

Not a US broker? The preview asks which timezone the file’s timestamps are in and converts them before anything is saved — read Timezones: what clock your trade times are on first, because getting it wrong files every trade on the wrong day.

How it works

  • We auto-detect the broker and layout from the file — no format picking.
  • You get a preview of the parsed trades before anything is saved.
  • P&L and commissions are recomputed from raw fills — the broker's P&L column is ignored.
  • Partial fills come in as real legs (see Scaling in and out).

If your broker isn't recognized

Any CSV works through the column mapper — you map its columns to trade fields once. See Importing from any broker with column mapping.

Options rows

A broker statement identifies an option by its 21-character OCC contract symbol — e.g. AEVA  260821P00030000. On import that is split apart: the trade's symbol becomes the underlying (AEVA) and the contract lands in the strike / expiration / call-or-put fields, so the row behaves like any other options trade. Prices are premiums per share and the quantity is contracts, with the ×100 multiplier applied automatically.

Fixed 3 Sep 2026: Interactive Brokers options rows were previously rejected with “Symbol must be 1-20 characters” because the OCC symbol was imported as the ticker. Stocks and futures in the same file imported normally, so it looked like options simply couldn't be imported. Re-import the statement — the previously-skipped rows come in, and the rows that already imported are recognised as duplicates and skipped.

Re-importing is safe

Duplicate trades are detected and skipped, so you can re-import the same statement any time. See How duplicate detection works.

On the Free plan

Free records stocks & ETFs only. If your file contains futures, options, forex, or crypto, those rows are held back (never silently dropped) and the import summary tells you how many — upgrade to Essential or Pro to import every asset class.

Ask the support assistant

Answers come from the Help Center articles on this site — it can explain how the app works, not how to trade.

Answers are generated from Help Center articles and can be incomplete. contact us

Still stuck? Tell us what happened, or email support@ledgerofalpha.com.

Importing a CSV file — Ledger of Alpha Help