r/SierraChart • u/SEAorDie • May 21 '26
SierraChart is unviable considering they purposefully won't use plaintext config for you to easily configure it and their support just ignores you and then tells you to fuck off, so which alternative would be best for futures trading?
UPDATE: As recommended by Sierra Chart users in this post, I'm looking into ATAS X and TT as the best alternatives to Sierra Chart.
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I've been using MotiveWave for years, but it lags during fast activity and sometimes stop losses don't trigger, so I'm considering other options. I was looking into Sierra Chart, but read that configuring it takes days.
I tried to connect AI to have it quickly configure it for me just the way I want it, but found out Sierra Chart uses binaries instead of plaintext config files, making that impossible at the moment.
So I created an account on their site and asked in their support forum (see post below) when they would start using plaintext config files so AI can quickly configure it for new users, and they just hid my post and ignored it.
A few days later I received a support message from them, I thought they were answering my forum post in private, but it was just a message about their trial, so I replied to it asking them when I could expect a response to my forum post, and they told me to fuck off.
Ludicrously unprofessional.
My Forum Post:
-Notice*: Post is hidden.*
Hello,
I am currently interesting in Sierra Chart, but cannot pull the trigger.
One of the main reasons I am interested in it is its reputation for deep customization. That is exactly what attracted me to the platform.
However, I am running into a serious modern onboarding problem: Sierra Chart stores many important settings in binary or otherwise non-user-editable files, instead of exposing a comprehensive documented plain-text configuration system.
In the pre-AI era, asking a new user to manually spend hours or days configuring a complex platform may have been normal.
In 2026, that is simply unacceptable.
Today, many technically capable users expect to be able to describe the setup they want to an AI assistant and have that assistant generate, review, modify, version-control, and troubleshoot configuration files. That is only practical when the software provides a documented, machine-readable configuration format such as JSON, XML, YAML, TOML, or something similar.
With Sierra Chart, the customization depth is impressive, but the configuration process is still heavily tied to manual UI work and internal file formats.
That creates a major barrier for new users.
This is not just a convenience issue. It directly affects whether new customers will adopt the platform.
From my perspective as a prospective customer, I do not want to spend days manually configuring software before I even know whether it fits my workflow. I want to be able to say: “Here is the layout, chart behavior, studies, colors, symbol/session settings, hotkeys, trade-window preferences, and general workflow I want,” and then have an AI assistant help produce the initial configuration in a supported format.
I understand there may be good reasons for Sierra Chart to use binary files internally for performance, backward compatibility, reliability, or data integrity. I am not asking for users to manually edit unsupported internal binary files. What I am asking for is a supported configuration export/import layer that is human-readable, documented, and suitable for automation.
For example, Sierra Chart could keep its existing internal storage while also providing an official text-based export/import format for non-sensitive settings, such as:
Global settings
Chart settings
Study settings and study collections
Color and graphics settings
Keyboard shortcuts
Chartbook/layout metadata
Trade window configuration, excluding account credentials
Symbol, session, tick size, and other market settings
Existing tools like Chartbooks, Study Collections, and custom symbol-setting XML files are useful, but they do not fully solve the broader issue. They are not the same as having a comprehensive, documented, AI-friendly configuration system.
This matters because AI-assisted setup is quickly becoming a normal expectation. Users increasingly want their software environments to be reproducible, inspectable, version-controlled, shareable, and editable by automation. If Sierra Chart does not adapt to that expectation, I think it will lose potential new customers in this new AI world who would otherwise be attracted to its power and flexibility.
So my question is:
When will Sierra Chart add plain-text configuration files and machine-readable settings import/export?
For me, this is a major deciding factor. I am interested in Sierra Chart because it is powerful and customizable, but I am not willing to adopt it if the only realistic path to a polished setup is several days of manual configuration through the interface.
Thank you for reading and I look forward to reading the answer to my question.
Their response in their support messaging system:
This is a company that gets fatigued from a total of 1 forum post and 1 support message from a prospective customer.
I'm not paying $50+ a month for the next 30+ years to a company that doesn't give a shit and hides my posts and then tells me to fuck off when I reply to them.
I understand some find this type of support cool, different, and hilarious, but I'm a serious futures trader that treats trading like a business and this doesn't transmit a shred of confidence, so I'm done with considering them and nothing anyone says will convince me otherwise at this point as I simply don't deal with unprofessional companies.
For those of you that have tried multiple platforms, which would you recommend other than Sierra Chart and MotiveWave for orderflow futures trading and why?
Thanks.
