> For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL.
> For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.ninjatrader.com/llms.txt.
> For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://docs.ninjatrader.com/_mcp/server.

# Set Up

The first step in creating a custom strategy is to use the custom **Strategy Builder**. The builder provides two options:

* Allow you to create a functional strategy without any programming
* Generate the required **NinjaScript** code that will serve as the foundation for your custom strategy for further coding

1. Within the **NinjaTrader Control Center** window select the  **New Strategy Builder...** menu
2. Press the "Next" button

![SimpleMACrossoverSetUp1](https://fdr-prod-docs-files-public.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/ninjatrader-public.docs.buildwithfern.com/712e179db4b3e08bc99fd6e277873ef3ba41813d0ceb8ec4eeee3e25d18bdc68/docs/assets/developer/desktop-sdk/guides/set-up10-simplemacrossoversetup1.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA6KXJSKKNFOCF7G4B%2F20260729%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20260729T062227Z&X-Amz-Expires=604800&X-Amz-Signature=620e8e412cbde7d38dd1ca2b1c3ba89b4d965f96f956a0c12c558a151386a5cd&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject)

3. Enter the information as shown above
4. Press the "Next" button

## Setting Default Properties

The next page will allow you to set defaults for basic properties related to your strategy, including its **Calculate** and **EntryHandling** settings. Click the **More Properties** button to expose additional properties. For this tutorial, we will not change any basic properties' defaults, and instead will leave them all set to the values shown below:

![SimpleMACrossoverSetUp2](https://fdr-prod-docs-files-public.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/ninjatrader-public.docs.buildwithfern.com/f9ac4a222d34439817e6431bd31fddbe1f4ff79cbaa7d1958cc86b1fa1ff658d/docs/assets/developer/desktop-sdk/guides/set-up10-simplemacrossoversetup2.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA6KXJSKKNFOCF7G4B%2F20260729%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20260729T062227Z&X-Amz-Expires=604800&X-Amz-Signature=7b72af0c7278423f2d7457b23d9afcd0c3fa7d28e3033a3cf7b7c13161591649&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject)

## Adding Additional Data

The next page will allow you to configure one or more additional **Bars** objects for use by the strategy. For our purposes, we will leave this page blank and move forward by clicking the "Next" button.

![SimpleMACrossoverSetUp3](https://fdr-prod-docs-files-public.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/ninjatrader-public.docs.buildwithfern.com/1556720645b839b83720df6b3efc460bb65bc6cb09e3ecb2a0f837c0b36c8673/docs/assets/developer/desktop-sdk/guides/set-up10-simplemacrossoversetup3.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA6KXJSKKNFOCF7G4B%2F20260729%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20260729T062227Z&X-Amz-Expires=604800&X-Amz-Signature=7e3964a935076034431f79c7af714644e0d9be031c301cdb6cf681434eda3052&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject)

## Defining Input Parameters

Below you will define your strategy's input parameters. These are any input parameters that can be changed by the user when running or backtesting a strategy. If your strategy does not require any parameters leave the "Name" fields blank.

![SimpleMACrossoverSetUp4](https://fdr-prod-docs-files-public.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/ninjatrader-public.docs.buildwithfern.com/f4467a2a2fb78c7d948e0266196a870c331c56b702898629c432d49dbb7221db/docs/assets/developer/desktop-sdk/guides/set-up10-simplemacrossoversetup4.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA6KXJSKKNFOCF7G4B%2F20260729%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20260729T062227Z&X-Amz-Expires=604800&X-Amz-Signature=7c7db4e311ca5337b17c3ca88e6a8d3a477c244d4cde5ae71a0cf240aceb464f&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject)

1. Click the add button to add a property
2. Add input parameters into the newly created **Input Parameters** window and click Ok once the input parameter is set up

![SimpleMACrossoverSetUp5](https://fdr-prod-docs-files-public.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/ninjatrader-public.docs.buildwithfern.com/cb3b4a68af78e75f357b653ff1bd9e7d4eedfc8831d0739ae4cbf414a980d43d/docs/assets/developer/desktop-sdk/guides/set-up10-simplemacrossoversetup5.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA6KXJSKKNFOCF7G4B%2F20260729%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20260729T062227Z&X-Amz-Expires=604800&X-Amz-Signature=b111c0ab66b67ac2dbff18cc7e247e5ec801d5aec57578533108d1f76a26d494&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject)

5. Add the inputs as per the image above
6. Press the "Next" button

## Defining Conditions and Actions

Below you can define conditions that trigger user-defined actions such as placing orders, drawing on a chart, or creating an alert.

Notice how there are two buttons on the screen below:

* **View Code...** - Pressing this button loads the strategy code in the **NinjaScript Editor** for viewing purposes only. This is a great approach if you are new to programming or you want to see how the strategy wizard dynamically generates the correct script code on the fly.
* **Unlock Code** - Pressing this button loads the strategy code in the **NinjaScript** editor for further manual editing. Once this button is pressed, you can NOT go back to the Wizard for strategy construction and editing.

![SimpleMACrossoverSetUp6](https://fdr-prod-docs-files-public.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/ninjatrader-public.docs.buildwithfern.com/1a9cab4ebfadca74c2642f111c82d0929b9d0f74924e9356f2819e259b0ea6a2/docs/assets/developer/desktop-sdk/guides/set-up10-simplemacrossoversetup6.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA6KXJSKKNFOCF7G4B%2F20260729%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20260729T062227Z&X-Amz-Expires=604800&X-Amz-Signature=1d3a3b1b73280a2a9748f4d0f4c6066267341dbc73060c198eaaa850c4307fa7&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject)

If you want to proceed with this tutorial through **self programming** [continue here](/developer/desktop-sdk/guides/educational-resources/developing-strategies/beginner-simple-ma-cross-over/creating-the-strategy-via-self-programming) after pressing the "Unlock Code" button.

If you want to proceed with this tutorial through **using the Strategy Builder** please [click here](/developer/desktop-sdk/guides/educational-resources/developing-strategies/beginner-simple-ma-cross-over/creating-the-strategy-via-the-wizard).