Risk controls are the manual overrides that sit on top of every automated strategy. However a bot is configured, you can always step in and take control immediately. They are independent of the strategy's own logic, so they work even when a strategy is mid-trade.
Pause#
Pause stops a strategy from opening new positions while leaving existing ones as they are. Use it when you want to hold current trades but stop taking new signals — for example, ahead of a major news event.
Stop#
Stop halts the strategy entirely — no new entries and no further management of the strategy's logic. Use it when you're done running a strategy for now. Existing positions remain on the exchange for you to manage (in the trading terminal) or close.
Emergency kill#
The kill switch is the immediate, decisive option: stop the strategy and close its positions right away. Use it when you need out now — a market dislocation, a mistake, or anything you don't want to sit through. It prioritizes getting flat over precision.
They always work#
Because these controls act on your account directly, they don't depend on a strategy behaving well. Every strategy can be paused, stopped, or killed at any moment, from the terminal.
Design risk in from the start#
Manual controls are the last line, not the plan. Build sensible stop-losses and position sizing into every strategy so you rarely need the kill switch. See Execution Settings and Risk Management Basics.