Before connecting anything, let's make the relationship clear. Your TraderLobby account is the identity you use to sign in to this app. Your exchange account is the account you hold with a supported exchange. A connection lets TraderLobby communicate with that exchange account using the access you have allowed. Those are three related things, with three different jobs.

Think of the connection as a controlled doorway for requests. Through that doorway, the app may ask for account information or submit a supported trading request. What can pass through depends on the connection, its permissions, and the exchange. Creating the doorway does not move the account into TraderLobby, and naming it does not change who owns it.

Your funds remain with the connected exchange. The connection form explains that TraderLobby does not hold your funds or add or withdraw money. Do not look for a deposit into TraderLobby as a step in this lesson. If a balance appears in the app, it is information about the account being displayed. The number is not evidence that money was transferred into a new TraderLobby wallet.

There is another distinction to keep beside that one: Paper and Live. Paper uses simulated trading activity. Live uses the relevant connected exchange context for supported real activity. You can learn the connection screens while staying in Paper. A successful connection does not, by itself, mean you have intentionally started a strategy or placed an order.

Start by checking which TraderLobby user is signed in. Then find API Connections in the main navigation. On a phone, open the mobile navigation and choose the same destination. The layout changes; the purpose stays the same.

Inside this area, you will find the route for adding a connection and the list of connections already saved. An empty list is a useful, understandable state. It tells you no exchange connection is shown for this account. It does not tell you that your separate exchange account has no money, or that something has been sold.

Throughout this chapter, we will use examples to explain the controls. You do not need to paste a key, move funds, or turn on Live trading to keep going. If you already have a working connection, leave it intact while you inspect its labels. The aim is to understand the access before you use it.

For your first check, explain the three parts in your own words: the TraderLobby sign-in, the exchange account, and the connection between them. Then point to the current Paper or Live label without changing it. Once those pieces are clear, the rest of the screen becomes much easier to read.