> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mirrortrade.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How copying works

> The actual steps, from browsing a trader to your first mirrored trade, and what permission MirrorTrade does and doesn't have.

## The flow

1. **Browse the Copy feed.** This is the scored, filtered list of traders you can copy, each with their track record, worst dip, and score visible before you commit anything.
2. **Pick a trader and open the copy setup.** You choose how much capital to allocate and how much leverage to use, and whether to start with [Full Mimic or Forward Mimic](/full-mimic-vs-forward-mimic).
3. **Review and start.** Once you confirm, that choice locks in for the strategy, you can't switch modes on an already-running copy.
4. **MirrorTrade mirrors the trader's trades into your wallet automatically from there on**, proportional to the size you allocated.
5. **Pause or stop anytime.** Pausing stops new trades while your existing positions stay open. Stopping closes the copy and begins unwinding your positions.

## Who actually holds your money

This is the part most copy-trading platforms get wrong, so it's worth being precise about.

When you start a copy strategy, MirrorTrade creates a dedicated wallet for that strategy, one that belongs to you. On top of that, a separate trading key is generated and given permission to place orders on Hyperliquid from that wallet. That's it, that key can open and close trades. It cannot withdraw funds.

In plain terms: **MirrorTrade receives trading permission, not withdrawal permission. Your wallets remain yours.** The trader you're copying never receives your funds either, they don't even know you exist. Your wallet places its own trades, using your own money, based on what they're doing.

## What you don't have to do

You don't watch charts, you don't place the orders yourself, and you don't need to be online when the trader you're copying makes a move. That's the entire point, once a copy is running, it runs on its own until you pause or stop it.