> ## 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.

# What is copy trading

> The basic concept, before you get into MirrorTrade's specific version of it.

Copy trading means automatically mirroring another trader's positions in your own account, instead of deciding what to buy or sell yourself. When the trader you're copying opens a position, you open a proportional version of it. When they close it, yours closes too.

The appeal is simple: picking winning trades takes time, research, and experience most people don't have. Copy trading lets you benefit from someone else's skill and effort without having to develop it yourself, as long as you pick who you copy carefully.

## What it's not

Copy trading is not the same as giving someone your money to manage. On MirrorTrade specifically, you never send funds to the trader you're copying, and they never even know you exist. Your wallet places its own trades, on its own, using your own money. See [how copying works](/how-copying-works) for the mechanics.

It's also not passive income or a guarantee. You're still exposed to whatever risk the trader you copy is exposed to. If they lose money, you lose money too, proportionally to how much you allocated. Choosing who to copy still matters, which is why MirrorTrade filters and scores traders before they ever show up on the Copy feed. See [how we shortlist traders](/how-we-shortlist-traders).

## MirrorTrade's two copy modes

MirrorTrade offers two different ways to start copying a trader, depending on whether you want to inherit their current open positions or only follow what they do from here. See [Full Mimic vs Forward Mimic](/full-mimic-vs-forward-mimic) for the difference.