> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://countertrade.gitbook.io/docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://countertrade.gitbook.io/docs/trading/order-types.md).

# Order types

The order types you can place in the trading terminal — market and limit — plus reduce-only, TP/SL triggers, and time-in-force.

The order types you can place in the trading terminal and how each one fills. There is no separate stop order type — take-profit and stop-loss are triggers, covered below, not a distinct order type.

## Market and limit

Two order types are placeable. You choose between them with the **Market** and **Limit** toggle on the order ticket.

| Type       | How it fills                                                                                       | When to use                                                                |
| ---------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Market** | Fills immediately against the order book at the current price.                                     | You want to enter or exit now and will take whatever the current price is. |
| **Limit**  | Rests at the price you set and fills only when the market crosses your limit. It may sit unfilled. | You want a specific price and are willing to wait — or to not fill at all. |

A limit order needs a **Limit price**; a market order does not. Either side of the book applies: **Buy / Long** opens or adds to a long, **Sell / Short** opens or adds to a short, and either can reduce an opposite position.

## Take-profit and stop-loss

Take-profit and stop-loss are triggers you attach to a position, not a separate order type. Turn on the **TP / SL** option on the ticket and set a **TP** price, an **SL** price, or both.

A trigger fires a market close of the position when the price reaches your level: the take-profit closes it in profit, the stop-loss closes it to cap a loss. Because the close is a market order, it fills at the price available when the trigger fires, which can differ from the exact level you set.

## Reduce only

**Reduce only** restricts an order to reducing or closing an existing position — it can't open a new position or increase one. Use it when you want to guarantee an order only takes size off, never adds it.

A reduce-only order inherits the open position's margin mode; you can't switch **Isolated** or **Cross** while it's on.

## Time in force

A limit order carries a time-in-force that controls how long it stays working before it's filled or cancelled:

* `gtc` — good-til-cancelled: the order rests until it fills or you cancel it.
* `ioc` — immediate-or-cancel: fills whatever it can right away, then cancels the rest.
* `fok` — fill-or-kill: fills in full right away or cancels entirely.

Time in force applies to limit orders. A market order fills against the current book on placement, so it has no resting lifetime.

## Related

* [Place an order](/docs/trading/place-an-order.md) — the steps to submit a market or limit order
* [Rejected orders](/docs/trading/rejected-orders.md) — why an order is refused and what the message means