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

# Trailing Stop

> Track a market with a stop at a fixed percentage or dollar distance, then place a market order when the price reverses.

A trailing stop moves with the market. For a **sell** (protecting a long), the stop tracks the highest price seen and sits a fixed distance below it. As the price rises, the stop rises with it. When the price falls back by the trail distance, the stop triggers. For a **buy**, the stop tracks the lowest price and sits a fixed distance above it. The stop only ever moves in your favor. It never loosens.

<Frame caption="BTC Trailing Stop form with trail distance and an optional activation price.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/pacifica-fi-docs-migrate-92/VCAzZXadRgTcpglq/images/order-types/trailing-stop.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=VCAzZXadRgTcpglq&q=85&s=9aace0a497ce229631fc548a9396305e" alt="Trailing stop order form with trail amount in dollars or percent, activation price, trigger condition and Reduce Only" width="360" data-path="images/order-types/trailing-stop.png" />
</Frame>

## How it works

1. Set the **Trail Amount**, as a percentage or a dollar amount, and the **Trigger Condition** price source (**Mid** or **Mark**).
2. Optionally set an **Activation Price**. Until the market reaches it, the trailing stop is dormant. A sell activates once the price rises to the activation price, and a buy once the price falls to it. With no activation price, tracking starts immediately.
3. Once active, Pacifica records the extreme price (the peak for a sell, the trough for a buy) and derives the stop level from it: peak minus trail for a sell, trough plus trail for a buy. The stop is updated on every new extreme.
4. When the price retraces to the stop level, a **market order** is placed for the full amount, using your **Max Slippage**. The order may fill only partially.

A trailing stop triggers once. It does not become active again after submitting the market order.

## Settings

| Setting               | Options           | What it does                                                                                                                                         |
| --------------------- | ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Trail Amount**      | USD or %          | The distance between the extreme price and the stop. Enter a positive dollar amount, or a percentage from 0.01% to 99.99% in increments of 0.01%.    |
| **Activation Price**  | Optional          | The price that must be reached before tracking begins.                                                                                               |
| **Trigger Condition** | **Mid**, **Mark** | The price source used both to track the extreme and to detect the retracement.                                                                       |
| **Reduce Only**       | On / Off          | **On** makes it a trailing exit: it can only close an existing position. **Off** makes it a trailing entry that opens a position on the retracement. |

The form describes the resulting behavior in words. For example, you can set a sell to activate at a mid price of \$110,000, then trail 2% below the peak.

## Trailing exit from the Positions panel

You can also attach a trailing stop directly to an open position from the **Positions** table (**Trailing Stop** tab of the **TP/SL** dialog). A position trailing stop submits a reduce-only market order for the **full position size at trigger time**. A full fill is still subject to available liquidity and slippage.

## Example

You are long 0.1 BTC at \$100,000 and want a stop that stays 2% below the highest price reached:

* Select **Trailing Stop**, side **Sell**, **Trail Amount** 2%, **Trigger Condition** **Mid**, **Reduce Only** on and **Amount** 0.1 BTC.
* BTC rallies to \$110,000. The stop is now \$107,800. BTC keeps going to \$120,000. The stop is now \$117,600.
* BTC pulls back to \$117,600. A reduce-only market sell for 0.1 BTC is placed. Its fill price may differ from \$117,600, and it may fill only partially.

## Good to know

* The stop places a market order, so the fill can be worse than the stop level in a fast market, up to your **Max Slippage**.
* Trailing stops are listed in the **Strategies** tab under **Trailing Stop**. There you can see the current extreme and the current stop level.
* Trailing stops use Mid or Mark as the price source. Last trade price is not available.
