Configuration

QuickFIX/J is heavily metadata-driven and relies on a plain text configuration file to manage connection details, session settings, persistence, validation rules, and dictionary paths.

Structure of the Settings File

The configuration file is divided into [DEFAULT] sections and specific [SESSION] sections.

• [DEFAULT]: Settings defined here apply to all sessions defined subsequently, unless explicitly overridden within a specific session block.
• [SESSION]: Settings unique to a specific connection instance.

Example Initiator Configuration

[DEFAULT]
ConnectionType=initiator
HeartBtInt=30
ReconnectInterval=5

# Validation
UseDataDictionary=Y
DataDictionary=FIX44.xml
ValidateFieldsOutOfOrder=N
ValidateChecksum=Y

# Logging (using FileLog)
FileLogPath=log

# Persistence (using FileStore)
FileStorePath=data
PersistMessages=Y

[SESSION]
BeginString=FIX.4.4
SenderCompID=MY_FIRM
TargetCompID=EXCHANGE
SocketConnectHost=192.168.1.100
SocketConnectPort=9876
StartTime=00:00:00
EndTime=23:59:00
ResetOnLogon=N

Example Acceptor Configuration

[DEFAULT]
ConnectionType=acceptor
StartTime=00:00:00
EndTime=23:59:00
FileLogPath=log
FileStorePath=data
UseDataDictionary=Y

[SESSION]
BeginString=FIX.4.4
SenderCompID=EXCHANGE
TargetCompID=CLIENT_A
SocketAcceptPort=9877
DataDictionary=FIX44_custom.xml

[SESSION]
BeginString=FIX.4.2
SenderCompID=EXCHANGE
TargetCompID=CLIENT_B
SocketAcceptPort=9878
DataDictionary=FIX42.xml

Key Configuration Parameters

Session & Connection

Parameter	Description
ConnectionType	Defines the role: initiator (client that dials out) or acceptor (server that listens).
BeginString	The FIX version for the session (e.g., FIX.4.2, FIX.4.4, FIXT.1.1).
SenderCompID	Your firm's identifier (Tag 49).
TargetCompID	Your counterparty's identifier (Tag 56).
SocketConnectHost	(Initiator only) The IP or DNS name to connect to.
SocketConnectPort	(Initiator only) The port to connect to.
SocketAcceptPort	(Acceptor only) The port to bind and listen on.
HeartBtInt	Heartbeat interval in seconds. Defines how often TestRequest or Heartbeat messages are sent.
StartTime / EndTime	Defines the daily or weekly session schedule. Determines when sequence numbers are reset based on the active session boundary.
ResetOnLogon	If Y, forces sequence numbers to reset to 1 every time a Logon occurs.

Validation

Parameter	Description
UseDataDictionary	Set to Y to enable structural validation of FIX messages.
DataDictionary	Path to the XML file describing the FIX version specification (e.g., FIX44.xml).
ValidateFieldsOutOfOrder	If N (default Y), allows fields to appear out of the strict order defined in the XML.
ValidateChecksum	If Y, validates the Checksum (Tag 10) at the end of the message.
CheckLatency	If Y, checks the SendingTime (Tag 52) against the local system clock and rejects messages exceeding MaxLatency (default 120s).

Storage & Logging

Parameter	Description
PersistMessages	If Y (default), messages are saved to the store for potential recovery via ResendRequest. Set to N for market data feeds.
FileStorePath	Directory where FileStore saves .seqnums and .body files.
FileLogPath	Directory where FileLog saves raw FIX traffic (.messages.log) and engine events (.event.log).
SLF4JLogPrependSessionID	When using SLF4J, prepends the SessionID to log output for easier grep filtering.

Programmatic Configuration

While property files are the standard approach, you can also configure QuickFIX/J programmatically by constructing SessionSettings objects:

import quickfix.SessionSettings;
import quickfix.SessionID;

SessionSettings settings = new SessionSettings();

// Set default parameters
settings.setString("ConnectionType", "initiator");
settings.setString("HeartBtInt", "30");

// Set session-specific parameters
SessionID sessionId = new SessionID("FIX.4.4", "SENDER", "TARGET");
settings.setString(sessionId, "SocketConnectHost", "127.0.0.1");
settings.setString(sessionId, "SocketConnectPort", "9876");
settings.setString(sessionId, "StartTime", "00:00:00");
settings.setString(sessionId, "EndTime", "23:59:00");