MQL5 Programming Articles
Study the MQL5 language for programming trading strategies in numerous published articles mostly written by you - the community members. The articles are grouped into categories to help you quicker find answers to any questions related to programming: Integration, Tester, Trading Strategies, etc.
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Neural Networks in Trading: Lightweight Models for Time Series Forecasting
Lightweight time series forecasting models achieve high performance using a minimum number of parameters. This, in turn, reduces the consumption of computing resources and speeds up decision-making. Despite being lightweight, such models achieve forecast quality comparable to more complex ones.
MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 16): Principal Component Analysis with Eigen Vectors
Principal Component Analysis, a dimensionality reducing technique in data analysis, is looked at in this article, with how it could be implemented with Eigen values and vectors. As always, we aim to develop a prototype expert-signal-class usable in the MQL5 wizard.
Neural networks made easy (Part 46): Goal-conditioned reinforcement learning (GCRL)
In this article, we will have a look at yet another reinforcement learning approach. It is called goal-conditioned reinforcement learning (GCRL). In this approach, an agent is trained to achieve different goals in specific scenarios.
Statistical Arbitrage Through Cointegrated Stocks (Part 2): Expert Advisor, Backtests, and Optimization
This article presents a sample Expert Advisor implementation for trading a basket of four Nasdaq stocks. The stocks were initially filtered based on Pearson correlation tests. The filtered group was then tested for cointegration with Johansen tests. Finally, the cointegrated spread was tested for stationarity with the ADF and KPSS tests. Here we will see some notes about this process and the results of the backtests after a small optimization.
Codex Pipelines: From Python to MQL5 for Indicator Selection — A Multi-Quarter Analysis of the FXI ETF
We continue our look at how MetaTrader can be used outside its forex trading ‘comfort-zone’ by looking at another tradable asset in the form of the FXI ETF. Unlike in the last article where we tried to do ‘too-much’ by delving into not just indicator selection, but also considering indicator pattern combinations, for this article we will swim slightly upstream by focusing more on indicator selection. Our end product for this is intended as a form of pipeline that can help recommend indicators for various assets, provided we have a reasonable amount of their price history.
Building A Candlestick Trend Constraint Model (Part 4): Customizing Display Style For Each Trend Wave
In this article, we will explore the capabilities of the powerful MQL5 language in drawing various indicator styles on Meta Trader 5. We will also look at scripts and how they can be used in our model.
Creating a Trading Administrator Panel in MQL5 (Part VI):Trade Management Panel (II)
In this article, we enhance the Trade Management Panel of our multi-functional Admin Panel. We introduce a powerful helper function that simplifies the code, improving readability, maintainability, and efficiency. We will also demonstrate how to seamlessly integrate additional buttons and enhance the interface to handle a wider range of trading tasks. Whether managing positions, adjusting orders, or simplifying user interactions, this guide will help you develop a robust, user-friendly Trade Management Panel.
ATC Champions League: Interview with Roman Zamozhniy (ATC 2011)
This is the first interview in the "ATC Champions League" project. Roman Zamozhniy (Rich) from Ukraine was the winner of the first Automated Trading Championship in 2006. In addition, he is a regular participant of our Championships - he has not missed a single contest. In this interview, we talked about Roman's first place and tried to figure out what is necessary for successful participation.
MetaTrader 5 Machine Learning Blueprint (Part 6): Engineering a Production-Grade Caching System
Tired of watching progress bars instead of testing trading strategies? Traditional caching fails financial ML, leaving you with lost computations and frustrating restarts. We've engineered a sophisticated caching architecture that understands the unique challenges of financial data—temporal dependencies, complex data structures, and the constant threat of look-ahead bias. Our three-layer system delivers dramatic speed improvements while automatically invalidating stale results and preventing costly data leaks. Stop waiting for computations and start iterating at the pace the markets demand.
DoEasy. Controls (Part 12): Base list object, ListBox and ButtonListBox WinForms objects
In this article, I am going to create the base object of WinForms object lists, as well as the two new objects: ListBox and ButtonListBox.
Data Science and ML (Part 46): Stock Markets Forecasting Using N-BEATS in Python
N-BEATS is a revolutionary deep learning model designed for time series forecasting. It was released to surpass classical models for time series forecasting such as ARIMA, PROPHET, VAR, etc. In this article, we are going to discuss this model and use it in predicting the stock market.
Developing a Replay System (Part 26): Expert Advisor project — C_Terminal class
We can now start creating an Expert Advisor for use in the replay/simulation system. However, we need something improved, not a random solution. Despite this, we should not be intimidated by the initial complexity. It's important to start somewhere, otherwise we end up ruminating about the difficulty of a task without even trying to overcome it. That's what programming is all about: overcoming obstacles through learning, testing, and extensive research.
Developing a multi-currency Expert Advisor (Part 6): Automating the selection of an instance group
After optimizing the trading strategy, we receive sets of parameters. We can use them to create several instances of trading strategies combined in one EA. Previously, we did this manually. Here we will try to automate this process.
From Novice to Expert: The Essential Journey Through MQL5 Trading
Unlock your potential! You're surrounded by opportunities. Discover 3 top secrets to kickstart your MQL5 journey or take it to the next level. Let's dive into discussion of tips and tricks for beginners and pros alike.
Artificial Electric Field Algorithm (AEFA)
The article presents an artificial electric field algorithm (AEFA) inspired by Coulomb's law of electrostatic force. The algorithm simulates electrical phenomena to solve complex optimization problems using charged particles and their interactions. AEFA exhibits unique properties in the context of other algorithms related to laws of nature.
Creating a Trading Administrator Panel in MQL5 (Part II): Enhancing Responsiveness and Quick Messaging
In this article, we will enhance the responsiveness of the Admin Panel that we previously created. Additionally, we will explore the significance of quick messaging in the context of trading signals.
Creating Custom Indicators in MQL5 (Part 11): Enhancing the Footprint Chart with Market Structure and Order Flow Layers
This article extends the MQL5 footprint chart with market-structure and order-flow layers: volume-profile bars, point of control, value-area highlighting, stacked imbalance detection, absorption zones, and single-print/unfinished markers. We expand bar data structures, add functions for POC/value area, imbalance, and absorption, and build a fixed-order rendering pipeline. You will get ready-to-use inputs, metadata, and drawing utilities to integrate and customize these layers in your indicator.
Reimagining Classic Strategies (Part V): Multiple Symbol Analysis on USDZAR
In this series of articles, we revisit classical strategies to see if we can improve the strategy using AI. In today's article, we will examine a popular strategy of multiple symbol analysis using a basket of correlated securities, we will focus on the exotic USDZAR currency pair.
Polynomial models in trading
This article is about orthogonal polynomials. Their use can become the basis for a more accurate and effective analysis of market information allowing traders to make more informed decisions.
Trading with the MQL5 Economic Calendar (Part 7): Preparing for Strategy Testing with Resource-Based News Event Analysis
In this article, we prepare our MQL5 trading system for strategy testing by embedding economic calendar data as a resource for non-live analysis. We implement event loading and filtering for time, currency, and impact, then validate it in the Strategy Tester. This enables effective backtesting of news-driven strategies.
Reusing Invalidated Orderblocks As Mitigation Blocks (SMC)
In this article, we explore how previously invalidated orderblocks can be reused as mitigation blocks within Smart Money Concepts (SMC). These zones reveal where institutional traders re-enter the market after a failed orderblock, providing high-probability areas for trade continuation in the dominant trend.
Interview with Andrei Moraru (ATC 2011)
Ukrainian programmer Andrei Moraru (enivid) is an active participant of the Automated Trading Championship beginning from 2007. Andrei had already come in our view at that time and now we have decided to find out if there occured any changes in his attitude towards trading and selection of trading strategies for the past four years, and also to know about his new Expert Advisor.
Neural networks made easy (Part 78): Decoder-free Object Detector with Transformer (DFFT)
In this article, I propose to look at the issue of building a trading strategy from a different angle. We will not predict future price movements, but will try to build a trading system based on the analysis of historical data.
Self Optimizing Expert Advisors in MQL5 (Part 16): Supervised Linear System Identification
Linear system identifcation may be coupled to learn to correct the error in a supervised learning algorithm. This allows us to build applications that depend on statistical modelling techniques without necessarily inheriting the fragility of the model's restrictive assumptions. Classical supervised learning algorithms have many needs that may be supplemented by pairing these models with a feedback controller that can correct the model to keep up with current market conditions.
Creating an MQL5-Telegram Integrated Expert Advisor (Part 7): Command Analysis for Indicator Automation on Charts
In this article, we explore how to integrate Telegram commands with MQL5 to automate the addition of indicators on trading charts. We cover the process of parsing user commands, executing them in MQL5, and testing the system to ensure smooth indicator-based trading
Trading Options Without Options (Part 1): Basic Theory and Emulation Through Underlying Assets
The article describes a variant of options emulation through an underlying asset implemented in the MQL5 programming language. The pros and cons of the chosen approach are compared with real exchange options using the example of the FORTS futures market of the MOEX Moscow exchange and the Bybit crypto exchange.
Developing an MQL5 Reinforcement Learning agent with RestAPI integration (Part 1): How to use RestAPIs in MQL5
In this article we will talk about the importance of APIs (Application Programming Interface) for interaction between different applications and software systems. We will see the role of APIs in simplifying interactions between applications, allowing them to efficiently share data and functionality.
From Basic to Intermediate: SWITCH Statement
In this article, we will learn how to use the SWITCH statement in its simplest and most basic form. The content presented here is intended solely for educational purposes. Under no circumstances should the application be viewed for any purpose other than to learn and master the concepts presented.
Neural Network in Practice: The First Neuron
In this article, we'll start building something simple and humble: a neuron. We will program it with a very small amount of MQL5 code. The neuron worked great in my tests. Let's go back a bit in this series of articles about neural networks to understand what I'm talking about.
Category Theory in MQL5 (Part 5): Equalizers
Category Theory is a diverse and expanding branch of Mathematics which is only recently getting some coverage in the MQL5 community. These series of articles look to explore and examine some of its concepts & axioms with the overall goal of establishing an open library that provides insight while also hopefully furthering the use of this remarkable field in Traders' strategy development.
Trading with the MQL5 Economic Calendar (Part 10): Draggable Dashboard and Interactive Hover Effects for Seamless News Navigation
In this article, we enhance the MQL5 Economic Calendar by introducing a draggable dashboard that allows us to reposition the interface for better chart visibility. We implement hover effects for buttons to improve interactivity and ensure seamless navigation with a dynamically positioned scrollbar.
Price Action Analysis Toolkit Development (Part 37): Sentiment Tilt Meter
Market sentiment is one of the most overlooked yet powerful forces influencing price movement. While most traders rely on lagging indicators or guesswork, the Sentiment Tilt Meter (STM) EA transforms raw market data into clear, visual guidance, showing whether the market is leaning bullish, bearish, or staying neutral in real-time. This makes it easier to confirm trades, avoid false entries, and time market participation more effectively.
Developing a Replay System — Market simulation (Part 11): Birth of the SIMULATOR (I)
In order to use the data that forms the bars, we must abandon replay and start developing a simulator. We will use 1 minute bars because they offer the least amount of difficulty.
Building the Market Structure Sentinel Indicator in MQL5
This article builds a Market Structure Sentinel indicator in MQL5 that detects and visualizes Smart Money Concepts (SMC) events, including Break of Structure (BOS) and Change of Character (CHOCH), in real time. It explains swing detection, structural validation, and trend classification, and adds a compact dashboard to track bullish, bearish, or ranging states for faster on‑chart interpretation.
Encoding Candlestick Patterns (Part 2): Modeling Price Action as an Ordered Sequence
Developing permutation-based tools in MQL5 provides a systematic way to analyze candlestick pattern combinations for trading strategies. This article introduces a permutation calculator and generator designed to compute and enumerate all possible ordered candlestick sequences from bullish and bearish sets, with or without repetition. By generating exhaustive pattern combinations, traders can perform data-driven analysis to identify high-probability market patterns and improve decision-making in automated trading systems.
Category Theory in MQL5 (Part 22): A different look at Moving Averages
In this article we attempt to simplify our illustration of concepts covered in these series by dwelling on just one indicator, the most common and probably the easiest to understand. The moving average. In doing so we consider significance and possible applications of vertical natural transformations.
Building A Candlestick Trend Constraint Model (Part 5): Notification System (Part III)
This part of the article series is dedicated to integrating WhatsApp with MetaTrader 5 for notifications. We have included a flow chart to simplify understanding and will discuss the importance of security measures in integration. The primary purpose of indicators is to simplify analysis through automation, and they should include notification methods for alerting users when specific conditions are met. Discover more in this article.
Developing a Replay System — Market simulation (Part 14): Birth of the SIMULATOR (IV)
In this article we will continue the simulator development stage. this time we will see how to effectively create a RANDOM WALK type movement. This type of movement is very intriguing because it forms the basis of everything that happens in the capital market. In addition, we will begin to understand some concepts that are fundamental to those conducting market analysis.
MetaTrader 5 Machine Learning Blueprint (Part 11): Kelly Criterion, Prop Firm Integration, and CPCV Dynamic Backtesting
The bet-sizing signal from Part 10 is concurrency-corrected but carries no payoff-ratio adjustment, no response to a hard drawdown budget, and no validation across combinatorial paths. This article covers three additions: a two-stage architecture in which a Kelly payoff multiplier is applied on top of get_signal, preserving the concurrency correction while incorporating win/loss asymmetry; a prop firm integration layer that calibrates the sigmoid w parameter continuously from the remaining drawdown budget under FundedNext Stellar 2-Step rules; and a CPCV backtest framework that simulates a fresh account state across all φ[N, k] paths, producing a Sharpe distribution and a PBO audit.
Neural networks made easy (Part 45): Training state exploration skills
Training useful skills without an explicit reward function is one of the main challenges in hierarchical reinforcement learning. Previously, we already got acquainted with two algorithms for solving this problem. But the question of the completeness of environmental research remains open. This article demonstrates a different approach to skill training, the use of which directly depends on the current state of the system.