MQL5 Programming Articles

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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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MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 52): Accelerator Oscillator

MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 52): Accelerator Oscillator

The Accelerator Oscillator is another Bill Williams Indicator that tracks price momentum's acceleration and not just its pace. Although much like the Awesome oscillator we reviewed in a recent article, it seeks to avoid the lagging effects by focusing more on acceleration as opposed to just speed. We examine as always what patterns we can get from this and also what significance each could have in trading via a wizard assembled Expert Advisor.
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From Basic to Intermediate: The Include Directive

From Basic to Intermediate: The Include Directive

In today's article, we will discuss a compilation directive that is widely used in various codes that can be found in MQL5. Although this directive will be explained rather superficially here, it is important that you begin to understand how to use it, as it will soon become indispensable as you move to higher levels of programming. 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.
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Population optimization algorithms: Simulated Isotropic Annealing (SIA) algorithm. Part II

Population optimization algorithms: Simulated Isotropic Annealing (SIA) algorithm. Part II

The first part was devoted to the well-known and popular algorithm - simulated annealing. We have thoroughly considered its pros and cons. The second part of the article is devoted to the radical transformation of the algorithm, which turns it into a new optimization algorithm - Simulated Isotropic Annealing (SIA).
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An Introduction to the Study of Fractal Market Structures Using Machine Learning

An Introduction to the Study of Fractal Market Structures Using Machine Learning

The article attempts to examine financial time series from the perspective of self-similar fractal structures. Since we have too many analogies that confirm the possibility of considering market quotes as self-similar fractals, this allows us to think about the forecasting horizons of such structures.
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MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 76):  Using Patterns of Awesome Oscillator and the Envelope Channels with Supervised Learning

MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 76): Using Patterns of Awesome Oscillator and the Envelope Channels with Supervised Learning

We follow up on our last article, where we introduced the indicator couple of the Awesome-Oscillator and the Envelope Channel, by looking at how this pairing could be enhanced with Supervised Learning. The Awesome-Oscillator and Envelope-Channel are a trend-spotting and support/resistance complimentary mix. Our supervised learning approach is a CNN that engages the Dot Product Kernel with Cross-Time-Attention to size its kernels and channels. As per usual, this is done in a custom signal class file that works with the MQL5 wizard to assemble an Expert Advisor.
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Developing a Replay System (Part 66): Playing the service (VII)

Developing a Replay System (Part 66): Playing the service (VII)

In this article, we will implement the first solution that will allow us to determine when a new bar may appear on the chart. This solution is applicable in a wide variety of situations. Understanding its development will help you grasp several important aspects. 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.
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Reimagining Classic Strategies (Part 13): Taking Our Crossover Strategy to New Dimensions (Part 2)

Reimagining Classic Strategies (Part 13): Taking Our Crossover Strategy to New Dimensions (Part 2)

Join us in our discussion as we look for additional improvements to make to our moving-average cross over strategy to reduce the lag in our trading strategy to more reliable levels by leveraging our skills in data science. It is a well-studied fact that projecting your data to higher dimensions can at times improve the performance of your machine learning models. We will demonstrate what this practically means for you as a trader, and illustrate how you can weaponize this powerful principle using your MetaTrader 5 Terminal.
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Neural Networks in Trading: Detecting Anomalies in the Frequency Domain (CATCH)

Neural Networks in Trading: Detecting Anomalies in the Frequency Domain (CATCH)

The CATCH framework combines Fourier transform and frequency patching to accurately identify market anomalies beyond the reach of traditional methods. Let us examine how this approach reveals hidden patterns in financial data.
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Implementing Partial Position Closing in MQL5

Implementing Partial Position Closing in MQL5

This article develops a class for managing partial position closing in MQL5 and then integrates it into an Order Blocks Expert Advisor. It also presents test results comparing the strategy with and without partial position closing, and analyzes the conditions under which this approach can help provide and maximize profit. In conclusion, partial position closing can be highly beneficial in trading strategies, especially those focused on wider price movements.
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MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 45): Reinforcement Learning with Monte-Carlo

MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 45): Reinforcement Learning with Monte-Carlo

Monte-Carlo is the fourth different algorithm in reinforcement learning that we are considering with the aim of exploring its implementation in wizard assembled Expert Advisors. Though anchored in random sampling, it does present vast ways of simulation which we can look to exploit.
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Market Microstructure in MQL5 (Part 6): Order Flow

Market Microstructure in MQL5 (Part 6): Order Flow

This article adds six order-flow functions and a new OrderFlowAnalysis struct to MicroStructure_Foundation.mqh: VPINOHLC, signed flow imbalance, trade intensity versus a 20-session baseline, a late-minus-early smart-money index, flow momentum, and a wrapper that outputs a confidence weight. Flow confidence is gated by noise and jump intensity from Parts 5 and 4. Calibrated on 602 NQ M1 NY sessions, it provides ready-to-use intraday flow signals with documented thresholds.
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Developing a Replay System (Part 44): Chart Trade Project (III)

Developing a Replay System (Part 44): Chart Trade Project (III)

In the previous article I explained how you can manipulate template data for use in OBJ_CHART. In that article, I only outlined the topic without going into details, since in that version the work was done in a very simplified way. This was done to make it easier to explain the content, because despite the apparent simplicity of many things, some of them were not so obvious, and without understanding the simplest and most basic part, you would not be able to truly understand the entire picture.
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Gaussian Processes in Machine Learning: Regression Model in MQL5

Gaussian Processes in Machine Learning: Regression Model in MQL5

We will review the basics of Gaussian processes (GP) as a probabilistic machine learning model and demonstrate its application to regression problems using synthetic data.
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Visualizing deals on a chart (Part 1): Selecting a period for analysis

Visualizing deals on a chart (Part 1): Selecting a period for analysis

Here we are going to develop a script from scratch that simplifies unloading print screens of deals for analyzing trading entries. All the necessary information on a single deal is to be conveniently displayed on one chart with the ability to draw different timeframes.
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Overcoming The Limitation of Machine Learning (Part 7): Automatic Strategy Selection

Overcoming The Limitation of Machine Learning (Part 7): Automatic Strategy Selection

This article demonstrates how to automatically identify potentially profitable trading strategies using MetaTrader 5. White-box solutions, powered by unsupervised matrix factorization, are faster to configure, more interpretable, and provide clear guidance on which strategies to retain. Black-box solutions, while more time-consuming, are better suited for complex market conditions that white-box approaches may not capture. Join us as we discuss how our trading strategies can help us carefully identify profitable strategies under any circumstance.
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Introduction to MQL5 (Part 30): Mastering API and WebRequest Function in MQL5 (IV)

Introduction to MQL5 (Part 30): Mastering API and WebRequest Function in MQL5 (IV)

Discover a step-by-step tutorial that simplifies the extraction, conversion, and organization of candle data from API responses within the MQL5 environment. This guide is perfect for newcomers looking to enhance their coding skills and develop robust strategies for managing market data efficiently.
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Integrating Computer Vision into Trading in MQL5 (Part 2): Extending the Architecture to 2D RGB Image Analysis

Integrating Computer Vision into Trading in MQL5 (Part 2): Extending the Architecture to 2D RGB Image Analysis

Computer vision for trading: how it works and how to develop it step by step. We create an algorithm for recognition of RGB images of price charts using the attention mechanism and a bidirectional LSTM layer. As a result, we obtain a working model for forecasting the EURUSD price with the accuracy of up to 55% in the validation section.
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MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 07): Dendrograms

MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 07): Dendrograms

Data classification for purposes of analysis and forecasting is a very diverse arena within machine learning and it features a large number of approaches and methods. This piece looks at one such approach, namely Agglomerative Hierarchical Classification.
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Developing a Replay System (Part 49): Things Get Complicated (I)

Developing a Replay System (Part 49): Things Get Complicated (I)

In this article, we'll complicate things a little. Using what was shown in the previous articles, we will start to open up the template file so that the user can use their own template. However, I will be making changes gradually, as I will also be refining the indicator to reduce the load on MetaTrader 5.
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Category Theory in MQL5 (Part 6): Monomorphic Pull-Backs and Epimorphic Push-Outs

Category Theory in MQL5 (Part 6): Monomorphic Pull-Backs and Epimorphic Push-Outs

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.
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MQL5 Trading Tools (Part 24): Depth-Perception Upgrades with 3D Curves, Pan Mode, and ViewCube Navigation

MQL5 Trading Tools (Part 24): Depth-Perception Upgrades with 3D Curves, Pan Mode, and ViewCube Navigation

In this article, we enhance the 3D binomial distribution graphing tool in MQL5 by adding a segmented 3D curve for improved depth perception of the probability mass function, integrating pan mode for view target shifting, and implementing an interactive view cube with hover zones and animations for quick orientation changes. We incorporate clickable sub-zones on the view cube for faces, edges, and corners to animate camera transitions to standard views, while maintaining switchable 2D/3D modes, real-time updates, and customizable parameters for immersive probabilistic analysis in trading.
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Data Science and ML (Part 36): Dealing with Biased Financial Markets

Data Science and ML (Part 36): Dealing with Biased Financial Markets

Financial markets are not perfectly balanced. Some markets are bullish, some are bearish, and some exhibit some ranging behaviors indicating uncertainty in either direction, this unbalanced information when used to train machine learning models can be misleading as the markets change frequently. In this article, we are going to discuss several ways to tackle this issue.
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MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 62): Using Patterns of ADX and CCI with Reinforcement-Learning TRPO

MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 62): Using Patterns of ADX and CCI with Reinforcement-Learning TRPO

The ADX Oscillator and CCI oscillator are trend following and momentum indicators that can be paired when developing an Expert Advisor. We continue where we left off in the last article by examining how in-use training, and updating of our developed model, can be made thanks to reinforcement-learning. We are using an algorithm we are yet to cover in these series, known as Trusted Region Policy Optimization. And, as always, Expert Advisor assembly by the MQL5 Wizard allows us to set up our model(s) for testing much quicker and also in a way where it can be distributed and tested with different signal types.
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Neural Networks in Trading: Mask-Attention-Free Approach to Price Movement Forecasting

Neural Networks in Trading: Mask-Attention-Free Approach to Price Movement Forecasting

In this article, we will discuss the Mask-Attention-Free Transformer (MAFT) method and its application in the field of trading. Unlike traditional Transformers that require data masking when processing sequences, MAFT optimizes the attention process by eliminating the need for masking, significantly improving computational efficiency.
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Meta-Labeling the Classics (Part 1): Filtering and Sizing RSI Trades

Meta-Labeling the Classics (Part 1): Filtering and Sizing RSI Trades

RSI accumulates losses in trending conditions by firing at every threshold crossing regardless of market regime. A Random Forest secondary classifier trained on 12 contextual features — RSI momentum slope, EMA50 trend velocity, ATR-normalised trend stretch, and nine others — filters raw signals and scales position size by classifier confidence on EURUSD H1. Results compare plain RSI, meta-filtered RSI, and bet-sized RSI across a 16-month out-of-sample period with per-trade metrics and drawdown diagnostics.
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Population optimization algorithms: Boids Algorithm

Population optimization algorithms: Boids Algorithm

The article considers Boids algorithm based on unique examples of animal flocking behavior. In turn, the Boids algorithm serves as the basis for the creation of the whole class of algorithms united under the name "Swarm Intelligence".
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Bivariate Copulae in MQL5 (Part 2): Implementing Archimedean copulae in MQL5

Bivariate Copulae in MQL5 (Part 2): Implementing Archimedean copulae in MQL5

In the second installment of the series, we discuss the properties of bivariate Archimedean copulae and their implementation in MQL5. We also explore applying copulae to the development of a simple pairs trading strategy.
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Custom Indicator Workshop (Part 4) : Automating UT Bot Alerts into a Trading Expert Advisor

Custom Indicator Workshop (Part 4) : Automating UT Bot Alerts into a Trading Expert Advisor

This article shows how to build an MQL5 Expert Advisor around the UT Bot Alerts indicator. The EA reads custom indicator signals via iCustom() and CopyBuffer(), evaluates entries only on new bars, using the last closed candle at index 1, and enforces a one-direction-at-a-time model by closing opposite positions before taking new entries. It also adds optional ATR-based stop-losses, reward-to-risk take-profits, dedicated buy/sell execution functions, magic-number tracking, and basic backtesting for repeatable evaluation.
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Market Simulation (Part 16): Sockets (X)

Market Simulation (Part 16): Sockets (X)

We are close to completing this challenge. However, before we begin, I want you to try to understand these two articles—this one and the previous one. That way, you will truly understand the next article, in which I will cover exclusively the part related to MQL5 programming. But I will also try to make it understandable. If you do not understand these last two articles, it will be difficult for you to understand the next one, because the material accumulates. The more things there are to do, the more you need to create and understand in order to achieve the goal.
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Neural Network in Practice: Secant Line

Neural Network in Practice: Secant Line

As already explained in the theoretical part, when working with neural networks we need to use linear regressions and derivatives. Why? The reason is that linear regression is one of the simplest formulas in existence. Essentially, linear regression is just an affine function. However, when we talk about neural networks, we are not interested in the effects of direct linear regression. We are interested in the equation that generates this line. We are not that interested in the line created. Do you know the main equation that we need to understand? If not, I recommend reading this article to understanding it.
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Implementing Practical Modules from Other Languages in MQL5 (Part 04): time, date, and datetime modules from Python

Implementing Practical Modules from Other Languages in MQL5 (Part 04): time, date, and datetime modules from Python

Unlike MQL5, Python programming language offers control and flexibility when it comes to dealing with and manipulating time. In this article, we will implement similar modules for better handling of dates and time in MQL5 as in Python.
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Developing a Replay System — Market simulation (Part 07): First improvements (II)

Developing a Replay System — Market simulation (Part 07): First improvements (II)

In the previous article, we made some fixes and added tests to our replication system to ensure the best possible stability. We also started creating and using a configuration file for this system.
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Matrix Factorization: The Basics

Matrix Factorization: The Basics

Since the goal here is didactic, we will proceed as simply as possible. That is, we will implement only what we need: matrix multiplication. You will see today that this is enough to simulate matrix-scalar multiplication. The most significant difficulty that many people encounter when implementing code using matrix factorization is this: unlike scalar factorization, where in almost all cases the order of the factors does not change the result, this is not the case when using matrices.
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Self Optimizing Expert Advisors in MQL5 (Part 12): Building Linear Classifiers Using Matrix Factorization

Self Optimizing Expert Advisors in MQL5 (Part 12): Building Linear Classifiers Using Matrix Factorization

This article explores the powerful role of matrix factorization in algorithmic trading, specifically within MQL5 applications. From regression models to multi-target classifiers, we walk through practical examples that demonstrate how easily these techniques can be integrated using built-in MQL5 functions. Whether you're predicting price direction or modeling indicator behavior, this guide lays a strong foundation for building intelligent trading systems using matrix methods.
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Developing a Replay System (Part 72): An Unusual Communication (I)

Developing a Replay System (Part 72): An Unusual Communication (I)

What we create today will be difficult to understand. Therefore, in this article I will only talk about the initial stage. Please read this article carefully, it is an important prerequisite before we proceed to the next step. The purpose of this material is purely didactic as we will only study and master the presented concepts, without practical application.
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The Dragonfly Algorithm (DA)

The Dragonfly Algorithm (DA)

In this article, we will examine the Dragonfly Algorithm (DA), inspired by the collective behavior of dragonflies in nature — their ability to coordinate flight in a swarm, avoid collisions, follow prey, and evade predators. Let's look at how five simple behavioral rules and an adaptive mechanism for transitioning from exploration to exploitation are implemented in MQL5, and test the algorithm on our test bench.
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The MQL5 Standard Library Explorer (Part 11): How to Build a Matrix-Based Market Structure Indicator in MQL5

The MQL5 Standard Library Explorer (Part 11): How to Build a Matrix-Based Market Structure Indicator in MQL5

Learn to engineer an MQL5 indicator that converts trend, momentum, and volatility into a single raw score using a matrix.mqh (ALGLIB). The article covers a separate‑window oscillator to validate the core mathematics, then a main‑chart indicator that plots non‑repainting buy/sell arrows when the score crosses user‑defined thresholds. An optional long‑term EMA filter, a minimum‑bar cooldown, and built‑in alerts make the tool practical for live trading.
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CSV Data Analysis (Part 3): Engineering a Python Analytics Pipeline for MetaTrader 5 CSV Exports

CSV Data Analysis (Part 3): Engineering a Python Analytics Pipeline for MetaTrader 5 CSV Exports

MetaTrader 5 provides rich performance data but limited structural analysis. This article shows how to export results to CSV from MQL5 and build five Python visualizations that expose cross-asset parameter consistency, the lag‑versus‑noise trade-off, walk‑forward decay, drawdown depth and duration, and intraday hour‑by‑day clusters. A unified automation module runs the full pipeline on any new export to deliver repeatable diagnostics.
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MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 63): Using Patterns of DeMarker and Envelope Channels

MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 63): Using Patterns of DeMarker and Envelope Channels

The DeMarker Oscillator and the Envelope indicator are momentum and support/resistance tools that can be paired when developing an Expert Advisor. We therefore examine on a pattern by pattern basis what could be of use and what potentially avoid. We are using, as always, a wizard assembled Expert Advisor together with the Patterns-Usage functions that are built into the Expert Signal Class.
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The MQL5 Standard Library Explorer (Part 10): Polynomial Regression Channel

The MQL5 Standard Library Explorer (Part 10): Polynomial Regression Channel

Today, we explore another component of ALGLIB, leveraging its mathematical capabilities to develop a Polynomial Regression Channel indicator. By the end of this discussion, you will gain practical insights into indicator development using the MQL5 Standard Library, along with a fully functional, mathematically driven indicator source code.