Persistent Key-Value Store in MQL5: Using Flat Files as a Lightweight Database for EA State
A lightweight persistence design lets EAs retain counters, flags, and timestamps between terminal restarts. Using only MQL5, CPersistentStore writes a human-readable key=value file in MQL5/Files and serves reads from a CHashMap write-through cache via a typed API. The article analyzes O(1)/O(n) operations, partial‑write risks, and lack of locking, compares with GlobalVariables/SQLite, and provides a demo that reloads state deterministically.
Developing Smart Chart Objects in MQL5 (Part 2): Automating Trendline Discovery and Lifecycle Management
Learn how Smart Trendline Manager separates creation from lifecycle control while handling both manual and auto-generated trendlines. It demonstrates discovery, registration, proximity and touch handling, bounce/break confirmation, post-break resurrection, expiration, and state-driven visualization. This gives you a consistent, configurable way to manage multiple lines through one orchestrated update process.
Beetle Swarm Optimization (BSO)
We consider a BAS+PSO (BSO) hybrid, where BAS provides a local direction signal and PSO facilitates the exchange of best solutions within the swarm. The article presents a mathematical model, pseudocode, an implementation of the class in MQL5, and test results from a standard test bench. This material allows reproducing the algorithm, configuring its parameters, and understanding how three objective-function evaluations per iteration affect efficiency.
Persistent Homology in MQL5: The Reduction Algorithm and the Persistence Diagram
We complete persistent homology for MQL5 by reducing the Vietoris–Rips boundary matrix to a persistence diagram. The article implements Z/2 column reduction (CTDAReduction), a diagram container with analytics (CTDADiagram), and a facade that runs the six-stage pipeline in one call (CTDA). Outputs are cross-checked against Ripser to numerical agreement, enabling reliable diagram-based metrics.
Market Simulation: Position View (XVII)
In the previous article, we configured the indicator to display the financial result. However, not everyone likes using this display mode. The reasons differ from one trader to another, although in some cases they seem quite reasonable and justified to me. Adapting the code to provide this capability is by no means one of the most difficult tasks. It's actually pretty simple. In this article, we'll look at how to do this.
Survival Analysis for Trade Exits: A Discrete-Time Competing-Risks Model in MQL5
Fixed exits ignore state changes while a trade is open. We implement a discrete-time competing-risks model entirely in MQL5, estimate cause-specific hazards for take-profit and stop-loss via Newton–Raphson on a person-period dataset with time-varying features, and turn cumulative incidence into a bar-by-bar hold-or-close rule, then test it against fixed take-profit/stop-loss with identical entry logic.
Bidirectional LSTM and Quantum Computing for Predicting the Direction of Price Movement
The article presents a reproducible implementation of a hybrid quantum-neural network model for algorithmic trading on Forex without using real quantum hardware. A fixed three-qubit quantum circuit in IBM Qiskit converts sliding-window statistics (mean returns, volatility, and range) into a probability distribution, from which seven quantum metrics are calculated. These features are integrated into a bidirectional LSTM architecture with regularization and mechanisms to address class imbalance, including focal loss and a sampler.
Ecological Cycle Optimizer (ECO)
The ECO (Ecological Cycle Optimizer) algorithm offers an interesting metaphor for applying the concept of the ecological cycle to the field of metaheuristic optimization. The idea of dividing a population into trophic levels — producers, herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, and decomposers — creates a hierarchical search structure, in which each group contributes to the overall optimization process.
Markov Chains in Trading and Price Forecasting
In this article, we will examine how to build and apply Markov chains in market conditions: from selecting states and counting transitions to generating forecasts of trajectories and levels. We will also see how Markov chains can be applied to qualitative and quantitative data, ways to account for rare events, and the impact of the forecast horizon. Examples are provided using prices and indicators, as well as an option for evaluating a sequence of trades, with ready-to-use implementations in MQL5.
Market Simulation: Getting started with SQL in MQL5 (I)
In today's article we will begin studying the use of SQL in MQL5 code. We will also look at how to create a database. Or, more precisely, how to create a SQLite database file using the features built into MQL5. We will also see how to create a table, and then how to establish a relationship between tables by using primary and foreign keys. All of this, once again, will be done with MQL5. We will see how easy it is to create code that can later be migrated to other SQL implementations by using a class that helps hide the implementation being created. And, most importantly, we will see that at various points we may face the risk that something will go wrong when using SQL. This happens because, in MQL5 code, SQL code will always be placed inside a string.
MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 96): Using Wavelet Thresholding and LSTM Network in a Custom Money Management Class
In this article we consider a custom MQL5 Wizard class that processes Money Management. Our custom class is labelled ‘CMoneyWaveletLSTM’, and is developed by combining the Wavelet Thresholding algorithm with an LSTM network. As has been the case throughout these series, the developed model is testable with MQL5 Wizard-Assembled Expert Advisors that can be tuned with different trailing stops and entry Signals classes. We maintain our entry Signal, as in past articles as the built-in 'Envelopes' class and the RSI class.
MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 99): Using a KD-Tree and an Echo State Network in a Custom Money Management Class
This article lays out 'CMoneyKDTreeESN' custom money management class usable with the MQL5 Wizard, that combines the KD-Tree algorithm and the Echo State Network. We use the KD-Tree on log returns and ATR to give us a risk score, while the ESN tracks recent flow to give us a bounded lot size multiplier. Our class is usable in a variety of Wizard assembled Expert Advisors as shown here with the Envelopes and RSI signals, with a broad objective of modulating exposure in high-volatility and tail-risk environments.
Exponentially Weighted Covariance Matrix in MQL5: Building an Adaptive Correlation Monitor for Multi-Symbol EAs
This article builds a constant-memory EW covariance engine and a chart heatmap for monitoring cross-symbol correlations in MQL5. CEWCovariance updates in O(N²) time per bar and exposes covariance/correlation accessors; CHeatmapRenderer shows a five‑symbol matrix with values and colors. You will learn λ-to‑window mapping, how to set a meaningful min_obs warm‑up, and how to size the variance guard epsilon for real FX M1 data.
Beyond GARCH (Part V): Fitting the Multifractal Spectrum in MQL5
This article builds the Spectrum Fitter: from tau(q) we compute f(alpha) with a discrete Legendre transform, then fit Normal, Binomial, Poisson, and Gamma spectra under box constraints using BLEIC. The best model by SSE is selected, and its parameters (eg, alpha min, alpha max or alpha_0, gamma) become the cascade inputs for multifractal simulation.
Enhancing the MQL5 Portfolio Analyzer Dashboard: Active Mitigation, Data Exports, and AI Integration
This article delivers active drawdown monitoring, automated mitigation rules, Excel XML data export, and AI-assisted review for the Portfolio Analyzer dashboard. It visualizes strategy-level drawdowns over time, enforces limits by closing positions and optionally disabling AutoTrading, and generates structured spreadsheets from trade records. A hybrid MQL5-Python approach runs the external review script directly from the terminal, supporting practical risk control and transparent reporting.
Motifs and Discords: Building a Matrix Profile from Scratch
We build the Matrix Profile for MQL5 from the ground up and keep it numerically stable on real prices. The library includes rolling statistics, a radix-2 FFT powering MASS, and a STOMP self-join, with results matched to stumpy. A compact facade, an indicator that draws the profile and flags discords, and a demonstration Expert Advisor show how to read and use the signal in practice.
Trade Entry Timing Accuracy Analyzer in MQL5
This article builds an MQL5 dashboard that evaluates entry timing for closed positions using tick‑based Maximum Adverse Excursion (MAE) and Maximum Favorable Excursion (MFE). It computes an entry efficiency ratio, renders an MAE/MFE scatter plot and an efficiency histogram, and prints a concise summary to the Experts tab. Deal grouping, tick‑level excursion logic, and a standalone verification script are included so you can diagnose entry quality across many trades.
Price Action Analysis Toolkit Development (Part 83): Building a Reusable Double-Bottom Pattern Library
This recorder bridges visual labeling and systematic research in MQL5. After you position a rectangle, the EA extracts the candles it spans, derives candle geometry, normalizes OHLC values, assigns an ID, and saves the sample for reuse across sessions. The current category is the double bottom, and the module records the chosen sequence without enforcing a predefined pattern definition.
Beyond GARCH (Part VI): Fractional Brownian Motion And The Multiplicative Cascade in MQL5
This article implements the MMAR Simulation Engine that turns fitted parameters (H, distribution, coefficients, sample volatility) into synthetic price paths. It builds multifractal trading time via a multiplicative cascade, synthesizes fractional Brownian motion with Davies–Harte or Cholesky, scales it to target volatility, and composes the process by time deformation. Readers get a reusable MQL5 class, method choices by path length, and validation steps for scenario testing and Monte Carlo use in the next part.
Defining your Edge (Part 3): Using HMM and GRU in an Expert Advisor
We examine how a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) estimates latent market regimes while basing on observable price and indicator sequences. This is done by estimating the probability of state transitions. A Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) network models time dependencies and keeps important information over several observations. In an Expert Advisor, HMM-based regime probabilities, can be merged with GRU-based sequence learning to better classify increments in accumulation, distribution, and momentum prior to their showing up in regular price confirmations.
Exporting Symbol Tick Data to Binary Files in MQL5 for Offline Analysis
The article delivers a complete, verifiable tick export path from MQL5 to a binary file and into Python. It defines a 64‑byte header, 48‑byte records with millisecond time and flags, an export pipeline using CopyTicksRange(), and a single‑call NumPy loader. Users obtain compact, precision‑preserving files and a reproducible workflow for vectorized analysis.
Building AI-Powered Trading Systems in MQL5 (Part 12): Giving the Assistant Chart Vision and Tool Access
We give our AI chat assistant two new abilities in MQL5: sight and tool access. It can now capture the chart as a screenshot, attach it to a message, and view it in the panel, and it can call tools that read live positions, trade history, indicator values, chart objects, and the economic calendar. The assistant reasons from what it sees and queries rather than text alone.
Rolling Sharpe Ratio with Statistical Significance Bands in MQL5
This article presents a custom MetaTrader 5 indicator that computes a rolling annualized Sharpe ratio and plots configurable z-score significance bands based on Lo's asymptotic standard error. It uses a circular return buffer with incremental variance to keep O(1) updates. We explain the n^(-1/2) uncertainty scaling, the inflation of intervals at high Sharpe values, and how to set per-instrument annualization for correct deployment.
Market Simulation: Position View (VII)
In this article, we'll start making some improvements to the position indicator so that we can interact with it and modify price lines or close a position directly through the position indicator. Before we move on to the implementation, there are a few things worth clarifying, especially for those who aren't familiar with this. The indicator cannot be used in any way to change anything on the trading server. This is because MetaTrader 5 has a security system in place that allows only Expert Advisors to modify orders and positions. No application other than an Expert Advisor can manipulate orders or positions.
Honest Backtesting of Swing Strategies on Index CFDs: Financing Costs, Swap Modes, and What the Strategy Tester Cannot Model
Financing drives multi‑day index‑CFD results: in one full‑history test, swap consumed 44% of gross profit and all profit on one symbol. We convert swaps to annualized rates, contrast four brokers and two financing models with a read‑only script, and quantify a Strategy Tester issue where a single current swap is used for all history, inflating implied rates by up to seven times. The piece provides a repeatable cost‑audit method.
Market Simulation: Position View (VIII)
In the previous article, we considered how to implement a position indicator that allows you to close an open position directly from the chart by interacting with an object available on the chart. After completing and testing the first mechanism, we began making changes to ensure that take-profit and stop-loss levels could be removed for an open position. However, since the necessary changes required detailed explanations, in that same article I showed only the changes that needed to be made to the expert advisor; I still needed to show the changes that needed to be made to the position indicator.
Architecture for Collective Trading Decisions by AI Agents
The article describes the architecture of a multi-agent trading system based on the grok-4-fast language model, in which, instead of a single system prompt, four independent analysts with fundamentally different roles operate: a bull, a bear, a risk manager, and an arbiter. Three analysts run in parallel using a ThreadPoolExecutor and, within 3–5 seconds, formulate well-reasoned positions based on the same market data; after that, a deterministic judge renders a final verdict according to strict rules.
Deterministic Dendritic Cell Algorithm (dDCA)
The article presents an adaptation of the Deterministic Dendritic Cell Algorithm (dDCA) for continuous optimization problems. The algorithm, inspired by the immune system's Danger Theory, uses a signal accumulation mechanism to automatically balance exploration and exploitation within the search space.
Real-Time Trade Event Logger to SQLite via MQL5 DLL Bridge
The article shows how to build an MQL5 EA that writes every deal to an SQLite database the moment it appears, using the built-in Database API as the SQLite bridge. It implements an event data model, a prepared INSERT workflow reused across calls, session-safe recovery after restarts, and deal detection via OnTrade(). You can open the resulting file with any SQLite client to run queries for analysis and reporting.
How to Create and Adapt an RL Agent with an LLM and Quantum Encoding for Algorithmic Trading in MQL5
The article proposes a hybrid approach to algorithmic trading based on quantum encoding of market states, Double DQN with a prioritized experience replay buffer, and an LLM acting as a contextual EA. The SEAL methodology enables asynchronous continued training of the agent without halting trading. A lightweight Q-learning filter (USE/SKIP/REDUCE) controls signal execution at the meta-level. Practical details are provided on integrating the system with the MetaTrader 5 trading platform, along with a scheme for adapting it to market regime shifts.
How to Use Finite Differences for Price Forecasting
The article examines the practical application of finite differences in trading: types of differences, their relationship to price dynamics, and the binomial transform for noise filtering. The rules for encoding patterns based on difference levels and the application of these patterns to forecasting are described. This section presents naive, adaptive, and probabilistic approaches that help smooth time series, identify recurring patterns, and estimate future movements.
CSV Data Analysis (Part 6): Multi-Broker Result Normalization and Cross-Platform CSV Reconciliation
This article presents a multi‑broker CSV normalization framework. An MQL5 include file enriches exports with broker metadata. A Python module resolves schema divergences — pip conventions, symbol aliases, time offsets, commission models, and currency denomination — producing a unified canonical dataset. Comparative visualizations of slippage distributions and net‑of‑cost performance enable reliable cross‑platform strategy analysis without silent data corruption.
MQL5 Wizard Techniques you should know (Part 94): Using Reservoir Sampling and Linear Regression in a Custom Trailing Stop Class
For this article we rotate to a custom MQL5 Wizard class implementation that explores Trailing Stops. Our custom class is ‘CTrailingReservoirLinReg’ that we derive by combining the Reservoir Sampling algorithm with a Linear Regression network. As has been the case throughout these series, this formulation is testable with MQL5 Wizard Assembled Expert Advisors that can be tuned with various entry signals and money management classes.
Implementing and Benchmarking Bag-of-SFA-Symbols (BOSS) Against Dynamic Time Warping (DTW)
This article implements BOSS from scratch in MQL5 and applies it to regime classification: SFA turns windows into words, bags record word frequencies, and an ensemble over window lengths votes on labels. We cover the encoding steps, the BOSS distance, training with auto-generated regime labels, and practical parameters. A BTCUSD benchmark versus DTW shows higher macro accuracy on clean data and markedly faster inference.
Beyond GARCH (Part VII): Monte Carlo Volatility Forecasting in MQL5
We implement the CMonteCarlo module that turns the fitted MMAR parameters into a volatility forecast via Monte Carlo. It runs N independent simulations over a chosen horizon and reports mean, median, standard deviation, and a percentile-based 95% confidence interval, with access to per-run values if needed. Adaptive cascade depth selects the minimal k such that b^k covers the horizon, keeping the run fast and consistent.
Enhanced Colliding Bodies Optimization (ECBO)
The article discusses the Colliding Bodies Optimization (CBO) algorithm, which is based on the physics of one-dimensional collisions between bodies. The basic version of the algorithm does not include any configurable parameters, which makes it simple. Therefore, the enhanced ECBO version — supplemented with Colliding Memory and a crossover mechanism — was used as the basis for the implementation, allowing the algorithm to achieve respectable results and earn a place in the ranking table.
Developing a Quantitative Session Analysis Tool (Part 1): Building a Data-Driven View of Market Sessions
The article presents a session analysis workflow in MQL5 that standardizes sessions as structured data with timing, OHLC, range, net move, and the sequence of extremes. It measures how range builds at 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of session duration. The chart shows session markers, a compact comparison panel, and an interactive inspector to review individual occurrences.
Foundation Models for Trading (Part II): Decoding, Autoregression, and an Exact KV-Cache
We complete the native MQL5 port of Kronos: the decoder, the predictor's decode_s1 and decode_s2 stages with their cross-attention traps, and the autoregressive loop that produces a multi-bar forecast. Then we profile and make it roughly 4.5x faster with an exact KV-cache and pre-transposed weights, verifying every stage against PyTorch.
Intrinsic Time: From the Directional-Change Scaling Laws to the Alpha Engine
The article implements intrinsic-time analysis in MQL5: an event-based directional-change operator that splits ticks into directional-change and overshoot sections. We reproduce the core scaling laws on 17.8 million live EUR/USD ticks and compare them to a random-walk baseline. Finally, we build a hedging-account Expert Advisor that trades the Alpha Engine with limit orders, detailing thresholds, inventory skew, and liquidity control for practical reuse.
Foundation Models for Trading (Part III): Running a Generative AI Forecaster Inside MetaTrader 5
We demonstrate live forecast charting with Kronos in MQL5 and an evaluation pipeline designed to be look‑ahead‑safe. Deterministic dumps are scored per horizon against a random‑walk baseline (15,113 predictions), then fed to a simple Strategy Tester rule on EURUSD H1. The findings show no edge, and illustrate how a high threshold can yield a persuasive but low‑information backtest with very few trades.