Articles on manual and algorithmic trading in MetaTrader 5

This article turns the verified TDA pipeline into a live MQL5 indicator. It reduces each price window to two persistence-entropy lines (H0 and H1), computes a normalized loop-strength metric with an adaptive percentile band, and places fade marks only when loop strength is high and price hits a window extreme. You can attach the indicator, read six buffers from an Expert Advisor, and tune key window, ranking, and performance parameters.

We present a native MQL5 implementation of the catch22 feature set: all 22 canonical time-series characteristics in a reusable class validated against pycatch22. Using a leak-free pipeline (chronological split, purging, embargo), we run a three-arm ablation—classic indicators, catch22, and combined—for volatility-regime classification. Finally, we deploy the combined model as a Strategy Tester regime filter to quantify its impact on a simple baseline strategy.

The article's system introduces CBasketManager: positions are grouped by a comment‑based basket ID, analyzed as a single snapshot, and controlled with a unified equity stop. CBasketScanner computes aggregate P&L and volume‑weighted pip performance; CBasketStopRegistry triggers coordinated closure on threshold breach; CBasketExecutor adapts to the broker's filling mode. A lightweight dashboard shows live legs, volumes, stops, and distances for faster basket decisions.

The EA now defines risk by percentage, fixed cash, or fixed lot and can measure percentage against balance or equity. It supports market, limit, and stop orders, sizes from the planned entry, and enforces spread‑aware stop minima. Additional safeguards include downward volume rounding, explicit handling when the minimum lot exceeds target risk, and pending‑order distance/expiry checks, organized under a Plan–Validate–Execute structure.

BUZOA is a population-based metaheuristic algorithm in which each agent randomly selects one of three hunting tactics at each iteration: a narrow search around its personal best, a classic PSO step toward the flock leader, or full teleportation to a random point in the search space. The article examines the implementation of the algorithm in MQL5, identifies a coefficient sign error in the original formulation, and presents benchmark results on a standard test bench.

The Dandelion Optimizer (DO) turns the simple flight of a seed carried by the wind into a mathematical search strategy. The three phases — vortex rising, drift toward the center of the population, and landing along a Lévy-flight trajectory — form an elegant metaphor that yields interesting results in practice.

The article discusses the Butterfly Optimization Algorithm, which is based on modeling foraging using the sense of smell. We will analyze the original formulas, identify and correct errors in motion equations, add a mechanism for maintaining population diversity, and present the test results.

A practical bridge from the options market into MetaTrader 5 for gold. We compute near-the-money implied volatility by solving Black-Scholes from quoted prices, compare it with 30-day realized volatility, and use the ratio as a regime proxy. A Python feed publishes the value, an MQL5 script consumes it with WebRequest, and a background service keeps a panel current and alerts on changes. Source code for all parts is provided.

Part 5 moves risk control from single trades to a basket-level framework. The EA aggregates its own positions, computes volume‑weighted entry, floating P/L including swap, and used margin, then enforces limits on combined loss, margin, position count, and time underwater, while logging maximum adverse excursion. A companion mean‑reversion EA demonstrates target‑based sizing and caps on implied risk that remains hidden when trades are evaluated in isolation.

Experimental evaluation on standard benchmark functions reveals the advantages and limitations of directly adapting combinatorial algorithms. The article provides a detailed description of the ECEA algorithm's mechanisms and test results.

The classic Market Profile from forty years ago is still replicated in dozens of indicators that differ only in the color of their bars. In this article, I examine three conceptual blind spots in the original theory — the monolithic Value Area in bimodal distributions, TPO’s blindness to the aggressor, and the lack of memory between sessions — and build an indicator that addresses each of them: bimodality detection with a dead zone, order flow via CopyTicksRange with absorption detection, and composite market memory using Naked POC and HVN/LVN. The complete source code is included.

MQL5 lacks native unit testing, so utility bugs in lot sizing, pip value, and normalization often slip into production. This article presents a zero‑dependency framework built from preprocessor assertion macros, interface‑based suites, and a central runner/formatter. It runs as a script in OnStart, executes deterministic tests, and prints pass/fail summaries to the Experts tab to catch rounding, boundary, and error-handling defects before deployment.

This article shows how to build a hands-free trading workflow for MetaTrader 5 by translating webcam-tracked hand gestures into MQL5 trade commands. We cover the architecture (MediaPipe/OpenCV in Python plus an MQL5 EA), gesture-to-action mapping, and interprocess communication via Global Variables or HTTP polling. You will implement the EA, execute BUY/SELL/CLOSE actions, and validate latency and reliability under real‑time conditions.

We turn a price-embedded point cloud into a Vietoris–Rips filtration and its boundary matrix. The article enumerates vertices, edges, and triangles with filtration values, sorts them in entry order, and builds O(1) vertex/edge lookups. You get MQL5 classes CTDARips and CTDABoundary and a sparse Z/2 boundary suitable for the next-step persistence reduction.

This article walks through creating an MT5 indicator that ingests option chains from native symbols or CSV, inverts prices to implied volatility via a hybrid Newton–Raphson/bisection method, and assembles a clean strike–expiry grid. It then renders a shaded, rotatable 3D surface with the platform's DirectX layer, enabling clear, in-terminal analysis of skew and term structure using live or file-based data.

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.

Risk-based lot sizing can still exceed what free margin allows. The article adds a margin-aware cap using OrderCalcMargin(), an optional adaptive cap that scales with ACCOUNT MARGIN LEVEL, and a single pre-trade validation gate that unifies position limits, risk sizing, and margin checks. Readers get concrete code to prevent order rejections and over-committing margin, with clear logs when a trade is reduced or skipped.

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.

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.

Establishes the persistence foundation for a prop-firm compliance EA in MetaTrader 5. It introduces rule inputs and status enums, separates live account state from stored settings, validates percentages and thresholds, and implements SQLite open/close, schema creation, and prepared save/load operations. Using the account login and server as a composite key, the EA restores existing settings and updates them when inputs change.

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.

A robust breakeven implementation for MQL5 is built around live spread sampling and correct pip-to-price conversion by symbol digits. CBreakevenManager moves SL to open_price ± spread ± buffer once a real‑pip activation threshold is reached and prevents duplicate modifications. A demo EA shows the behavioral difference versus a naive breakeven, and a script verifies core calculations.

The article implements a deterministic MQL5 detector for head and shoulders and its inverse, validating structure from swing labels (HH, LH, HL, LL) rather than raw peak geometry. Seven ATR-aware checks enforce time order, pattern span, head clearance, shoulder symmetry, and height. A three-state lifecycle separates formation from neckline break, locks a setup, and prevents re-entry. Entries trigger only on a chart-timeframe close through the neckline.

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.

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.

The article discusses the Competitive Swarm Optimizer — a swarm optimization algorithm based on an extremely simple idea: agents are randomly paired, and the loser learns from the winner and is drawn toward the center of the swarm. In addition to analyzing CSO, the article describes the modernization of the test bench: visualization of the algorithms’ operation has been moved into 3D space, making it possible to clearly observe the movement of the population on the surface of the test function.

This article implements a typed message bus over Windows named pipes to replace MetaTrader's untyped GlobalVariables for inter‑EA communication. A broker EA manages the server and registry, serves multiple slave EAs, and responds with a live, per‑symbol‑attributed portfolio risk measure. It also explains the non-blocking accept pattern that preserves terminal responsiveness, and includes a dashboard and a test script.

The article examines the EOSA algorithm, which is inspired by the mechanisms of Ebola virus transmission: short-distance transmission through close contact (exploitation) and long-distance transmission through travel (exploration). An analysis of the original publication revealed critical issues in the mathematical formulas and an epidemiological model that was impractical to implement, which required a significant overhaul of the algorithm to produce a workable implementation.

This article presents a modular position sizing engine for MetaTrader 5 that operates on normalized R-multiples. A layered pipeline combines enriched trade statistics, a generalized Kelly edge estimate, volatility-aware adjustment, Monte Carlo calibration under ruin and drawdown limits, a continuous risk policy, an exposure guard, and a broker-aware lot calculator. The output is a broker-valid lot size with an optional CSV audit trail, providing a transparent prototype for implementing modern risk controls in native MQL5.

Build a responsive session volume profile indicator in MQL5 from tick data with draggable session bounds and dual anchoring. The article details hash-based bucket aggregation for historical and live ticks, a timer-driven rendering loop with partial updates, automatic or custom bucket sizing, pixel-anchored proportional bars, POC highlighting, and multi‑instance safety—so you can implement, optimize, and run multiple profiles on one chart without UI lag.