Apex Trade Copier — Complete Settings & Inputs Guide

A full walkthrough of every input in Apex Copier, the multi-terminal trade copier for MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. This guide explains what each setting does, its default value, and how to use it — plus ready-made recipes for the most common setups.

Local Trade Copier EA MT5:  https://www.mql5.com/en/market/product/187548

How it works in one minute

Apex Copier has two roles, chosen with a single input:

• Master — the account you copy from. It broadcasts its trades. A Master needs almost no configuration.
• Client — the account you copy to. This is where all the sizing, filtering, and risk settings live.

One Master can feed many Clients on the same machine, and one Client can follow up to 8 Masters at once. Copying happens locally through a fast, crash-safe file bus — no internet, no DLLs.

Installation & first run

1. Attach Apex Copier to one chart on each terminal you want to link (any symbol, any timeframe — the chart is only a host).
2. Enable Algo Trading / AutoTrading on each terminal.
3. On the Master, set  Operating mode = Master . On each Client, set  Operating mode = Client .
4. That's it — a Client auto-discovers live Masters on the same machine.

IMPORTANT !!! All linked terminals must run on the same computer/VPS and under the same Windows user, so they share the common data folder. Copying across different machines is not supported.

IMPORTANT !!! Always test on demo accounts first and confirm sizing behaves as you expect before going anywhere near real money.

1. General

These apply to both roles.

• Operating mode (default: Master) —  Master  (send trades) or  Client  (receive trades). This is the first thing to set on every terminal.
• Log level (default: Info) — verbosity of the log file:  Errors ,  Info , or  All . Leave on  Info  normally; switch to  All  only when diagnosing an issue.
• Engine timer period (ms) (default: 10) — how often the engine checks for new events. 10 ms gives the fastest copying. Leave as-is unless you run many terminals on a weak VPS.
• Status heartbeat (seconds) (default: 5) — how often a "still alive" line is written to the log. Cosmetic; no effect on copying.
• Show on-chart dashboard panel (default: true) — shows the live status panel on the chart. Set to  false  for a clean chart.
• Force these inputs over saved GUI settings (default: false) — Apex Copier remembers settings you change in its on-chart Settings dialog, and those survive restarts. Set this to  true  for one load to force the EA inputs to overwrite whatever was saved, then set it back to  false .
• Master ID (the name shown on Clients) — an optional label for this Master (e.g.  MyStrategy ). If empty, the account login number is used. Clients display and target this ID.

2. Client — General

Only relevant when  Operating mode = Client .

• Master List (default: empty) — a comma-separated list of Master IDs to follow, e.g.  12345678,MyStrategy . Leave empty to auto-discover / use the single Master ID field.
• Max masters to follow (default: 8) — the cap on how many Masters this Client will auto-discover and copy (up to 8).
• Client order magic number (default: 990100) — the magic number Apex Copier stamps on every copied order. Keep it unique vs any other EA on the account. Trades with this magic are the ones the copier manages.
• Open missing positions on resync (default: true) — if the Client starts (or reconnects) while the Master already has trades open,  true  opens them to catch up. Set  false  if you only ever want to copy trades opened from now on.

3. Client — Order Settings (lot sizing & execution)

This is the most important section — it decides how big each copied trade is.

Lot mode (default: Master volume × multiplier)

Choose one of 20 sizing modes. The parameter each mode uses is noted in brackets:

• Fixed lot — always the same size. (uses Fixed lot)
• Master volume × multiplier — scale up/down. (uses Lot multiplier)
• Master volume ÷ divider — scale down by division. (uses Lot divider)
• Copy master volume exactly — same lots as the Master.
• Risk % of balance (SL-based) — size so the Master's stop-loss risks X% of Client balance. (uses Risk %)
• Risk % of equity (SL-based) — same, on equity. (uses Risk %)
• Risk % of free margin (SL-based) — same, on free margin. (uses Risk %)
• Fixed money risk (SL-based) — risk a set cash amount per trade. (uses Money risk)
• Risk % of balance, fixed SL points — risk % using a fixed stop distance when the Master sends no SL. (uses Risk % + Fallback SL points)
• Fixed money risk, fixed SL points — cash risk with a fixed stop distance. (uses Money risk + Fallback SL points)
• Balance ratio — Master lots × (Client balance ÷ Master balance). Automatic proportional sizing.
• Equity ratio — same, on equity.
• Multiplier × balance ratio — balance ratio then a manual multiplier. (uses Lot multiplier)
• Fixed lot per X balance — e.g. 0.01 lot per 1000 balance. (uses Lots per unit + Account amount per unit)
• Fixed lot per X equity — same, on equity. (uses Lots per unit + Account amount per unit)
• Risk % of equity, fixed SL points — (uses Risk % + Fallback SL points)
• Money risk scaled by balance/unit — (uses Money risk + Account amount per unit)
• Master volume + extra % — copy Master size plus a margin. (uses Extra %)
• Master volume − extra % — copy Master size minus a margin. (uses Extra %)
• Fixed lot + master volume — a fixed add-on on top of Master size. (uses Fixed lot)

Sizing parameters

• Fixed lot (default: 0.01) — the lot used by fixed-lot modes.
• Lot multiplier (default: 1.0) — e.g.  0.5  copies at half the Master's size,  2.0  at double.
• Lot divider (default: 2.0) — divider-mode value;  2.0  = half size.
• Risk % per trade (default: 1.0) — percent of account risked, for risk-based modes.
• Money risk per trade (default: 100.0) — cash amount risked, for money-risk modes.
• Lots per unit (default: 0.01) — the lot step in per-unit modes.
• Account amount per unit (default: 1000.0) — the balance/equity chunk per lot step in per-unit modes (0.01 lot per 1000).
• Fallback SL points (default: 200) — stop distance assumed by risk modes when the Master trade has no stop-loss.
• Extra % (default: 10.0) — the margin used by the ±percent modes.

Execution

• Below broker min: skip / open at min (default: Skip) — if a computed size is below the broker's minimum lot,  Skip  drops the trade (safe),  Open at min  rounds up to the minimum.
• Max price deviation (points) (default: 50) — maximum slippage allowed when placing the order.
• Reverse copying (default: false) — mirror the Master inverted: BUY becomes SELL, SL and TP are swapped. Useful for fading a strategy.
• Transient open failure: Skip / Retry at market (default: Retry) — if an open fails on a temporary error (connection blip, market closed, requote),  Retry  parks it and retries;  Skip  drops it.
• Max master→client price gap on retry (points) (default: 0 = off) — during retry, only fill while price is within this many points of the Master's entry. A small value behaves like a limit order at the Master price.
• Retry window (seconds) (default: 300) — how long a parked open keeps retrying before giving up.

4. Client — Filters

Copy only the trades you want. All default to "off / copy everything".

• Symbol allow-list (default: empty = all) — comma-separated Master symbols to copy, e.g.  EURUSD,GBPUSD,XAUUSD . Empty copies every symbol.
• Direction filter (default: Both) —  Both ,  Buys only , or  Sells only  (evaluated on the Master side).
• Min master lots to copy (default: 0 = no floor) — ignore Master trades smaller than this.
• Max master lots to copy (default: 0 = no ceiling) — ignore Master trades larger than this.
• Block master magic numbers (default: empty) — comma-separated Master magic numbers to ignore, e.g.  111,222 . Useful to skip a specific EA running on the Master.

5. Client — TPWCM & Soft Landing

TPWCM = "Take Profit Without Closing Master" — keep a Client trade open and manage it yourself after the Master closes.

• Soft landing (default: false) — when  true , existing copies keep running but no new trades are opened. Use it to wind an account down gracefully.
• TPWCM: keep client open after master close (default: false) — the headline switch. When  true , a Master close does not close your copy; instead the copy stays open under independent breakeven/trailing management (below).
• TPWCM breakeven enabled (default: true) — move the stop to breakeven once in profit.
• TPWCM breakeven trigger (points profit) (default: 100) — profit needed before breakeven arms.
• TPWCM breakeven lock (points beyond entry) (default: 10) — how far past entry the breakeven stop is placed (locks a small gain).
• TPWCM trailing stop enabled (default: true) — trail the stop as profit grows.
• TPWCM trailing start (points profit) (default: 150) — profit needed before trailing begins.
• TPWCM trailing distance (points) (default: 100) — how far the trailing stop follows price.

6. Client — Risk Protection & Exposure

Automatic account guardrails. All off by default.

• Account protection enabled (default: false) — master switch for the four limits below.
• Hard vs soft (default: Hard) —  Hard  closes all copied positions and suspends copying on a breach (resume by reloading the EA).  Soft  only raises an alert and auto-clears on recovery.
• Equity floor (absolute) (default: 0 = off) — stop if equity drops below this value.
• Max drawdown % from peak equity (default: 0 = off) — stop if equity falls this % from its highest point.
• Max daily loss (money) (default: 0 = off) — stop after this much loss since day start.
• Max floating loss (money) (default: 0 = off) — stop if open floating loss exceeds this.
• Max open positions per master (default: 0 = off) — cap the number of open copies.
• Max total lots per master (default: 0 = off) — cap total open volume.
• Max lots per symbol per master (default: 0 = off) — cap open volume on any one symbol.

7. Client — Sessions, News & Execution Guards

• Session filter enabled (default: false) — restrict copying to set times/days.
• Allowed windows (default: empty = all day) — comma-separated  HH:MM-HH:MM  windows (server time), e.g.  08:00-12:00,13:30-17:00 .
• Allowed days (default: 1,2,3,4,5 = Mon–Fri) — comma-separated day numbers,  0=Sun … 6=Sat .
• Friday close (default: empty = off) — stop copying at this Friday time, e.g.  20:00 .
• News filter enabled (default: false) — pause copying around high-impact economic news (MT5 only; requires the terminal's economic calendar).
• Pause minutes before event (default: 15) — blackout window before news.
• Pause minutes after event (default: 15) — blackout window after news.
• Min importance (default: 3 = high) —  1=low ,  2=medium ,  3=high .
• Currencies (default: empty = symbol-based) — comma-separated currency codes to watch, e.g.  USD,EUR . Empty derives them from the traded symbol.
• Max slippage vs master price (points) (default: 0 = off) — reject a copy if price has moved too far from the Master's entry.
• Max signal age (ms) (default: 0 = off) — drop a signal that arrives later than this.
• Max spread at execution (points) (default: 0 = off) — skip a copy if the spread is wider than this.

8. Client — Intelligence

Handles brokers that name the same instrument differently.

• Allow alias/fuzzy symbol mapping (default: true) — automatically matches variants like  EURUSD  ↔  EURUSD.m  ↔  EURUSD.raw , and known aliases like  GOLD  ↔  XAUUSD .
• Min mapping confidence % (default: 70) — a fuzzy match below this confidence is quarantined (parked and reported) instead of traded on the wrong symbol. Raise it to be stricter, lower it to be more permissive.
• Extra alias groups (default: empty) — define your own equivalences. Format: comma inside a group, semicolon between groups, e.g.  GOLD,XAUUSD;DE40,GER40,DAX .
• 
  

Quick-start recipes

A. Simplest possible copy (same size, same broker)

• Master terminal:  Operating mode = Master .
• Client terminal:  Operating mode = Client ,  Lot mode = Copy master volume exactly .
• Done.

B. Copy at half size

• Client:  Lot mode = Master volume × multiplier ,  Lot multiplier = 0.5 .

C. Fixed risk regardless of Master size

• Client:  Lot mode = Risk % of balance (SL-based) ,  Risk % per trade = 1.0 .
• If your Masters sometimes trade without a stop, also set  Fallback SL points .

D. Cross-broker with different suffixes

• Leave  Allow alias/fuzzy symbol mapping = true . If a symbol still won't match, add it to  Extra alias groups .

E. Protect a funded/live account

• Client:  Account protection enabled = true ,  Hard vs soft = Hard ,  Max drawdown % = 5 , and optionally  Max total lots per master .

F. Reverse (fade) a strategy

• Client:  Reverse copying = true .

Troubleshooting & FAQ

• A Client shows no Master / isn't copying. Confirm both terminals run on the same machine and user, AutoTrading is on for both, and the Master is set to  Master  mode. Check the Master ID matches if you typed one into the Client's Master List.
• Nothing opens but the log says "below minimum". Your sizing produced a lot smaller than the broker minimum. Set  Below broker min = Open at min , or increase the size.
• Trades copy on the wrong-looking symbol / get quarantined. Adjust  Min mapping confidence %  or add an entry to  Extra alias groups .
• My GUI changes reverted after restart. They shouldn't — but if you had  Force these inputs over saved GUI settings = true , the EA inputs win. Set it back to  false .
• Where are my logs? In the terminal's data folder under  MQL5\Files\Apex Copier\Logs\  ( master.log  /  client.log ). Use File → Open Data Folder in the terminal to get there.

Questions or a broker whose symbols won't map? Drop a comment — include your Master and Client symbol names and I'll help you set the alias.