MQL5 Market validation — Gold-only EA and simulated XAUUSD orders from another host chart

[johnieli78]

We are preparing an MT5 Expert Advisor whose genuine trading strategy is designed exclusively for metadata-verified XAU/USD, using internal M15 data.

We do not intend to trade unrelated FX instruments, generate artificial validation trades, or alter risk controls specifically for the Strategy Tester.

Before changing the EA architecture, could you clarify:

1. Is a genuine gold-only trading strategy permitted under Market Rules IV.7 and V.5 if its intended scope is clearly documented?

2. If an EA is tested on EURUSD/H1 but uses available XAUUSD historical data and places strategy-generated simulated XAUUSD orders within the Strategy Tester, can those orders satisfy the trading-operation requirement of that automatic validation run?

3. If the required gold instrument or history is unavailable, what is the officially supported behavior for an EA whose strategy cannot validly trade the host symbol?

We are seeking compliance and technical guidance, not hidden validation parameters or a way to bypass validation.

Thank you.

[Ryan L Johnson]

@johnieli78,

Is a genuine gold-only trading strategy permitted under Market Rules IV.7 and V.5 if its intended scope is clearly documented?

An EA cannot be restricted to a specific symbol nor select specific symbols pursuant to the rules.

If an EA is tested on EURUSD/H1 but uses available XAUUSD historical data and places strategy-generated simulated XAUUSD orders within the Strategy Tester, can those orders satisfy the trading-operation requirement of that automatic validation run?

Yes, but IMHO, that is a bit misleading to a customer if that is not the intended way to deploy the EA. I would rather post clear instructions for trading XAUUSD only in your product description.

If the required gold instrument or history is unavailable, what is the officially supported behavior for an EA whose strategy cannot validly trade the host symbol?

You do not control the host symbol in the validator. Again, open the EA up to all potential host symbols.

(This is not an AI generated post).

[Sergey Golubev]

Solving Automatic Validation Problems Arising During Product Submission in MQL5 Market - summary blog post - 

There are no trading operations 

This error is specific for expert advisers only. The rule is: expert advisers must trade. If your robot should be used only on a specific symbol timeframe, then here is what MetaQuotes say: "Products can not apply restrictions. All limitations should be marked as recommendations in the product description."