Spec Match Trade Copier MT5

A local trade copier for MetaTrader 5. It copies positions between MT5 terminals on the same Windows PC or VPS and sizes each copy from both brokers' contract specifications (contract size, tick value, account currency), so a copy carries the same exposure even when the two brokers define a lot differently. It never opens a second copy of the same master position.

What it does

You attach the same EA to one chart in each terminal:

• In the master terminal, set the Mode input to Master.
• In each receiver terminal, set the Mode input to Receiver.

The master writes its open positions, their symbol specifications and a heartbeat to a file in the shared Common\Files folder. Each receiver reads that file every 100 ms and brings its own positions in line with the master:

• opens new positions
• changes stop loss and take profit
• partially closes
• closes

There is no server, no network connection, no DLL and no WebRequest.

Lot size that follows the contract, not the lot number

Brokers define "1 lot" differently. Gold can be 100 oz, 10 oz or 1 oz per lot. Indices can be 1, 10 or 25 units per point. A cent account shows 100 times the money. A copier that copies the lot number can open 100 times too much or too little.

This copier measures what one lot is worth on each side. It uses OrderCalcProfit, which is the broker's own profit calculation, in account currency. It then converts the master's value into the receiver's account currency. The tick value is checked as well, and the panel shows a warning when the two disagree.

One master position gives at most one copy

The receiver keeps a copy map on disk, one line per master position:

• Every copy carries the comment SMC:<master position id>.
• A request is written to the map before it is sent, so a crash or restart in the middle of a trade cannot lead to a second copy.
• After a restart, and after you change the inputs or the chart timeframe, the receiver reloads the map. Changing inputs with copies open was tested live on hedging and netting receivers: no extra deals.
• If the map file is lost on a hedging receiver, the receiver rebuilds the map from the position comments.
• A netting receiver cannot rebuild a lost map, because one net position cannot be split back into master positions. It puts each symbol that has a copy open on NET_HOLD instead (see "When the copier stops or holds" below).

When something does not add up, the receiver stops copying and raises an alert. It never guesses. Examples:

• two receiver positions carry the same master id
• a copied position has no id in its comment
• the master account changes
• the account margin mode changes
• the map file is damaged
• the net volume of a netting account was changed by hand

The panel shows how many duplicates were blocked.

Copied positions are closed only on the master's instruction

The master publishes a close record for every position it closes, taken from its deal history. The receiver closes a copy only when it sees that record. A position can also disappear from the master file without a record, for example because the file was damaged or history was not loaded. In that case the copy is put on HOLD and you get an alert. It is not closed.

The receiver pauses when any of these happen, and your positions stay as they are:

• the master terminal is stopped
• the master terminal is killed
• the master terminal loses its connection
• the master file stops updating (heartbeat timeout, default 3 s)

Monitoring

The status panel sits on the receiver chart. It shows:

• master state (ALIVE / SILENT / NOT CONNECTED)
• number of active, closed, refused, held and filtered copies
• total exposure of the master versus the receiver, in account currency, with the difference in %
• counts of opens, closes, partial closes, SL/TP changes and blocked duplicates
• the last action, the last error and warnings
• one row per copied position, up to 10 rows, then a "... N more" line

Every action is also written to a CSV journal in Common\Files\SpecMatchCopier.

When the copier stops or holds

The copier never repairs an inconsistency by guessing. You fix the cause, then restart it.

Lot modes

In every mode the volume is then:

• rounded to the receiver's volume step (nearest or down)
• capped by the optional Max lot and by the broker maximum
• skipped, or raised to the minimum, when it is below the broker minimum (your choice)
• checked with OrderCalcMargin against free margin before sending

A copy is refused when one lot on one side is worth more than 1000 times one lot on the other side. This limit can be changed. It usually means a wrong symbol mapping.

Worked example: gold, 100 oz per lot to 1 oz per lot

The master opens 0.10 lot, which is 10 oz, worth 41,781 USD.

• Same exposure: 0.10 x 417,813 / 4,178.13 = 10.00 lots on the receiver, which is 10 oz, worth 41,781 USD. A copier that copies the lot number would open 0.10 lot = 0.1 oz, one hundredth of the exposure.
• Cent receiver (account currency USC, 1 oz contract): the broker reports 417,813 USC for 1 lot, which is 4,178.13 USD after the cent factor. The receiver gets the same 10.00 lots.
• Balance ratio (master balance 10,000 USD, receiver balance 1,000 USD): 10.00 x 1,000 / 10,000 = 1.00 lot.

These numbers are the unit tests shipped with the test report. The same calculation also ran live: XAGUSD with 5,000 oz per lot on a USD account was copied to XAGEUR with 1,000 oz per lot on a EUR account. 0.10 lot became 0.50 lot.

Symbol matching

The receiver finds the master symbol in this order:

1. Manual map (XAUUSD=GOLD.x,US30=DJ30). It always wins and never falls back.
2. The same name.
3. The Suffix / Prefix hint (.cs, m, #).
4. The same core name after the broker's decorations are removed: XAUUSD.cs, XAUUSDm, #XAUUSD, EURUSD.pro, US500Cash, fxEURUSD and similar.
5. Built-in aliases: GOLD/XAUUSD, SILVER/XAGUSD, US30/DJ30/WS30, NAS100/US100/USTEC, US500/SPX500, GER40/DE40/DAX, UK100, JP225, USOIL/WTI, UKOIL/BRENT, BTCUSD, ETHUSD.

When two receiver symbols fit equally, the one that is in Market Watch is used. If both or neither are in Market Watch, the copy is refused and the panel asks for a manual map. For example, Exness offers US30m (1 index unit per lot) and US30_x10m (10 units per lot). Both fit a master's US30, so add the one you want to Market Watch or map it. The lot is converted either way.

Digits after a currency pair are not treated as a broker decoration. Exness XAUUSD247m (gold that also trades at weekends) is a different product, so a master's XAUUSD is copied to XAUUSDm, never to XAUUSD247m. Map it by hand if you really want it.

Before the first copy of a symbol, the receiver compares both prices in its account currency. The copy is refused when they differ by more than 3%, which can be changed. This catches mappings such as "GOLD", which at some brokers is a gold-mining stock worth about 40 USD, not gold.

Inputs

Setup

1. Copy the EA into both terminals. They must run under the same Windows user, because Common\Files belongs to the user. Use the same version of the EA in the master and in every receiver terminal: after an update, update it in all of them.
2. In the master terminal, attach the EA to any chart with Mode = Master.
3. In each receiver terminal, attach the EA to any chart with Mode = Receiver and the same Channel.
4. Enable Algo Trading in the receiver terminals.
5. Open a small position on the master. The receiver panel shows the copy and the lot conversion.

Strategy Tester

The Strategy Tester has no second terminal. In the tester the EA therefore runs a simulated master:

• it opens, modifies, partially closes and closes virtual positions every few bars, each sized to lose about 1% of the balance at its stop loss and to use at most 10% of the balance as margin
• the virtual positions are never sent as orders
• it copies those virtual positions to the tester account with the selected lot mode and all pre-trade checks

This lets you see the copying logic and the lot conversion without a second terminal. It is not a trading strategy, and its tester results say nothing about profit.

Limits (please read before buying)

• Same PC only: master and receivers must run on the same Windows PC or VPS, under one Windows user. Copying across the internet is not supported.
• The MQL5 built-in VPS cannot run it. Each migrated terminal has its own storage.
• MT5 to MT5 only. Pending orders are not copied; a pending order is copied once it fills and becomes a position.
• Closed markets: when the receiver symbol is outside its trade session, nothing is sent. The copier waits for the session to open, then copies what is still needed. A new position is still subject to the "Skip if price moved" limit. A close that the master made while the receiver's market was closed is carried out when that market opens, at the price of that moment.
• Speed: measured on demo accounts, the receiver position matched the master 0.2 to 1.1 s after the master trade (median 0.3 s, 60 measurements; the 1.1 s case was closing 10 positions at once on a netting account). That is 100 ms of polling plus the broker's execution time. Copies are filled at the receiver's own prices, so they can differ from the master's prices, especially around news.
• Stop loss and take profit levels:
  • When both symbols are quoted in the same currency, the exact levels are copied.
  • Otherwise, for example XAGUSD to XAGEUR, the levels are scaled by the price ratio.
  • On a netting receiver, SL/TP is copied only when all master positions on that symbol use the same levels.
• Positions you close or reduce by hand on the receiver are left alone. They are never reopened.
• Receiver offline for more than 48 hours: the master keeps close records for 48 hours. A copy whose master position closed before that is not closed automatically. It goes to HOLD with an alert, and you close it by hand.
• Stop levels refused at open: when the broker rejects the stop loss or take profit of a new copy (invalid stops, for example a stops level widened around news), the copy is refused and not retried. The panel shows it as REFUSED.
• Capped copies: when a copy is limited by Max lot or by the broker's maximum volume, a partial close on the master reduces the copy only when the new scaled volume is below what is open. Until then the copy stays at the cap.
• No risk management: the copier does not limit drawdown or daily loss and does not manage accounts. It copies what the master does.
• Same version everywhere: the master and the receivers measure the value of a lot with the same code. Run the same version of the EA in all terminals. For example, a v1.00 master with a v1.01 receiver keeps the v1.00 cent rounding for stock CFDs and other contracts with a small value per lot.
• Not enough money at the broker: when the broker rejects a new copy for margin, the copy is refused and not retried. Some brokers charge more margin than MetaTrader's own margin calculation shows; the Exness demo used in the tests did.
• Tested environment:
  • Tested live with MetaQuotes-Demo accounts: USD master, EUR hedging receiver, USD netting receiver.
  • The master was also tested on a USD netting account, with additions, a reversal by one deal, a partial close and a full close.
  • Tested live across two brokers, MetaQuotes-Demo and an Exness Standard demo (USD, hedging, symbols with the "m" suffix), in both directions:
    • MetaQuotes-Demo to Exness, matched automatically: XAUUSD to XAUUSDm, XAGUSD to XAGUSDm, EURUSD to EURUSDm. Tested with open with SL/TP, SL change, partial close, receiver restart, input change and close.
    • Exness to a MetaQuotes-Demo EUR account, matched automatically: XAUUSDm to XAUUSD, XAGUSDm to XAGUSD, EURUSDm to EURUSD. Tested with open, SL change, partial close and close. The stock CFD BACm (100 shares per lot) was copied to BAC (1 share per lot): 0.10 lot became 10.
    • Different contract sizes within Exness, with a manual map: US30m to US30_x10m (0.30 lot became 0.03), USTECm to USTEC_x100m and US500m to US500_x100m (1.00 lot became 0.01), and BTCUSDm to BTCUSDTm.
    • In every run: 0 duplicates, and an exposure difference of 0.00% to 0.01% on the panel. Wrong mappings were refused by the price check. Ambiguous matches were refused until one symbol was in Market Watch.
  • 1 oz gold and cent accounts are covered by unit tests with synthetic broker specifications, not by live accounts. Neither broker offered them on a demo.
  • Please test with your brokers on demo accounts before copying real money.