Keelmark Zigzag Breakout MT5

Keelmark Zigzag Breakout is an Expert Advisor for XAUUSD (gold) that trades breakouts of confirmed swing highs and swing lows. It places pending orders beyond the latest swing levels, keeps only one trade at a time, puts a stop loss on every order and exits with a trailing stop.

Launch price: 149 USD. The price goes up by 50 USD after every 10 copies sold (next price 199 USD, then 249 USD, and so on).

Risk notice. This is a breakout EA. Trades start at the moment price breaks a swing level, which is also when spreads widen and stop orders can slip, and many trades last only seconds to minutes. The result depends strongly on execution quality. There were also losing periods in the author's tests. A high share of winning trades does not mean low risk: a losing trade is usually larger than a winning trade, and a price gap can close a trade beyond the stop loss. Test on your own broker and account before using real money; the decision is yours.

Symbol and account

• Symbol: XAUUSD (any suffix, e.g. XAUUSDm, XAUUSD.raw). The default inputs are set for gold.
• Timeframe: the swing levels come from a fixed timeframe set in the inputs, so the chart timeframe does not change the result.
• Quotes: distances are price distances by default, so the EA works the same whether your broker quotes gold with 2 or 3 decimals.
• Account: low spread (raw / zero / ECN type) and fast execution. Hedging or netting both work (one position only).
• Volume: lot from a risk % of balance (default 1% at the stop loss) or a fixed lot.
• Testing: use the model "Every tick based on real ticks". The trailing stop reacts within seconds, so "1 minute OHLC" and "Open prices only" give results that are far too optimistic.

How it works

• Swing levels – a ZigZag finds the latest confirmed swing high and swing low on closed bars only (no repainting).
• Orders – a Buy Stop above the swing high and a Sell Stop below the swing low, placed only inside the trading hours and below the spread limit. A swing that has already been traded is not used again.
• One trade at a time – when one order is filled, the opposite order is deleted. New orders follow after the trade is closed.
• Exit – fixed stop loss sent with every order, trailing stop once the trade is in profit, optional fixed take profit.
• Options – buy and sell, buy only or sell only; optional Friday cut-off for pending orders.

Control panel

• AUTO / BUY / SELL switches. AUTO OFF deletes the pending orders and places no new ones; an open trade keeps its stop loss and trailing.
• Volume: switch between RISK % and FIXED LOT and change the value with − / + while the EA runs. A value typed in the Inputs tab always replaces the panel value after a restart.
• CLOSE TRADE closes the open trade at market. SKIP LEVELS deletes the pending orders and waits for the next swings.
• Figures (numbers only): status, swing levels, pending order prices, next order lot, open position, floating P/L, spread, today's trades and P/L, closed trades and win %.
• Lines for the swing levels and the pending order prices. The panel scales with the Windows display scaling.

Notes

• The spread limit and trading hours only control when orders are placed; a pending order that is already in the market can be filled during news.
• Pending orders stay over the weekend unless the Friday cut-off is used. A weekend gap can fill an order at a worse price.
• The EA is built and tested for gold. On other symbols the distances are only scaled so that orders stay valid; other symbols were not part of the author's research.
• One chart = one symbol. Use a different magic number for each chart.
• The panel shows numbers only; every decision to trade, pause, change the volume or stop is yours.

Disclaimer

• The EA is provided "as is", as a tool. It does not give investment advice and does not promise any profit. Backtests and videos show past or simulated behaviour only and do not guarantee future results.
• Trading gold and other CFDs with leverage carries a high level of risk. Only trade with money you can afford to lose.
• Results differ between brokers, account types, spreads, commissions, swaps, execution speed, slippage and settings. Test on a demo account with your own broker before going live.
• You stay in control: the symbol, lot size, settings and when to run or stop the EA are your choices, and so are the results that follow from them. The author cannot be held liable for any loss arising from the use of this EA.
• The EA may be updated as the research continues; behaviour and inputs can change between versions.