MT5 bot EA Specification: Pre-London Range Breakout (Pepperstone Compatible)

Purpose

• Develop an Expert Advisor (EA) for MetaTrader 5.

• Strategy: Breakout from the pre-London session range with strict risk management and no grid/martingale.

• Goal: Scalp intraday momentum after London open using pending orders.

• Broker: Pepperstone (ECN / RAW spreads).

• Instruments: default EURUSD and XAUUSD (configurable).

Trading Logic

1. Pre-Range Session

• Time based on server time (TimeTradeServer).

• Define range between PreRangeStart and PreRangeEnd .

  • Default: 05:00 – 07:15 server time.

• Record PreHigh (highest price) and PreLow (lowest price) of this window.

• Range filters:

  • If (PreHigh – PreLow) < MinRangeATR * ATR(14, M5) → skip trading.

  • If (PreHigh – PreLow) > MaxRangePips → skip trading.

2. Entry Window

• Default: 07:15 – 11:30 (London) and optionally 13:30 – 16:30 (New York).

• Place pending orders at breakout levels:

  • BUY STOP = PreHigh + BufferPips .

  • SELL STOP = PreLow – BufferPips .

• Only if all filters are met:

  • Spread ≤ MaxSpreadPoints.

  • ATR(14, M5) within MinATR–MaxATR.

  • Optional: Trend filter → Only Buy if price > EMA200 (M15), only Sell if price < EMA200.

3. Pending Order Management

• Place both orders (or only one if EMA trend filter applies).

• Cancel the opposite order once one is triggered.

• Cancel all untriggered orders when:

  • EntryWindow ends, or

  • Filters fail (spread too wide, volatility too low).

4. Stop Loss / Take Profit

• SL options:

  • Default: kATR * ATR(14, M5) .

  • Or: opposite side of the pre-range ± buffer (choose the smaller distance).

• TP = RR * SL (default RR = 1.5 for FX, RR = 2.0 for XAUUSD).

• Break-even:

  • Move SL to entry after price moves in profit by BE_Trigger * SL (default 1.0).

  • Add offset ( BE_Offset ) if configured.

• Trailing:

  • Start after TrailTrigger * SL .

  • Trail distance = TrailATR * ATR(14, M5) .

5. Risk Management

• RiskPerTrade% (default 1%). Lot size calculated dynamically based on SL distance.

• Use symbol properties ( SYMBOL_TRADE_TICK_VALUE , etc.) to compute correct lot size.

• Daily loss limit: If equity drops by MaxDailyLoss% (default 3%), no new trades until next day.

• Max trades per day: e.g., 2.

Inputs (parameters)

• Session times:

  • PreRangeStart="05:00" , PreRangeEnd="07:15" .

  • EntryWindowStart="07:15" , EntryWindowEnd="11:30" .

  • UseNYWindow=true , NYWindowStart="13:30" , NYWindowEnd="16:30" .

• Filters:

  • BufferPips=5 (EURUSD), BufferGoldPoints=50 (XAUUSD).

  • MinATR=0.0008 , MaxATR=0.0040 (for EURUSD).

  • MinRangeATR=0.6 , MaxRangePips=25 .

  • MaxSpreadPoints=12 .

  • UseEMATrend=true , EMAPeriod=200 , EMATF=PERIOD_M15 .

• Stops & Targets:

  • UseATRStop=true , kATR=1.0 .

  • RR=1.5 (EURUSD), RR_XAU=2.0 .

  • UseBreakEven=true , BE_Trigger=1.0 , BE_Offset=2 .

  • UseTrailing=true , TrailTrigger=1.2 , TrailATR=1.0 .

• Risk settings:

  • RiskPerTrade=1.0 .

  • MaxDailyLoss=3.0 .

  • MaxTradesPerDay=2 .

• Execution:

  • MaxSlippagePoints=10 .

  • DeleteOppositePendingOnFill=true .

• Symbols & Magic:

  • Symbols="EURUSD,XAUUSD" .

  • Magic=17092025 .

  • Comment="PreLondonBreakout_Pepperstone" .

EA Architecture

• OnInit() → load symbols, initialize states.

• OnTick():

  • Track PreRange highs/lows.

  • Place pending orders only in EntryWindow.

  • Cancel pending orders at window end or after opposite is triggered.

  • Manage active positions (BE, trailing, SL/TP).

• OnTradeTransaction() → handle fills, update daily P&L, enforce limits.

• OnDeinit() → clean pending orders.

Additional Requirements

• Work with multiple symbols (EURUSD, XAUUSD by default).

• One active trade per symbol.

• Proper logging: reasons for order placement or cancellation.

• Draw lines on chart: PreHigh/PreLow, pending orders, SL/TP.

• Optimizable inputs for backtesting (range times, buffer, ATR multiplier, RR).