Universal Candle Timer

Universal Candle Timer is a precision countdown indicator for MetaTrader 5 that displays the exact time remaining until the current candle closes — directly on your chart, next to the live price.

⏱️ What It Does

The timer counts down to the next bar open on any timeframe — from M1 to MN1 — and updates 10 times per second (every 100 ms) so you never miss a candle close. The label is placed just to the right of the current candle and tracks the bid price in real time, staying readable no matter how you scroll or zoom the chart.

🔑 Key Features

• Works on all timeframes — M1, M5, M15, M30, H1, H4, D1, W1, MN1
• 100 ms refresh rate — smooth countdown with no visible second-skips, even on slow brokers
• Three-tier monotonic clock — stays accurate during tick gaps, off-market hours, and on illiquid symbols
• Blink alert — optional red/yellow blink when ≤ 9 seconds remain, so you never miss a candle close
• HH:MM:SS / MM:SS format — hours shown automatically when the remaining time exceeds one minute
• Fully customisable — set your own colour, font, font size, horizontal offset (bars from current candle), and vertical shift (points below the bid line)
• Zero chart clutter — the label is hidden from the object list and is non-selectable, so it never interferes with your analysis

⚙️ Input Parameters

Parameter	Description
Text Colour	Colour of the countdown label
Font Size	Size of the text (6–72)
Font	Font face (default: Arial Bold)
Bars to the Right	How far right of the current candle to place the label
Vertical Shift	Distance below the bid line in points
Show Hours	Show HH:MM:SS format when > 0 hours remain
Blink	Flash red/yellow when < 10 seconds remain

🛠️ Technical Highlights

• Handles broker time, GMT, and local time independently — always shows the correct remaining time regardless of your broker's timezone
• Gracefully recovers from timer registration failures at startup (auto-retries on every tick)
• Correctly handles month-end and week-end boundaries on W1 and MN1 charts
• Minimal CPU usage — position and colour updates only trigger a chart redraw when something actually changes

📋 Requirements

• MetaTrader 5 (any build)
• Works on any broker and any symbol