Signal Trader MT4

Signal Trader MT4 is an Expert Advisor for MetaTrader 4 that automates the closed-bar signals of five sources: UT Bot, SuperTrend, Range Filter, Half Trend and Price Action Levels. It sends each order with an ATR stop and a fixed 0.01 lot. It suits traders who want these signals executed by rule.

Quick start

1. Open an XAUUSD H4 or a SOLUSD D1 chart (a prefixed or suffixed name is fine) and attach the EA from the Navigator. Keep AutoTrading enabled.
2. Load the preset of that chart from its screenshot. XAUUSD H4: source SuperTrend, ATR period 10, multiplier 2.0, stop loss 3.0 x ATR. SOLUSD D1: source Price Action Levels, setup Reclaim, swing pivot 5, minimum touches 2, target Next level.
3. Read the Preset row on the panel. "validated" means this chart is a preset that passed testing in MetaTrader 5. "not validated" means the EA still trades, with no testing behind it.
4. Test on a demo account first.

Account

• Minimum balance: 1,500 USD (XAUUSD H4) or 2,000 USD (SOLUSD D1) at 0.01 lot.
• Recommended balance: 3,000 USD (XAUUSD H4) or 4,000 USD (SOLUSD D1) at 0.01 lot.
• Why: in the MetaTrader 5 out-of-sample backtest at 0.01 lot, the largest drawdown was 638 USD on XAUUSD H4 and 986 USD on SOLUSD D1. The largest single losses were 272 USD and 173 USD, and the widest stops about 450 USD and 393 USD. These are backtest figures, not a limit on future losses.
• Leverage: 1:100 or higher.
• Standalone: Everything is built in. You do not need to buy or install any other product named on this page.

The rule

• Signal: read once per bar from the last closed bar. It is never revised, so nothing repaints.
• Entry: at the next bar's open, or the first tradable tick if the market is closed.
• Stop: stop loss x ATR(14) of the signal bar. An optional target is a multiple of the stop distance, off by default.
• Opposite signal: closes the position and reverses. A same-side signal is ignored.
• Size: 0.01 lot, or the broker's minimum. One position per symbol and magic number. No grid, martingale or averaging.

Signal sources

One source is active at a time. The calculations are built into the EA, so nothing else needs installing. Each follows the same rules as my indicator of that name.

• UT Bot Signal Alerts MT4: key value, ATR period, optional EMA(200) trend filter.
• SuperTrend Signal Alerts MT4: ATR period, multiplier, optional EMA(200) trend filter.
• Range Filter Signals MT4: sampling period, range multiplier.
• Half Trend: amplitude, minimum ADX.
• Price Action Levels: setup (Reclaim, Retest or Rejection), swing pivot, minimum touches, optional SMA(200) filter.

Price Action Levels

• Levels: swing highs and lows of the last 250 bars that sit within a quarter of the ATR form one level, if touched often enough.
• Setups: Reclaim is a close back over a level broken in the last 5 bars. Retest is the first touch of a level broken in the last 10 bars. Rejection is a long wick into a level and a close back.
• Own exits: the stop sits beyond the level by 1 x ATR(14). The target is the next level, or a multiple of the stop. The trade closes when a bar closes back through the level, or after 20 bars.
• One trade at a time: new setups are ignored while a trade is open, instead of reversing.
• On the chart: dotted level lines, an arrow and name for every setup, and for the open trade its level, a red stop zone and a green target zone.

The validated presets

The default inputs are the XAUUSD H4 SuperTrend preset: ATR period 10, multiplier 2.0, stop 3.0 x ATR(14), no target. Attach the EA to an XAUUSD H4 chart and keep the defaults to use it.

I tested 444 combinations of symbol, timeframe and indicator source: 37 symbols, H1, H4 and D1, four sources. Then I tested 222 for Price Action Levels: 37 symbols, H4 and D1, three setups. Settings were fixed on 2020-01 to 2023-06 data. Each was then judged on later data, in Python and in the MetaTrader 5 Strategy Tester, on broker history. Two passed both.

• XAUUSD H4 in MetaTrader 4: every tick from 1-minute broker prices, with a fixed spread of 170 points to September 2025 and 20 points from October 2025. The signals and entries matched the Python model one for one.
• SOLUSD D1 in MetaTrader 4: a fixed spread of 25 points. All 88 signals matched the MetaTrader 5 run one for one. The trades are a rough guide only: the MetaTrader 4 tester processed most of this run on daily ticks, so entry prices, stops and targets are less exact than in MetaTrader 5, and it took 69 trades against 75.

Read this with care. About 2.5 of 444 and 3.5 of 222 combinations would pass by chance alone, so two passes are no proof of an edge. In the settings period the same rule was weak (profit factor 1.11). On XAUUSD H4 the gain came from buys in a rising gold market. On SOLUSD D1 the broker's crypto history records a zero spread on many bars, so the tester spread is optimistic; a run with 1.5 times the spread stayed positive. Spread and swap are included. Commission is not.

Why two passed and the rest failed

A combination passes only if all five checks hold on the later data (2023-07 onward), first in Python and then in the MetaTrader 5 Strategy Tester:

1. At least 40 trades.
2. A positive average trade that stands out from noise: t-statistic 2.0 or higher.
3. Profit factor 1.2 or higher.
4. Each half of the period profitable on its own.
5. Still profitable when trading pauses around high-impact news.

• Passed, XAUUSD H4 SuperTrend: 212 trades, t-statistic 2.05, profit factor 1.52, both halves profitable, also with the news pause. The Strategy Tester agreed: 211 trades, profit factor 1.52.
• Passed, SOLUSD D1 Price Action Levels: t-statistic 2.10 and profit factor 2.37 in Python; 75 trades and profit factor 2.42 in the Strategy Tester.
• Failed, 443 of the 444 indicator combinations: 141 had no setting with a profit in 2020-2023, so there was nothing to judge later. Of the other 302, 44 made fewer than 40 trades and 258 had no clear positive average. 192 of the 302 lost money; 42 failed only the t-statistic.
• Failed, Range Filter: 0 of 111 combinations passed. The closest was ADAUSD H4 at t-statistic 1.93.
• Failed, USDCHF H4 Price Action Levels (Rejection): it passed in Python (t-statistic 2.04) but not in the Strategy Tester (1.76), where three entries after the daily rollover were skipped because of the wide spread.
• Failed, the other 220 Price Action Levels combinations: they did not meet the five checks in Python.
• XAUUSD M15, checked later with the same rules: Range Filter and Half Trend lost money with every setting in 2020-2023 (Range Filter profit factor 0.82 to 0.97). UT Bot and SuperTrend reached t-statistic 1.80 and 1.75. None passed.

Live and in the tester

• Live: on any other symbol, timeframe or source the EA still trades, and the panel says "not validated". Those settings have no testing behind them.
• Strategy Tester: it trades any symbol and timeframe, so you can try it. A result outside the preset is not validated.
• Chart panel: source, chart, preset state, last signal, position, stop loss and lot.

Automatic trading or signals only

By default the EA trades automatically: it opens the trade when its rule fires and manages it. If you would rather decide yourself, set "Dry run: alert each signal, open no trades" to true. The EA then opens nothing. Each signal it would have traded arrives as a pop-up alert with sound, a push notification on your phone, or both: direction, price, stop loss, take profit and lot. You review it and decide whether to enter by hand.

• Dry run is off by default. Nothing changes until you turn it on.
• Dry run also works on a chart that is not a validated preset, so you can watch any source without trades.
• "Dry run: pop-up alert with sound" and "Dry run: push to phone" are on by default and only work while Dry run is on. Turn one off to keep the other.
• Push to your phone: install the MetaTrader mobile app, copy its MetaQuotes ID and enter it in the terminal under Tools > Options > Notifications, then enable push notifications.
• In dry run the EA opens, closes and changes no trade, including trades you open by hand. The Strategy Tester only writes the signals to the log.
• Each signal is sent once. This is a tool for your own decisions, not advice, and no profit is promised.

Inputs

The defaults are not the preset. Enter the preset values for XAUUSD H4 before you trade live.

How to test in the Strategy Tester

1. Open the Strategy Tester (Ctrl+R, or View > Strategy Tester).
2. Choose Expert Advisor, then Signal Trader MT4.
3. Set Symbol and Period: XAUUSD H4 for the default inputs, or SOLUSD D1 with the SOLUSD D1 preset inputs.
4. Set Model to "Every tick", the model my tests used. It needs 1-minute history for the period.
5. Tick Use date and choose a range, for example 2023.07.01 to 2026.10.01.
6. Set Spread. On XAUUSD my test used 170 points to September 2025 and 20 points from October 2025, as two separate runs. On SOLUSD it used 25 points.
7. Click Expert properties. On the Testing tab, use a deposit close to your own account. On the Inputs tab, keep the defaults or enter the preset.
8. Click Start.

The default inputs already are the XAUUSD H4 SuperTrend preset, so it needs no changes.

You can try other settings the same way. The tester ignores any live-only option, and a test of other settings is not a validated preset. A backtest describes the past only.

Works well with

These are workflow suggestions. I have not found that any pair gives better trading results. You do not need any of them.

Several gold Expert Advisors follow the same market. Running them together adds to one exposure; this is not a tested diversification.

Related products

• Signal Trader: the MetaTrader 5 edition.
• All my products on MQL5

FAQ

Does it repaint? No. Decisions use closed bars only.

Why does the panel say "not validated"? The chart's symbol, timeframe and source are not one of the validated presets. The EA still trades, but that setting has no testing behind it.

Can I trade other symbols? Yes, by default, but only the validated presets passed my tests. Dry run alerts you on any chart, with no trades.

How do I report a problem? Turn on the log input, repeat it, and send the Experts tab lines with your inputs.

Reporting a bug or error

1. In the inputs, set "Debug log for bug reports" to true.
2. Leave the EA running until the problem happens.
3. Open the Experts tab in the Toolbox, select the lines that start with "DBG", right-click and choose Copy (or choose Open to get the log folder).
4. Send them as a comment on this product page or as a LinkedIn message, with the symbol, timeframe, EA version and what you expected to happen.

The debug log never contains your login, name, server, balance or equity. Set it back to false afterwards. I answer only through the comments on this page and on LinkedIn.

If it helps your trading, a short review on this page helps other traders find it.

Questions: use the comments on this page or send me a message on MQL5.

Trading involves risk of loss. Backtest results do not predict future results.