Building a Trading Robot without Programming

After reading the first and the second articles in the “Algo trading with MQL5” course, you already know the origins of algorithmic trading and the main types of trading robots. We also showed you where to find these automated trading programs in MetaTrader 5. This is not a secret that good programming skills will certainly help you with building a robot. But is it that necessary to be a programmer to construct an expert advisor? No, it isn’t! MetaTrader 5 allows creating simple ready-made trading robots using MQL5 Wizard. Let's learn how to do it!

GM-4012 в статью #3 по алготрейдингу в Guidebook.jpg

What is MQL5 Wizard?

MQL5 Wizard is a tool that helps to create robots and program templates based on the settings you choose. It generates expert advisors that can provide reliable signals. All you need to do is to select the desired parameters as a base for an expert advisor's construction. To get access to it, you need to open MetaEditor - trading strategy development environment integrated with MetaTrader 5 platform. You can find its button right above the timeframes menu.

333.png

After opening MetaEditor, you need to click “New” in the upper left corner of the program. This button will launch MQL5 Wizard.

1.png

How to create an expert advisor in MQL5 Wizard?

You can easily develop a new expert advisor by following the instructions given by the MQL5 Wizard.  Let’s look at each step in detail.

Firstly, you need to define a strategy you want to program in your trading robot.

MQL5 Wizard’s library contains a set of signals. They are basically the standard alerts that indicators provide. When you create an expert advisor, you can use any combination of the modules of trade signals (up to 64). You can find the description of them in the MQL5 documentation.

In our example, we will use the following inputs:

 Instrument: EUR/USD

Timeframe: H4

Indicators: Simple moving averages with the 21 and the 89 periods, MACD (12; 24; 9).

Now, let's build this expert advisor.

In MQL Wizard, click "Expert Advisor (generate)".

 Рисунок3.png

In the next step, you need to name your expert advisor. Here, you can also choose a specific asset this EA will work with and a timeframe. As we want to trade EUR/USD on the H4 timeframe, we write EURUSD in the “symbol” string and “H4” in the timeframe.

Choosing the right signals for your expert advisor.

This step represents the most interesting part of a process. Here, we declare the settings under which a trading robot is going to operate. After clicking “Add”, we select the pre-determined signals. Each set of signals has its parameters. For example, to add the signals of 21-period moving average to our EA, we need to set its period (21), its shift from the current bar (0), the averaging method (Simple), the price to apply the MA (Close price), and the weight of the signal (1.0).

Рисунок5.png

 

As for MACD, we leave it with standard settings (fast period = 12, slow period = 24, and period signal = 9).

Рисунок6.png

For a detailed description of each signal, visit the MQL5 website.

You can also specify a timeframe for a particular signal. For example, if you want to see a confirmation on a larger timeframe, you need to fill in the "Timeframe" setting.

Applying a trailing stop

After adding all parameters, our Expert Advisor is almost ready. Our next action will be setting the trailing properties of our EA. In other words, we need to decide whether we are going to use a trailing stop loss or not. There are four options you can choose from:

  • avoid using stop loss (trailing stop not used);
  • place it based on fixed Stop Level;
  • set it based on a particular MA;
  • use Parabolic SAR.

In our example, we don’t use a trailing stop loss.

Rules of money management

In the final step, you can declare the rules of money management for your expert advisor. We choose to trade with a fixed trade volume of 0.1 lots and a risk of 10%.

Рисунок7.png

After we click finish, we get a big and structured code in MetaEditor. These are the spine and bones of our expert advisor.

Рисунок8.png

How can we turn it into a robot? You can easily do that by pressing the compile button. This action will create a file for your robot and transfer the code into MT5.

Рисунок9.png

After that, you can find the robot in the “Navigator” window of MT5.

Рисунок10.png

You can backtest your trading robot by clicking "Test" on the name of the robot. After the strategy tester opens, choose the suitable parameters and then press "Start". You can get the results of this check-up in the backtest bar.    

Рисунок11.png

Now, you can build a fully functional trading robot without any programming skills and experience. However, if you want your expert advisor to execute more complicated commands, you still need to learn how to program them right. In the next articles in this course, you will learn the basics of coding your first robot in MQL5!

Frequently asked questions

  • How to start trading?

    If you are 18+ years old, you can join FBS and begin your FX journey. To trade, you need a brokerage account and sufficient knowledge on how assets behave in the financial markets. Start with studying the basics with our free educational materials and creating an FBS account. You may want to test the environment with virtual money with a Demo account. Once you are ready, enter the real market and trade to succeed.

  • How to open an FBS account?

    Click the 'Open account' button on our website and proceed to the Trader Area. Before you can start trading, pass a profile verification. Confirm your email and phone number, get your ID verified. This procedure guarantees the safety of your funds and identity. Once you are done with all the checks, go to the preferred trading platform, and start trading.

  • How to withdraw the money you earned with FBS?

    The procedure is very straightforward. Go to the Withdrawal page on the website or the Finances section of the FBS Trader Area and access Withdrawal. You can get the earned money via the same payment system that you used for depositing. In case you funded the account via various methods, withdraw your profit via the same methods in the ratio according to the deposited sums.

Latest news

USD: Powell Speaks on Cutting Interest Rates

Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, stated that the central bank can afford to be patient in deciding when to cut interest rates, citing easing inflation and stable economic growth. Powell emphasized the Fed's independence from political influences, particularly relevant as the election season nears. The Fed had raised interest rates to 5.3 ...

BTCUSD: Rich Dad Says Buy

Robert Kiyosaki, the author of "Rich Dad Poor Dad," has updated his bitcoin price forecast, now projecting the cryptocurrency to hit $100,000 by September. He plans to acquire more bitcoin before April, attributing his decision to the upcoming halving event. Kiyosaki advises investors to consider adding bitcoin to their portfolios and suggests...

WTT: Currency Pairs To Trade In April

Hello again my friends, it’s time for another episode of “What to Trade,” this time, for the month of April. As usual, I present to you some of my most anticipated trade ideas for the month of April, according to my technical analysis style. I therefore encourage you to do your due diligence, as always, and manage your risks appropriately.

Deposit with your local payment systems

Data collection notice

FBS maintains a record of your data to run this website. By pressing the “Accept” button, you agree to our Privacy policy.

Callback

A manager will call you shortly.

Change number

Your request is accepted.

A manager will call you shortly.

Next callback request for this phone number
will be available in

If you have an urgent issue please contact us via
Live chat

Internal error. Please try again later

Don’t waste your time – keep track of how NFP affects the US dollar and profit!

You are using an older version of your browser.

Update it to the latest version or try another one for a safer, more comfortable and productive trading experience.

Safari Chrome Firefox Opera