Where robots run
Robots run in MetaTrader 5 on a computer: Windows, the official Mac app, or a VPS. They do not run in the MetaTrader phone apps or in a web browser. MetaTrader 4 and cTrader will come later.
Where robots run, and where they do not
A robot is a program that MetaTrader 5 runs on a chart. Only the full MetaTrader 5 can run programs: the Windows version, the official Mac app, and a copy of MetaTrader 5 on a server you rent (a VPS).
The MetaTrader 5 phone apps and the web version show your account and let you trade by hand, but they cannot run robots. You can still use them to watch an account a robot is trading on.
Robots are made for MetaTrader 5 today. cTrader and MetaTrader 4 will come later, and we will name a date only once a robot has run on a real terminal.
MetaTrader 5
Where robots run
- MetaTrader 5 for Windows
- The official MetaTrader 5 app for Mac
- MetaTrader 5 on a VPS (MetaTrader's own, your broker's or your own)
Where robots cannot run
- The MetaTrader 5 phone apps
- MetaTrader 5 in a web browser
- MetaTrader 4 and cTrader (later)
Keep MetaTrader up to date
Every robot is built with a version of MetaTrader's own tool, and an older MetaTrader cannot open a robot built by a newer one. It refuses the file and says the version is newer or unsupported.
Today our robots are built with MetaTrader build 5660, so your MetaTrader 5 must be build 5660 or newer. MetaTrader usually updates itself when it starts. If it has not, restart it and wait a minute, or choose Help
If MetaTrader has already been updated past the build your robot was made with, it opens the file as normal: newer MetaTrader, older robot, is fine. If a MetaTrader update ever stops a robot from loading, we build it again for you at no charge.
In MetaTrader 5
See your build
Choose Help
What your broker must allow
Your broker must offer MetaTrader 5 and allow automated trading on your account type. Most do; a few account types do not. If the Algo Trading button cannot be switched on, ask your broker.
Brokers often add letters to their symbol names, for example EURUSD.m. A robot built for EURUSD then needs those letters typed into its symbol suffix input on the Inputs tab.
Prop firms have their own rules about robots. Read your firm's current rules before you use one. We never claim that a firm accepts our robots.
Your broker
Check with them
- It offers MetaTrader 5
- Automated trading is allowed on your account type
- The symbol your robot trades is in its list, under whatever name it uses
A VPS, for a robot that runs all the time
Your robot works only while MetaTrader 5 is open and connected to your broker. If you close MetaTrader or turn off your computer, it stops. A VPS is a computer you rent online that stays on, with MetaTrader 5 running on it.
MetaTrader has its own: in the Navigator, right-click your account and choose Register a Virtual Server. Some brokers offer one too, and any Windows server you rent can run MetaTrader 5. We do not host robots for you.
Because the lock is on your account number, not your computer, moving a robot to a VPS, a new PC or after a Windows update costs nothing: copy the file over and put it on a chart there.
On a VPS
The same five steps
Install MetaTrader 5 on the server, log in to an account the robot was built for, and follow the same steps as on your own computer. Put your robot into MetaTrader 5.
More help
Each page takes one part of running a robot.
Install in MetaTrader 5
Copy the file into the Experts folder, put it on a chart and switch Algo Trading on.Test in the Strategy Tester
Run your rules on past prices, read the result, and make the news file some robots need.The account lock
Where to find your account number, how to change accounts, and what the lock does and does not stop.Safety limits and stops
Set the numbers, see what happens when a limit is reached, and stop your robot yourself.Troubleshooting
Every message your robot can show on the chart, in plain words, with the fix.
Join the waitlist
We will email you once, when TheTradingRobot opens.