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EA Setup Guide

How to install, activate and configure your Expert Advisor on MetaTrader 5.

Prerequisites

  • MetaTrader 5 installed and connected to a broker account (demo or live).
  • An MQL5 community account (mql5.com) — required by MetaEditor to load the EA. Free to create.
  • AutoTrading must be allowed by your broker (most brokers support it).

1. Install the EA

  1. Download your .ex5 file from your Pine2Expert dashboard. The file is named after your Pine Script (e.g. RsiCross.ex5).
  2. Open the MT5 data folder. In MetaTrader 5, go to File → Open Data Folder. Navigate to MQL5 / Experts /.
  3. Copy the .ex5 file into the Experts folder (or any sub-folder). Right-click the Navigator panel in MT5 and choose Refresh.
  4. Attach the EA to a chart. Open a chart on the symbol and timeframe your strategy targets, then drag the EA from the Navigator onto the chart (or double-click it).

2. Activate your License

On first launch the EA displays NOT LICENSED in the top-right corner of the chart. Click Register to open the activation panel — it shows the activation URL, your Product ID and your broker Fingerprint.

  1. Open the activation URL, or go to your Pine2Expert dashboard and select this build.
  2. Generate a trial or lifetime key for your Product ID + Fingerprint.
  3. Get the key into the EA — two ways:
    • Paste it into the InpLicenseKey input (EA properties → Inputs tab), or
    • Download the .key file, put it in MetaTrader's MQL5/Files folder, then click Import .key file in the activation panel.
  4. The EA reloads and shows TRIAL ACTIVE (or LIFETIME) with the expiry date.

The activation panel has no key field — MetaTrader's on-chart text boxes cap at 63 characters, far shorter than a license key. Use the InpLicenseKey input or the .key file import instead.

Where is the MQL5/Files folder? In MetaTrader: File → Open Data Folder, then open MQL5/Files. The MQL5 sandbox only lets the EA read files from there — a .key left in Downloads is unreachable. Typical paths:

  • Windows: C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Roaming\MetaQuotes\Terminal\<terminal-id>\MQL5\Files
  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/net.metaquotes.wine.metatrader5/drive_c/Program Files/MetaTrader 5/MQL5/Files

Is the fingerprint safe to share? Yes. It is a one-way SHA-256 hash of your account number and broker server name — nothing else. It contains no password, no credentials, and your login number cannot be reversed from it. It only lets us bind one license key to one account, so you can paste it on the activation page without any risk.

License status reference

Status Meaning
NOT LICENSED No key set, or key invalid for this broker account
TRIAL ACTIVE Trial key valid, days remaining displayed
EXPIRED Trial key past expiry — buy a lifetime to continue
LIFETIME Wildcard key, no expiry, any broker account

3. Enable AutoTrading

Live trading only — backtests in Strategy Tester ignore this flag.

Two things must be enabled before any trade is executed in live mode:

  1. Global AutoTrading — toolbar button, top of MT5 window. Must be green.
  2. Per-EA Allow Trading — when attaching the EA, in the Common tab tick Allow Algo Trading.

If either is off, the EA still runs but blocks order submission with a clear log message.

4. Trading Settings

These inputs control order execution. They appear only for strategy EAs (not indicators).

Input Default What it does
Lots 0.01 Volume per order
MagicNumber 12345 Identifier — keep unique per EA on the same account
MaxSlippage 30 Max acceptable slippage in points
EnableTrailingStop false Trail stops as price moves in your favour

5. Visual Settings

Input Default What it does
ShowLicenseStatus true Top-right license badge
ShowDebugLabels false Print Pine label.new() calls on chart
LineThickness 1 Width of plot lines

6. Symbol Mappings

Pine Script uses TradingView symbol names (e.g. BINANCE:BTCUSDT) while your broker uses its own (e.g. BTCUSD, BTCUSD.r). Map them via the SymbolMap input.

Format

PineTicker=BrokerSymbol;PineTicker2=BrokerSymbol2

Examples

Pine ticker Common broker symbols
BINANCE:BTCUSDT BTCUSD, BTCUSDc, BTCUSD.r
OANDA:EURUSD EURUSD, EURUSD.s
XETR:DAX GER40, DE40

Multiple mappings are comma-separated. Unmapped symbols fall back to the Pine name.

7. Timezone

Pine Script runs on TradingView's servers (UTC+0 or exchange time). Your MT5 broker server is usually UTC+2 or UTC+3 — this affects session-based logic (e.g. time() filters). Use the BrokerTimezoneOffset input (in hours) to align them.

Common broker timezones

Broker family Server time
ICMarkets, Pepperstone, FP Markets, Vantage UTC+2 (winter) / UTC+3 (summer)
FTMO, MFF (most prop firms) UTC+2 / UTC+3
Exness UTC+0
Saxo Bank UTC+0

Check your broker's docs for the exact offset and whether they observe DST.

8. Webhook Alerts

The EA can POST an HTTP request every time your Pine Script calls alert().

Setup

  1. Set WebhookUrl to your endpoint (e.g. https://my.server/hook).
  2. In MT5: Tools → Options → Expert Advisors, tick Allow WebRequest for listed URLs, add your host.
  3. Restart the EA.

Payload format

The EA sends a JSON POST with the alert message:

{
  "symbol": "EURUSD",
  "timeframe": "M5",
  "message": "RSI cross long",
  "price": 1.0875,
  "time": "2026-04-30T08:15:00Z"
}

FAQ

Why does the EA show NOT LICENSED after I changed broker? Trial licenses are bound to the broker account fingerprint. Re-activate the EA on the new account, or buy a lifetime license to use it on any account.

Can I run multiple EAs on the same account? Yes — give each one a unique MagicNumber.

Does the backtest match TradingView's? Close, not identical: MT5 strategy tester uses tick-by-tick data from your broker, TradingView uses bar-close. Results can diverge on intrabar logic.