Blog
TradeSmithy blog
Guides and updates on building, backtesting and selling MetaTrader Expert Advisors.
MQL5 Wizard vs a Visual EA Builder: Which Should You Use?
The MQL5 Wizard builds a free MT5 EA from Standard Library modules. How its weighted signals work, where it runs out, and when a visual builder fits better.
4 min readBuilding an EA for Gold (XAUUSD): What Is Different
Gold is not a currency pair with a bigger price. Contract size, point value, spread and volatility change how a gold EA must size and place its stops.
4 min readHow to Convert an MT4 EA to MT5 (and Why Converters Fail)
An .ex4 will not run on MT5, and MQL4 is not a dialect of MQL5. What actually has to change, when a converter is enough, and what to do with no source code.
4 min readBacktest vs Forward Test: What Each Proves About an EA
A backtest shows the rules worked on the past; a forward test shows they still work now, in live conditions. What each proves and how long to run them.
4 min readTrailing Stop EA for MT5: Logic, Code and Pitfalls
How an EA trailing stop works — activation, distance and step — with correct MQL5 code, how it differs from the terminal's own, and the errors to avoid.
4 min readGrid vs Martingale EA: The Math Behind the Blow-Up
Grid and martingale EAs post smooth equity curves until they don't. The arithmetic of lot growth and losing streaks, and what to do if you still want one.
4 min readFixing AI-Generated MQL5: The Compile Errors Models Make
The MetaEditor errors ChatGPT and Claude produce most often in MQL5 — what each message means, the MQL4 habit behind it, and the one-line fix.
5 min readConvert a TradingView Strategy to an MT5 Expert Advisor
Two ways to take a Pine Script strategy to MetaTrader 5 — a webhook bridge or a native rebuild — what each costs, and why results never match exactly.
4 min readIndicator to EA: Turn Any MT4/MT5 Indicator Into a Robot
Turn a built-in or custom indicator into an Expert Advisor without code — reading buffers, arrow indicators, the repainting trap, and what a converter can't do.
4 min readRSI Expert Advisor for MT5 and MT4: Build, Test, Export
Build an RSI EA without code — why "RSI below 30" is the wrong rule, entering on the turn instead, a trend filter, and making the levels inputs you can test.
4 min readEvery Tick vs Every Tick Based on Real Ticks in MT5
Every tick invents prices inside each minute; real ticks replays what your broker recorded. When the difference changes your result, and which to use.
4 min readHow to Make a Forex Robot for Free, From Scratch
Every tool you need to build, test and run a forex robot is free. The free route step by step, where free ends, and why phone robot-maker apps are a trap.
4 min readProp Firm EA Rules: Build an EA That Survives a Challenge
Most prop firms allow Expert Advisors, with limits that end accounts fast. The rules EAs break most, and how to build daily loss and drawdown guards in.
5 min readWhy Is My EA Not Trading? A 12-Point MT5 and MT4 Checklist
The EA is attached, the market is moving, and nothing happens. Twelve causes in the order worth checking, with the MT5 and MT4 error codes that name each one.
4 min readMoving Average Crossover EA for MT5 and MT4: Build It Free
Build a moving average crossover EA without code — detecting the cross correctly, one trade at a time, exits, a trend filter, and settings as inputs.
4 min readHow to Backtest an Expert Advisor in MT5, Step by Step
Every Strategy Tester setting that changes the result, the report numbers that matter, and the mistakes that make a backtest look better than it is.
5 min readfxDreema Alternative: When a Typed Graph Beats Blocks
fxDreema is a mature block builder for MT4 and MT5. Where a typed node graph with an AI assistant does better, where fxDreema is stronger, and how to choose.
5 min readHow to Create an Expert Advisor for MT4 Without Coding
A step-by-step guide to building a MetaTrader 4 EA without writing MQL4 — from rules to a compiled .ex4 on your chart, plus the MT4 traps that compile cleanly.
5 min readCan ChatGPT Write an MT5 Expert Advisor? What Breaks
It can draft MQL5 that compiles — sometimes. The ways AI-written EAs fail, why each happens, and a workflow that catches them before real money does.
5 min readHow to Sell an Expert Advisor in 2026 (and Keep It Yours)
MQL5 Market, your own site, freelance work or a strategy marketplace — where to sell an EA, what each one takes, and how to stop your work being resold.
5 min readWhat Is an Expert Advisor (EA) in Forex Trading?
An Expert Advisor is a program that runs inside MetaTrader and trades by rules. How EAs work, what they can and can't do, and how to get or build one.
4 min readCan You Make Money With a Trading Bot? An Honest Answer
Some bots make money, most bought ones don't, and no backtest guarantees either. What decides the outcome, and the realistic ways people earn from EAs.
5 min readBest Expert Advisor Builders in 2026, Honestly Compared
fxDreema, EA Builder Pro, EA Studio, StrategyQuant X, the MQL5 Wizard, ChatGPT and TradeSmithy compared on what each builds, exports, tests and costs.
7 min readHow to Use AI to Create a Trading Bot
How to Use AI to Create a Trading Bot Artificial intelligence is changing how traders build and automate trading strategies. In the past, creating a trading bot for MetaTrader 5 usually meant…
14 min readHow to Turn a Trading Strategy Into an MT5 Expert Advisor With No Code
How to Turn a Trading Strategy Into an MT5 Expert Advisor With No Code Have you ever had a trading strategy that works well on paper but wished you could automate it in MetaTrader 5? Traditionally,…
10 min readHow to build a MetaTrader Expert Advisor without writing MQL
A node graph is a program. Here is what each node type does, how the connections become code, and what you get when you press export.
4 min readEvery indicator parameter can be a wire, not a typed-in number
An RSI period does not have to be 14 forever. Wire it to a global parameter and it becomes tunable in the terminal — and optimisable later — without touching the graph.
3 min readMQL4 vs MQL5: what actually changes when you switch platform
MQL5 is not MQL4 with a bigger version number. Orders, indicators, buffer numbering and even argument order differ — and the worst differences compile cleanly.
4 min readHow to size a position from account balance, not a fixed lot
A hardcoded 0.1 lot means something different on every account. Here is how to read balance, tick value and the broker's own limits into the graph and size a trade from them.
6 min readSelling a strategy in the marketplace — what the buyer actually receives
An editable graph, not a locked binary. Here is what transfers on a sale, what a listing can never leak before payment, and how the commission works.
4 min readHow to use your own custom indicator in an Expert Advisor
Wire a compiled .ex4 or .ex5 into a strategy through iCustom — what a definition needs, why the upload is required, and what a buyer receives.
6 min readWhat the AI assistant can and cannot change in your strategy
It edits the node graph directly, not a chat log. Here is the envelope it works inside, what gets rejected before it reaches your canvas, and how to ask for changes that land.
5 min readWhat we do not claim about Expert Advisor performance
No win rates, no returns, no testimonials with numbers attached. Here is why a tool for building trading bots should be measured on what it builds, not on what it promises.
4 min readWhy the builder refused that connection
Every wiring rule on the canvas and the reason behind it — port types, one edge per input, the one port that takes many, cycles, and why an event is not a condition.
6 min read