What Are MQL4 and MT4? Beginner’s Guide to Building Your First Expert Advisor (EA)

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Investment and Financial Freedom › What Are MQL4 and MT4? Beginner’s Guide to Building Your First Expert Advisor (EA)

What Are MQL4 and MT4?

MQL4 (MetaQuotes Language 4) is a programming language used to develop Expert Advisors (EAs), Indicators, Scripts, and Custom Functions on MetaTrader 4 (MT4) — one of the most popular Forex trading platforms.

• MetaTrader 4 (MT4) – A Forex and CFD trading software equipped with charting tools and automated trading capabilities.
• MQL4 – A programming language for developing automated trading bots (EAs) and custom indicators.

How to Start Writing an EA on MT4

1. Install MetaTrader 4 and MetaEditor

• Download MT4 from your broker’s website.
• Open MT4 and press F4 to launch MetaEditor (the coding environment for MQL4).

Create a New EA File

• In MetaEditor, go to File > New.
• Select Expert Advisor (template).
• Enter a name for your file, e.g. MyFirstEA.
• Click Next > Finish.

Basic Structure of an EA

An Expert Advisor consists of three main functions:

// 1. Define EA settings #property strict // 2. Initialization function (runs once) int OnInit() { Print("EA Loaded Successfully"); return INIT_SUCCEEDED; } // 3. Main function (runs every tick) void OnTick() { Print("New Tick Received: ", Bid); } // 4. Deinitialization function (runs when EA is removed) void OnDeinit(const int reason) { Print("EA Removed"); }

How to Test Your EA in MT4

After finishing your code, click Compile to convert it into an .ex4 file. Make sure there are no errors — your EA is now ready to use!

Then, open MT4 and go to Navigator > Expert Advisors. Drag your newly created EA onto the desired chart — your EA is now running.

Make sure the smiley icon in the top-right corner of your chart is smiling 😊 If it’s not, that means automated trading isn’t enabled yet.

Go to Tools > Options and enable One Click Trading.

Next, open the Expert Advisors tab and tick Allow automated trading. Reattach your EA to the chart — once the smiley face appears, it’s active!

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