Get it running in five minutes

I have an EA for MetaTrader 5 — how do I install it?

Four steps. The third one is the one that breaks silently: without WebRequest the licence cannot validate, MetaTrader only reports error 4014, and the EA simply never runs.

1. 1

   Download the file

   Your account → Downloads. You need the .mq5 or .ex5 file. If the list shows nothing, the licence has not reached your account yet — write back and we send it by hand.

2. 2

   Copy it into MT5

   In MetaTrader: File → Open Data Folder → MQL5 → Experts. Paste the file in. Then right-click the Navigator and press Refresh, or the EA will not show up.

3. 3

   Allow WebRequest — the step that breaks everything

   Tools → Options → Expert Advisors → tick “Allow WebRequest for the list of following URLs” and add https://evtradelabs.com. Without this the licence never validates and MT5 only says “error 4014”, with no other explanation. This is the single most common reason an EA does nothing.

4. 4

   Drag it to a chart and paste the key

   Drag the EA onto a chart, then paste your licence key into the inputs. It should show your account number in the chart corner within a few seconds.

I have the Trader Vault — how do I add a Pine Script to TradingView?

Five steps, and there is nothing to install. The copy in the Vault is the complete script: open the Pine Editor, paste it, add it to the chart, save it. Start with one script, get it on a chart, and only then judge it.

1. 1

   Open the Pine Editor

   In TradingView, at the bottom of any chart, click Pine Editor. If you have never used it, it opens empty — that is normal.

2. 2

   Paste the script

   Delete whatever is in the editor, then paste the whole script you copied from the Vault. It has to be the entire thing, from //@version to the last line.

3. 3

   Add it to the chart

   Click “Add to chart”. You get a settings dialog: choose the timeframe there, not before. Then press OK.

4. 4

   Save it so it survives

   Click “Save as script” and give it a name. Without this the script disappears when you close the tab, and you will think you lost it.

5. 5

   Use the timeframe the cost allows

   This is the part most people skip. A script on a timeframe whose spread is 40 % of the candle cannot work, whatever the signals say. Check the table below before you judge a script.

What do I get once it is running?

The free EA sizes your lot and warns you at your daily loss limit; it never opens or closes a trade. The strategies are the part that trades: eight EAs for MetaTrader, and a five-strategy lab for TradingView, each with the research that decided whether it was worth keeping.