Meta-Trader-MCP

One MCP server for MetaTrader 5 — on every platform. Windows native · macOS/Linux via Wine · or a remote bridge to any Windows host.

Meta-Trader-MCP exposes a unified AI interface to MetaTrader 5 over the Model Context Protocol: live quotes, historical candles, technical indicators, order execution, position management, and headless Strategy Tester backtests — all behind a mandatory risk interceptor.

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⚠️ Risk disclaimer (read this first)

This software can place real orders against a live brokerage account and can cause real financial loss. It is provided as is, with no warranty and no financial advice of any kind — see DISCLAIMER.md.

Safety defaults:

• Trading is OFF by default. The server starts read-only; every state-changing tool is rejected until you explicitly set MTM_ENABLE_TRADING=true (or pass --enable-trading).
• Every order passes a non-bypassable risk interceptor: max-lot cap, equity-drawdown ceiling, payload guardrails and rate limiting.
• Credentials are read only from the environment / OS keychain and are never logged (SECURITY.md).

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Quick start (Claude Desktop)

There are two ways to install in Claude Desktop. Both end with the server loading automatically when the app starts — pick whichever you prefer.

Option A — config entry (most reliable)

Point Claude Desktop at the installed CLI. First install it once:

brew install shubhvisputek/tap/meta-trader-mcp     # macOS (Homebrew)
# or, any OS with uv:
uv tool install meta-trader-mcp                     # gives a `meta-trader-mcp` on PATH

Then add this to claude_desktop_config.json (Settings → Developer → Edit Config), using the absolute path to the binary — Claude Desktop launches servers with a minimal PATH, so a bare command name often isn't found:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "meta-trader-mcp": {
      "command": "/opt/homebrew/bin/meta-trader-mcp",
      "args": ["serve", "--transport", "stdio"],
      "env": { "MTM_MODE": "auto", "MTM_ENABLE_TRADING": "false" }
    }
  }
}

Find your path with which meta-trader-mcp. Restart Claude Desktop (fully quit, ⌘Q) and the server appears under Settings → Developer.

Option B — one-click .mcpb bundle

1. Download the .mcpb for your platform from the latest release (-macos-arm64, -windows-x64, -linux-x64).
2. Double-click it; Claude Desktop installs it and prompts for settings (the MT5 password is stored in the OS keychain, never in a file).
3. Done. It needs python3 (3.10–3.12) on PATH — the bundle carries every other dependency.

Either way, you don't run anything to start the server. Claude Desktop launches it over stdio when the app opens and stops it when the app closes. No terminal, no autostart, no background service.

Which to pick? Option A is the most robust (it reuses a normal install and sidesteps Claude Desktop's bundle handling). Option B is the zero-prior- install path. If a .mcpb double-click ever fails to import (e.g. "reply was never sent" on an older/very large build), use Option A.

If MetaTrader 5 isn't running yet, that's fine — see the mental model below.

How it works (mental model)

Claude Desktop / MCP client          (you chat)
        │  spawns on app launch, stdio
        ▼
meta-trader-mcp serve                (this package)
        │  connects lazily, on the FIRST tool call
        ▼
MetaTrader 5 terminal                (your broker connection)

• The MCP client owns the server's lifecycle — the server "loads with the LLM".

• The server never requires MT5 at startup. The first tool call connects; if the terminal is down you get a structured, non-fatal answer:

  { "status": "ERROR", "code": "MT5_NOT_RUNNING",
    "message": "MetaTrader 5 terminal is not running. Start MT5 and retry." }
  

  Start MT5 and ask again — the same call now succeeds, no restart needed.

Install matrix

You are…	Recommended install
A Claude Desktop user	Config entry (Option A) or one-click .mcpb (Option B) above
Using Cursor / Claude Code / another MCP client	uvx config snippet (below) — zero install
A developer (Windows, trading)	pip install "meta-trader-mcp[windows]"
A developer (macOS/Linux)	pip install meta-trader-mcp + local-wine or remote-bridge mode
Running the Windows bridge companion	pip install "meta-trader-mcp[remote]" on the Windows box
Wanting start-with-MT5 / always-on serving	add the [autostart] extra

# Developers / virtualenvs
pip install meta-trader-mcp                 # base (macOS/Linux/Windows) — lean
pip install "meta-trader-mcp[windows]"      # Windows: pulls the MetaTrader5 binding
pip install "meta-trader-mcp[remote]"       # remote-bridge HTTP companion (FastAPI/uvicorn)
pip install "meta-trader-mcp[autostart]"    # psutil-based supervisor
pip install "meta-trader-mcp[pandas]"       # MT5Client dataframe history helpers
pip install "meta-trader-mcp[fastmcp]"      # the standalone FastMCP framework (optional)

# Isolated app install (recommended for end users on a workstation)
pipx install "meta-trader-mcp[windows]"

# Zero-install run (no global state) — great for MCP client configs
uvx --from "meta-trader-mcp[windows]" meta-trader-mcp serve

The MetaTrader5 binding is an optional [windows] extra, so the base package installs cleanly on macOS/Linux/CI — importing meta_trader_mcp never raises a Windows-only ImportError.

Per-client configuration

Any MCP client that reads a JSON config gets the same client-managed launch with one entry:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "meta-trader-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--from", "meta-trader-mcp[windows]", "meta-trader-mcp", "serve", "--transport", "stdio"],
      "env": { "MTM_MODE": "auto", "MTM_ENABLE_TRADING": "false" }
    }
  }
}

Client	Config file location
Claude Desktop (manual)	%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows) / ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS)
Claude Code	.mcp.json in your project, or claude mcp add meta-trader-mcp -- uvx --from "meta-trader-mcp[windows]" meta-trader-mcp serve
Cursor	~/.cursor/mcp.json or .cursor/mcp.json per project
Other MCP hosts	Same command/args/env triple in the host's MCP config

On macOS/Linux replace meta-trader-mcp[windows] with plain meta-trader-mcp and set MTM_MODE to local-wine or remote-bridge.

Runtime modes

Mode	When to pick it
windows-native	You run MT5 on this Windows machine. Auto-selected by auto. Direct, in-process binding — lowest latency.
local-wine	macOS/Linux with MT5 installed under Wine. Explicit opt-in: --mode local-wine.
remote-bridge	MT5 runs on a Windows VPS/VM elsewhere. --mode remote-bridge --host <ip> --port 8080.
auto (default)	Windows → windows-native. Anywhere else the server asks you to choose instead of guessing.

local-wine setup (macOS/Linux)

1. Install Wine (brew install --cask wine-stable / your distro package).
2. Install MT5 into a dedicated prefix: WINEPREFIX=~/.mt5 wine64 mt5setup.exe (the server expects the masdevid-style layout ~/.mt5/drive_c/Program Files/MetaTrader 5/terminal64.exe; override with MT5_TERMINAL_PATH).
3. Install a Windows Python inside the prefix and the bridge package: WINEPREFIX=~/.mt5 wine64 python.exe -m pip install "meta-trader-mcp[remote,windows]"
4. Run the in-prefix bridge once per session (or let the adapter launch the terminal for you): WINEPREFIX=~/.mt5 wine64 python.exe -m meta_trader_mcp.main bridge --port 18812
5. Start your MCP client with MTM_MODE=local-wine. Tool calls now route host → loopback bridge → MT5 under Wine.

remote-bridge setup

On the Windows host next to MT5:

pip install "meta-trader-mcp[remote,windows]"
meta-trader-mcp bridge --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8080

On your machine: MTM_MODE=remote-bridge, MTM_REMOTE_HOST=<windows-ip>, MTM_REMOTE_PORT=8080. A Docker recipe for the client side ships in docker-compose.yml.

Plain HTTP is acceptable only on a trusted LAN. For anything else put the bridge behind TLS (MTM_REMOTE_USE_TLS=true + a reverse proxy).

Configuration reference

All settings come from environment variables or a local .env (see .env.example). CLI flags override the environment.

Variable	Default	Meaning
MTM_MODE	auto	auto | windows-native | local-wine | remote-bridge
MTM_ENABLE_TRADING	false	Must be true for any state-changing tool
MTM_TRANSPORT	stdio	stdio (client-managed) | http (background/shared)
MTM_HTTP_HOST	127.0.0.1	HTTP bind host (loopback by default — keep it that way)
MTM_HTTP_PORT	8000	HTTP bind port
MTM_WATCH_PROCESS	terminal64.exe	Process the supervise command watches
MTM_STOP_WITH_MT5	true	Stop the supervised server when MT5 exits
MT5_LOGIN	—	MT5 account number (optional; terminal session reused if unset)
MT5_PASSWORD	—	MT5 password. Keychain via .mcpb; never logged
MT5_SERVER	—	Broker server name
MT5_TERMINAL_PATH	—	Explicit terminal64.exe path (native/wine)
MTM_WINE_PREFIX	~/.mt5	Wine prefix containing MT5
MTM_WINE_BINARY	wine64	Wine launcher binary
MTM_REMOTE_HOST	—	Companion bridge host (remote-bridge mode)
MTM_REMOTE_PORT	8080	Companion bridge port
MTM_MAX_LOT	10.0	Risk: max volume of a single order
MTM_MAX_DRAWDOWN_PCT	5.0	Risk: equity-drawdown ceiling blocking new entries

Credential safety: secrets live in the environment / OS keychain only. .env is gitignored; the settings object masks the password in any debug output; tests use mocks exclusively.

Tool reference

All tools return JSON. State-changing tools (marked ⚡) pass the risk interceptor first and require MTM_ENABLE_TRADING=true.

Market data (read-only)

Tool	Parameters	Example prompt
get_market_status	—	"Is my MT5 connected? What's the latency?"
get_historical_candles	symbol, timeframe (M1…MN1), count	"Show me the last 50 H1 candles for EURUSD"
get_live_ticks	symbol	"What's the current spread on XAUUSD?"
compute_indicator	symbol, timeframe, indicator (SMA/EMA/RSI/MACD), period	"Compute the 14-period RSI on GBPUSD H4"

Example response (get_historical_candles, latest candle mirrored at the top level for single-candle reads):

{
  "symbol": "EURUSD", "timeframe": "H1", "count": 1,
  "candles": [{ "time": 1774112000, "open": 1.1000, "high": 1.1050,
                "low": 1.0990, "close": 1.1020, "tick_volume": 500 }],
  "time": 1774112000, "open": 1.1, "high": 1.105, "low": 1.099,
  "close": 1.102, "tick_volume": 500
}

Trading ⚡

Tool	Parameters
place_market_order	symbol, volume, action (BUY/SELL), sl?, tp?, max_allowed_lot?
place_pending_order	symbol, volume, action, price, order_type (LIMIT/STOP), sl?, tp?
modify_position	ticket, sl?, tp?, trailing?
close_position	ticket, volume? (omit = close fully)

Success payload (canonical):

{ "status": "SUCCESS", "ticket": 99881122, "retcode": 10009, "comment": "Success" }

A rejected order is an exception payload, e.g. an oversize lot:

{ "status": "ERROR", "code": "RISK_VIOLATION",
  "message": "Volume target exceeds maximum allowed risk threshold: requested 100.0 lots > allowed 10.0 lots." }

Backtesting ⚡

Tool	Parameters
trigger_backtest	expert, symbol, from_date, to_date (YYYY.MM.DD), timeframe?, deposit?, leverage?
fetch_backtest_report	run_id

trigger_backtest writes a Strategy Tester .ini, launches the terminal headlessly (ShutdownTerminal=1) and returns a run_id; fetch_backtest_report parses the report into {profit_factor, max_drawdown, win_rate, net_profit, total_trades}.

Trading safety

1. Opt in deliberately. MTM_ENABLE_TRADING=true (env / .mcpb config toggle / --enable-trading). Until then every mutation returns TRADING_DISABLED.
2. Risk limits (MTM_MAX_LOT, MTM_MAX_DRAWDOWN_PCT) are enforced on every order, in front of the adapter — there is no code path around the interceptor. Closing/reducing positions is always allowed; opening new exposure past the drawdown ceiling is not.
3. Start on a demo account. Point MT5_LOGIN/MT5_SERVER at your broker's demo server until you trust your setup end to end.

Optional: always-on / autostart (advanced)

Most users should skip this — the client-managed default already starts the server with your LLM app.

Needed only when the server must outlive the client (shared server, HTTP-only client, headless VPS) or should track the MT5 terminal's lifecycle:

meta-trader-mcp install-autostart --on-boot     # always-on HTTP on 127.0.0.1:8000
meta-trader-mcp install-autostart --with-mt5    # start/stop together with MT5
meta-trader-mcp uninstall-autostart             # remove the artifact
meta-trader-mcp supervise --stop-with-mt5       # run the watcher in foreground

What gets written (templates):

• Windows — a Task Scheduler task at the least-privilege LIMITED level
• macOS — a user LaunchAgent ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.metatradermcp.server.plist
• Linux — a systemd user unit ~/.config/systemd/user/meta-trader-mcp.service (use loginctl enable-linger for always-on VPS boxes)

Autostart always serves HTTP on loopback (stdio has no client when the OS launches it) and never writes credentials anywhere.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Fix
MT5_NOT_RUNNING errors	Start the MT5 terminal, retry the call — no server restart needed.
Cannot auto-select a runtime on 'darwin'	You're not on Windows: pick --mode local-wine or --mode remote-bridge --host ….
MetaTrader5 binding is not installed	pip install "meta-trader-mcp[windows]" — on Windows only; the binding does not exist for macOS/Linux.
Client doesn't list the server	Check the client's MCP config path (table above), then restart the client; for uvx, confirm uv is on PATH.
.mcpb install fails / "reply was never sent"	The bundle was too large for Claude Desktop to unpack. Use the current slim bundle from the latest release, or switch to Option A (config entry pointing at the installed binary).
Port 8000 already in use (HTTP)	--port 9000 or MTM_HTTP_PORT=9000.
Wine: terminal64.exe not found	Install MT5 into the prefix or set MT5_TERMINAL_PATH to the exe inside drive_c.
Wine: bridge unreachable	Run the in-prefix bridge (local-wine setup step 4); the error message includes the exact command.
Orders rejected with TRADING_DISABLED	That's the safety default — see Trading safety.

Architecture & contributing

The codebase is hexagonal: role ports (protocols.py), pluggable registries (registry.py), one composition root (container.py), three runtime adapters behind one contract. Adding a tool/adapter/risk rule touches zero core files. Read docs/architecture.md, then CONTRIBUTING.md.

git clone https://github.com/shubhvisputek/meta-trader-mcp
cd meta-trader-mcp
uv venv && uv pip install -e ".[dev]"
pytest tests/ -v          # fully mocked; no MT5 or network needed
ruff check src tests

Releases are cut manually via the Release workflow (workflow_dispatch or a v* tag) — wheel + sdist to PyPI (OIDC), the .mcpb bundle and checksums to GitHub Releases.

Credits & license

MIT © Meta Trader MCP Contributors — see LICENSE.

This project deliberately reuses proven open source instead of reinventing it. It incorporates MIT-licensed code from, and owes its design to (NOTICE, THIRD_PARTY_LICENSES.md):

• ariadng/metatrader-mcp-server — the modular MT5 client core and the remote bridge shapes
• Qoyyuum/mcp-metatrader5-server — FastMCP tool/resource schemas and packaging conventions
• Cloudmeru/MetaTrader-5-MCP-Server — risk guardrails, rate limiting and the error taxonomy
• emerzon/mt-data-mcp — fast market-data reads and indicator semantics
• masdevid/mt5-quant — conceptual reference for headless MT5 under Wine (no code copied)

Not affiliated with MetaQuotes. MetaTrader is a trademark of MetaQuotes Ltd.