https://tickwire.io/blog/ Plain-English guides to algorithmic trading on MetaTrader 4 and 5: AI agents, MCP, Python, order safety, risk controls and broker time. en https://tickwire.io/blog/ai-agent-risk-controls/ https://tickwire.io/blog/ai-agent-risk-controls/ Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT The controls that keep an AI trading agent inside its limits: scoped and read-only keys, kill switches, a fail-closed pre-trade hook, idempotent orders and an audit log. AI agents Risk https://tickwire.io/blog/ai-apps-that-can-trade/ https://tickwire.io/blog/ai-apps-that-can-trade/ Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Which chat apps and developer tools can connect to a MetaTrader account and place orders, as of October 2026, and what to check before you let one trade. AI agents Basics https://tickwire.io/blog/backtest-vs-live-results/ https://tickwire.io/blog/backtest-vs-live-results/ Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT The usual reasons a strategy earns less live than in its backtest: costs, slippage, data, time zones, overfitting and outages, and how to measure the gap. Basics Risk https://tickwire.io/blog/broker-time-is-not-utc/ https://tickwire.io/blog/broker-time-is-not-utc/ Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why MetaTrader servers often run on UTC+2 in winter and UTC+3 in summer, how that shifts candles, deals and daily loss limits, and how to convert broker time correctly. Engineering MT5 MT4 https://tickwire.io/blog/first-mt5-bot-in-python/ https://tickwire.io/blog/first-mt5-bot-in-python/ Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT A small Python trading bot for MT5 over plain REST: health checks, candles, a toy moving-average signal, orders that can't double, and correct handling of unknown outcomes. Python MT5 https://tickwire.io/blog/getting-started-algo-trading/ https://tickwire.io/blog/getting-started-algo-trading/ Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT What algorithmic trading is, the parts every trading system needs, how to write rules a computer can follow, and how to test and run them without avoidable losses. Basics https://tickwire.io/blog/hosted-terminal-vs-vps/ https://tickwire.io/blog/hosted-terminal-vs-vps/ Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Running MT4 or MT5 on your own VPS or using a hosted terminal API: an objective comparison of cost, control, maintenance and monitoring. MT4 MT5 Engineering https://tickwire.io/blog/is-my-bot-really-connected/ https://tickwire.io/blog/is-my-bot-really-connected/ Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT A running MetaTrader terminal is not a working one. How to tell connected from merely alive, using the broker link, account reads and price movement, on MT4 and MT5. Engineering MT5 MT4 https://tickwire.io/blog/mt4-mt5-order-types/ https://tickwire.io/blog/mt4-mt5-order-types/ Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Market, limit, stop and stop limit orders on MT4 and MT5, plus stop loss, take profit, expiry and fill rules, with the API fields that set each one. MT4 MT5 Basics https://tickwire.io/blog/mt4-vs-mt5-for-algo-trading/ https://tickwire.io/blog/mt4-vs-mt5-for-algo-trading/ Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT How MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 differ for automated trading: order types, positions, timeframes, backtesting, data and code, and how to choose. MT4 MT5 Basics https://tickwire.io/blog/mt5-python-on-mac-and-linux/ https://tickwire.io/blog/mt5-python-on-mac-and-linux/ Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT The official MetaTrader 5 Python library needs Windows. Here are the honest options for Mac and Linux users: a Windows VM, a VPS, or a hosted REST API. Python MT5 https://tickwire.io/blog/prop-firms-and-ip-addresses/ https://tickwire.io/blog/prop-firms-and-ip-addresses/ Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why prop firms often look at IP addresses and devices, what shared and dedicated addresses mean, and why your own firm's written rules are the only answer that counts. Risk Basics https://tickwire.io/blog/retries-never-trade-twice/ https://tickwire.io/blog/retries-never-trade-twice/ Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why a timed-out order request may still have filled, and how idempotency keys, an honest unknown result and careful reconciling keep a retry from opening a second position. Engineering Risk https://tickwire.io/blog/safe-prompts-ai-trading/ https://tickwire.io/blog/safe-prompts-ai-trading/ Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Prompts that make an AI trading assistant check before it acts, state orders exactly, handle unclear results, and never retry into a second trade, plus prompts to avoid. AI agents Risk https://tickwire.io/blog/what-is-mcp-for-traders/ https://tickwire.io/blog/what-is-mcp-for-traders/ Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT A plain guide to the Model Context Protocol: how AI apps call tools, what a trade tool call looks like, local vs hosted servers, and the risks traders should know. AI agents Basics https://tickwire.io/blog/why-ai-assistant-wont-trade/ https://tickwire.io/blog/why-ai-assistant-wont-trade/ Tue, 20 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why chat assistants refuse to place trades: no broker connection by default, safety rules, the need for an explicit tool, and confirmations for consequential actions. AI agents Basics