MetaTrader 5's AI Assistant vs a Hosted MCP Connector: What Each Can Do
MetaTrader 5 now has a built-in AI Assistant and its own MCP server. What it can do, where it runs, and when a hosted MCP connector fits better.
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Since July 2026, MetaTrader 5 has its own AI Assistant and its own MCP server. That changes the question many traders ask — "how do I connect Claude or ChatGPT to MT5?" — so this post sets out what MetaQuotes built, where it runs, and where a hosted MCP connector such as fxapis's still fits. Every MetaTrader fact below comes from MetaQuotes' release notes and help pages, checked on 12 November 2026; the features change with each build, so check the release notes for anything newer.
What MetaTrader 5's AI Assistant is
The AI Assistant is a chat built into the MetaTrader 5 desktop terminal and MetaEditor. Behind it, the terminal runs MCP servers — Model Context Protocol, the open standard AI apps use to call tools — that give the assistant, and other AI agents, access to charts, market data, your account and the Strategy Tester.
| Build | Date | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| 6060 | 23 July 2026 | First release build with the AI Assistant and native MCP support |
| 6090 | 30 July 2026 | More tools (indicators on charts); the assistant is turned off on Windows 7 |
| 6140 | 20 August 2026 | Many more AI providers to choose from |
| 6180 | 3 September 2026 | Strategy Tester tools: reports, optimisation, settings, logs |
| 6230 | 24 September 2026 | Expert Advisor inputs, launching EAs and scripts on charts, the economic calendar |
MetaQuotes reported that traders used 1 trillion tokens in the assistant in its first three weeks (MetaQuotes, 11 August 2026).
What it can do
MetaQuotes' capabilities page lists the tools. In short:
- Read your account, open positions and history, charts, indicators, Market Watch, price history, news and the economic calendar.
- Trade: market and pending orders, stop loss and take profit changes, closing positions, deleting orders.
- Test: run backtests and optimisations in the Strategy Tester and read the reports and logs.
- Code: in MetaEditor it writes, compiles and debugs MQL5.
What it may do is a setting. Trading can be allowed, set to ask you to confirm each trade, or switched off. Web access can be full, read-only or off, and shell commands (PowerShell, Python) have their own switch (configuration help).
Where it runs — and what that means
The AI Assistant lives in the desktop terminal. Its MCP servers listen on your own computer — the terminal's at 127.0.0.1:22346, MetaEditor's at 127.0.0.1:22345 — so:
- The terminal has to be running, and the computer on, for the assistant or any agent to reach your account.
- Outside AI apps connect from the same computer. MetaQuotes gives ready-made settings for Claude Code and OpenAI Codex, which connect with a key the terminal generates.
- Phones and the browser: MetaQuotes' notes describe the assistant in the desktop terminal and MetaEditor. We found nothing about the web terminal or the iOS and Android apps as of 12 November 2026.
Which AI model it uses
By default, the assistant uses MetaQuotes' own MQL5 Lite model, free with an MQL5.community account. You can instead enter your own key for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, DeepSeek, a local Ollama model or one of the providers added in build 6140; usage is then billed by that provider (MetaQuotes, 23 July 2026).
A hosted MCP connector, for comparison
A hosted connector runs the MT5 terminal in the cloud instead of on your computer. With fxapis:
- Claude and ChatGPT connect by signing in — no key to copy, no terminal to keep open. Add
https://api.fxapis.com/mcp/insights(read-only, no trading tools at all) orhttps://api.fxapis.com/mcpin the app's connector settings. - Your computer can be off. The terminals run on fxapis's servers, so the assistant answers from the web or your phone.
- Any MT5 broker, several accounts. One connector covers every account in your workspace.
- Trading is off unless you allow it at sign-in, and then only on the accounts you pick, with an optional maximum order size and number of orders a day. It needs two-factor, and Revoke ends access on the app's next request.
- No Strategy Tester and no MQL5 coding. That is what MetaTrader's own assistant is for.
What ChatGPT allows depends on your ChatGPT plan: OpenAI lists full MCP, including actions, for Business, Enterprise and Edu, and read-only fetch for Pro (OpenAI help). Connect Claude and ChatGPT to MetaTrader 5 has the setup steps.
Side by side
| Aspect | MT5 AI Assistant and MCP server | Hosted MCP connector (fxapis) |
|---|---|---|
| Runs | In the desktop terminal on your computer | In the cloud |
| Computer must be on | Yes | No |
| Works from your phone | Not documented | Yes — for example ChatGPT on Android |
| AI apps | Its own chat; Claude Code and Codex on the same computer | Claude (web, desktop, Claude Code) and ChatGPT |
| AI model | MQL5 Lite (free) or your own provider key | The model in your Claude or ChatGPT plan |
| Trading permission | Allow, confirm each trade, or off | Off unless allowed; per account, with size and daily caps |
| Strategy Tester, MQL5 code | Yes | No |
| Accounts | The one logged in to that terminal | Every account in the workspace, any broker |
| Cost | Free default model; your provider bills your own key | An fxapis plan (pricing) |
Which to use
- You write or test Expert Advisors: MetaTrader's assistant. Coding, compiling and backtesting in MetaEditor and the Strategy Tester is what it does best, and the default model is free.
- You want Claude Code on your trading PC to see your terminal: MetaTrader's local MCP server, with the settings MetaQuotes provides.
- You want to ask about your accounts from your phone, or with your computer off: a hosted connector. Can you trade MT5 with your computer off? explains the trade-off.
- You run several accounts, or several brokers: a hosted connector, which sees them all through one sign-in.
They don't exclude each other: you can build and test in MetaTrader with its assistant, and check positions and risk from your phone through a hosted connector.
Keep an AI away from money you can't afford to lose
Whichever you use: start read-only, allow trading on a demo account first, and keep trade confirmation on. An AI assistant can misread a request or a chart; MetaQuotes itself says its answers are for information only and are not investment advice.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Nothing here is investment advice.
Sources
Checked 12 November 2026.
- MetaQuotes, MetaTrader 5 release notes: builds 6060, 6090, 6140, 6180, 6230.
- MetaQuotes, AI Assistant capabilities and configuration.
- MetaQuotes, build 6060 announcement (23 July 2026) and 1 trillion tokens (11 August 2026).
- OpenAI, Connecting custom MCP servers in ChatGPT.