# 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. Published 2026-11-12 by ElWizard for fxapis. Canonical: https://fxapis.com/blog/mt5-ai-assistant-vs-hosted-mcp-connector ## In short - Since build 6060 (July 2026), the MetaTrader 5 desktop terminal has a built-in AI Assistant and its own MCP servers; build 6230 (24 September 2026) is the newest we found. - It reads your account, charts and market data, runs Strategy Tester backtests, writes MQL5 in MetaEditor, and trades if you allow it — with a setting to confirm every trade. - Its MCP servers listen on your own computer (127.0.0.1), so the terminal must be running; MetaQuotes documents Claude Code and Codex as outside clients. - A hosted MCP connector runs the terminal in the cloud: Claude and ChatGPT connect by sign-in, from the web or your phone, with your computer off. - Use MetaTrader's assistant for MQL5 code and backtests, and a hosted connector for your accounts from anywhere; the two work side by side. 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](https://www.metatrader5.com/en/releasenotes/terminal) 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](https://www.metatrader5.com/en/news/2456)). ## What it can do MetaQuotes' [capabilities page](https://www.metatrader5.com/en/terminal/help/mcp_and_ai/capabilities) 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](https://www.metatrader5.com/en/terminal/help/mcp_and_ai/configuration)). ## 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](https://www.metaquotes.net/en/metatrader5/news/5538)). ## 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) or `https://api.fxapis.com/mcp` in 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](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/12584461)). [Connect Claude and ChatGPT to MetaTrader 5](https://fxapis.com/blog/connect-ai-agents-to-metatrader-5-mcp) has the setup steps. ## Side by side | | 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](https://fxapis.com/blog/connect-mt5-to-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](https://fxapis.com/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?](https://fxapis.com/blog/trade-mt5-with-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](https://www.metatrader5.com/en/releasenotes/terminal): builds [6060](https://www.metatrader5.com/en/releasenotes/terminal/2447), [6090](https://www.metatrader5.com/en/releasenotes/terminal/2450), [6140](https://www.metatrader5.com/en/releasenotes/terminal/2459), [6180](https://www.metatrader5.com/en/releasenotes/terminal/2464), [6230](https://www.metatrader5.com/en/releasenotes/terminal/2470). - MetaQuotes, [AI Assistant capabilities](https://www.metatrader5.com/en/terminal/help/mcp_and_ai/capabilities) and [configuration](https://www.metatrader5.com/en/terminal/help/mcp_and_ai/configuration). - MetaQuotes, [build 6060 announcement](https://www.metaquotes.net/en/metatrader5/news/5538) (23 July 2026) and [1 trillion tokens](https://www.metatrader5.com/en/news/2456) (11 August 2026). - OpenAI, [Connecting custom MCP servers in ChatGPT](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/12584461). ## Questions ### Does MetaTrader 5 have a built-in AI assistant? Yes. Since build 6060 (23 July 2026) the MT5 desktop terminal and MetaEditor include an AI Assistant, backed by MCP servers that give it access to charts, market data, your account and the Strategy Tester. ### Can the MetaTrader 5 AI Assistant place trades? Yes, if you allow it. Its trading setting can execute trades, ask you to confirm each one, or block trading. Its tools cover market and pending orders, stop changes, closing positions and deleting orders. ### Can I use MetaTrader 5's MCP server from ChatGPT or Claude on my phone? Not as MetaQuotes documents it. The terminal's MCP server listens on 127.0.0.1 on your own computer, and the outside clients MetaQuotes gives settings for are Claude Code and Codex on that computer. A hosted MCP connector is what works from a phone. ### Is the MT5 AI Assistant free? Its default model, MQL5 Lite, is free with an MQL5.community account. If you enter your own key for OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini or another provider, that provider bills you for usage. ### Does the MT5 AI Assistant need my computer to be on? Yes. It runs inside the desktop terminal, and its MCP servers are on your computer, so the terminal has to be running for the assistant or an outside agent to reach your account.