How to install an indicator in MetaTrader 5

The procedure takes thirty seconds. Finding the right folder, and working out why nothing appeared, is what actually costs people an afternoon — so both are covered here.

Last updated 2026-10-05

That is the whole procedure. Most of the difficulty is not the copying — it is that the folder is not where people look for it, and that a dozen different problems all present as “nothing happened”. Both are covered below.

The folder is not in Program Files

This is where most installations go wrong. MetaTrader 5 keeps your indicators, experts and scripts in a data folder that lives somewhere else entirely — on Windows, under AppData, in a directory named after a long hash:

C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Roaming\MetaQuotes\Terminal\<long hash>\MQL5\Indicators

You do not need to find that by hand, and you should not try. From inside the terminal use File → Open Data Folder and MT5 opens the correct one for you. That matters because if you have more than one MetaTrader installed, each has its own hash directory — and copying into the wrong one is the single most common reason an indicator never appears.

On a Mac

The official MetaQuotes Mac build runs MT5 inside a compatibility layer, so the path on disk is buried inside the application's own container. The method is the same: use File → Open Data Folder from inside MT5 and let it find the folder for you.

Step by step

1. In MetaTrader 5, click File → Open Data Folder.
2. Open MQL5, then Indicators.
3. Copy your .ex5 file in. If it came in a subfolder, you can keep the subfolder — it will show as a group in the Navigator.
4. Back in MT5, find the Navigator panel (Ctrl+N if it is hidden), right-click anywhere in it and choose Refresh. If that does not work, restart the terminal.
5. Expand Indicators, find yours, and drag it onto a chart.

When it does not show up

Work down this list in order — it is roughly ordered by how often each one is the answer.

You put an MT4 file into MT5

.ex4 and .mq4 are MetaTrader 4 files. They will never run in MetaTrader 5, no matter where you put them. MT5 needs .ex5, or .mq5 source that you compile yourself. The two platforms use different languages and there is no conversion you can do by renaming the file.

A lot of old indicators sold as “MT4/MT5” are actually two separate builds in one download. Check you installed the right one.

It went into the wrong folder

Indicators go in MQL5/Indicators. Expert advisors go in MQL5/Experts. A file in the wrong one of those will not appear where you are looking for it.

You copied into a different terminal's data folder

If you have several MT5 installations, or you installed one in portable mode, there is more than one data folder on the machine. Always reach it through File → Open Data Folder from the terminal you actually want to use.

You only refreshed, and it needed a restart

Refreshing the Navigator usually picks up a new file. Occasionally it does not. Close MetaTrader fully and reopen it before concluding anything is broken.

You have an .mq5 file, not an .ex5

.mq5 is source code and has to be compiled before MT5 can run it. Double-click it to open MetaEditor and press F7 to compile; a matching .ex5 appears next to it. If compilation reports errors, the source is incomplete or written for a different build.

It loaded, but you cannot see anything

It is on the chart and drawing nothing visible. Check:

• Is it actually attached? Right-click the chart → Indicators List. If it is listed, it loaded.
• Timeframe and symbol. Many indicators only produce output on particular timeframes, or need more history than a fresh chart has. Scroll back to load history.
• Colours. A line set to the same colour as your chart background is invisible and looks exactly like a broken indicator.
• The Experts and Journal tabs at the bottom of the terminal. If it failed, it usually says so there, and that message is worth more than any guesswork.

AutoTrading is not the problem

Worth stating plainly, because it wastes a lot of people's time: indicators do not need the AutoTrading button enabled. That button governs expert advisors placing trades. An indicator only draws. If someone tells you to enable AutoTrading to make an indicator appear, they are guessing.

What an indicator may need is Allow DLL imports, under Tools → Options → Expert Advisors — and you should be reluctant. That setting lets compiled code reach your operating system beyond MetaTrader. Enable it only for software you have a reason to trust.

Before you install anything

An .ex5 is a compiled binary. You cannot read it, and it runs inside the terminal where your trading account is logged in. That is fine for software from a source you trust and a genuinely bad idea for a file from a download site.

If you are installing something you found for free that is normally paid, read this first. At minimum, test unknown files on a demo-only MetaTrader installation with DLL imports switched off.

Checking it works properly

Loading is not the same as working. Once an indicator is drawing, the test worth running is whether its signals stay put — a signal that quietly moves after the bar closes is measuring something you could never have traded. How to test that yourself takes about ten minutes and applies to any indicator, including mine.