MetaTrader EA Settings Explained — Trading Router Setup Guide
When you attach the Trading Router EA to a chart in MT5 or MT4, the Inputs tab shows a list of settings. This guide explains every one of them in plain English — what it does, when to change it, and what the safe defaults are.
How to Open EA Settings
In MT5: double-click the EA in the Navigator panel, or right-click the EA icon on the chart and choose Properties. Go to the Inputs tab. Changes take effect immediately after clicking OK — you don't need to restart the EA.
Core Settings
Client Token
Your unique identifier that connects this EA to your Trading Router account. Copy it from your Dashboard. Every alert message you send from TradingView must include the paired master token — signals with a wrong or missing master token are silently ignored.
Never share your tokens publicly. If you suspect it's been exposed, regenerate it from the dashboard.
Default Lot Size
The lot size used when your TradingView alert message doesn't include a
"risk_lots" field. Set this to a size you're comfortable with for your account balance — typically 0.01 for micro accounts or 0.1 for standard accounts.You can override this per-alert by including
risk_lots=0.05 in the TradingView message body. This is useful when different strategies trade different sizes.Magic Number
A number the EA stamps on every trade it opens. If you run multiple EAs on the same account, each should have a unique magic number so they don't interfere with each other's close/modify operations.
Risk Management Settings
Net Daily Profit Target (Net TP)
If the account's total profit for the day reaches this amount (in account currency), the EA stops accepting new trade signals for the rest of the day. Existing open positions are unaffected — they remain open until you or a close signal handles them.
Set this to a realistic daily target, not a wishful one. A target you hit 3 days a week is more useful than one you never reach.
Net Daily Loss Limit (Net SL)
If the account's total loss for the day reaches this amount (in account currency), the EA halts all new trade entries for the rest of the day. This is your circuit breaker — it prevents a bad day from becoming a catastrophic one.
Always set this. A common starting rule: Net SL = 2× your average daily profit target.
Trailing Stop (pips)
When set to a value greater than 0, the EA automatically trails the stop loss behind the price as the trade moves in your favour. For example, a value of 20 means the stop follows 20 pips behind the current price. If price reverses by 20 pips from its peak, the trade closes automatically.
Breakeven (pips)
When a trade's profit reaches this number of pips, the EA moves the stop loss to the entry price (breakeven). This locks in a risk-free trade — the worst outcome is closing at zero.
Combine with trailing stop: set breakeven to activate first, then trailing stop takes over once you're protected.
Symbol and Broker Settings
Symbol Map
Some brokers use different symbol names than TradingView. For example, TradingView uses
EURUSD but your broker's MT5 shows EURUSDm or EURUSD.r. The symbol map lets you define translations: EURUSD=EURUSDm. The EA will automatically rename incoming symbols before placing the order.Check your broker's symbol list in MT5 Market Watch to find the exact names they use.
News Filter Settings
Enable News Filter
When enabled, the EA pauses trade entries during a configurable window before and after high-impact news events (NFP, FOMC, CPI, etc.).
Enable this if your strategy is vulnerable to news spikes — especially scalping and mean-reversion strategies on short timeframes.
News Pause Before (minutes)
How many minutes before a high-impact news event the EA stops accepting new signals.
News Pause After (minutes)
How many minutes after a high-impact news event the EA resumes accepting signals. Set this higher if you trade pairs that remain volatile for longer after releases (e.g., GBPUSD on UK CPI).
Recommended Starting Configuration
For a beginner running a single strategy on a standard account:
- Default Lot:
0.01(scale up after verifying the strategy) - Net Daily SL:
50(in your account currency) - Net Daily TP:
100 - Trailing Stop:
0(disabled — control via alerts instead) - Breakeven:
0(disabled — enable once you understand your strategy's average trade duration) - News Filter:
Enabled