📖 User guide

Fill four boxes right and it runs

Mode, MasterCode, SymbolMapping, VolumeMultiplier. The rest is fine-tuning — and this page explains each box.

Introduction Installation guide Usage guide
Quick-pick table

What you are, what you fill in

TierMaster fills inSlave fills in
Demo freeLicenseKey blankLicenseKey empty + SlaveKey blank
IB freeLicenseKey blankLicenseKey empty + SlaveKey blank
Paid — OnlineLicenseKey = key Master · SlaveKeys = ten1,ten2,…SlaveKey = your name (must be in Master's list) · LicenseKey blank
Paid — Offline same machineLicenseKey empty, or Master key if you want to push everything to serverLicenseKey = your own key (required) · SlaveKey blank
Slave given permission by a DIFFERENT Master—LicenseKey = that license · SlaveKey = your name
Most important box

Symbol Mapping

Leave this box empty and the slave copies nothing. This is not an error — EA only touches symbols you spell out clearly.

Syntax: items separated comma, each item is code on Master side or Master code:Slave code.

You wantFill in how
Two exchanges call it the sameXAUUSD,EURUSD,GBPUSD
Slave exchange has a different suffixXAUUSD:XAUUSD.pro,EURUSD:EURUSD.pro
Slave exchange calls gold GOLDXAUUSD:GOLD
Mix themXAUUSD:GOLD,EURUSD,US30:DJ30
It is also a filter. Master trades 10 symbols, you only spell out XAUUSD → Slave only follows gold, the other 9 are ignored. Expert Advisors writes one warning line for each skipped symbol, only once per symbol to keep the log clean.

Symbol name is case-sensitive

And it must be exactly the same as the name in each exchange's Market Watch. One letter wrong and that symbol never gets copied.

Software self-checks

Five things you should know first

Free demo must be both

Exchange reports account as demo and exchange / account / company name contains demo, trial or practice. An odd-named demo account will be rejected — log [DEMO] write it clearly and tell admin to add the keyword. An account contest is not counted as demo on MT5.

Free IB needs network when EA starts

EA asks the server once when starting whether that account number is in the IB list — even when you run Offline. If it can't reach the server, EA stops for safety.

Free tier forced to Offline

Even if you choose Copy from Server, EA still switches to Local.

Five banned Slave names

master, slave, master_code, masterslave, username. Hit one and EA won't run — these names overlap system fields on the server and will break that key's setup.

One name — one machine

Each SlaveKey and each Master key holds only one activation code on the server. Start the same name on a second machine and the first machine gets kicked out on the next check — Slave 5 minutes online or 30 minutes offline, Master 2 minutes.

Full table

Parameter by parameter

Column MT4 ghi — means MT4 version does not have that box.

Mode & License — use for both roles

ParameterDefaultMT4Meaning
ModeMaster✔Choose role: Master - Send orders to server hay Slave - Copy orders from server
AutoStartfalse✔true = EA runs the moment it attaches to the chart, no need to press START
LicenseKeyblank✔Master: empty = run Offline without a key; with key = run Online. Slave: usually leave empty; fill in when running paid Offline, or when given a separate license by a different Master

MASTER group

ParameterDefaultMT4Meaning
SlaveKeysblank✔List of Slave names allowed to copy, comma-separated: slave1,slave2,slave3. Required when Master runs Online — empty and EA reports an error. No limit on count. Each time you click OK, this list is pushed back to the server; any name removed from the list will lose permission immediately

SLAVE group

ParameterDefaultMT4Meaning
SlaveSourceCopy from Local✔Order source: Copy from Local (offline, same machine) or Copy from Server (online)
OfflineTypeShared Memory—MT5 only. Shared Memory is fastest, use it. Local File goes through a shared file. MT4 always uses file
SyncIntervalSec0.05✔Data read frequency in Offline mode, in seconds. MT5 accepts 0.01–10; MT4 minimum 1 second — set smaller and it gets pulled up to 1
MasterCodeblank✔Code from Master's panel. Required
SlaveKeyblank✔This Slave's own name. Leave empty means requesting free IB or free demo tier
VolumeMultiplier1.0✔Lot multiplier. 1.0 = same as, 0.5 = half, 2.0 = double. Result rounded to 2 decimal places
EnableCopytrue✔false = EA stand still completely: no open, no edit, no close any
CopySLTPtrue✔false orders = Slave order opensbare
SLTPCopyMode, no SL no TP, and no longer tracks Master's SL/TP✔, no SL no TP, and no longer tracks Master's SL/TP Copy as-is take exact price Master's SL/TP. Copy as-is Copy by distance distance
AutoClosetrue✔true from entry then recalculate from Slave's entry price false = Master closes order, Slave closes too.
OrderCommentCT✔= Slave order stays, you close it yourself Label written into the copy order's comment. EA uses this label to recognize its own orders —
ReverseDirectionfalse✔true do not change it when you have open orders
SymbolMappingblank✔= reverse: Master Buy → Slave Sell, and SL ↔ TP swap roles REQUIRED.
SLTPDeviation0.0✔List of symbols to copy Loosen SL/TP by how muchpercent Master's SL/TP.
SLTPOffset0.0✔List of symbols to copy . Only works inpercent Master's SL/TP.
StopEAInputfalse✔true mode
MaxOrderAge0✔price unit = EA stops at the next tick, does not close orders. 0 Only take orders

newer than X seconds

= take all, even orders Master opened yesterday

Panel still has a few boxes for position and color — they are not in the Inputs table, hardcoded in source.

, no SL no TP, and no longer tracks Master's SL/TP Copy SL/TP

  • Which mode to pick — default on Master
  • Set SL/TP to exactly price levelFits when Master and Slave
  • same exchange
  • SLTPDeviation and SLTPOffset , prices match

Master's SL/TP.

  • Risk: Slave exchange quotes differently → SL/TP ends up wrong, sometimes exchange refuses has no effect Take distance (entry − SL) from Master, apply to Slave's
  • actual entry price Fits whendifferent exchange
  • , prices off by a few ticks
  • SLTPDeviation and SLTPOffset Slave entry shifts, SL/TP shifts with it, but risk distance stays true

has effect

Trap , no SL no TP, and no longer tracks Master's SL/TPDefault is SLTPDeviation and SLTPOffset , and those two boxes Master's SL/TP.only run in mode. Put numbers in those two boxes but forget to switch mode and.

Reverse direction (ReverseDirection = truenothing happens ): Buy becomes Sell, and SL and TP swap roles

— Master's SL becomes Slave's TP. Works in both SL/TP copy modes.

Lot ratio

Slave lot = Master lot × multiplier

AccountAccount
Master 10.000$, Slave 1.000$0.1
Master 1.000$, Slave 10.000$10.0
Suggested multiplier1.0

Two accounts equal Lot gets adjusted to your exchange's exact lot step. down After multiplying, EA rounds to the

nearest lot-step multiple and clips it in the exchange's allowed range — never takes a bigger lot than what you set. is not Three things software

does with lotLot below minimum threshold, enters at minimum lot your actual risk is bigger than the ratio set.
Master 0.02 × multiplier 0.1 = 0.002, smaller than minimum lot 0.01 → EA enters 0.01 and pops a warning box. Order is not skipped, butDoes not calculate by % account, does not calculate by risk
Only multiplies by one number.Does not check margin before opening
Panel

Out of margin and the exchange rejects, EA retries a few times then skips.

Turn on, turn off and buttonsTask
How to do itClick START Start copying AutoStart = true
(green button) on panel, or setClick STOP Pause copying (red button). Open ordersstay put
, are not closedStop completely
Right-click chart → Expert Advisors → RemoveClose all copy orders
Close all orders on Master side — if Slave is still running it will close too — or close each order by hand Updated 20/09/2026: Before, MT4's START/STOP button was only handled when there was a newprice tick
License

, so weekends or a stuck symbol meant pressing the button did not work. Now the button is handled every clock tick, once per second — press it anytime and it responds.

Expiry — from the customer's view

Expired is hard stop, open orders freeze Master stops pushing orders → Slave never gets the close signal →open orders freeze , you must close them by hand. Please renew your before

  • expiry, and do not leave open orders past your expiry date. EA does not show expiry date. Key: Vinh vien (khong gioi han) or Key: LOCAL FREE (IB/Demo)Panel always says
  • . Server keeps the expiry date, EA does not know it. Expired key gets the same reply as a nonexistent key. Master license does not exist!Master sees Invalid license; Slave sees
  • . This is intentional, not a bug — there is no way to tell them apart from EA's side. If unsure, ask admin. Switching to Offline does not dodge expiry.
  • Server blocks the paid Offline path too. Lost server connection temporarily, EA retries; 10 straight failures
then it stops.

Trouble

Nothing gets copied first — EA prints the reason very clearly. Read the

SYMBOL_MAPPING missing for master symbol: XAUUSD

, or SymbolMappingtab first — EA writes the reason clearly.

Panel ghi Ready (Slave) - Click START to run

, or you did not list that symbol. Add the symbol to the box. START EA loaded but not yet running. Press AutoStart.

or turn on

"Could not open shared memory… Master not running?" MasterCode MT5 Offline: Master is off, or

is wrong or has extra spaces. Turn on Master EA and check the code again — EA automatically retries every 3 seconds.

Slave offline paid must fill License Key SlaveKey Running Offline, has LicenseKeybut it is empty LicenseKey. Fill in the SlaveKey.

Not allowed: slave_key khong nam trong danh sach master

; if it is free tier then delete it SlaveKeys Slave name not in Master's

box. Master adds the name then clicks OK. Active code is invalid

Copies for a few minutes then stops, log shows Another machine is using the same SlaveKey, or the same Master key. Each machine needs its own name.

Copies but wrong

Order entered right but has no SL/TP

CopySLTP = false; or the Master order itself has no SL/TP; or Slave exchange refused that price level — log writes Failed to set SL/TP.

SL/TP is off compared to Master

Active , no SL no TP, and no longer tracks Master's SL/TP while the two exchanges quote differently. Switch to Master's SL/TP..

Set SLTPDeviation but I do not see any difference

You are in , no SL no TP, and no longer tracks Master's SL/TP mode — those two SL/TP-loosening boxes only work in Master's SL/TP.mode. EA has a warning right when it attaches if you fill those two boxes but kept the original mode.

Lot Slave sai

Check VolumeMultiplier. Lot gets rounded to down multiple of your exchange's lot step — if your exchange steps 0.1, then 0.15 becomes 0.1.

Pops a warning box [LOT] … EA DA VAO LENH BANG …

Lot multiplier gave a number smaller than the exchange's minimum lot. EA entered at minimum lot — the real risk is bigger than your multiplier set. For correct ratio: use an exchange with smaller lot step, or raise Slave account capital.

Master adds lot, Slave does not go up

That is by design — only supports cutting lot. Log writes one line [LOT] Master tang khoi luong… showing the difference clearly.

Master opens a pending order, Slave has nothing

Pending orders are not copied. Only filled orders are copied.

Attached EA, Slave went into a bunch of old orders

By default copies all open Master orders. Set MaxOrderAge — for example 60 — to take only new orders.

Master closes, Slave does not

AutoClose = false; or Slave is STOP; or the Slave order's comment got overwritten by the exchange so EA does not recognize it as its own — log shows [COMMENT] Lenh #… san da ghi de comment.

Closed by hand on Slave side, will EA reopen it

No — EA remembers copied tickets in 2 days. After over 2 days, an old Master order might get copied again; prevent it using MaxOrderAge.

Slow

SymptomsReason
Offline MT4 slower than MT5MT4 has no shared memory, must read through file, minimum interval 1 second
Online a few seconds delayNetwork, or server says overloaded — EA automatically retries
Poller no response for … sSlave online lost server connection for over 2 minutes. Check your VPS network and firewall
Say first

Eleven known limits

Read before blaming the software.

1. Only copies filled orders. Pending Limit/Stop orders are not copied.

2. Only cuts lot, never adds. Master groups more lot into an old order, Slave sits still — EA writes a clear warning line.

3. Lot below minimum, enters at minimum lot. Order not skipped, but real risk is higher than your multiplier set.

4. SymbolMapping Required. Empty means nothing copies — EA tells you right when it attaches.

5. Identifies copy orders by comment. Any exchange that overwrites comment and EA loses the order mark. EA warns when it finds out.

6. Shared memory max 500 orders (MT5 Offline).

7. Free tier needs network when starting to authenticate, even when running Offline.

8. One name runs on only one machine. For many machines get many names or many keys.

9. EA does not show expiry, and an expired key replies the same as a wrong key.

10. No risk management. No loss cap, no time filter, no news filter.

11. Windows only. The connection part uses a Windows library.

How to work

Six things to follow

Test on demo first

Any new setup — lot multiplier, reverse, symbol map — test it on demo for one session then bring it to live account.

One terminal one chart, one EA

Attach two places and they fight over activation code.

Do not change OrderComment when you have open orders

EA will not recognize the old orders anymore.

Do not edit copy orders by hand

EA will pull SL/TP back to match Master on the next tick.

Change parameter = remove and reattach EA

Press OK on the Inputs table restarts EA and rebuilds the whole state.

Renew key early

Do not let it expire while you have open orders.

Copytrade is not investment advice

This is an automated trading support tool. Financial trading carries high risk and may result in total capital loss. You alone bear full responsibility for every decision and every trading result.

See pricing Back to setup guide