mt5_mac

MetaTrader 5 native Python library for macOS.

Control MetaTrader 5 installed on your Mac directly from Python — no Windows, no remote servers, no Docker. Uses the Wine runtime bundled inside MetaTrader 5.app to run the official MetaTrader5 Python package.

Features

• Full API matching the official MetaTrader5 package
• Account info, tick data, historical rates, symbols
• Market orders, position management, pending orders
• Deal history and order history
• Auto-setup — downloads Python + dependencies on first use
• Indicator reading — Heiken Ashi (open/high/low/close) computed from OHLC data
• No Windows, no Docker, no remote servers needed

Installation

pip install mt5_mac

Requirements

• macOS (Intel or Apple Silicon)
• MetaTrader 5 for macOS installed from metatrader5.com
• Python 3.9+

On first use, the library automatically downloads Python 3.9 for Windows and installs the MetaTrader5 pip package inside MT5's bundled Wine environment. An internet connection is required for this one-time setup (~8 MB download).

Quick Start

import mt5_mac as mt5

# Initialize
if not mt5.initialize():
    print("initialize() failed - is MetaTrader 5 installed?")
    quit()

# Login
if not mt5.login(12345678, "your_password", "YourBroker-Server"):
    print("login() failed - check your credentials")
    mt5.shutdown()
    quit()

# Account info
info = mt5.account_info()
print(f"Balance: {info.balance:.2f} {info.currency}")
print(f"Equity: {info.equity:.2f}")
print(f"Leverage: 1:{info.leverage}")

# Live tick data
tick = mt5.symbol_info_tick("EURUSD")
print(f"EURUSD: bid={tick.bid} ask={tick.ask}")

# Historical rates
rates = mt5.copy_rates_from_pos("EURUSD", mt5.TIMEFRAME_M1, 0, 10)
for r in rates:
    print(f"[{r.time}] O={r.open} H={r.high} L={r.low} C={r.close}")

# Open positions
positions = mt5.positions_get()
print(f"Open positions: {len(positions) if positions else 0}")

# Place a market order
symbol = "EURUSD"
tick = mt5.symbol_info_tick(symbol)
request = {
    "action": mt5.TRADE_ACTION_DEAL,
    "symbol": symbol,
    "volume": 0.01,
    "type": mt5.ORDER_TYPE_BUY,
    "price": tick.ask,
    "sl": tick.ask - 0.0050,
    "tp": tick.ask + 0.0100,
    "deviation": 10,
    "magic": 123456,
    "comment": "mt5_mac",
    "type_time": mt5.ORDER_TIME_GTC,
    "type_filling": mt5.ORDER_FILLING_IOC,
}
result = mt5.order_send(request)
if result.retcode == mt5.RES_E_SUCCESS:
    print(f"Order placed: #{result.order} @ {result.price}")
else:
    print(f"Order failed: retcode={result.retcode}")

# Cleanup
mt5.shutdown()

Complete API Reference

Initialization & Connection

Function	Description
initialize(path=None, login=None, password=None, server="", quiet=False)	Initialize connection to MT5 terminal. Optionally log in directly.
shutdown()	Disconnect from MT5 and release resources.
login(login_id, password, server="")	Log in to a trading account.
last_error()	Get the last error code (always 0 in current version).

Account & Market Data

Function	Returns	Description
account_info()	MqlAccountInfo	Balance, equity, margin, leverage, server, etc.
symbols_get(symbol=None)	tuple[MqlSymbolInfo]	All available symbols, or filter by name.
symbol_info(symbol)	MqlSymbolInfo	Detailed symbol specifications (spread, digits, etc.).
symbol_info_tick(symbol)	MqlTick	Latest tick: bid, ask, last, volume, time.
symbol_select(symbol, enable=True)	bool	Add/remove symbol from MarketWatch.

Historical Data

Function	Returns	Description
copy_rates_from_pos(symbol, tf, start, count)	tuple[MqlRates]	Rates starting from a position index.
copy_rates_from(symbol, tf, date_from, count)	tuple[MqlRates]	Rates starting from a date (Unix timestamp).
copy_rates_range(symbol, tf, date_from, date_to)	tuple[MqlRates]	Rates for a date range.

Trading

Function	Returns	Description
order_send(request)	MqlTradeResult	Place/modify/close orders.
positions_get(symbol="")	tuple[MqlPosition]	Get open positions, optionally filtered by symbol.
orders_get(symbol="")	tuple[MqlOrder]	Get pending orders, optionally filtered by symbol.
history_deals_get(from=0, to=0)	tuple[MqlDeal]	Get deal history.
history_orders_get(from=0, to=0)	tuple[MqlOrder]	Get order history.

Indicators

Function	Returns	Description
indicator_init(symbol, tf, path, buffer_count=4, params=None)	int	Create indicator handle. Returns INVALID_HANDLE (-1) on failure.
indicator_read(handle, buffer_num, count)	tuple[MqlIndicatorBuffer]	Read latest count values from buffer buffer_num.
indicator_deinit(handle)	bool	Release indicator handle.
indicator_list()	dict	All active indicators with metadata.

Heiken Ashi constants:

• INDICATOR_HEIKEN_ASHI → "Indicators\\Examples\\Heiken_Ashi.ex5"
• HEIKEN_ASHI_BUFFER_OPEN (0), HEIKEN_ASHI_BUFFER_HIGH (1), HEIKEN_ASHI_BUFFER_LOW (2), HEIKEN_ASHI_BUFFER_CLOSE (3)

Example:

ha = mt5.indicator_init("XAUUSDm", mt5.TIMEFRAME_M1, mt5.INDICATOR_HEIKEN_ASHI)
opens = mt5.indicator_read(ha, mt5.HEIKEN_ASHI_BUFFER_OPEN, 5)
for o in opens:
    print(f"time={o.time} ha_open={o.value:.5f}")
mt5.indicator_deinit(ha)

Constants

Timeframes: TIMEFRAME_M1, M5, M15, M30, H1, H4, D1, W1, MN1

Order Types: ORDER_TYPE_BUY, ORDER_TYPE_SELL, ORDER_TYPE_BUY_LIMIT, ORDER_TYPE_SELL_LIMIT, ORDER_TYPE_BUY_STOP, ORDER_TYPE_SELL_STOP

Trade Actions: TRADE_ACTION_DEAL, TRADE_ACTION_PENDING, TRADE_ACTION_SLTP, TRADE_ACTION_MODIFY, TRADE_ACTION_REMOVE

Order Fillings: ORDER_FILLING_FOK, ORDER_FILLING_IOC, ORDER_FILLING_RETURN

Order Times: ORDER_TIME_GTC, ORDER_TIME_DAY, ORDER_TIME_SPECIFIED

Data Classes

MqlTick: time, bid, ask, last, volume, time_msc, flags, volume_real

MqlRates: time, open, high, low, close, tick_volume, spread, real_volume

MqlAccountInfo: login, trade_mode, leverage, balance, credit, profit, equity, margin, margin_free, margin_level, name, server, currency, company

MqlTradeResult: retcode, deal, order, volume, price, bid, ask, comment, request_id

MqlPosition: ticket, time, type, magic, identifier, symbol, volume, price_open, sl, tp, price_current, swap, profit

MqlOrder: ticket, time_setup, type, state, magic, symbol, volume_current, volume_initial, price_open, sl, tp, price_current, comment

MqlDeal: ticket, order, time, type, entry, magic, position, symbol, volume, price, commission, swap, profit, fee

MqlSymbolInfo: name, digits, spread, point, trade_mode, bid, ask, volume_min, volume_max, volume_step, contract_size, currency_base, currency_profit, description, path

MqlIndicatorBuffer: time, value

INVALID_HANDLE: -1 — returned by indicator_init() on failure.

How It Works

MetaTrader 5 for macOS is the Windows version of MT5 running inside a bundled Wine (CrossOver) wrapper.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Your Python Script (macOS)                      │
│  import mt5_mac as mt5                           │
│  mt5.initialize()                                │
│  mt5.login(123, "pwd", "server")                 │
│  info = mt5.account_info()                       │
│  mt5.shutdown()                                  │
└──────────────┬──────────────────────────────────┘
               │ JSON over stdin/stdout
               ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Wine Subprocess (inside MT5.app's bundled Wine) │
│  Python 3.9 for Windows                          │
│  import MetaTrader5 as mt5                       │
│  mt5.initialize(path=...)                        │
│  mt5.login(...)                                  │
│  mt5.account_info()                              │
└──────────────┬──────────────────────────────────┘
               │ MT5 API
               ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  MetaTrader 5 Terminal (Windows binary in Wine)  │
│  terminal64.exe                                  │
│  Connected to broker                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

First-Run Setup

On the very first call to initialize(), the library:

1. Locates MetaTrader 5.app in /Applications
2. Finds the bundled Wine binaries
3. Downloads Python 3.9 embeddable for Windows (~8 MB) from python.org
4. Extracts it to the appropriate Wine prefix
5. Installs pip and the MetaTrader5 package
6. Launches the agent and connects to MT5

This setup happens once. Subsequent connections are instant.

Project Structure

mt5_mac/
├── mt5_mac/
│   ├── __init__.py       # Top-level API (initialize, login, order_send, etc.)
│   ├── agent.py          # Agent script that runs inside Wine
│   ├── backend.py        # Wine subprocess communication + auto-bootstrap
│   ├── bootstrap.py      # Auto-download Python & MetaTrader5 in Wine
│   ├── indicators.py     # Pure-Python indicator computations (Heiken Ashi)
│   ├── types.py          # Data classes (MqlTick, MqlRates, etc.)
│   └── bridge/           # MQL5 source files (for future use)
├── examples/
│   ├── basic.py           # Basic usage example
│   ├── streaming.py       # Real-time tick streaming
│   └── trading.py         # Market order placement
├── pyproject.toml         # Package configuration
├── setup.py               # Legacy setup for older pip
├── LICENSE                # MIT License
└── README.md              # This file

Example Scripts

Basic: examples/basic.py

import mt5_mac as mt5

mt5.initialize()
mt5.login(12345678, "password", "Broker-Server")

info = mt5.account_info()
print(f"{info.login} @ {info.server} | ${info.balance:.2f}")

tick = mt5.symbol_info_tick("EURUSD")
print(f"EURUSD: bid={tick.bid} ask={tick.ask}")

mt5.shutdown()

Streaming: examples/streaming.py

import time
import mt5_mac as mt5

mt5.initialize()
mt5.login(12345678, "password", "Broker-Server")

symbols = ["EURUSD", "GBPUSD", "USDJPY"]
for sym in symbols:
    mt5.symbol_select(sym, True)

try:
    while True:
        for sym in symbols:
            tick = mt5.symbol_info_tick(sym)
            if tick:
                print(f"{sym}: {tick.bid:.5f} / {tick.ask:.5f}")
        time.sleep(1)
except KeyboardInterrupt:
    pass
finally:
    mt5.shutdown()

Trading: examples/trading.py

import mt5_mac as mt5

mt5.initialize()
mt5.login(12345678, "password", "Broker-Server")

tick = mt5.symbol_info_tick("EURUSD")
if not tick:
    quit()

request = {
    "action": mt5.TRADE_ACTION_DEAL,
    "symbol": "EURUSD",
    "volume": 0.01,
    "type": mt5.ORDER_TYPE_BUY,
    "price": tick.ask,
    "sl": tick.ask - 0.0050,
    "tp": tick.ask + 0.0100,
    "deviation": 10,
    "magic": 123456,
    "comment": "mt5_mac",
    "type_time": mt5.ORDER_TIME_GTC,
    "type_filling": mt5.ORDER_FILLING_IOC,
}
result = mt5.order_send(request)
print(f"Order: #{result.order} retcode={result.retcode}")

mt5.shutdown()

Troubleshooting

"MetaTrader 5.app not found"

Download and install MetaTrader 5 from metatrader5.com. After installation, the app should be at /Applications/MetaTrader 5.app.

"Failed to download Python"

The first run downloads Python 3.9 embeddable for Windows (~8 MB). Check your internet connection. The download is cached after extraction.

"Login failed"

Verify your account credentials (login ID, password, server name). Some brokers require the full server name (e.g. Exness-MT5Trial15, not just Exness).

"Empty response from backend"

This usually means the MT5 terminal couldn't start inside Wine. Try launching MetaTrader 5.app manually once, let it fully load, then try again.

License

MIT License — see LICENSE for details.

Author

Abdul Rafay Jiwani

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_{Built for macOS · No Windows required · No Docker · No remote servers}