[Practical Gold EA Development Series Part 1] What to Create — The Overall Picture and Design Blueprint for Gold EA
In this series,we will create together a single, simple Gold (XAUUSD) EA from scratch to completionunlike the “reference edition” that explains code line by line, this is“the story of completing one build (build log)”. Episode 1 covers what is most important before writing code—“What to create” and “the blueprint”. Many people fail by jumping into code too soon, so we’ll start here carefully.
The biggest pitfall in EA development isstarting to write code without a blueprint. Without deciding what to cut when and where, you’ll get lost while coding. Just like drawing a floor plan before building a house, firstdecide the specifications in Japanese.
This series aims to focus more on the process of“building correctly and verifying correctly”than on winning trades. Therefore, the topic is a simple moving-average-based learning EA that anyone can follow. We won’t deal with flashy guaranteed-win logic (but the thinking will be the same as real trading).
- ① Target and timeframe：What to trade and on which timeframe (e.g., Gold, 1-hour)
- ② Entry (entry)：What conditions to buy/sell (e.g., moving average heading up)
- ③ Exit (settlement)：Where to place take profit and stop loss
- ④ Lot size and money management：What level of risk per trade
- ⑤ What not to do：Situations to avoid / restrictions (e.g., no new trades at major news)
If you write these five thingsfirst in Japanesethe code becomes “their translation.” Conversely, if this part remains vague, no amount of code fixes will stabilize it. Deciding item ⑤ “what not to do” first is subtle but effective.
This series is written so even those without programming experience can follow. For faster understanding, the free e-book“Introduction to MQL5 Programming”gives the overall picture, and the free“MQL5 Learning Program” (source with template)offers the EA framework with embedded comments in Japanese. The topics that appear in the series—new bar determination, decisions on confirmed bars, and risk management—are already included in this template. Links are summarized at the end of the article.
What we will create in this series isa simple learning EAthat does not guarantee profits. The goal is to learn “how to build and how to verify.” For real trading, always verify on a demo account first, with your own funds within your risk tolerance. FX/CFD trading carries risks.
- EA development isto write the blueprint before code. If you start coding right away, you’ll likely quit
- Five things decided in the blueprint＝Target/timeframe, entry, exit, lot/money management, and what not to do
- Development cycle isdesign → code → verify → improve. The back-and-forth of ③ and ④ is the real work
- Subject matter isa simple learning EA(we don’t handle winning logic; we keep the mindset authentic)
- Reading the free introductory book and templates simultaneously speeds understanding
This article is intended for information purposes and is not investment solicitation. The performance results shown are past results and do not guarantee future profits. FX/CFD trading involves risk. Please make investment decisions at your own responsibility.