How to Create a Stop Order on MetaTrader 5 with Python

Python Trading Bot

For many years, algorithmic trading (which could lead to automated trading bots) faced high barriers to entry.

MetaTrader 4 used a C++ programming language derivative. Compute power was scarce. Access to advanced analysis was challenging — especially when the desire was to integrate multi-source signals (i.e. sentiment analysis).

All these factors meant automated trading bots were the purview of advanced programmers or corporations.

MetaTrader 5 (MT5) started to change this with their MetaTrader5 Python Library. Suddenly, a powerful Python 3 library was available for use. Combined with the power and reach of one of the world’s largest retail trading platforms, it represented a step change in access.

In this series, I’ve been sharing some of the basic functions you need to leverage this powerful platform. So far we’ve covered:

1. How to connect to MetaTrader5
2. How to initialize a symbol on MetaTrader5 (needed if you want to retrieve data or make orders)
3. How to retrieve 50,000 candles

In this article, I’ll show you how to place a STOP order. This will include a BUY-STOP and SELL_STOP order.

P.S. To learn how to build a full MetaTrader 5 Python Trading Bot, check out my series “How to build a MetaTrader 5 Python Trading Bot” and Python Trading Bot source code on GitHub.

How to Build a MetaTrader 5 Python Trading Bot Expert Advisor

Learn how to build your Expert Advisor in Python using MetaTrader 5 in this series. You’ll get a step by step guide with incredible explanations to help you every step of the way.

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Placing An Order

I’ve assumed for this article that you’ve already connected to MT5 and initialized the symbol you’d like to trade. The variables you’ll need are:

1. Order Type (BUY_STOP or SELL_STOP)
2. Symbol
3. Volume (how much you’d like to trade)
4. Price (how much you’ll pay for the volume you specify)
5. Stop_Loss (the stop loss on the order)
6. Take_Profit (the take profit on the order)
7. Comment (any comments you’d like to make on the order)

Note. If the order is not successful, I’ve included a non-breaking error notification. This is to make your trading bot more resilient.

Here’s the code:

# Function to place a trade on MT5
def place_order(order_type, symbol, volume, price, stop_loss, take_profit, comment):
    # If order type SELL_STOP
    if order_type == "SELL_STOP":
        order_type = MetaTrader5.ORDER_TYPE_SELL_STOP
    elif order_type == "BUY_STOP":
        order_type = MetaTrader5.ORDER_TYPE_BUY_STOP
    # Create the request
    request = {
        "action": MetaTrader5.TRADE_ACTION_PENDING,
        "symbol": symbol,
        "volume": volume,
        "type": order_type,
        "price": round(price, 3),
        "sl": round(stop_loss, 3),
        "tp": round(take_profit, 3),
        "type_filling": MetaTrader5.ORDER_FILLING_RETURN,
        "type_time": MetaTrader5.ORDER_TIME_GTC,
        "comment": comment
    }
    # Send the order to MT5
    order_result = MetaTrader5.order_send(request)
    # Notify based on return outcomes
    if order_result[0] == 10009:
        print(f"Order for {symbol} successful")
    else:
        print(f"Error placing order. ErrorCode {order_result[0]}, Error Details: {order_result}")
    return order_result

Note how the price, stop_loss, and take_profit have all been rounded to 3 decimal places. This prevents invalid price errors due to decimal places.

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