Your opinion on a software to connect IBKR to MT5

Hello everyone,

I'm developing a solution to stream real-time data from Interactive Brokers (IBKR) directly to MetaTrader 5 (MT5). The idea is to combine MT5's analysis and automation tools with IBKR's competitive fees and wide range of assets (stocks, forex, futures, etc.).
To make sure this software meets your needs, I've created a quick survey (3 minutes) to gather your opinions on :
Interest in such a solution.

The price you'd be willing to pay (e.g. €150-250/month or lifetime license).
The features you expect (low latency, technical support, etc.).

Why should you participate?
Your feedback will shape the product to suit your needs.
Participants who leave their email address will receive early access to the prototype or a discount at launch.
Link to survey: [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...orm?usp=dialog]

If you use MT5, IBKR, or are looking to connect these platforms, your opinion is valuable! What do you think of this type of solution? Do you have any frustrations with current tools (e.g. Trade-Commander)? Feel free to share here or in the poll.
Thanks in advance for your time and ideas!

Toofar
Note: This project is in the development phase, and I'm an active member looking to contribute to the community. No spam, just a project to help traders like us.

How does this belong in the Tradings Systems thread? It's commercial.

Use the Cleanup link top right, it will soon be gone

Hello Erebus,

There's the polite way of asking for things, without being aggressive.

@BataviaTrade
It is not commercial.
We're talking about a solution with 50,000 lines of code.
It's either of interest to the community, and we'll get on with it, or we'll throw it in the garbage can.
Your opinion is essential.
Thank you

sorry if my post seems off-topic in Trading Systems.

Really? it's true though, all the comments say so!

Commercial means money, you realize that?



Not sorry

Talking means Discussion, which is not a System, so the comments about wrong thread are correct.

Plenty of opinions here now.

Why include possible scams links, do a poll right here on FF

FFS

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your feedback, and sorry if my post seems off topic in Trading Systems. I'm not looking to sell anything, but to gather your ideas for a tool that connects IBKR to MT5, a challenge many traders face (e.g. latency with bridges like Trade-Commander). I'm a trader like you and I want to create something useful for the community.
I see Platforms and Tools would be more suitable, and I'll contact a moderator to ask if I can repost there. In the meantime, the poll (3 min) is about your needs and expectations (price, features like low latency).
Thanks for your advice, and I apologize for the error. What frustrations do you have with IBKR-MT5 connections? Your ideas will help!

@Erubus...don't know how to create a poll here on FF.

Found it !
As far as I understand, I can only post one question.

Subject: Request to move my post (#1342138)

Hello Forex Factory,
I published a post in Trading Systems (“Your opinion on software to connect IBKR”, #1342138) to gather feedback on a tool that streams IBKR data to MT5. Some members found it off-topic and commercial, which I understand. My intention is to contribute to the community, not to promote a product.
I think Platforms and Tools or commercial, depending on user feedback, would be more suitable. Can you move my post there, or should I delete it and repost? I apologize for the mistake and want to respect the rules.
Thanks for your help!

Sent to moderator.

Calm down man. Shouldn't we busy with what we do? Trading?

I do use both, IBKR(IE) for US stocks (at least I have an account there) , MT5 for CFD. All the IBKR software (inc. APIs) is a true PITA; connecting MT5 would not be a bad idea. Also, FYI there is the Quantower software that can connect to IBKR (basic version is free to use).

Rockit,
Thanks for the Quantower software, I didn't know about it. I've tried it and they distribute the data on their own platform. In this case, we lose the interest of accessing the mt5 EA or indicator.
I can confirm that integrating ibkr solutions is not easy, and I'm not even talking about the constraints or bugs on the mt5 side.

Hi Tofar
I will not comment any further on your genius approach of attracting the attention of the community, regarding this thread. Obviously you made almost every mistake possible. Simply put, this is not how monetisation works.

However, I'm more interested in the technical aspects of your endeavour. To my knowledge there are no people around who realize the potential of connecting MT5 to an external data source. Interactive Brokers is probably the worst choice as their platform is a nightmare. Last I checked (years ago) it was extremely unstable and not suitable for a 24/7 connection. But that shall not be my point here.

My point is, about 4 weeks ago I answered an email regarding my hacks to introduce custom symbols to MT4 (use the search function), connect them to an external data feed and have a realtime charting solution in MT4 feeded by external data. The conversation went like this:

Question: I was wondering if instead of adding custom symbols this way, can one rather simply implement or emulate a broker server (maybe written in Python). MT4 must be reaching out to some broker server url via some methods (GET, POST, etc.) or websockets. So, maybe we can implement our own broker server that we run locally on localhost (this will be our datafeed) and MT4 will connect to this server to know about all the symbols and fetch historical and live data for these symbols. Do you know if this is a possibility and how we can do this?

Answer: MT4 doesn't use GET or POST. Internally it uses the FIX protocol which is a plain text protocol over TCP/IP.

MetaQuotes heavily encrypted the communication layer and constantly makes subtle changes to the algorithm (every view server versions). This makes it essentially impossible to hook into the API. That was different in MT3 and early MT4 versions, but today it doesn't work anymore.

If you just want to display streaming quotes from your own feed you can use an old terminal together with an old DataServer. There are old versions of MT4 terminal and MT4 DataServer which are not encrypted, with C++ and FIX experience it's possible to set this up.

However, in between there is a much better option. For a long time I was a strong opponent of MT5, just because this software is so badly developed. But since about 5 years MetaQuotes added a feature to hook an external data feed into MT5. That's not very well known and it works via some new MQL5 functions for custom symbols: https://www.mql5.com/en/docs/customsymbols

In MT5 custom symbols have been around from the beginning, but recently MetaQuotes added the CustomRates*, the CustomTicks* and the CustomBook* functions. This is the MT5 feature the world has been waiting for, as these functions enable programatic access to MT5 price and tick history/database. And not only that. When data is feeded into the terminal via this functions, charts and indicators update in realtime, and that's the game changer.

I haven't yet seen anyone connecting a feed to MT5 but this is the API which makes it possible to create realtime charts from external data sources. Possibilities are infinite. This option is far better than my hacking of MT4 and I strongly recommend to investigate that route. It's an official API, future proof and doesn't need any hacks. I don't recommend using my MT4 hacks anymore.
-------

Am I right to assume that your plans are going in that direction? If true then I would be interested in your idea. Again, I'm not interested in any financial aspects.

Just made a quick research about current connectivity to IB and the results are disappointing. IB services did not improve over the years. TWS is not an option at all, and even for REST you still need a local and error-prone Java bridge to use their API.


If using an IB datafeed then the feed needs to be buffered elsewhere server-side. Requiring error-prone Java programs with bad support from IB is a no-go for retail. Imho, IB is out of the game.

Hi Emmzett,
You're absolutely right about my approach to gathering a possible need from the community, a real disaster.

You've obviously found the access point in mt5 today, the custom symbols.
But that's not enough, of course. You need a lot of other tricks to make it work, as you seem to have anticipated.

Invitation to join the beta-testing program for our IBKR-MT5 bridge
Hello,
We're delighted to invite you to join the beta testing of our innovative new program, designed to seamlessly connect Interactive Brokers (IBKR) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). This data and order bridge has been developed to provide a simplified, powerful and fully customizable trading experience.

Why this program?
Our solution leverages the best of both platforms:
Real-time data: Create customized symbols from IBKR data and update them automatically according to your data subscriptions.
Flexible historical data: Download historical data with a minimum period and retrieve more data on demand.
Intuitive trading: Place orders (limit, bracket, market) directly on MT5 charts, with real-time synchronization between IBKR and MT5.
Backtesting: You can backtest your solutions.
Simplified management: Modify your orders easily thanks to drag-and-drop functionality, making position management fast and intuitive.
Full customization: Use your indicators, robots, scripts or other MT5 tools on custom symbols, just like on any standard chart.

Why participate in the beta test?
As a beta tester, you'll play a key role in improving this program. Your feedback will help us to:
Identify and correct bugs.
Improve ergonomics and performance.
Adapt features to your specific needs.

In return, you'll benefit from :
Exclusive access to an advanced trading solution before its official launch.
Listening carefully to your suggestions to shape the final product.
Priority for future updates and special offers for life, including 6 months free from release v1.

How can I participate?
Registration: Send me a PM under FF with your interest in beta testing and a brief description of your experience with IBKR and/or MT5.
Installation: We'll provide you with detailed instructions for installing and configuring the program.
Testing and feedback: Use the program in your usual trading scenarios and share your feedback via a dedicated discord.

Requirements
An active Interactive Brokers account with data subscriptions.
MetaTrader 5 installed.
Familiarity with trading concepts and the use of platforms such as IBKR and MT5.

Next steps
If you are interested, please confirm your participation. We'll then send you all the details you need to get started.
We look forward to working with you to make this IBKR-MT5 bridge a must-have tool for traders!
Yours sincerely

Hello
I would like to take part in your Beta please
I use MT5 to trade EA and im looking for a solution to run the EA in stocks with IB account
I run the EA already in futures,fx and crypto but I cannot in stocks because I cant connect MT5 to IB currently.
Thanks so much!

Hello,
Please ask for an access on https://softengo.fr/ thru contact.
We look forward to seeing you.