| <p align="center"><img src="docs/images/logo.png" alt="Prop Rules Monitor logo" width="120"></p>
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| # Prop Rules Monitor (MetaTrader 5 and MetaTrader 4)
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| A free indicator that shows, live, **how close the account is to a prop-firm style daily loss limit and max loss**, measured on
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| equity with the reset time and time zone you type in, and warns at a level you choose and at a breach. It only watches: it never
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| opens, closes or changes a trade, so it works without automated trading enabled. Source for both editions, the tests of its
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| rule engine, and the maths in plain words.
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| **Website:** [allanninal.dev/mql5 (utilities)](https://www.allanninal.dev/mql5/#utilities) · [MT4 editions](https://www.allanninal.dev/mql5/#mt4) · [allanninal.dev](https://www.allanninal.dev)
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| · **Contact:** message me on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/allanninal/).
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| > It measures limits you type in; it does not know any firm's rules and does not enforce anything. Check your own firm's rule
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| > pages. Nothing here is a profit claim or a promise that an account passes (see [Honest limits](#honest-limits)).
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| ## Get it on the MQL5 Market
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| | Edition | Platform | Price | Link |
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| |---|---|---|---|
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| | Prop Rules Monitor | MT5 | free | <https://www.mql5.com/en/market/product/201817> |
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| | Prop Rules Monitor MT4 | MT4 | free | <https://www.mql5.com/en/market/product/202433> |
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| The Market builds are the same calculation as the source in this repository.
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| ## Contents
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| 1. [What it is and who it is for](#what-it-is-and-who-it-is-for)
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| 2. [Why it was built](#why-it-was-built)
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| 3. [How it works](#how-it-works)
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| 4. [How it was tested](#how-it-was-tested)
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| 5. [Architecture](#architecture)
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| 6. [Inputs, alerts, install and compile](#inputs-alerts-install-and-compile)
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| 7. [Run the tests](#run-the-tests)
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| 8. [Honest limits](#honest-limits)
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| 9. [Licence](#licence)
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| ## What it is and who it is for
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| **What:** a panel on the chart with
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| - the **daily loss limit**: the day-start reference, the floor, the room left, the share used (with a bar) and the time to the reset;
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| - the **max loss** (static, trailing or two-stage): the floor, the room left and the share used;
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| - the **account**: size, equity, profit against the profit target, today's result, trading days against a minimum;
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| - a **status** line (OK, WARNING near a limit, a breach) and **alerts** by pop-up and push notification.
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| **For:** traders on prop-firm evaluations or funded accounts who want to see their distance to the limits at a glance. Also for
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| developers who want a tested rule engine for day-start, reset zones and floors.
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| **Not for:** anyone who wants it to protect the account. It warns; it does not act.
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| Image notes: panel values are an example $100,000 account; charts are drawn from broker history or illustrate how each floor moves;
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| they are illustrations, not terminal captures, and not trading results. MT4 versions are in [`docs/images/mt4/`](docs/images/mt4).
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| ## Why it was built
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| - **The limits are easy to misread.** Firms measure the day from a reset in their own time zone and measure max loss in different
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| ways (static, trailing from equity, balance or end-of-day balance, two-stage). A panel that does the arithmetic live removes a
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| common source of mistakes.
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| - **Demand, from our October 2026 look at the MQL5 Freelance board:** 76 of 2,014 scraped jobs (Nov 2025 to Oct 2026) were in the
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| prop-firm / guard group, and equity and daily-drawdown protection appeared in 93 jobs (medians roughly 75 to 115 USD). Those are
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| bespoke jobs, not proven Market demand, and supply is crowded; so this is a free tool.
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| - **Provable maths.** The reset-time and daylight-saving logic is checked against the system time-zone database, and the history
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| scan against an independent Python rebuild.
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| ```mermaid
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| mindmap
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| root((Prop Rules Monitor))
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| Problem
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| Limits measured from a reset in another time zone
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| Several ways to measure max loss
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| Easy to misjudge the room left
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| Design rules
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| Measure on equity, open trades count
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| Reset time and zone typed in, daylight saving built in
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| Watches only, never trades
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| Proof
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| Reset maths vs time-zone database
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| History scan vs Python rebuild
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| Market validation
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| ```
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| ## How it works
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| ### The maths, step by step
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| 1. **Day start.** The reset is an hour (0-23) in a zone you pick: broker server time, Central Europe, UTC, New York, London or
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| UTC+3. The broker's own clock is detected (or set: New York close, EET, fixed offset); daylight saving uses built-in rules (US:
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| second Sunday of March to first Sunday of November; EU: last Sunday of March to last Sunday of October). The reference is the
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| balance, the equity or the higher of the two at the reset instant. If the indicator was not running through the reset, the day
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| start is rebuilt as `balance - (money moved since the reset)` and the panel says "rebuilt".
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| 2. **Daily floor.** `limit = daily% x account size` (or `x day-start reference`), `floor = reference - limit`. Breach: `equity <= floor`.
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| `used = (reference - equity) / limit`.
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| 3. **Max-loss floor.** `amount = max% x account size`.
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| - Static: `floor = account size - amount`.
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| - Trailing: `floor = peak - amount`, with `peak` the highest equity, closed balance or end-of-day balance (optionally the floor
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| stops rising at the account size).
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| - Two-stage: `account size - max%` until the closed balance has gained a set %, then `account size - a smaller %`.
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| - `used = (amount - (equity - floor)) / amount`.
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| 4. **Account size** is the input, or the first deposit in the history.
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| 5. **Alerts.** One warning when `used >= the warning level` (daily: once a day; max loss: once, re-armed after a clear recovery),
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| and a breach alert when equity is at or below a floor. Nothing is sent in the Strategy Tester.
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| 6. **Late first tick.** At the reset crossing, money already closed after the reset instant (a gap, the terminal off, stops filled) is
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| taken out of the new day start and of yesterday's end-of-day balance.
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| ### Per-update algorithm
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| ```mermaid
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| flowchart TD
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| A[Timer or tick] --> B{Balance or open-trade count changed?}
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| B -- yes --> C[Scan the history: account size,<br/>peaks, trading days, today's closed result]
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| B -- no --> D
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| C --> D[Past the next reset?]
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| D -- yes --> E[New day start measured,<br/>yesterday's end-of-day balance fixed]
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| D -- no --> F
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| E --> F[Daily floor and used %]
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| F --> G[Max-loss floor and used %]
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| G --> H{Warning level or breach?}
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| H -- yes --> I[Alert, once per day or episode]
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| H -- no --> J
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| I --> J[Redraw only what changed]
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| ```
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| ### Status states
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| ```mermaid
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| stateDiagram-v2
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| [*] --> OK
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| OK --> Warning: a limit is used up to the warning level
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| Warning --> OK: room recovers (max loss re-arms after a clear recovery)
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| Warning --> Breached: equity at or below a floor
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| OK --> Breached: equity at or below a floor
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| Breached --> OK: the daily reset (daily limit only)
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| ```
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| ### Alert flow
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| ```mermaid
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| sequenceDiagram
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| participant T as Terminal
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| participant I as Prop Rules Monitor
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| participant E as Engine
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| participant U as You
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| T->>I: timer every second
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| I->>E: update (equity, balance, day start, floors)
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| E-->>I: used % and breach flags
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| alt warning level reached for the first time today
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| I->>U: pop-up (and push if on): "% of today's loss limit used"
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| else a floor is breached
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| I->>U: pop-up (and push if on): "LIMIT BREACHED"
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| else nothing new
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| I-->>I: redraw only
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| end
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| ```
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| ## How it was tested
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| **1. Reset and zone maths against the system time-zone database.** [`tests/check_day_start.py`](tests/check_day_start.py) is a
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| line-by-line port of the day-start, broker-offset and zone-offset code, checked against the operating system's time-zone data for
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| every half hour of 2020-2026, on two broker clocks (New York close and EET) and five reset rules (00:00 Central Europe, 00:00 UTC,
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| 17:00 New York, 22:00 London, 23:00 Central Europe): the reset instant must be the last moment the zone's wall clock showed the
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| reset hour.
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| | Check | Result |
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| | Half-hour times compared | 1,227,360 |
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| | Mismatches | **0** |
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| Source: [`tests/results/day-start-check.txt`](tests/results/day-start-check.txt).
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| **2. The history scan and day start in the MetaTrader 4 Strategy Tester.** [`tests/mt4/PrgTrader.mq4`](tests/mt4/PrgTrader.mq4) trades
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| a seeded random mix (market orders, stop loss and take profit, partial and full closes), runs the engine as the indicator does, and
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| writes the engine's results many times during the run and every order at the end.
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| [`tests/mt4/check_mt4.py`](tests/mt4/check_mt4.py) rebuilds each snapshot from the raw orders on its own (closed result and trading
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| days per reset day, account size, peak balance, peak end-of-day balance, the rebuilt day start) and compares.
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| | | Result |
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| | Runs | 17 (4 reset rules x 4 symbols, plus one every-tick run) |
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| | Snapshots compared | 32,096 |
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| | Trade operations made by the test | 81,578 |
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| | Result | ALL PASS |
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| Source: [`tests/results/parity-mt4.txt`](tests/results/parity-mt4.txt). The four reset rules are 00:00 Central Europe, 17:00 New York,
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| 22:00 London on an EET clock, and server midnight.
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| ```mermaid
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| flowchart LR
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| Z[check_day_start.py<br/>reset maths vs time-zone database] --> V
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| T[PrgTrader EA<br/>MT4 tester trades, snapshots] --> S[state.csv + orders.csv]
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| S --> C[check_mt4.py<br/>rebuilds each snapshot from raw orders]
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| C --> V{all pass?}
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| V -- yes --> M[Market validation]
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| V -- no --> F[fix, rerun everything]
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| ```
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| **3. Market validation.** Both Market builds passed the MQL5 Market's automated product validation before publication (the Market's
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| own check, not part of this repository).
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| **What the tests do not cover.** The engine tests ran on the **MT4 edition** (the MT5 engine is the same calculation using the MT5
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| deal list instead of orders; it was not run through the same tester harness for this repository). The panel text and the alert
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| delivery are not compared. The Strategy Tester has no real server clock, so *Auto* clock detection is only exercised live.
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| ## Architecture
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| ```mermaid
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| flowchart TB
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| subgraph MT5["mql5"]
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| A5[Indicators/PropRulesMonitor/PropRulesMonitor.mq5<br/>inputs, alerts, timer]
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| V5[Include/PropRulesMonitor/MonView.mqh<br/>panel body]
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| E5[Include/PropRulesMonitor/MonEngine.mqh<br/>clock, day start, floors, history scan]
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| P5[Include/PropRulesMonitor/MonPanel.mqh<br/>chart objects]
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| A5 --> V5
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| V5 --> E5
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| V5 --> P5
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| end
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| subgraph MT4["mql4"]
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| A4[Indicators/PropRulesMonitor/PropRulesMonitor.mq4]
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| V4[Include/PropRulesMonitor/MonView.mqh and MonPanel.mqh<br/>exact copies]
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| E4[Include/PropRulesMonitor/MonEngine.mqh<br/>orders-based history scan]
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| A4 --> V4
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| V4 --> E4
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| end
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| subgraph TESTS[tests]
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| K1[check_day_start.py]
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| K2[mt4/check_mt4.py]
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| D4[mt4/PrgTrader.mq4]
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| end
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| D4 -. includes .-> E4
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| K2 --> D4
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| ```
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| ```mermaid
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| classDiagram
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| class PropRulesMonitor {
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| +InpDailyPct double
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| +InpMaxPct double
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| +InpMaxMode enum
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| +InpWarnAt double
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| +OnInit()
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| +OnTimer()
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| +CheckAlerts()
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| +Draw()
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| }
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| class MonEngine {
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| +MonRules g_rules
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| +PrgState g_st
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| +PrgInit()
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| +PrgUpdate()
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| +PrgScanHistory()
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| +PrgDayStart()
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| }
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| class MonView {
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| +DrawBody()
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| }
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| class MonPanel {
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| +Row()
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| +Bar()
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| +Section()
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| }
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| PropRulesMonitor --> MonView
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| MonView --> MonEngine
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| MonView --> MonPanel
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| ```
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| The indicator has no buffers and no `iCustom` interface: it is a panel.
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| ## Inputs, alerts, install and compile
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| | Input | Default | Meaning |
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| | Daily loss limit, % | 5 (0 = off) | Of the account size or of the day start |
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| | Limit is / Measured from | % of the initial balance / balance at the reset | Daily rule |
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| | Day resets in time zone / at hour | Central Europe / 0 | Reset rule |
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| | Max loss, % of account size | 10 (0 = off) | Overall limit |
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| | Max loss type | Static | Static, trailing from equity, closed balance or end-of-day balance, or two-stage |
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| | Trailing floor stops at the account size | false | Trailing types only |
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| | Two-stage: after a closed gain of % / max loss becomes % | 5 / 5 | Two-stage only |
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| | Account size | 0 (first deposit) | |
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| | Profit target, % / Minimum trading days | 10 / 4 | Shown on the panel |
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| | Warn at % of a limit used | 80 | |
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| | Pop-up alert / Push notification | true / false | Push needs your MetaQuotes ID |
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| | Panel position, margins, font size, light colours | left, 10, 26, 9, false | Display |
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| | Broker server clock / offset from UTC | Auto / 0 | Auto, New York close, EET or fixed |
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| | Debug log for bug reports | false | Writes extra lines to the Experts tab, to attach when you report a problem |
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| **Install from source.** MT5: copy `mql5/Indicators/PropRulesMonitor/` into `<terminal data folder>/MQL5/Indicators/` and
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| `mql5/Include/PropRulesMonitor/` into `<data folder>/MQL5/Include/`. MT4: the same with `mql4/`. Open `PropRulesMonitor.mq5` or
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| `.mq4` in MetaEditor and press Compile (F7). Both compile with 0 errors and 0 warnings (checked with the MetaEditor of a MetaTrader 5
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| and a MetaTrader 4 build on a Windows machine; the compiled files are not in the repository). The indicator keeps the day start and
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| the peaks in terminal global variables named `PRG.<login>.MON.<field>`. The debug log needs the Chart Kit file as well: copy `mql5/Include/ChartKit/` (MT5) or `mql4/Include/ChartKit/` (MT4) into the `Include` folder of the data folder.
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| ## Run the tests
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| ```bash
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| python3 tests/check_day_start.py # reset maths vs the time-zone database (Python 3.9+, standard library only)
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| ```
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| For the MT4 engine test: compile `tests/mt4/PrgTrader.mq4` (it includes `<PropRulesMonitor\MonEngine.mqh>`, so install
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| `mql4/Include/PropRulesMonitor/` first), run it in the MetaTrader 4 Strategy Tester (open prices) for each symbol with the inputs in
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| `tests/mt4/configs.tsv`, collect the `*_state.csv` and `*_orders.csv` files it writes, and run
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| `python3 tests/mt4/check_mt4.py <folder with the files>`.
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| ## Honest limits
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| - **You type the rules.** The Monitor knows no firm's rules; firms change them. Read your firm's own pages, and compare the day start
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| and floors on the panel with the firm's dashboard.
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| - **It cannot know a missed reset exactly.** If it was not running at the reset, the day-start equity is rebuilt from the balance and
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| the panel says "rebuilt".
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| - **One copy per account.** Copies share the stored day start and peaks (`PRG.<login>.MON.*`), so two copies with different reset
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| rules would mix them. (A test found this: the test EA and the indicator, run together with different resets, disagreed on the
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| peak end-of-day balance.)
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| - **A watcher, not a guard.** It never closes anything. In a fast market, a gap or a closed market equity can pass a floor before you
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| react.
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| - **Tests.** The engine was compared in the MT4 tester and the zone maths against a time-zone database; the MT5 engine and the panel
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| text were not run through the same harness (see above). No profit or pass claim is made.
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| ## Licence
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| Everything is © 2026 Allan Niñal under the
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| [PolyForm Noncommercial License 1.0.0](LICENSES/PolyForm-Noncommercial-1.0.0.md): source-available, free for personal and other
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| noncommercial use, not for commercial use. Each source file has an `SPDX-License-Identifier` line; the text is in
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| [`LICENSE`](LICENSE). The licence applies to this source, not to anything you build or trade with the indicator. Trading involves
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| risk; the software is provided as is.
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| ---
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| **Website:** [allanninal.dev/mql5](https://www.allanninal.dev/mql5/#utilities) · [MT4](https://www.allanninal.dev/mql5/#mt4) · [allanninal.dev](https://www.allanninal.dev)
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| · Questions: message me on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/allanninal/).
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