Extract text from MQL5 source files (MQ5)
To convert MQ5 source files to another format, you need MetaTrader 5 or other Developer software.
To convert other file formats to the "MQL5 Source Code" file type, you need software like MetaTrader 5 or a similar tool.
The .MQ5 file format contains human-readable source code written in the MetaQuotes Language 5 (MQL5). Developers use these files to program Expert Advisors (trading robots), custom financial indicators, and automation scripts for the MetaTrader 5 algorithmic trading platform.
To open and edit an .MQ5 file natively, you must use MetaEditor, an IDE bundled with the MetaTrader software suite. As noted on Wikipedia, MQL5 is highly specialized for financial markets but syntactically similar to C++.
The main disadvantage of the .MQ5 format is its rigid ecosystem tie and specific text encoding. These files are typically saved using UTF-16 (LE) text encoding. If you try to open them in a basic or outdated code editor, the text often renders as broken characters or complete gibberish. Furthermore, raw .MQ5 files cannot execute directly in the trading terminal; they must first be compiled into closed-source EX5 executables. Users without the heavy MetaTrader platform installed face a frustrating barrier if they simply want to read, audit, or print a trading algorithm.
To overcome these limitations, converting the code to a universal format is the best approach. For easy reading and web sharing, convert .MQ5 to TXT or HTML. For code review, auditing, or permanent archiving, convert it to PDF. If you plan to port the logic to another programming environment, convert it to CPP. Drop your file here to view and convert it securely right in your browser - free, online, and without installing trading software.
Convert.Guru analyzes your MQ5 file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted EX5, MQH, TXT, MQ4, EX4, ZIP, PDF, PSF, DOCX, RTF, INP, FCSTD and XML files.
If you want to convert MQ5 file to EX5, MQ4, CSV, JSON, XML, YAML, YML, TOML, INI, CFG, CONF or DAT, you can use MetaTrader 5 or similar software from the "Trading strategy source code" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DBF, XML, SQLITE, XLSX, SQL, TSV, ACCDB, YAML, MDB, CSV, ODS or JSON files to MQ5, try MetaTrader 5 or another comparable tool in the "Trading strategy source code" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our MQ5 converter.