Free indicators for MT4 and MT5
Not every file in the channel trades. The indicator collection holds the arrows, oscillators, dashboards, scanners, zones and pattern finders: programs that draw on the chart or alert you but never place an order. This post covers how to use them, the one problem that makes most arrow indicators useless, and how to go from an indicator you trust to an EA that trades it.
Indicator versus EA
| Indicator | Expert advisor | |
|---|---|---|
| Places orders | Never | Yes |
| Install folder | MQL4/Indicators or MQL5/Indicators | MQL4/Experts or MQL5/Experts |
| Needs algo trading on | No | Yes |
| Can run several on one chart | Yes | One EA per chart |
The install steps are otherwise identical to an EA's, in the install guide. If an indicator shows in the Navigator but nothing appears on the chart, it usually draws in a separate window (oscillators) or needs the chart scrolled to recent bars.
What is in the collection
- Arrow and signal indicators: buy and sell arrows, often with alerts. The most downloaded and the most likely to repaint.
- Dashboards and scanners: multi-pair, multi-timeframe overviews of trend or strength. Useful for choosing what to trade.
- Zones, levels and patterns: support and resistance, supply and demand, candlestick pattern markers.
- Oscillators and filters: modified RSI, stochastic, trend meters and session tools.
The repainting problem
A repainting indicator changes or removes past signals as new bars arrive. Scroll back on the chart and every arrow is perfect; watch it live and arrows appear, disappear and move. Zigzag-based and fractal-based arrow indicators do this by design. To test any arrow indicator:
- Attach it and take a screenshot of the last twenty signals.
- Come back after a day and compare. Signals that moved or vanished mean it repaints.
- In the Strategy Tester's visual mode, watch signals form bar by bar rather than judging history.
A non-repainting indicator whose signals look mediocre is worth far more than a repainting one that looks perfect.
From indicator to EA
Once you trust an indicator's rule, you can automate it two ways. If it is a standard indicator, the EA Builder has it as a block, with eleven conditions covering crosses, levels and slope. If it is a custom file from this collection, the builder's Custom indicator block reads it by buffer number, so "buy when buffer 0 has a value on the last closed bar" becomes a trading rule with a stop, a target and a trailing stop attached. That is the honest way to test whether the arrows make money: let a robot trade them on demo with no discretion.
Frequently asked questions
Where do indicator files go in MetaTrader?
Into MQL4/Indicators for MT4 or MQL5/Indicators for MT5, then refresh the Navigator. Putting an indicator into Experts is the most common reason it does not show up.
How do I know if an indicator repaints?
Compare its signals on a live chart across a day, or watch it in the tester's visual mode. Signals that move or disappear after the fact mean it repaints.
Can an indicator open trades?
No. Indicators cannot place orders. To trade an indicator's signals automatically you need an EA that reads it, which the EA Builder can generate with its custom indicator block.
Can I use several indicators on one chart?
Yes, as many as the chart can display. Only one EA can run per chart.