Auto Trading & MT53 min read
What Are Trade Intents and How Do They Work?
Learn about the trade intent system — how signals become trades, the lifecycle of a trade intent, and how the EA processes them.
Trade intents are the bridge between PipsCrusher's signals and actual trade execution on your MT5 terminal.
The Trade Intent Lifecycle:
1.Signal Generated → A strategy identifies a trading opportunity and creates a signal.
2.Intent Created → If you're on an auto-trading plan and the pair is enabled, PipsCrusher creates a trade intent with the signal's entry, SL, and TP parameters.
3.Intent Queued → The intent is stored in a pending queue, waiting for your EA to pick it up. Plan limits are checked at this stage (max concurrent trades, allowed pairs, etc.).
4.EA Polls → Your MetaTrader 5 EA polls the PipsCrusher API every few seconds (configurable interval) asking for pending intents.
5.Intent Delivered → The API sends the pending intent to the EA with all trade parameters.
6.Trade Executed → The EA opens the trade on your MT5 account with the specified lot size, SL, and TP.
7.Execution Reported → The EA reports back to PipsCrusher that the trade was executed, including the actual fill price and any slippage.
8.Position Monitored → The EA monitors the open position. When it closes (via SL, TP, or manual close), the EA reports the result.
9.Trade Closed → The final P&L is recorded in your PipsCrusher dashboard for performance tracking.
What Happens When Things Go Wrong:
●If the EA is offline, intents remain pending until the EA reconnects
●If the spread is too wide, the EA will skip the intent (configurable max spread)
●If the plan limit is reached, new intents are blocked until positions close
●If the signal expires before the EA picks it up, the intent is marked as expired
You can view all trade intents — pending, executed, and closed — on your dashboard under the Trading section.