mql5-skills/docs-dev/skill-design.md

SKILL.md Design — skills/mql5

This document describes the content and structure of skills/mql5/SKILL.md, conforming to the AgentSkills.io Specification.

Frontmatter

---
name: mql5
description: >
  MQL5 development skill for MetaTrader 5. Covers Expert Advisors, Indicators,
  Scripts, and Services. Focus on positions, orders, indicators, ticks, and bars.
  Includes programming book and API reference documentation.
version: "0.1"
license: MIT
compatibility: >
  Target: MetaTrader 5 platform. Language: MQL5 (C++-like syntax).
  File extensions: *.mq5 (source), *.mqh (headers).
  References: mql5.com/en/book (programming), mql5.com/en/docs (API).
metadata:
  project-version: "0.1.0"
  sources:
    book: sitemaps/sitemap_book_en.xml (581 URLs)
    docs: sitemaps/sitemap_docs_en.xml (4135 URLs)
  focus-areas:
    - positions
    - orders
    - indicators
    - ticks
    - bars
---

Body Content Structure

The body should be structured as follows:

1. Overview

Brief description of MQL5 and MetaTrader 5:

• MQL5 is the programming language for MetaTrader 5
• Syntax similar to C++
• File types: .mq5 (source), .mqh (headers)
• Program types: Expert Advisors, Indicators, Scripts, Services

2. Quick Reference — Key Operations

Focus areas with concise API patterns:

Positions

• CTrade class for position management
• PositionGetSymbol(), PositionSelect(), PositionGetDouble()
• CTrade::PositionOpen(), CTrade::PositionClose()

Orders

• CTrade::OrderSend() for pending orders
• ORDER_TYPE_BUY_LIMIT, ORDER_TYPE_SELL_LIMIT, etc.
• OrderGetTicket(), OrderSelect()

Indicators

• iMA(), iRSI(), iMACD(), iBands() — built-in indicators
• CopyBuffer() to read indicator values
• IndicatorCreate() for custom indicators

Ticks

• SymbolInfoTick() — current tick data
• MqlTick structure: bid, ask, last, volume, time
• OnTick() handler for Expert Advisors

Bars

• Bars(), BarsCalculated() — bar count
• CopyOpen(), CopyHigh(), CopyLow(), CopyClose(), CopyVolume()
• CopyRates(), CopyTime()
• CTerminalInfo, CSymbolInfo for symbol/bar info

3. Program Types

Type	Purpose	Key Handler
Expert Advisor	Automated trading	OnTick(), OnInit(), OnDeinit()
Indicator	Technical analysis	OnCalculate()
Script	One-shot execution	OnStart()
Service	Background task	OnStart(), OnTimer()

4. Common Patterns

• Trade execution with error handling
• Indicator buffer management
• Timer-based operations
• Chart object manipulation
• File I/O for logging/data

5. References

Point to the extracted documentation:

• references/book/ — Programming book (learning path)
• references/docs/ — API reference (function/type lookup)

6. Pitfalls & Best Practices

• RefreshRates() before trading operations
• NormalizeDouble() for price comparisons
• Check Retcode() after trade operations
• Use CTrade class over raw OrderSend()
• Handle OnTimer() for periodic operations
• Test with Strategy Tester before live deployment

Implementation Notes

• The SKILL.md should be concise (< 1024 chars for description, body can be longer)
• Body is loaded as context by AI agents — prioritize actionable patterns
• Reference files provide depth; SKILL.md provides the "what to do"
• Version 0.1: initial content, will expand as extraction completes