MT5 Strategy Tester report checker
EA Trade TesterDemo labHow we testFor AI agents
An MT5 Strategy Tester report tells you what the EA did on the data and settings you gave it. It does not tell you whether that result could be luck, whether it survives higher costs, or whether a smooth curve hides a grid. Our free record check reads the report and answers those questions in plain words.
Which files can I upload?
- MT5 Strategy Tester report, saved as HTML (.htm / .html, as MT5 writes it, UTF-16 is fine) or as Open XML (.xlsx);
- MT5 account statement or history report, MT4 account statement (.htm / .html);
- CSV or .xlsx exports: TradingView "List of trades", cTrader history, NinjaTrader trades, Myfxbook history, or any CSV with a close time and a profit;
- an MT5 optimisation result (.xml): we count its passes, because that count is part of the luck bar.
On the website a report can be up to 60 MB. An MT4 Strategy Tester report is refused by name for now: it has no close-time column we can read safely.
What does the check look at?
- Real or luck: the day-clustered t-value of the average trade against the luck bar for the number of versions you tried.
- Costs: every trade is charged an extra 10 a lot in your account's currency (gold 20), about 1 pip a lot on a US-dollar account. A result must stay profitable.
- Every year: profit or loss per calendar year, so one lucky year cannot carry the record.
- Hidden risk: a high win rate paid for by rare losses many times the average win, lot sizes that grow after losses, one position far bigger than the typical one, one loss that wiped out half the profit, drawdown of half the account.
- Too few: under 30 trades or 20 trading days is not enough to judge.
What do the verdict words mean?
| Verdict | What it means |
|---|---|
| REAL | Forward or live trades clear the luck bar after costs. Very likely not luck on this record; never a guarantee. |
| PROMISING | A backtest that clears every check. Run it unchanged on new data before trusting it. |
| LIKELY LUCK | Good, but not good enough for the number of versions tried. |
| NO EVIDENCE | The average profit cannot be told apart from zero. |
| FAIL | Loses money on average, or only wins before realistic costs. |
| HIDDEN RISK | The profit comes with a grid, martingale or outsized-loss shape that can wipe an account. |
| TOO FEW | Not enough trades or days to judge (fewer than 30 trades or 20 trading days). |
A tester report is a backtest, so the best it can get is PROMISING. REAL needs forward or live trades.
The report checks the trades. What about the EA itself?
A report only shows the trades the tester made. If the EA reads the wrong clock, ignores a setting, or the tester's prices and spread were kinder than your broker's, the report cannot show it. For that, send the code: we read it for faults, rebuild the rules and test our own copy on up to 16 years of prices with recorded costs. You can send the report with the code, and we compare our trades with yours (the parity check).
Related pages
- Is my EA backtest real or luck?
- Is my EA martingale or grid? How to tell
- MQL5 / MQL4 EA code checker
- Sample report
- EA Trade Tester home: test your EA, bot, indicator or report
Questions people ask
Is my report kept?
A trading record you upload is used for the check only and is not sold or published. Our privacy notice lists how long each kind of file is kept.
My report shows a 95% win rate. Is that good?
On its own it says nothing. With losses many times the average win, it is the typical grid or martingale shape, and the check will say so.
Can an AI assistant send my report?
Yes, through our MCP connector (the check_trading_record tool), for records under about 1 MB. See For AI agents.
Is this financial advice?
No. It is a description of the record you sent. Not financial advice.