How to compile an MQL4 file using the command line tool?

To compile a source code file from the command line, you can use MetaEditor to do this. For example:

metaeditor.exe /compile:"C:\Program Files\Platform\MQL5\Scripts\myscript.mq5"

      

        
        
        
      

    

<sup>For 64-bit, use instead metaeditor64.exe

.</sup>

On Linux / macOS this can be achieved with Wine , for example:

wine metaeditor.exe /compile:"MQL4/Experts/MACD Sample.mq4"

      

        
        
        
      

    

For bulk compilation, you can specify a folder, for example:

metaeditor.exe" /compile:"MQL5\Scripts"

      

        
        
        
      

    

To specify a custom MQL5 / MQL4 folder with included files, you can use a parameter /inc

, for example:

metaeditor.exe /compile:"./Scripts" /inc:"C:\Program Files\TradingPlatform 2\MQL5"

      

        
        
        
      

    

For more information on the compilation process, you can use /log

:

metaeditor.exe /compile:"C:\Program Files\Platform\MQL5\Scripts\myscript.mq5" /log 

      

        
        
        
      

    

<sup>To check only the syntax, add extra /s

.</sup>

If the compilation fails, a file MQL4.log

will be created in the platform folder with the appropriate details. It will be in UTF-16 format, so you may need a special tool for it (like Vim, Ruby , or ). findstr

rg

To specify a custom compilation log file, use an option /log:file.log

such as

metaeditor.exe /log:errors.log /compile:.

      

        
        
        
      

    

Note. Mapping to standard output is not supported (although on Linux you can use:) /log:CON

.

For more information, check: Compiling from the command line

Some time ago you could download the compiler for MQL4 / MQL5 programs, which runs separately from MetaEditor - MQL.exe

. It was distributed separately from the terminal, and you can download it from the following addresses:

https://download.mql5.com/cdn/web/metaquotes.software.corp/mt5/mql.exe

https://download.mql5.com/cdn/web/metaquotes.software.corp/mt5/mql64.exe

Usage (according to MQL4 / MQL5 Compiler build 1162 dated July 02, 2015):

mql.exe [<flags>] filename.mq5
        /mql5     - compile mql5 source
        /mql4     - compile mql4 source
        /s        - syntax check only
        /i:<path> - set working directory
        /o        - use code optimizer

      

        
        
        
      

    

However, the standalone compiler has been intentionally removed, so the links now point to the installer in favor of MetaEditor.

A much older version of MetaTrader before build 600 included the metalang.exe

included in the platform.

However, in build 616, MetaQuotes intentionally removed the compiler ( mql.exe

/ mql64.exe

) from the standard MetaTrader installation.

This means that if you upgrade your MT platform (> 616), the compiler executable will be removed.