Cascade EA Source Code

This page gives you the Cascade EA free source code, the .mq4 file itself and not a compiled robot you have to trust. Under the hood it runs Dual EMA crossover, with each step visible in the code.

• Platform: MetaTrader 4, a single .mq4 file
• Strategy: Dual EMA crossover
• Price: free, a free account is all you need
• Licence: study it, edit it and, if you want, rebrand it

In short, you get exactly the file we publish, and therefore nothing stops you from rebuilding any part of it.

How the Cascade strategy works

An exponential moving average gives the newest bars more weight than the old ones, so it turns sooner than a simple average without jumping at every tick. The robot reads it as the line that separates a market going up from one going down.

Two averages of different length cross when the short term pace changes against the long term one. That crossing is the oldest trend signal there is, and it works because it forces the robot to wait for a change that already happened instead of predicting one.

The whole decision lives in one function, so you can follow it from the first condition to the order that gets sent.

What is inside the Cascade EA free source code file

• The moving average block, with its period and the side it allows.
• The two averages, with their periods and the direction of the cross.
• The risk block, with the lot sizing, the stop loss and the take profit.
• Finally, every input with its default value, so you can compare it against your own broker.

How to compile and run it

1. First, download the .mq4 file from the button at the end of this page.
2. Then open MetaEditor 4 from MetaTrader 4, with F4 or the editor button.
3. After that, save the file inside MQL4 and then Experts, and press Compile.
4. Finally, refresh the Navigator and drag Cascade onto a chart.
5. Run it on a demo account first, and read every input before you go live.

If the compiler complains, our guide on compiling MQL source covers the usual causes. In most cases it is simply a missing include or the wrong folder.

What you can change

The period of the average is the first input to try. A longer one holds the robot on the right side of the bigger move, a shorter one lets it turn earlier and get caught more often.

Before any of that, however, look at the risk block. After all, a good entry with the wrong lot size still empties an account, and therefore the sizing deserves the first pass rather than the last.

More robots like this one are in the trend following source code, and the paid catalogue with documentation and support lives in the MT5 source code section. The idea behind moving averages is explained well on this reference page.

Questions about the Cascade EA free source code

Which platform is it for? MetaTrader 4, one .mq4 file with no dependencies to hunt down.

Can I run it on several pairs? Attach it to one chart per pair and give each one its own magic number.

Can I change the logic? That is the whole idea. The entry and the exit sit in separate functions.

Is there support? The free library comes as it is. The paid catalogue is the one that ships with documentation.

Download the Cascade EA free source code

The file below is the complete .mq4. First of all, create a free account or log in. Then download it and, finally, open it in MetaEditor 4.