MetaTrader 5 on Mac: how to install MT5 and run an Expert Advisor

Yes, MetaTrader 5 runs on a Mac, Intel or Apple silicon (M1 or later, through Rosetta), on macOS Catalina 10.15.7 or later, with the official MetaQuotes installer or your broker’s. Under the hood it’s the Windows program on a compatibility layer, so an Expert Advisor installs and runs the same way. What changes is where the folders are, and keeping your Mac awake while the robot runs.

MetaTrader 5 for Mac: what it is and how it works

MetaQuotes, which makes MetaTrader, hasn’t written a separate MT5 for macOS. Its installer sets up Wine, a compatibility layer that runs Windows programs on other systems, and installs MetaTrader 5 inside it, as just another app in Applications.

So the menus, windows and robots are the Windows ones: an Expert Advisor (an .ex5 file) installs the same way, and a Windows tutorial works for you with two differences: the keyboard and the data folder.

Which Macs it runs on

MetaQuotes requires macOS Catalina (10.15.7) or later and supports every Apple processor from the M1 on; MT5 also runs on Intel Macs. Supported doesn’t mean native: at the time of writing, the MetaQuotes app is built for Intel, so on Apple silicon it runs through Rosetta 2, Apple’s translator for Intel apps, which macOS offers to install if needed. That’s also why, since macOS 26.4, you may see a system notification about Rosetta when you open MT5 (more on that under limitations).

One warning if you’re looking for shortcuts: the MT5 phone app and the web version don’t run Expert Advisors (see MetaTrader 5 on your phone). A robot needs the desktop version.

How to install MetaTrader 5 on a Mac and log in to your account

If your broker has its own MT5 installer for Mac, start there; if not, download the official one from metatrader5.com, under Download → For macOS. The steps are the same:

1. Open the downloaded file (in your Downloads folder; if it’s a .zip, double-click it and open the .pkg inside) and follow the installer. If macOS asks you to confirm, click Open; if it blocks the app, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down and click “Open Anyway”.
2. If it asks to install the Wine add-ons “Mono” and “Gecko”, accept: MetaQuotes says the platform needs them.
3. Open MT5 from Applications (the first launch is slower). If it offers a MetaQuotes demo account, close it: that demo isn’t with your broker.

First launch: log in to your broker account

Have the three details your broker sent you to hand (account number, trading password and server) and open File → Login to Trade Account. If you get an error, it’s almost always the server: copy it exactly as it appears in the email.

No broker yet? Read how to choose a broker for an Expert Advisor. Note that MetaTrader 4 accounts don’t work in MT5; MetaTrader 4 vs MetaTrader 5 shows how to tell which you have.

Keyboard and mouse: what’s different on a Mac

Inside MT5, shortcuts use Ctrl, not Cmd: Ctrl+N opens the Navigator. To right-click, click with two fingers on the trackpad (or use the right button on a mouse). On a MacBook, F7 (the robot’s settings) needs fn: fn+F7.

The MT5 data folder on a Mac and how to load an Expert Advisor

Robots, indicators and scripts live in MetaTrader’s data folder. On Windows, File → Open Data Folder opens it; on a Mac, don’t use that menu. The folder sits inside the virtual drive that Wine creates for MT5 (drive_c), and with the MetaQuotes installer this is the path to its MQL5 folder:

~/Library/Application Support/net.metaquotes.wine.metatrader5/drive_c/Program Files/MetaTrader 5/MQL5

The path goes through Library, a folder your Mac hides, so the safest way in is the one in step 2 of AUREUM’s guide: in Finder, choose Go → Go to Folder… (Cmd+Shift+G), paste the path and press Return. Paste it, don’t type it: it contains spaces. You land in MQL5, with Experts (robots), Indicators and Scripts.

If it says the folder doesn’t exist, either MT5 hasn’t been opened yet or your broker’s version names it differently: go to ~/Library/Application Support/, open the folder whose name starts with net.metaquotes.wine. and work down through drive_c ▸ Program Files ▸ the MetaTrader folder ▸ MQL5.

Copy the robot and switch it on

Copy the robot’s .ex5 file into MQL5 ▸ Experts and its indicators, if it has any, into MQL5 ▸ Indicators. Copy the files, not the folder: if you drag an Indicators folder onto MT5’s, Finder offers to “Replace” it and you’d delete the indicators that ship with MT5. Not seeing the .ex5 extension is normal; don’t rename anything.

Quit MT5 (File → Exit) and reopen it: the robot appears in the Navigator under Expert Advisors. From there it all works as on Windows, Algo Trading button included; step by step in how to install an Expert Advisor in MetaTrader 5.

Running a robot on your Mac: sleep, updates and Wi-Fi

An Expert Advisor only works while MT5 is open and connected and the Mac is awake: if the Mac sleeps, the robot gets no prices and manages nothing. The display can turn off; the computer can’t.

Keep your Mac from sleeping

In System Settings, search for “sleep” and turn on “Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off” (on a laptop, the version that says “on power adapter”, and keep it plugged in). A MacBook with its lid closed goes to sleep unless it’s in Apple’s closed-display mode: plugged in, with an external display, keyboard and mouse or trackpad. You can also run caffeinate -i in the Terminal app: while that window stays open, your Mac won’t sleep from inactivity (Control+C stops it), but closing the lid still puts it to sleep.

macOS updates

An update that restarts your Mac closes MT5, and it doesn’t come back until someone logs in. In System Settings → General → Software Update, the Info button next to “Automatic Updates” leads to “Install macOS updates”: with that on, your Mac can install an update and restart while you’re away. You can turn it off and update at the weekend, when gold is closed, without skipping security fixes. If you add MT5 under General → Login Items & Extensions, it opens at login with the chart and the robot in place, but if the Mac stops at the password screen, MT5 waits until you log in.

MetaTrader 5 on Mac: limitations and alternatives

On some Macs, MT5 is slow or quits, and a lot depends on the Wine version, shown at startup in the first lines of the Journal tab (Toolbox, Ctrl+T): “… on Wine …”. Below 8.0.1, MetaQuotes recommends backing up your robots, indicators and templates, uninstalling the platform with its Wine folder and installing the current one.

Rosetta and Apple silicon Macs

On Apple silicon Macs, the MetaQuotes app runs through Rosetta 2 today. In a developer notice on September 1, 2026, Apple confirmed that macOS 27, released in September 2026, is the last version to support Rosetta. From macOS 28, apps that exist only for Intel will no longer run on these Macs (Apple will keep Rosetta only for some older games). We haven’t found a public MetaQuotes timeline for a native version, so before you upgrade to macOS 28, check that MT5 has a version that runs on it.

The alternatives

If your Mac gives you trouble or you’d rather not keep it on, you have three options:

• The MetaTrader VPS (MQL5 Virtual Hosting). You rent it from inside MT5, on a Mac too, and it copies your chart with the robot; after that you can turn your Mac off. It costs about USD 15 a month, plus VAT where it applies. We explain it in what is a trading VPS.
• Windows in a virtual machine. On an Apple silicon Mac, Parallels Desktop runs Windows 11 on Arm, which runs x64 Windows programs such as MT5 through emulation. You pay for Parallels and Windows, should test it before trusting it with a robot, and the Mac still has to stay awake.
• A Windows PC or a Windows VPS. MT5 runs there with no layers in between; you reach a Windows VPS from your Mac with Microsoft’s free Windows App.

AUREUM on a Mac: what its guide says

AUREUM is an Expert Advisor for gold (XAU/USD) in MetaTrader 5. Its installation guide has a Windows/Mac switch at the top: step 1 covers the macOS installer, the requirements and the Wine add-ons, and step 2 gives the MQL5 folder path with a button to copy it.

If AUREUM is going to trade on your Mac, the guide asks for three things: MT5 open with the gold chart on H1 and the robot on it; the Mac on and not going to sleep; and a stable internet connection. Open trades keep their stop and target on the broker’s server, so an outage doesn’t leave them unprotected, but while it lasts the robot can’t manage them.

For a Mac, the guide considers the MetaTrader VPS the best solution: your Mac only has to stay on while you set it up and migrate. One rule not to break: AUREUM should trade in one place only, so once it’s on the VPS, don’t turn Algo Trading back on on your Mac, or you’d get duplicate orders. If something goes wrong, the guide’s troubleshooting section has a Mac only part.

Frequently asked questions about MetaTrader 5 on Mac