▸ Setup Guide

MetaTrader → Interactive Brokers Order Copier Connect MetaTrader and TWS, map your symbols, and go live — step by step.

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1 MetaTrader → Copier connection

The bridge: EA + plugin talk to the Copier over a local port

1tcCopierPlugin.dll loads from the Windows system dir — MT5 from System32, MT4 from SysWOW64.
2Attach the NewOrderCopier EA to a chart; allow DLL imports.
3Set the EA input bridge port = 29496 (must match the Copier's com port).
✓Once connected, the MetaTrader instance appears in the Copier's Settings grid.

2 Enable the TWS API

TWS → gear icon → Settings → API → Settings

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1Enable ActiveX and Socket Clients — required for any API connection.
2Read-Only API must be OFF, otherwise TWS rejects the copied orders.
3Socket port: 7497 paper / 7496 live (IB Gateway: 4002/4001). Note it for the next step.
4Trusted IPs: add 127.0.0.1 (and keep "Allow connections from localhost only") so the Copier connects without a prompt.

Also useful: Download open orders on connection and Maintain and resubmit orders when connection is restored (both visible here).

2 · API Precautions

Optional: bypass the per-order API confirmations

1To stop TWS from asking a confirmation for every copied (API) order, enable Bypass Order Precautions for API Orders and the related bypass options here.
Without these, TWS may pop a dialog per order — which delays or blocks automatic copying.

At your own risk. Bypassing precautions removes TWS-side safety prompts. Combine it with the Copier's own Account Protection (next step) and test on a paper account first.

2 · Keep TWS running

TWS → Lock and Exit → enable Auto restart

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1Open Lock and Exit in the TWS configuration tree.
2Select Auto restart (not Auto logoff) so TWS restarts itself and the Copier stays connected without a manual re-login.
3Set the Auto Restart Time (e.g. 07:15) to a quiet hour outside your trading times.

IBKR still forces one full login per week; plan a weekly manual TWS/Gateway login. Also set Never lock Trader Workstation so the session stays active.

2.1 Connect the Copier to TWS · Account Protection

The Settings tab: API connection, instances, risk guard

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1API Connection — set Host 127.0.0.1 and Port to your TWS socket port (here 7497).
2Connect — establishes the TWS link; the Copier downloads account + open orders.
3Account Protection — AP Enabled, Risk %, optional Trail, a Threshold and a Ref. Account to guard the account.
4Instances grid — each connected MetaTrader (company, account, mode, allocation). EA cell green = the expert is live.
5Status bar — 29496 open (bridge up) and the live connection/values; account fields are redacted here for privacy.

2.2 Set up the MetaTrader instance

Per-instance scaling & (FA) allocation

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1Allocation (FA accounts) — Type = account or group, and the Name of the IB allocation to spread orders across sub-accounts.
2Multiplier mode — one of the three scaling modes: None, Balance Ratio (IBKR balance ÷ MT balance) or Equity Ratio (IBKR equity ÷ MT equity).
3Instance Multiplier — a fixed extra factor (e.g. 0.5 = half size, 2 = double).
4Resulting Multiplier — the live product (mode ratio × instance multiplier) actually applied on top of the per-symbol Lot Size.
Right panel shows the connected MetaTrader (account, company, version, balance/equity) and the plugin/EA versions.

3 Contract Setup · symbol mapping

Link each MetaTrader symbol to an IBKR contract

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1Alias = the MetaTrader symbol (e.g. AAPL, EURGBP). This is the link — it maps that MT symbol to the IBKR contract in the same row. Editable.
2Lot Size / Price Mult / Offset — the source-side scaling (see step 3.2). Editable inline.
3IBKR columns (read-only): Symbol, Exchange, Type, Underlying, Curr, Expiry, Strike, ConID — the actual qualified contract.
4Toolbar: Add new IBKR Contract(s), Remove selected, Unlink expired, Backup DB.
Click any column header to sort (asc/desc); sorting by Type groups by symbol.

3.1 Add a new IBKR contract

Search IBKR and pick the contract to copy to

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1Fill what you know: Symbol / Underlying (e.g. EUR, MNQ).
2Pick a Security type — STK, CFD, CASH, FUT … and optionally Currency / Exchange / Conid.
3Click Search Contracts — IBKR returns the matching contracts on the right.
4Select one (or several) result rows and press OK — they are added to the Contract Setup list.
Tip: provide ConID + Security type for an exact hit, or Underlying + Type + Currency to browse. For futures, the result carries the real Exchange (e.g. CME).

3.2 MT lot size → IBKR size scaling

How one MetaTrader lot becomes IBKR order size

1Lot Size = IBKR size per 1.0 MT lot. In the sample list AAPL shows 10 → 1 lot = 10 shares.
2Price Mult scales the MT price to the IBKR price scale; Offset adds a fixed price difference.
✓Edit them inline in the Contract Setup grid. Verify on a small paper trade before going live.

4 Monitor · IB Account & Positions

Account values and live positions per (sub-)account

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1Close all positions / Update FA Info — flatten everything, or refresh the FA allocation list from TWS.
2One column per (sub-)account — the summed values plus each account; green = gain, red = loss.
3Currency Positions — cash/FX balances per currency.
4Positions — open contracts with the MT symbol they mirror; double-click a row to close that position.

4 · Monitor · Executions

Every copied fill, with the MT ↔ IBKR details

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1Action — BOT (buy, green) / SLD (sell, red) as executed on IBKR.
2Costs Diff — difference between the MT price and the IBKR fill price (slippage/cost check).
3Category — entry / close; plus Symbol, MT Symbol, Ticket, Size, Price, MT Price, Time and the MT account/version.
Append-only log of fills — the newest is at the bottom. Use it to reconcile MetaTrader vs IBKR executions.

4 The Log — your error feedback window

Watch the Log tab for connection and order feedback

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1Loglevel — raise to Detail when troubleshooting; keep at important for daily use.
2Open Main Log opens the full log file; Clear Log empties the view.
3Rows are colour-coded by severity (info / warning / error). This is where connection, registration and order problems show up.
Shortcut: when the status bar shows an error or warning, click it — it jumps here and clears the status bar.

✓ Ready

You're set upMetaTrader ⟶ Copier ⟶ TWS ⟶ IBKR — trades now mirror automatically.

Recap: 29496 = MT↔Copier · 7497/7496 = Copier↔TWS · Alias = symbol link · Lot Size = size scaling · Log = feedback