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Besides copying trades, the Heron Copier cloud can run your own trading robot 24/7: an Expert Advisor (EA) on MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5, or a cBot on cTrader. You upload the compiled file and its parameters, choose the charts, and the robot runs on our servers. There is no VPS to rent or maintain.
EA and cBot hosting is available in the cloud version only, for MT4, MT5, and cTrader accounts.

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How it differs from a copier account

A hosted EA or cBot is a third kind of cloud account, next to master and slave accounts:
  • It runs independently. It is not connected to any master or slave, and you do not need a master account to create one.
  • It uses 1 cloud seat, the same as a master or slave account. See Billing and Payments.
  • It runs your robot, not the Heron Copier EA, so copier settings such as volume sizing, symbol aliases, or account protection do not apply to it.

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What you need

  • Robot file: the compiled file only, not the source code (.mq4/.mq5). Maximum 10 MB.
  • Parameters file: maximum 256 KB. On MT4/MT5, open the EA’s Inputs tab in your terminal and click Save to export a .set preset. On cTrader, export the cBot’s parameters to a .cbotset file; it must be valid JSON with a Parameters section.
EAs bought from the MQL5 Market are locked to the computer they were installed on, and EAs with their own license check may refuse to run on a new machine. Use an EA you have a working compiled file for, and confirm with the vendor that it may run on a hosted server.

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Set up a hosted EA or cBot

  1. In the dashboard, open Cloud Accounts and click + to add an account.
  2. Choose MT4, MT5, or cTrader.
  3. When asked for the account type, choose Neither, it is an EA (or Neither, it is a cBot on cTrader).
  4. Fill in the Trading account section with the account the robot should trade on, and give it a unique Identifier.
  5. Upload the robot file and the parameters file. You can expand Preview parameters to check the values before launching.
  6. Add the charts to attach the robot to (see below).
  7. On MT4/MT5, review the Permissions section (see below).
  8. Click Launch. It usually takes a minute or two for the robot to start.

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Charts

The robot is attached to every chart you add, and each chart runs its own copy of the robot with the same parameters.
  • Add between 1 and 10 charts.
  • Use the broker’s exact symbol name, including any suffix (for example EURUSD.r). Symbols may contain letters, digits, and . _ # + - / !, with no spaces and at most 40 characters.
  • Pick a timeframe: M1, M5, M15, M30, H1, H4, D1, W1, or MN1. On cTrader these are shown with cTrader’s own names (for example m15, h1, Month1).
  • The same symbol and timeframe can only be listed once.
  • On cTrader, if your .cbotset file includes a chart, the dashboard uses it to fill in the first chart.
Some robots trade every symbol from a single chart. Attaching such a robot to several charts runs several copies of it, which can open duplicate trades. Check how your robot works and attach it to one chart if it manages all symbols on its own.

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Permissions (MT4/MT5)

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Allow DLL imports

DLL imports are off by default. DLLs run native code inside your hosted terminal, so this option requires admin approval for your license. If your EA needs DLLs, contact support. Once your license is approved, the Allow DLL imports switch can be turned on in the form. cTrader cBots do not have this option.

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WebRequest URLs

If your EA calls web addresses with WebRequest() (for example a license server, a news feed, or a notification service), list those addresses here. With no URLs listed, the EA cannot reach any address through WebRequest().
  • Add up to 20 URLs. Each must start with http:// or https:// and point to a public host name or public IPv4 address. Private, local, and internal network addresses are not allowed.
  • URLs cannot contain spaces, quotes, ;, ,, *, or backslashes.
  • MT4: include the scheme (https://). Each URL allows that host and any path starting with it. Custom ports are not supported, and the total length of all URLs is limited to 2,000 characters.
  • MT5: each entry allows that host (and port, if you give one); the scheme and path are ignored.
  • On both platforms, subdomains are separate hosts. List www.example.com and api.example.com separately if the EA uses both.
Hosted robots can reach the public internet, but not private or internal network addresses.

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Manage a hosted EA or cBot

Hosted robots appear on the Cloud Accounts page with a robot icon and the label EA Hosting or cBot Hosting. You can show only these accounts by choosing EA/cBot Accounts Only in the account filter.
  • View configuration shows the account details, the uploaded files, the charts, and (on MT4/MT5) the WebRequest URLs.
  • Redeploy restarts the hosted terminal with the same files and charts. The robot is offline for a few minutes while it restarts.
  • Delete stops the robot, removes the account, and deletes the uploaded files.
  • Editing is not available yet. To change the files, charts, or permissions, delete the account and create it again.
Copier actions such as pause, open positions, history, close all, and kill switch apply to master and slave accounts only, so they are not available for hosted robots. Balance, equity, and the terminal’s Experts log are not shown on the dashboard for hosted robots yet. Check your trades in your broker’s platform or mobile app.

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Copying your robot’s trades

Hosting and copying are separate. If you want the trades your robot makes to be copied to other accounts, add the same trading account as a master cloud account as well, then add your slave accounts. This uses one more seat.

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Prop firms and brokers

Prop firms and brokers set their own rules for EAs, bots, and trading from servers. Check those rules before hosting a robot on an evaluation or funded account. Hosted robots trade from Heron Copier cloud servers, not from your own IP address. See Does Heron Cloud provide a dedicated or static IP?