SignalBots Trading Glossary
Plain-English definitions for everything in the signal-automation world — signals, latency, bots, Expert Advisors, platform connectors, browser extensions, execution quality and risk metrics. No generic market filler; every term earns its place in how you actually trade.
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A
Account-Bound License
An account-bound license is a way of activating a trading extension or tool so that it works only with one specific trading account - the one it is r…
Read definition EA & Platform ConnectorsAlgo Trading Permission
Algo trading permission is a simple on/off setting inside MetaTrader, the trading platform, that controls whether automated tools are allowed to actu…
Read definition Binary-Options AutomationAuto-Click Trading
Auto-click trading is a browser-extension feature that clicks the broker's trade buttons for you the moment a signal fires, executing binary trades h…
Read definition Browser Extension TradingAuto-Fill Trade Ticket
Auto-fill trade ticket means the extension automatically writes the details of a trade into your broker's order form, so you do not have to type them…
Read definition Automation & BotsAuto-Trading
Auto-trading means letting software place and manage your trades automatically from a set of signals or rules, so you no longer have to click each or…
Read definitionB
Backtest
A backtest is the process of running a strategy's rules over historical market data to estimate how it would have performed if it had been traded in …
Read definition Binary-Options AutomationBinary Options Bot
A binary options bot is software that places binary-option trades automatically from signals or rules, handling the direction (Call or Put), the stak…
Read definition Binary-Options AutomationBinary Options Signal
A binary options signal is a short, ready-to-act suggestion that tells you three things: which asset to trade, which direction to pick (Call if you t…
Read definition Signal MechanicsBreak-Even Stop
A break-even stop means moving your stop loss up to your original entry price once a trade has moved far enough in your favour. At that point the wor…
Read definition EA & Platform ConnectorsBroker API
An API, short for Application Programming Interface, is simply a way for two pieces of software to talk to each other directly. A broker API, then, i…
Read definition Browser Extension TradingBroker Page Automation
Broker Page Automation is when a browser extension operates your broker's website for you - reading what is on the page and clicking its buttons - th…
Read definitionC
Call / Put (Up / Down)
Call and Put are the two directions of a basic binary option, often labelled Up and Down on broker platforms. A Call (Up) is a bet that the asset's p…
Read definition Signal Delivery & LatencyClock Drift / Time Sync
Clock drift is the slow, gradual way two computers' internal clocks fall out of agreement with each other over time, even when they started out match…
Read definition Signal MechanicsConfirmation Candle
A confirmation candle is a completed price bar that validates a setup before a signal is treated as real. To understand it, picture a price chart mad…
Read definition Risk & Performance MetricsConsecutive Losses (Losing Streak)
Consecutive losses, or a losing streak, is a run of trades that lose money one after another with no winner in between. The figure traders care about…
Read definition Automation & BotsCopy Trading
Copy trading lets you automatically mirror the trades of another, more experienced trader in your own account. When the trader you follow - often cal…
Read definition EA & Platform ConnectorscTrader
cTrader is a trading platform, meaning the software you use to view charts and place trades through your broker, and it is the main alternative to th…
Read definitionD
DCA Bot
A DCA bot, short for dollar-cost averaging bot, is an automated strategy that adds to an existing position at intervals or as the price moves against…
Read definition Signal Delivery & LatencyDelivery Channel
A delivery channel is simply any path a trading signal can travel along to reach you. The same signal can be sent to you in several different ways, a…
Read definition Browser Extension TradingDemo / Real Account Toggle
A demo / real account toggle is a switch that tells the extension which kind of account to operate on: a demo account, which uses pretend money for p…
Read definition Execution QualityDepth of Market (DOM)
Depth of market, often shown as a DOM window or order book, is a live list of the buy and sell orders waiting at each price level around the current …
Read definition Risk & Performance MetricsDD: Drawdown
Drawdown is the drop in your account's value from its highest point down to a lower point, before it climbs back to a new high. Imagine your account …
Read definitionE
Entry Price
The entry price is the exact price at which a signal wants you to open your trade. It is the starting line of the position. There are two common ways…
Read definition Risk & Performance MetricsEquity Curve
An equity curve is a chart that plots the value of a trading account over time. Instead of giving you just a single final profit number, it shows the…
Read definition Execution QualityExecution Speed
Execution speed is how quickly your order actually gets filled once it has been submitted to the broker. It is one half of the journey from a trading…
Read definition Risk & Performance MetricsExpectancy
Expectancy is the average result you can expect from a single trade once you have taken many trades, based on past data. It blends two things into on…
Read definition EA & Platform ConnectorsExpert Advisor (EA)
An Expert Advisor, almost always shortened to EA, is a small trading program that lives inside MetaTrader, the most common desktop platform retail fo…
Read definition Binary-Options AutomationExpiry Time
Expiry time is the exact moment a binary option settles, when the asset's price is compared with your entry price to decide whether the trade won or …
Read definition Browser Extension TradingExtension Permissions
Extension permissions are the set of things your browser allows an extension to do once you install it - which websites it can read, what it is allow…
Read definitionF
FIX API
FIX stands for Financial Information eXchange, and a FIX API is a standardised, very fast way for trading software to send orders straight to a broke…
Read definition Signal Delivery & LatencyFailover Delivery
Failover delivery is a safety arrangement where, if the main path used to send you a signal fails for any reason, the system automatically routes tha…
Read definition Execution QualityFill Rate
Fill rate is the share of your orders that actually get executed at or near the price you wanted, rather than being rejected, requoted, or filled wit…
Read definition Risk & Performance MetricsForward Test (Paper Trading)
A forward test means running a strategy on live, unfolding market data that it has never seen before, usually on a demo or simulated account, to chec…
Read definitionH
Hedging vs Netting Account
Hedging and netting are two different ways a trading account keeps track of your positions on the same instrument, and the difference matters a lot f…
Read definition Risk & Performance MetricsHistorical Win Rate
Historical win rate is the share of past trades or signals that finished profitable, measured over a defined sample and written as a percentage. If a…
Read definition Browser Extension TradingHotkey Trading
Hotkey trading means placing or managing trades using keyboard shortcuts instead of moving the mouse and clicking buttons. A hotkey is simply a key, …
Read definitionL
Liquidity
Liquidity is how easily you can buy or sell an instrument in the size you want without your own order pushing the price around. A highly liquid marke…
Read definition Browser Extension TradingLocal-Only Execution
Local-only execution means the trading extension does its work entirely inside your own browser, on your own device, without sending your trades or l…
Read definition Automation & BotsLot Multiplier
A lot multiplier is a setting used when you copy or mirror another account's trades, and it scales the size of their positions to fit yours. When you…
Read definitionM
MQL: MQL4 / MQL5
MQL is short for MetaQuotes Language, the programming language used to build automated tools inside MetaTrader, the popular trading platform. There a…
Read definition EA & Platform ConnectorsMT4/MT5 Connector
An MT4/MT5 connector is a piece of software that acts as a bridge between a signal source and your MetaTrader trading platform. MetaTrader (in its MT…
Read definition EA & Platform ConnectorsMagic Number
A magic number is a simple numeric tag that an Expert Advisor (an automated trading robot inside MetaTrader) stamps onto every order it places. It do…
Read definition Browser Extension TradingMV3: Manifest V3
Manifest V3, often shortened to MV3, is the current set of rules that Chrome and similar browsers require extensions to follow. Every extension inclu…
Read definition Execution QualityMarket / Limit / Stop Order
There are three core ways to tell your broker how to enter or exit a trade, and choosing the right one shapes whether you get in at all and at what p…
Read definition Automation & BotsMartingale Strategy
The martingale strategy is a money-management approach that increases the size of your next position after every loss, on the idea that a single even…
Read definition Automation & BotsMax Open Trades Limit
A max open trades limit is a cap on how many positions an automated system is allowed to hold at the same time, no matter how many signals arrive. Wi…
Read definition Risk & Performance MetricsMax DD: Maximum Drawdown
Maximum drawdown is the single largest drop from a high point to a low point that an account or strategy went through during a tested or live period.…
Read definition EA & Platform ConnectorsMetaTrader 4 (MT4)
MetaTrader 4, almost always called MT4, is a free trading platform, meaning the software you install on your computer or phone to view price charts a…
Read definition EA & Platform ConnectorsMetaTrader 5 (MT5)
MetaTrader 5, usually written MT5, is the newer version of the MetaTrader trading platform, the software you install to chart prices and send orders …
Read definition Automation & BotsMirror Trading
Mirror trading means automatically copying the trades of a predefined strategy into your own account. It is closely related to copy trading, with one…
Read definition Risk & Performance MetricsMonte Carlo Simulation
A Monte Carlo simulation takes a strategy's set of past trades and reshuffles or resamples them thousands of times to map the wide range of equity pa…
Read definition Signal MechanicsMTF: Multi-Timeframe Confirmation
Multi-timeframe confirmation means a setup must agree across two or more chart timeframes before a signal is allowed to fire. A timeframe is simply h…
Read definitionO
OTC Market (Over-the-Counter)
The OTC market, short for over-the-counter, refers to synthetic prices that a broker quotes itself rather than prices set by a central exchange. In b…
Read definition Execution QualityOrder Rejection
An order rejection is when the broker refuses to accept your order at all, so no trade is placed. Unlike slippage, where you fill at a slightly worse…
Read definition Risk & Performance MetricsOOS: Out-of-Sample Test
An out-of-sample test checks a strategy on data that it was never optimised on. The idea is simple: before you start tuning a strategy, you set aside…
Read definition Risk & Performance MetricsOverfitting (Curve Fitting)
Overfitting, also called curve fitting, happens when a strategy is tuned so tightly to past data that it ends up describing the random noise in that …
Read definitionP
Partial Fill
A partial fill is when only part of the size you ordered actually gets executed, because there was not enough trading interest available at your pric…
Read definition Signal MechanicsPartial Take Profit (TP1 / TP2 / TP3)
Partial take profit means closing your position in pieces at successive target levels instead of exiting the whole trade at a single price. These tar…
Read definition Binary-Options AutomationPayout Percentage
The payout percentage is the fixed profit a binary option pays when it finishes in your favour. An 80 percent payout, for example, means a winning 10…
Read definition EA & Platform ConnectorsPine Script
Pine Script is the built-in programming language of TradingView, the widely used web-based charting site. It lets you write your own custom indicator…
Read definition Automation & BotsPosition Sizing Rule
A position sizing rule decides how large each trade should be, and it is one of the most important controls in all of trading. Rather than guessing o…
Read definition Execution QualityPrice Gap
A price gap is a jump in price with no trading in between, so the market skips over a range of levels rather than passing smoothly through them. Norm…
Read definition Risk & Performance MetricsPF: Profit Factor
Profit factor is a single number that compares the total money a strategy made on its winning trades to the total money it lost on its losing trades …
Read definition Signal Delivery & LatencyPush Notification Alert
A push notification alert is a message delivered straight to your phone or web browser by an app's notification system the moment a trading signal is…
Read definition Signal Delivery & LatencyPush vs Polling
Push and polling are two different ways your device can find out about a new trading signal. With push delivery, the system sends the alert to you th…
Read definitionR
Real-Time Feed
A real-time feed is a constantly updating stream of trading signals and prices that shows you what is happening in the market with as little delay as…
Read definition Risk & Performance MetricsRecovery Factor
Recovery factor is a ratio that measures how much profit a strategy produced for each unit of its worst-case pain, calculated by dividing net profit …
Read definition Execution QualityRequote
A requote happens when you ask your broker to trade at a specific price, but by the time your request arrives the price has already moved, so instead…
Read definition Signal MechanicsRRR: Reward-to-Risk Ratio
The reward-to-risk ratio compares how much you stand to gain on a trade against how much you are putting at risk. You measure the reward as the dista…
Read definition Risk & Performance MetricsRisk Warning
A risk warning is a clear, honest statement that trading carries the genuine risk of losing money and that past or backtested performance does not gu…
Read definition Risk & Performance MetricsRisk of Ruin
Risk of ruin is the estimated probability that an account is drawn down so far that it can no longer realistically recover, in other words the chance…
Read definition Risk & Performance MetricsRisk per Trade
Risk per trade is the amount of your account you are willing to lose on a single trade if it goes against you and hits its stop loss. It is most ofte…
Read definitionS
Semi-Automatic (1-Click) Execution
Semi-automatic, or one-click, execution is a middle ground between trading fully by hand and handing everything over to a bot. When a signal arrives,…
Read definition Binary-Options AutomationSignal Accuracy
Signal accuracy is the historical share of a feed's signals that finished as winners, expressed as a percentage. It is the binary-options counterpart…
Read definition Signal Delivery & LatencyACK: Signal Acknowledgement
Signal acknowledgement is a confirmation message that is sent back to the sender when a signal has been successfully received or acted on, closing th…
Read definition Signal MechanicsSignal Confidence Score
A signal confidence score is a rating attached to a signal that tells you how strongly the conditions behind it lined up at the moment it fired. Thin…
Read definition Signal MechanicsSignal Direction (Buy / Sell)
Signal direction is the core instruction in every signal: whether to buy or to sell. Buying, also called going long, means you profit if the price ri…
Read definition Signal MechanicsSignal Expiry
Signal expiry is the point in time after which a signal should no longer be acted on, because the market conditions and entry price it was based on h…
Read definition Signal Delivery & LatencySignal Latency
Signal latency is the total amount of time that passes between the moment a trading opportunity is spotted in the market and the moment the resulting…
Read definition Signal MechanicsSignal Notification
A signal notification is the message that actually delivers a signal to you the moment it fires. It can take many forms: a push alert on your phone, …
Read definition Browser Extension TradingSignal Overlay (In-Page)
A signal overlay is a small visual layer that a trading extension draws on top of your broker's web page, showing you the live signal and its details…
Read definition Signal Delivery & LatencySignal Throttling
Signal throttling means deliberately limiting how many signals or alerts are sent within a given period of time, so a channel is not flooded with too…
Read definition Execution QualitySlippage
Slippage is the difference between the price you expected to trade at and the price you actually got when your order filled. Imagine you see EUR/USD …
Read definition Execution QualitySlippage Tolerance (Max Deviation)
Slippage tolerance, often called max deviation, is a setting that tells your broker how far from your requested price an order is still allowed to fi…
Read definition Execution QualitySpread
The spread is the gap between the two prices a broker quotes you at any moment: the bid, which is the price you can sell at, and the ask, which is th…
Read definition Signal MechanicsSL: Stop Loss
A stop loss is a price you set in advance where your trade will close automatically if the market moves against you. It is your safety net. Instead o…
Read definition EA & Platform ConnectorsSymbol Mapping
Symbol mapping is the process of translating the name of an instrument from your signal source into the exact name your broker uses for that same thi…
Read definitionT
TP: Take Profit
A take profit is a price you set in advance where your trade closes automatically to lock in your gains once the market reaches the level you were ai…
Read definition Signal Delivery & LatencyTelegram Signal Channel
A Telegram signal channel is a channel inside the Telegram messaging app where trading signals are posted as ordinary chat messages, so anyone follow…
Read definition EA & Platform ConnectorsTrade Copier
A trade copier is software that automatically reproduces trades from one account, called the source or master, onto one or more other accounts, calle…
Read definition Automation & BotsTrade Filter
A trade filter is a condition that screens which signals an automated system will actually act on, letting some through and skipping others. Not ever…
Read definition Binary-Options AutomationTrade Stake
The trade stake is the fixed amount of money you risk on a single binary option. Because binary trading is all-or-nothing, the stake is also exactly …
Read definition Automation & BotsTrading Bot
A trading bot is a piece of software that opens, manages, and closes trades for you automatically, following a fixed set of rules instead of you clic…
Read definition Browser Extension TradingTrading Browser Extension
A trading browser extension is a small piece of software you add to your web browser, like Chrome or Edge, that works on top of your broker's website…
Read definition Automation & BotsTrading Session Filter
A trading session filter is a rule that restricts automated trading to specific hours or market sessions, such as only trading during the London or N…
Read definition Signal MechanicsTrading Signal
A trading signal is a ready-to-use trade suggestion that packages everything you need to act in one place: which market to trade (for example gold or…
Read definition EA & Platform ConnectorsTradingView Alert Webhook
A TradingView alert webhook is a feature that lets an alert on a TradingView chart automatically send a message to a web address the instant it fires…
Read definition Automation & BotsTrailing Stop
A trailing stop is a stop loss that moves automatically in your favour as a trade goes your way, instead of staying fixed at one price. A normal stop…
Read definition Signal MechanicsTrigger Condition
A trigger condition is the precise rule that must be met before a signal fires. It is the "why now" behind every alert. Instead of a signal appearing…
Read definitionW
WebSocket Streaming
WebSocket streaming is a way of keeping a constant, open line of communication between your device and a signal service so that new signals and price…
Read definition Signal Delivery & LatencyWebhook Delivery
Webhook delivery is a way of sending a trading signal automatically the instant it happens. A webhook is simply an automatic message that one system …
Read definition Binary-Options AutomationWeekend (OTC) Trading
Weekend OTC trading means trading broker-quoted, over-the-counter instruments on Saturdays and Sundays, when the real exchange-traded markets behind …
Read definitionDefinitions are educational. Trading involves risk of loss and past or backtested results do not guarantee future performance — read our risk warning.