How to export MT5 trade history (and what to do with it)
MetaTrader 5 keeps the record, but it does not help you review it. Here is how to get your history out and what to look at once you have it.
Your MT5 history is the raw material for every review. The terminal stores it, but the default view is a transaction list, not a journal. Getting the data out takes a minute; turning it into a useful review takes a little more thought.
Find your history in MetaTrader 5
- Open the Terminal window in MT5.
- Select the History tab.
- Right-click and choose the period: last 3 months, last month, or a custom range.
- If the list is empty, right-click and select All history, then wait for the terminal to load it from the server.
On mobile, open the History tab in the bottom navigation, then choose the period from the top of the screen. The mobile view is useful for a quick check but limited for analysis.
Export the history
- In the desktop terminal, right-click inside the History tab.
- Choose Report, then pick the format: HTML for reading, or Excel for analysis.
- Save the file and open it in your spreadsheet application.
- Check that the date range and account number match the account you meant to review.
The export includes closed trades, but the exact columns depend on the report format. Expect the symbol, type, volume, open and close times, and profit. It does not include why you took the trade, how you felt, or whether you followed your plan.
What to calculate
- Net profit and loss for the period.
- Win rate: winning trades divided by total closed trades.
- Profit factor: gross profit divided by gross loss.
- Average win and average loss.
- Maximum drawdown as a percentage of peak equity.
- Performance by symbol and by session.
A spreadsheet can calculate all of these, but the formulas are easy to get subtly wrong. Start with profit factor and average win versus average loss; together they tell you more than win rate alone.
The part the export cannot give you
The CSV knows what happened. It does not know why. The most valuable part of a review is the context: the setup, the emotion, the decision quality, and the lesson. That is why a journal entry belongs next to the trade, not in a separate document you update once a month.
How Action Journal handles MT5 history
Instead of exporting a file, you connect the account once: choose the broker and server, enter the account number and investor password, and Action Journal imports closed trades within your plan history window. Paid plans sync automatically; the Free trial allows manual sync up to three times a day.
From there, the metrics are calculated for you and each trade has a place for notes, strategy, emotion and a rating. If you want to keep a CSV workflow as well, exports are available on Basic and Plus.