MT5 close all positions: what the trade history shows afterwards

A bulk close is a run of ordinary closing orders. Here is what it looks like in the history and how to journal it.

Sometimes you want out of everything at once: a news spike, a prop firm daily limit coming close, or a plan that says flat before the weekend. MetaTrader 5 offers ways to close many positions in one action, and each of them leaves a particular pattern in your trade history. If you do not know that pattern, a close-all can look like a bug when you review it. This page explains what a bulk close produces in the history, how to read it, and how to journal it so you learn from the decision instead of just the result.

What a close-all actually does

A close-all is not one special event on the server. It is a series of ordinary closing orders, one per position, sent in quick succession. Each position gets its own closing deal. In the desktop terminal, bulk closing options are normally found in the context menu of the Trade tab in the Toolbox, and mobile versions have gained similar bulk features. The exact wording and which options exist (all positions, only profitable, only losing, by symbol) depend on your build, so check your own terminal. An Expert Advisor or script can do the same by sending orders in a loop.

Because each close is a normal order, each position gets its own profit, commission and swap. There is no combined row for the whole action. The total you see for the group is simply the sum of the separate results, which is why the same click can feel different from what the History tab lists.

What the history looks like afterwards

What you see	Why
Several closing deals with almost identical times	The orders were sent one after another, usually within a second or two
Different prices and slightly different profits per position	Each one filled at the price of that moment, and spreads and slippage differ by symbol
A comment such as a manual or empty comment, or the comment of an EA	The comment depends on who sent the order; a stop-out shows a different reason
Commission on each closing deal	Commission is charged per deal on many account types
Unchanged swap per position	Swap accrues per position and is settled when it closes

If you want to confirm the reason behind a closing deal, the Deals view usually carries a reason or comment. A forced close by the broker looks different; see stop out and margin call explained and the history comments sl, tp and so.

Hedging and netting accounts

On a hedging account, each position is separate, so a close-all produces one closing deal per position. On a netting account, positions in the same symbol are combined into one, so a close-all closes fewer rows. If you are unsure which you have, read hedging vs netting in trade history before you compare counts with a colleague.

Why journal a close-all differently

A close-all is a decision, and decisions are what a journal is for. The number of positions you closed and the combined result matter less than why you pulled the trigger. Typical reasons are protective (a daily loss limit, a high-impact release), planned (end of week, end of session) or emotional (fear, tilt, wanting to stop the pain). The last category is the one that tends to repeat. Our guides on revenge trading and trading tilt explain how to spot it.

Write one line before you click: why are you closing everything?
Note the time and the account balance and equity at that moment.
Afterwards, record whether the plan allowed it. Plan followed: yes or no.
A week later, compare how those positions would have ended if you had left them. Treat this as information, not a verdict.

How AI Trading Journal records a close-all

AI Trading Journal is read-only and never closes anything itself. It reads the history of the MT5 terminal on your PC and creates one entry per closed position, so a close-all of six positions becomes six entries, each dated by its closing time on the broker’s server clock and each showing profit plus commission plus swap. You can then give all six the same tag, for example one you name “close-all”, and the same note about why. Filtering by that tag lets you see how the decisions turned out over time. The tagging method is described in how to tag trades in a trading journal.

Entries appear after the next sync, which runs about every five minutes while the terminal is open. The app does not mark an entry as part of a bulk action by itself, so the tag is yours to add.

A worked example (hypothetical)

Suppose you hold five positions before a major release: two gold longs, two index shorts and one currency pair. You close all five within two seconds. The results are +18.50, -7.20, +4.00, -22.10 and +3.30, with commissions of 1.40 on each deal. The group result is -2.50 gross of commission movement and about -9.50 net after the five commissions. In the history you see five closing deals with near-identical times. In the journal you create five entries, tag them “close-all-news” and write a single reason. Over a month you might find that these news-flatten decisions saved or cost you nothing worth the stress, or that they always cost more than they protected. Only the log can tell you. All numbers are invented for illustration.

Limits of this page

Menu wording and the bulk-close options differ between MT5 builds, brokers and mobile versions. Check your own platform.
Fills during fast markets can slip, and a close-all does not guarantee a price. See spread and slippage in trade history.
We make AI Trading Journal and benefit if you buy it; the app does not close trades and does not give signals.
This is not trading advice.

Frequently asked questions

Does MT5 have a close all positions button?

MetaTrader 5 offers bulk close options, normally through the context menu on the Trade tab, and an EA or script can do it too. The available options depend on your build, so check your own terminal.

How does a close-all appear in trade history?

As one closing deal per position with nearly identical times. There is no single combined row for the action.

Is commission charged once or per position?

On many accounts commission is charged per deal, so each closing deal can carry its own commission. Your broker’s contract specification decides.

Will my trading journal show the bulk close as one entry?

No. AI Trading Journal creates one entry per closed position. You can tag them together yourself.

Does AI Trading Journal close positions for me?

No. It is read-only and never places, modifies or closes a trade.

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