How far back does MT5 trade history go? Three limits explained

Learn why history can vanish from view, what brokers keep and a simple monthly routine that protects your trading record.

How much of your trading record can you actually see in MetaTrader 5, and how long does it last? The honest answer is that it depends on the broker, the period setting in the terminal and the kind of account. This page separates the three limits that people confuse: what the terminal shows by default, what the broker keeps on its server, and what you have saved for yourself. Knowing the difference tells you when you need to export or journal your trades before they disappear from view.

Limit one: the period shown in the terminal

The History tab has a period filter with presets such as today, the last week, the last month, the last three months and a custom range. Choosing a short preset hides older trades from the list without deleting them. Many questions about missing trades are answered by switching to a wider custom range; the steps are on history period and custom date range. If trades still do not appear, trade history not showing lists the other causes.

Limit two: what the broker retains

The trade server belongs to the broker, and so does the retention policy. Many brokers keep account history for years, but the platform itself does not promise a fixed length, and some brokers archive or clear old records, close dormant accounts or migrate accounts to new servers. Demo accounts are the most fragile: they are often reset or deleted after a period of inactivity. If a particular period matters to you, for example for tax or for a prop firm review, do not rely on the server alone; ask the broker how long it keeps records and take your own copy. The page on trade history for tax records covers the record-keeping side, without giving tax advice.

Limit three: your own copy

Whatever the broker does, you control your own copy. The platform can save a history report as a file from the context menu of the History tab, and the report options include formats such as HTML and Excel depending on your build. A monthly habit of saving the report to a dated folder is the simplest protection. If you also want your reasons and emotions next to each trade, you need a journal on top of the raw rows, because no export contains them.

A simple retention routine

• On the first day of each month, set the History period to the previous month and save the report to a folder named by month.
• Once a year, also save the full account history and store it in two places.
• Keep a note of the account number, the server name and the broker for every file, because a new server can mean a new account number.
• For demo accounts, export before you stop using them, since they can be deleted without notice.
• Keep the journal backup next to the exports so a restore brings everything back together.

A worked example (hypothetical)

A trader opened a demo account in January and tested a strategy for eight months. In October the broker removed the inactive demo account and the history vanished. The trader had saved no report. A second trader who exported a monthly report still had eight files, and could recalculate profit factor and drawdown whenever needed. The two stories are invented; the point is that the only history you can be sure of is the one you hold yourself.

Where a journal helps

AI Trading Journal is a Windows app for MetaTrader 5 only and read-only. On the first run it reads the whole account history the terminal can supply, then adds new closed trades every 5 minutes, so the journal becomes a long-term copy that does not depend on the broker keeping the records. It is a file in your Documents folder with a daily automatic backup, and Notion is an optional extra. It can only record what the terminal has shown it, so trades the terminal never loaded cannot be recovered by the app. Starting a journal early is what protects you. See also the MT5 trading journal page.

Limits and cautions

• Check retention directly with your broker; policies change and differ.
• Exports show raw data only: no notes, no screenshots, no emotions.
• Do not delete an old account’s data until you have confirmed your copy opens correctly.
• Example numbers are hypothetical.

What to include when you export

A saved report is only useful years later if you can tell what it describes. When you export, make sure the file or the folder name carries the account number, the server or broker name, the account currency and the date range. Without those details, a file called report.html tells you nothing once you hold a dozen of them. It also helps to keep a short text note next to the exports that records the account type, whether it was hedging or netting, and any unusual events such as a server migration or a currency change.

• Save both a human-readable report and, if your build allows, a spreadsheet version you can recalculate from.
• Open each saved file once straight after exporting, to be sure it is complete and not cut off at the period boundary.
• Do not rely on a single storage location; one copy on the PC and one on an external drive or cloud folder of your choice is a sensible minimum.

If you ever change broker, the exports from the old account become the only record of that period, so this habit pays off most at exactly the moment you stop thinking about the old account. The routine for comparing live and test records is on demo versus live accounts.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• A local trading journal for MT5
• P&L calendar for MT5
• Trade notes, ratings and screenshots
• Trading progress and goals
• Back up your journal and move it to a new PC
• An offline trading journal for Windows
• How to set monthly trading goals
• Import your whole MT5 history
• How to tag trades
• Trade screenshots for your journal
• All trading journal comparisons