MT5 Journal tab explained: terminal log vs trading journal
The Journal tab in MetaTrader 5 is not a trading journal. Here is what it logs, how it differs from History and Experts, and what a real journal adds.
Two different things called a journal
In MetaTrader 5, the Journal tab is a log of what the terminal itself did. A trading journal is a record of your trades and your reasons. The names overlap, which is why people searching for one often land on the other. Here is the difference.
Where the Journal tab is
Open the Toolbox with Ctrl+T (or View, then Toolbox). The tabs along the bottom include Trade, History, Experts and Journal, plus others such as News and Alerts depending on your build.
| Tab | What it shows | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Trade | Open positions and pending orders, plus balance, equity and margin | Managing live trades |
| History | Closed positions, orders and deals for a period you choose | Reviewing what you traded |
| Experts | Messages printed by Expert Advisors and scripts | Debugging an EA |
| Journal | Terminal events: connection, authorisation, trade requests and their results, errors | Troubleshooting |
What the Journal tab records
- Connecting to and disconnecting from the trade server, and login results.
- Trade requests sent, and whether they were executed or rejected, with the reason.
- Errors and system messages from the terminal.
- Each line carries a time stamp, so you can line events up with a trade.
The log is also written to files in the terminal's data folder (File, then Open Data Folder, then Logs). Expert Advisor logs are kept separately in the MQL5 logs folder.
When the Journal tab helps
- A trade did not go through: the Journal shows whether the server rejected it and why.
- You are not sure when you disconnected: the connection lines show it.
- A trade is missing from History: check the Journal for rejection or connection messages around that time. See MT5 trade history not showing: what to check.
What the Journal tab does not do
- It has no notes, no reasons, no screenshots and no emotions.
- It calculates no win rate, profit factor or drawdown.
- It is a technical log, not a record you would review each week.
What a trading journal adds
A trading journal records every closed trade with your reasoning, whether you followed your plan, and statistics over time. MT5 gives you the raw history in the History tab, and you can export it, but notes and statistics are up to you. See what an MT5 trading journal should record and why journaling is important.
Prefer not to dig through the History tab? AI Trading Journal reads your closed trades from your own MT5 terminal and saves one entry in your own journal on your PC (and one Notion row, if you connect Notion) per closed position about every 5 minutes, with open and close time, size, prices, stop, target and profit. It is read-only, needs no broker login, and is Windows-only, with a 7-day free trial and a one-time $19.99.
This page is general information about MetaTrader 5. Menu names can differ slightly between builds. It is not trading or investment advice.
Reading a few Journal lines (examples)
The wording differs by broker and build, but the entries typically have a time, a source and a message. These are made-up lines in the usual style, to show how to read the log:
| What you might see | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Network connection lost | The terminal lost its link to the broker; check your internet or the server status |
| Authorized on [server] through [access point] | A successful login, with the server and the access point used |
| Invalid stops | The stop or target was too close to the price or on the wrong side |
| Not enough money | The free margin did not cover the new position |
| Market closed | The instrument was not tradable at that moment |
| Requote or off quotes | The price changed before the order could fill |
| Trade disabled | Trading is not allowed on that symbol or account right now |
These are the standard kinds of trade request results in MetaTrader 5. The exact text and the reason depend on your broker, so use them as a starting point and ask your broker's support if a message is unclear.
Using the log to reconstruct a missing trade
- Note the approximate time you tried to trade.
- Open the Journal tab and look at the lines around that time.
- If you see a rejection, the reason tells you why the order never opened.
- If you see a disconnection, the order may not have reached the server at all.
- If the log shows a successful request but History shows nothing, check the period selected in History and the view (Positions or Deals).
The Experts tab and the logs folder
The Experts tab is the log for programs running in the terminal, such as Expert Advisors and scripts. If you use an automated strategy, this is where to look when it does something unexpected. Both logs are saved as dated files in the terminal's data folder, so you can open an old one in a text editor if you need to check what happened on a particular day. They are technical records, and they will not tell you why you took a trade.
Why not use the Journal as a trading journal?
The Journal tab answers the question 'what did my terminal do?'. A trading journal answers 'what did I do and why, and what should I change?'. The first is useful when something breaks. The second is useful every week. If you are looking for a place to put your trades, notes and statistics, you want a trading journal; our guide on what an MT5 trading journal should record lists the fields, and exporting your MT5 history shows how to get started with a spreadsheet.
Related guides: the Comment column and its [sl], [tp] and so: tags, and where spread, commission and swap show up in your results.
The Toolbox that holds these tabs can disappear; here is how to bring it back. For how orders appear in history, read MT5 order types explained.
On a phone the same data is on the History screen: MT5 trade history on phone.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Journal tab in MT5?
Is the MT5 Journal tab a trading journal?
Where do I see my closed trades in MT5?
Where are MT5 journal log files stored?
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
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