MT5 order comments in trade history, and how to use them as labels

Platform markers, expert advisor text and your own codes: what is reliable, what is not and when a journal is the better place.

Every deal in your MetaTrader 5 history has a Comment column, and most traders never look at it. That is a missed opportunity, because the comment tells you how the trade was closed, whether an expert advisor was involved, and sometimes which strategy or signal opened it. This page explains where comments come from, how to read the common ones, how to use them as a lightweight labelling system, and where they stop being reliable.

Where comments come from

A comment can be written by three different parties. The platform itself adds short markers when a stop loss, a take profit or a stop out closes a position; these are described on MT5 history comments for SL, TP and SO. An expert advisor or script can set any text it likes when it sends an order, which is how many automated strategies label their trades. And you, when you place a trade manually, can sometimes type a comment in the order window, depending on your build and the order dialog. The broker may also add its own text to balance rows or corrections.

Comments versus the magic number

Expert advisors usually also set a magic number, an integer that identifies which EA opened the order. Comments are easier to read but easier to lose: the length is limited, some servers shorten or modify them, and a partially closed position can show a different comment on each deal. The magic number is the sturdier identifier, as covered in magic number in trade history. A sensible rule is to filter by magic number where it exists and use comments as a human-readable hint.

Using comments as labels

• If you trade manually and your order window offers a comment field, use a short, consistent code such as BRK for breakout or PB for pullback. Consistency matters more than detail.
• Do not put long sentences there; the field is short and the text may be truncated by the server.
• Do not rely on comments for important facts. Anything you cannot afford to lose belongs in your own journal.
• When you export history, keep the Comment column; it lets you filter by label in a spreadsheet. The page on sorting, filtering and copying rows shows how to work with it.

Why comments go missing or change

Three common surprises. A position closed in two parts has two exit deals, and each can carry a different comment, so the entry deal may say one thing and the exit another. A pending order that triggers can pass its comment to the deal in a slightly changed form, which is why a label may seem to vanish after the fill. And a few brokers rewrite comments for internal bookkeeping. If you depend on a label, test it: place a small demo order with your comment and look at the order, the deal and the position in the History tab. The IDs that tie them together are explained on deal, order and position IDs.

A worked example (hypothetical)

A trader runs one EA and trades manually in between. The EA labels its orders with a strategy name and a magic number. Manual trades have an empty comment. In a month with 50 closed positions, filtering by magic number shows 31 EA trades and 19 manual ones. The trader then sorts the 19 manual ones by the comment marker typed at entry, discovering that trades labelled as late-session entries account for most of the losses. Nothing here is a claim about any strategy, and every number is invented; the point is that a short label turned an undifferentiated list into groups that can be reviewed.

Where a journal does better

A comment field is a single short line. A journal can hold the setup, the emotion, whether you followed the plan, a rating, tags, a longer note and a screenshot. AI Trading Journal is a Windows app for MetaTrader 5 only; it reads closed trades from the terminal every 5 minutes and lets you add those fields to each entry, with search and filters, in a file on your own PC. It is read-only: it does not change anything on the broker side or place orders. Notion is an optional extra copy. For the idea of consistent labels, see how to tag trades.

Limits and cautions

• Comment behaviour varies by build, broker and order type; verify on a demo account before relying on it.
• The app never edits anything on the broker side; your own tags and notes live in the journal, not in the broker comment.
• Never include passwords or personal data in a comment; it is stored on the broker’s server.
• Hypothetical numbers only; this is not trading advice.

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