How to Set Up the Telegram Signal Copier in 5 Minutes
Step-by-step guide to connecting your Telegram account, adding signal channels, and auto-copying trades to MT4 or MT5 — no bot required.
2026-04-28 7 min readBy TradeJournal Team
The TradeJournal Signal Copier reads signals from any Telegram channel you have access to — including private ones — and executes them directly on your MT4 or MT5 account. No bot invite, no channel admin permission needed.
Here's the complete setup walkthrough.
What You Need Before Starting
A TradeJournal Pro account (upgrade from your dashboard)
MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5 installed on your PC or VPS
Access to at least one Telegram channel that sends trading signals
Your Telegram phone number for login
Step 1 — Download and Install the EA
Go to your TradeJournal dashboard → Signal Copier tab
Click Download EA — choose MT4 or MT5 depending on your platform
In MetaTrader, open File → Open Data Folder
Navigate to MQL4/Experts (or MQL5/Experts for MT5)
Copy the .ex4 or .ex5 file into that folder
Restart MetaTrader
The EA will now appear in your Navigator panel under Expert Advisors.
Step 2 — Create an EA Account & Get Your Token
In TradeJournal, go to Signal Copier → EA Accounts
Click Add Account
Give it a name (e.g., "IC Markets Live")
Copy the API token — you'll need this in MetaTrader
Step 3 — Attach the EA to a Chart
Open any chart in MetaTrader (e.g., EURUSD M1)
Drag the TradeJournalEA from the Navigator onto the chart
In the EA settings, paste your API token
Set your default lot size and risk parameters
Enable Allow live trading in the Common tab
Click OK
You should see a green smiley face in the top-right corner of the chart. The EA is now connected.
Step 4 — Connect Your Telegram Account
In TradeJournal, go to Signal Copier → Telegram
Click Connect Telegram
Enter your phone number (include country code, e.g., +44...)
Enter the verification code sent to your Telegram app
If you have 2FA enabled, enter your password
Your account is now connected. TradeJournal uses the Telegram MTProto protocol — the same technology as the official app. It reads messages the same way you would manually.
Step 5 — Add Signal Channels
Go to Signal Copier → Channels
You'll see a list of all your Telegram groups and channels
Find the signal channel you want to copy from
Click the toggle to enable it
Configure per-channel settings:
- Default lot size — the position size to use when no lot is specified in the signal
- Risk % — automatic lot calculation based on account balance
- Max lot — hard cap to prevent oversizing
- Pairs filter — only trade signals for specific pairs (e.g., XAUUSD, EURUSD)
- Auto-execute — execute signals immediately, or hold them for manual approval
Click Save. The channel is now active.
Step 6 — Test With a Sample Signal
Post (or ask someone to post) a test signal in any chat you have access to. A typical valid signal looks like: