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How to move your MT4/MT5 setup to a Forex VPS
5 min readUpdated July 2026
Moving to a VPS doesn't mean rebuilding your setup from scratch. MetaTrader keeps almost everything you care about inside its data folder, so migrating is mostly a copy-and-paste — done right, your VPS runs your charts and EAs exactly like your home PC, only 24/7.
1. Find your data folder (on your home PC)
- Open MT4/MT5 and go to File → Open Data Folder.
- This is where your custom files live — leave it open, you'll copy from here.
2. What to copy
- MQL4/Experts or MQL5/Experts — your Expert Advisors (.ex4/.ex5 and .mq4/.mq5).
- MQL4/Indicators or MQL5/Indicators — your custom indicators.
- MQL4/Scripts or MQL5/Scripts — any scripts you use.
- templates — your saved chart templates (.tpl).
- profiles — your saved chart layouts and open charts.
- MQL4/Presets or set files — your EA input presets (.set).
3. Put them on the VPS
- Connect to your VPS via RDP and open MetaTrader (it's preinstalled).
- On the VPS, open File → Open Data Folder for the matching terminal.
- Copy your files into the same subfolders. The easiest transfer: use the clipboard — copy on your PC, paste into the RDP session — or a cloud drive / the 'Local Resources' drive-sharing option in Remote Desktop.
- Back in MetaTrader, right-click Expert Advisors / Indicators in the Navigator and choose Refresh.
4. Log in and verify
- Log into your broker account on the VPS terminal (File → Login to Trade Account).
- Load your template/profile so your charts match.
- Re-attach your EAs, confirm inputs, and enable AutoTrading.
- Take a snapshot so you can roll back if you tweak something later.
Your broker login and passwords are not stored in the data folder for security — you log in fresh on the VPS. Licenses tied to a specific EA may need re-activation for the new machine; check with your EA vendor if it uses hardware-locked licensing.
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