Antipode
User Manual
Everything you need to set up, configure, and run Antipode on your account — written for everyday traders, not developers.
Quick Start Guide
Follow these steps to get Antipode running on your chart. The whole process takes about two minutes.
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Open an AUDCAD chart Antipode is built specifically for AUDCAD. Open a chart for this pair at any timeframe — the EA works on all timeframes, but M5 is recommended for the cleanest panel display.
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Attach the EA to the chart Drag Antipode from your Navigator panel onto the AUDCAD chart. The settings window will appear.
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Choose your lot sizing method Select Automatic to let the EA size trades based on your account balance, or choose Fixed Lot Size if you prefer full manual control. See the Lot Calculation section for details.
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Choose your Exit Mode Leave this on Trailing Stop - Virtual unless you have a specific reason to change it. All three exit modes aim at the same profit target — see the Exit Modes section if you want to understand the differences first.
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Choose your Trade Direction Leave this on Buy and Sell to allow Antipode to trade in both directions. You can restrict it to buy-only or sell-only if you have a directional view or specific broker conditions.
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Turn on the control panel Set Show Info Panel to true. This defaults to false so that backtests run at full speed, so you will need to switch it on for live trading.
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Enable live trading and click OK Make sure the "Allow live trading" checkbox is ticked in the Common tab, then click OK. Antipode will appear on your chart with the control panel visible in the top-left corner.
The Control Panel
When Antipode is running, a panel appears in the top-left corner of your chart. It gives you a live snapshot of everything happening without you needing to dig into any menus.
The panel was rebuilt from the ground up in v2.50. It is now drawn as a single high-resolution image rather than a stack of separate chart objects, which fixes two long-standing annoyances: it no longer disappears behind third-party trade managers or overlay tools attached after Antipode, and its text now renders at the correct size on high-DPI, Retina and remote desktop screens.
| STATUS | STEPS | LIVE P&L | NEXT GRID | PRICE | EXIT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ▲ GRID BUY | 3 | +12.40 | 0.8912 | 0.9080 | TSL* 0.9135 |
Header
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| LIVE P&L | Your current profit or loss across all open trades, including any overnight financing charges that have built up. Shows a dash when no basket is open. |
| CLOSED P&L | The cumulative profit or loss from all completed trades on this pair, after costs. Updates every 30 seconds. |
| CLOSE EA TRADES | A button. Clicking it immediately closes every trade Antipode currently has open on this chart, at market. Use it only if you want to step in manually — the EA will look for a fresh entry afterwards. |
Account Strip
Shows your live account Balance and Equity so you can see the effect of open positions at a glance without switching to the terminal window.
Configuration Strip
A read-only summary of how this copy of Antipode is currently configured. Useful for confirming at a glance that a chart is running the settings you think it is — particularly when you have several copies attached across different accounts.
| Column | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| DIR | Trade Direction — B+S, Buy, or Sell. |
| LOT | Lot sizing — either Auto, a fixed lot size, or the lot-per-balance ratio. |
| DD | Drawdown protection — OFF, the configured limit, or TRIGGERED if the limit has already been reached. |
| BE | Breakeven Mode — Both, Buys, Sells, or Off. |
| TP | The Profit Target currently in use. |
| GRID | The grid spacing currently in use. |
| MULT | The position scaling multiplier applied as the grid deepens. |
| EXIT | The selected Exit Mode — Virtual, Broker, or Fix TP. |
Status Table
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Status | The EA's current state — see the table below for all possible values. The coloured dot beside it mirrors the state at a glance. |
| Steps | How many trades are currently open in the active basket. More steps means deeper exposure. The figure turns orange as the basket approaches its maximum depth, and red once it is there. |
| Live P&L | Profit or loss for the current open basket, same as the header figure. |
| Next Grid | The price level at which Antipode would open its next trade if the market continues to move against the current basket. Reads MAX GRID once the basket has reached its depth limit. |
| Price | The mid-market price of AUDCAD right now. Turns green when the basket is on the profitable side of its average entry, red when it isn't. |
| Exit | The price level at which Antipode is aiming to close the entire basket. The label tells you which stage it is at — see below. |
Exit Labels
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| TSL* | Trailing modes only. The profit target has not been reached yet — this is the price at which the trailing exit will activate. |
| TSL @ | Trailing modes only. The trailing exit is active and following price in real time. A close could happen at any moment if price reverses. |
| TP @ | Fixed Take Profit mode only. The price at which the take profit orders currently sit. |
Status Messages
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ▲ GRID BUY | Antipode has an active buy basket open and is managing it. |
| ▼ GRID SELL | Antipode has an active sell basket open and is managing it. |
| ▲ GRID BUY (BE) | The same, with Breakeven Mode active. See the Breakeven Mode section. |
| COOLDOWN Xmin | Antipode is waiting before adding to the basket. The countdown shows time remaining. |
| IDLE -- Watching | No open trades. The EA is watching for a valid entry signal. |
| ⚠ VOL FILTER | The volatility filter has temporarily suspended new entries. The message names which side is paused and counts down to when normal trading resumes. Existing open trades continue to be managed normally. |
| DD LIMIT HIT | Your configured drawdown limit was reached and Antipode closed the basket. See the Drawdown Protection section. |
| DD ALERT SENT | Your configured drawdown limit was reached and an alert was raised. Trades were left open. |
Input Parameters
These are the settings you configure when you attach Antipode to your chart. Click any setting below to read a plain-English explanation.
Choose one of three methods:
- Automatic (Risk Level) — Antipode calculates lot size based on your account balance and whichever Risk Level you choose. Good for accounts that grow over time.
- Fixed Lot Size — Every trade uses exactly the lot size you type into the Fixed Lot Size field below. Simple and predictable.
- Fixed per Balance — The lot size scales proportionally with your balance. For example, if you set it to 0.01 per $100 and your balance is $500, each trade will be 0.05 lots.
Controls how aggressively Antipode sizes trades relative to your account balance when using Automatic mode. A higher risk level means larger trade sizes relative to your balance.
| Setting | Risk Profile |
|---|---|
| Very Low | Very small trade sizes — suitable for very large accounts |
| Low | Conservative sizing |
| Low-Medium | Below-average sizing |
| Medium | Balanced sizing |
| Medium-High | Above-average sizing |
| High | Larger trade sizes |
| Very High | Aggressive sizing — suited for accounts with higher tolerance |
| Extreme | Maximum sizing — only for experienced traders |
In Fixed Lot mode: every initial position in every basket uses exactly this lot size. Antipode sizes subsequent trades in the basket progressively larger as the grid deepens — this is by design to help the basket's average entry price track the market more efficiently. Starting small is recommended.
Only used when Lot Calculation Type is set to Fixed per Balance. This is the balance amount that corresponds to one lot unit. For example, with this set to 100 and a Fixed Lot Size of 0.01, Antipode trades 0.01 lots for every $100 of account balance.
New in v2.50. This single setting replaces the separate trailing stop and take profit settings used in earlier versions. All three modes aim at exactly the same profit target — only the method of closing differs.
- Trailing Stop - Virtual — The trailing exit is held inside the EA and executed as a market close. Nothing is visible to your broker, which means the trail can follow price more closely than a broker stop is permitted to. This is the default and suits most accounts.
- Trailing Stop - Broker — The same trailing exit, but placed as a real stop loss order on your broker's server. Your protection stays in place even if your terminal or VPS loses connection. Levels are automatically widened where necessary to respect your broker's minimum stop distance.
- Fixed Take Profit — Real take profit orders are placed at the basket's target and refreshed as overnight financing accumulates. The basket banks the target exactly, rather than letting a winner run further.
The single profit target shared by all three exit modes, measured in points from the basket's average entry price. Setting it to 0 uses the built-in default.
The swap and commission adjustment described in the Swap-Adjusted Target section is applied on top of whatever value you set here, so the target you choose is a real net figure rather than a paper one.
Only used in the two trailing modes. Once the profit target is reached, the exit follows price at this distance behind it. A larger value gives a winner more room to keep running but gives back more when it finally turns.
Only used in the two trailing modes. Prevents the exit from being adjusted on every tiny tick. A larger value means fewer, larger adjustments.
Previously a simple on/off switch, this is now a four-way choice. Breakeven Mode reduces the exit target on a basket that has been open for an extended period, so it can be cleared near cost rather than waiting indefinitely.
- Buy & Sell — applies to baskets in either direction. Default.
- Buys Only — applies only to buy baskets; sell baskets always wait for the full target.
- Sells Only — applies only to sell baskets.
- Off — disabled entirely; every basket waits for its full profit target.
Controls whether Antipode can open buy baskets, sell baskets, or both.
- Buy and Sell — Antipode trades in both directions as signals arise. This is the default and allows the EA to work in any market environment.
- Buy Only — Antipode will only open buy baskets. Sell signals are ignored. Use this if you have a reason to avoid short exposure on AUDCAD.
- Sell Only — Antipode will only open sell baskets. Buy signals are ignored. Use this if you have a reason to avoid long exposure on AUDCAD.
An optional hard limit on how far an open basket may go against you. Set the threshold in the Max drawdown threshold field below, then choose how Antipode should respond when it is reached:
- OFF — no limit is applied. Default.
- Close all EA trades & CONTINUE — the basket is closed, then Antipode resumes looking for new entries as normal.
- Close all EA trades & REMOVE — the basket is closed and Antipode stops opening anything new until you restart it. The safest choice if you want a firm stop for the day.
- Alert on Terminal — nothing is closed; you simply get an on-screen alert so you can decide yourself.
Each of the three responses is available in a percentage version and a currency version — pick whichever suits how you think about risk.
If you chose a percentage mode, this is a percentage of your account balance — for example, 20 means the basket is acted on once it is 20% of balance underwater. If you chose a currency mode, this is a straight amount in your account currency.
Ignored when Max drawdown mode is OFF.
Every trade Antipode opens is tagged with this number so the EA can tell its own trades apart from any manual trades or other EAs running on the same account. You only need to change this if you're running two separate copies of Antipode on the same account at the same time — give each copy a different number.
This text appears in the Comment column of your broker's trade history and in MetaTrader's trade list. It defaults to "Antipode" and can be left as-is for most users. If you run multiple EAs and want to distinguish them in your broker statements, you can customise this label.
Turns the on-chart panel on or off. It now defaults to false so that backtests run at full speed out of the box — with the panel off, Antipode does no display work at all.
Leave at 0 and Antipode sizes the panel to suit your screen automatically. If the result is too small or too large — most likely on a remote desktop session or an unusual monitor setup — enter a value here instead. Typical values are between 1.0 and 1.5.
Any font installed on your machine can be used. Change this only if the default doesn't display correctly on your system.
Increases or decreases every piece of text on the panel together. Raising this also widens the panel to match, so text will not be cut off.
The Grid System
Antipode is a mean-reversion grid EA. This section explains — in plain terms — what that means and how the EA actually works.
How a trade cycle begins
Antipode monitors AUDCAD continuously. When a set of market conditions lines up — momentum, price levels, and a quiet volatility environment all at the same time — it opens a single buy or sell trade. This is the start of a basket.
What happens if price moves against the trade
If price moves away from the entry rather than toward the profit target, Antipode doesn't close the trade at a loss. Instead, it waits. If price continues in the adverse direction far enough, Antipode adds a second trade to the basket. Each additional trade is opened at a fixed distance from the previous one. This is a "grid step."
With multiple trades open at different price levels, the basket's average entry price moves closer to the current market price. This means a smaller price recovery is needed to reach the profit target across all trades combined.
Each additional trade is larger
To shift the average entry price more efficiently, each new grid trade is sized proportionally larger than the one before it. This is why it's important to start with a small lot size — deeper grids carry significantly more total exposure than a single trade might suggest.
How the basket closes
All trades in a basket close together as a single unit when the basket's combined profit reaches the exit target. The Exit Modes section explains the three ways that close can be carried out, and the Swap-Adjusted Target section explains how the target itself is calculated.
Safety limits
Two automatic safety mechanisms protect your account from extreme scenarios:
- If your account's available margin falls below a minimum threshold, Antipode will pause opening new grid trades until margin recovers.
- If available margin falls to a critical level, Antipode will close all open trades immediately regardless of profit or loss to protect the account from further drawdown.
Exit Modes
Version 2.50 replaced the old collection of trailing stop and take profit settings with a single Exit Mode choice and one shared Profit Target. This section explains what each mode actually does.
Trailing Stop - Virtual
The default. The exit level is held privately inside the EA and, when it is breached, Antipode closes the basket at market. Because nothing is sent to your broker, the exit can follow price more closely than a broker stop order is allowed to sit — brokers enforce a minimum distance on stop orders, and on a tight trail that minimum would otherwise get in the way.
The trade-off is that the exit only works while your terminal is running. If you use this mode, run Antipode on a VPS.
Trailing Stop - Broker
The same trailing behaviour, except the level is placed on your broker's server as a genuine stop loss on every trade in the basket. If your terminal, your internet connection, or your VPS drops out, the exit is still there and will still be honoured.
Because a real order is involved, Antipode automatically widens the level where your broker's rules require it, and quietly re-checks every trade in the basket so that none is left behind if the broker rejects a change during fast market conditions.
You will see stop loss levels appear against your trades in the terminal in this mode. That is expected.
Fixed Take Profit
Instead of trailing, Antipode places a real take profit order on every trade in the basket, all at the same target price. When price reaches it, your broker closes the basket automatically.
The target is refreshed periodically as overnight financing accrues, so it stays honest over a multi-day hold. This mode banks the target exactly — it will not let a strong move run further, which is the trade-off against the two trailing modes.
Which should I use?
| If you want… | Choose |
|---|---|
| The tightest exit and the best chance of catching extra profit on a strong move | Trailing Stop - Virtual |
| Protection that survives a disconnection or a VPS outage | Trailing Stop - Broker |
| A predictable, hands-off exit at a known price | Fixed Take Profit |
Swap-Adjusted Exit Target
This is one of Antipode's most important features — continuously factoring in real-world holding and trading costs to ensure every basket closes at a genuine net profit.
The problem it solves
When a basket of trades stays open for several days, overnight financing charges (called "swap" or "rollover") accumulate. If these charges are negative — meaning your broker charges you to hold the trades — they eat into the profit. A basket might reach its price-based target but still be at a net loss once swap is accounted for.
How it works
Antipode continuously tracks how much swap has built up across all open trades in the current basket. The exit target is then adjusted to compensate — so the EA is always aiming for a real net profit, not just a paper one.
On the chart, you'll see a dashed blue line marking the target. This line slowly drifts (upward for a buy basket) over time as swap accumulates. The basket won't close until price reaches this line.
Commission is included too
As well as swap, Antipode accounts for your broker's commission. Rather than asking you to enter a figure, it measures what you were actually charged when the current basket's trades were opened, and learns the closing side from your own trade history on this pair. That means it self-calibrates to your broker — whether they charge on open, on close, split across both, or roll everything into the spread — without any configuration.
What you'll see in the panel
The Exit column in the control panel shows the current target level, with a label that tells you which stage it is at: TSL* for a trailing target not yet reached, TSL @ for a trailing exit that is active and following price, and TP @ for a fixed take profit order sitting at the target.
Breakeven Mode
Breakeven Mode is an automatic fallback that activates when a basket has been open for an unusually long time without reaching its profit target.
When it activates
Antipode runs a built-in timer from the moment a basket is opened. If the basket is still open when that timer runs out, the EA switches into Breakeven Mode. When this happens, the Status field in the panel gains a gold (BE) marker.
What changes
In Breakeven Mode, the exit target shrinks significantly — from the normal profit distance down to a very small buffer. Antipode is now aiming to close the basket as close to its average entry price as possible, rather than waiting for the full profit target.
This doesn't mean the basket will close at a loss. It means the EA is now prioritising getting out cleanly over waiting for a full profit.
What resets it
If the market adds pressure and the grid opens another trade while in Breakeven Mode, the timer resets automatically and the full profit target is restored. Breakeven Mode deactivates and a fresh cycle begins.
Drawdown Protection
Drawdown protection is an optional hard limit on how far an open basket may go against you. It is switched off by default — grid systems are designed to recover from adverse moves, so cutting a basket short will usually turn a temporary paper loss into a permanent realised one. Turn it on only when you have decided on a worst case you are unwilling to exceed.
Setting it up
Two settings work together, both found under Drawdown Protection in the input list:
- Max drawdown mode — chooses whether the limit is measured as a percentage of balance or as a fixed amount in your account currency, and what Antipode does when it is hit.
- Max drawdown threshold — the number itself.
What happens when the limit is reached
| Response | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Close & CONTINUE | The basket is closed at market, then Antipode carries on watching for new entries as normal. |
| Close & REMOVE | The basket is closed and Antipode stops opening anything further until you restart it. Choose this if you want a firm stop rather than an automatic reset. |
| Alert on Terminal | Nothing is closed. You get an on-screen alert and decide yourself what to do. |
In all three cases the panel's Status field changes to DD LIMIT HIT or DD ALERT SENT, and the DD column in the configuration strip reads TRIGGERED.
Margin safety runs regardless
Separately from this setting, Antipode always monitors your account's margin level. If available margin becomes critically low, it closes all of its own trades immediately to protect the account, whether or not you have configured a drawdown limit.
Volatility Filter
Antipode includes an automatic filter that temporarily pauses new entries during periods of extreme momentum — when the market is moving unusually fast in one direction.
What it does
When extreme market conditions are detected, Antipode stops opening new baskets for a set period. It uses two separate detection windows: one that monitors short-term momentum, and one that looks at the bigger picture over longer periods. Both must be calm before a new entry is allowed.
What it doesn't do
The filter only affects new entries. If you already have an open basket when the filter activates, Antipode continues managing that basket normally — it will still add grid trades, manage the trailing exit, and close when the target is reached.
What you'll see
When the filter is active, the Status field in the panel shows ⚠ VOL FILTER along with a countdown timer showing when normal trading will resume. Once the countdown reaches zero, Antipode resumes looking for entries automatically.
Running in the Strategy Tester
Antipode works with MetaTrader 5's built-in backtesting tool so you can review its historical behaviour before running it on a live account.
Recommended settings
- Every tick based on real ticks — for the most accurate results. Slower, but worth it for a final check before going live.
- 1 minute OHLC — a reasonable compromise between speed and accuracy for initial exploration.
- Set the date range to at least 12 months for a meaningful sample.
- Leave Show Info Panel at false when backtesting — this speeds up the simulation significantly. It now defaults to false for exactly this reason.
- Backtest the Exit Mode you actually intend to run. Trailing and Fixed Take Profit exits produce meaningfully different result curves on the same data.
Chart Lines
While a basket is open, Antipode draws two dashed lines on your chart to give you a visual reference at a glance.
| Line | Colour | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Exit Target | Blue · Dashed | The basket's profit target. In the trailing modes this is the level at which the trailing exit will activate; in Fixed Take Profit mode it is where the take profit orders sit. Hover over the line and the tooltip tells you which. It adjusts gradually as overnight financing charges accumulate — you may notice it drifting over time on trades held for multiple days. |
| Next Grid | Orange · Dashed | The price level where Antipode would open the next grid trade if price continues moving in the adverse direction. It switches to a dotted style while a cooldown is running. |
Both lines disappear automatically when the basket closes.
Glossary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Grid | A series of trades opened at staggered price levels, all in the same direction, managed and exited as a single unit. |
| Basket | All the open trades belonging to a single active grid cycle. They share a direction and a common exit target. |
| Grid Steps / Depth | The number of trades currently open in the basket. Greater depth means more total exposure but a lower average entry price relative to the current market. |
| Average Entry Price | The blended entry price of all trades in the basket, weighted by their individual sizes. Antipode's exit target is calculated from this price. |
| Lot Multiplier | Each trade added to a basket is sized larger than the previous one by a fixed multiplier. This moves the basket's average entry price toward the current market price more efficiently than adding equal-sized trades. |
| Exit Mode | The single setting that determines how a basket is closed once its profit target is reached — by a virtual trailing exit, a broker-side trailing stop, or a fixed take profit order. All three aim at the same target. |
| Profit Target | How far the basket must move in your favour, measured from its average entry price, before Antipode acts. Shared by all three exit modes. |
| Trailing Exit (TSL) | Antipode's default exit mechanism. Once the basket's total profit (after costs) reaches the target, a trailing exit activates and follows price. The basket closes if price reverses by a small fixed distance from the peak. |
| Virtual vs Broker | A virtual exit is held inside the EA and executed as a market close, so it can sit closer to price than broker rules allow. A broker exit is a real stop loss order on your broker's server, so it survives a disconnection. |
| TSL* / TSL @ / TP @ | TSL* is the price a trailing exit will activate at (it hasn't fired yet). TSL @ is the trailing level once it's active and following price. TP @ is where a fixed take profit order currently sits. |
| Swap-Adjusted Exit | Antipode's exit system that factors in accumulated overnight financing charges and broker commission when deciding whether the profit target has been reached. Prevents baskets from closing at a net loss after costs. |
| Breakeven Mode | An automatic state that activates after a long-running basket times out. Shrinks the exit target to close the basket near breakeven rather than waiting indefinitely for the full profit target. Can be applied to buys, sells, both, or switched off. |
| Drawdown Limit | An optional hard cap on how far an open basket may go against you, set either as a percentage of balance or a currency amount. Off by default. |
| Cooldown | A waiting period after a basket closes before the EA looks for its next entry. Prevents immediate re-entry on residual market momentum. |
| Volatility Filter | An automatic pause on new entries during detected extreme market conditions. Releases on its own after a set period. |
| Swap / Rollover | A daily charge (or credit) applied to trades held overnight by your broker. On AUDCAD, this is typically a cost rather than a credit, and Antipode accounts for it in its exit calculations. |
| Commission | A per-trade fee charged by raw-spread brokers, separate from the spread. Antipode measures what you were actually charged and folds it into the exit target automatically. |
| Stops Level | The minimum distance from current price at which your broker will accept a stop loss or take profit order. It is the reason the Broker exit mode sometimes sits slightly wider than the distance you configured. |
Support
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