MetaTrader 4 on Mac OS

MetaTrader 4 — Examples | 2 July 2012, 10:52

460 919

Introduction

Apple products have become very popular. MetaQuotes Software Corp. attentively follows the progress of the IT industry and has already released the special mobile applications for iOS-based devices - MetaTrader 4 for iPhone and MetaTrader 5 for iPhone.

In this article, you will find out how to work in MetaTrader 4 via the Apple's popular operating system.

Installing MetaTrader 4

The easiest way to install MetaTrader 4 is download the ready-made package from the official website. Install the platform similarly to any other application.

Installing MetaTrader 4 in MacOS

MetaTrader for MacOS supports the Apple M2 chip and works reliably on any system version including Ventura.

You do not need to download any additional components or make any complex adjustments. The platform is immediately ready to go after being installed from the package.

Download MetaTrader 4 for Mac OS

If this does not suit you for some reason, below is an alternative way to launch MetaTrader 4 platform on your Mac.

Installing Wine on Mac OS

Wine is a free software that allows users of the Unix-based systems to run an application developed for the Microsoft Windows systems. Among all the Wine versions there is one for Mac OS.

Note that Wine is not a fully stable application. Thus, some functions in the applications you start under it may work improperly or not work at all.

For the installation on Mac OS we recommend to use the free application PlayOnMac. PlayOnMac is a Wine-based software for easy installation of Windows applications on Mac OS.

PlayOnMac Installation

To install PlayOnMac, open the product's official web site, move to Downloads section and click the link for downloading the latest version.

Downloading PlayOnMac

After downloading the DMG package, launch it from Downloads section of your system:

Launching PlayOnMac installation

PlayOnMac first launch window will appear. After clicking "Next", the installer will start checking and installing the various components necessary for work.

PlayOnMac first launch

The first necessary component is XQuartz. This is a software for using X Window System on Mac OS. X Window System provides standard tools and protocols for building the graphical user interface in Unix-like OS.

Installing XQuartz

If you have already installed XQuartz or want to install it later, select "Don't install XQuartz for the moment" or "I've downloaded file by myself", respectively.

XQuartz installation is performed in several stages. First of all, you should read the important information (Read Me) and accept the license conditions.

Installing XQuartz

Before the installation, Mac OS security system will ask you to enter your account's password:

Installing XQuartz

Wait for the installation to complete. For changes to take effect, you should restart your PC.

Completing XQuartz installation

After restarting the system, launch PlayOnMac again from the setup file in Downloads folder. The first launch window will appear again. This time, the installer will offer to install MS Windows fonts necessary for correct operation.

Installing fonts

Accept the license agreement conditions and wait till the installation is complete. After that, PlayOnMac is ready for use. Its main window will appear:

PlayOnMac main window

Updating Wine

Wine v. 1.4 is installed together with PlayOnMac. Wine 1.4.1 is the latest stable version at the moment. Wine 1.5.21 beta release containing many improvements is also available for download. However, it may be less stable. It is recommended to install the latest version of Wine.

To upgrade Wine to the latest version, open PlayOnMac upper menu and select Manage Wine Versions:

Manage Wine versions

The window with Wine versions available for installation will open. Select the latest version (1.5.21 at the moment).

Wine versions available for installation

Move the latest Wine version to the right side of the window. The installation will start.

Updating Wine to the latest version

After the installation is complete, the new version of Wine will appear in the left part of PlayOnMac Wine versions manager window. You can then close the window and install MetaTrader 4 trading terminal.

MetaTrader 4 Installation

To install MetaTrader 4, download the distribution package from www.metatrader4.com official web site. After the download is complete, launch the setup file. PlayOnMac will be used automatically to open it.

Installing MetaTrader 4

The standard terminal installation process with all its stages will start:

Installing MetaTrader 4

When the installation is complete, PlayOnMac will offer you to create the shortcuts for MetaTrader 4 terminal components - the client terminal itself and MetaEditor:

Creating shortcuts

After creating the necessary shortcuts, you can start using MetaTrader 4. Double click on it in PlayOnMac window to launch the terminal.

Installed MetaTrader 4 terminal

Below you can see MetaTrader 4 terminal on Mac OS:

MetaTrader 4 on Mac OS

MetaTrader 4 Data Directory

PlayOnMac creates a separate virtual logical drive with necessary environment for each installed program. The default path of the installed terminal's data folder is as follows:

Library\PlayOnMac\WinePrefix\MetaTrader_4_\Drive C\Program Files\MetaTrader 4

Conclusion

In this article we described a fast and easy way to run the most popular application for Forex trading in Mac OS. We hope that this article, or - to be more precise - the comments to it, will become a good place for accumulating useful information about running MetaTrader 4 under this operating system.

Translated from Russian by MetaQuotes Ltd.
Original article: https://www.mql5.com/ru/articles/1356

Warning: All rights to these materials are reserved by MetaQuotes Ltd. Copying or reprinting of these materials in whole or in part is prohibited.

Other articles by this author

Last comments | Go to discussion (21)

gaborka1 | 6 Jan 2018 at 14:19

Hello everyone,

why is not there a "native OSX version"?

I find it strange to always play with wine.

I thought the company Metaquotes is better!

marc.64 | 26 Feb 2018 at 15:44

gaborka1 :

Hello everyone,

why is not there a "native OSX version"?

I find it strange to always play with wine.

I thought the company Metaquotes is better!

Obviously not. At my broker, the problems do not even seem to be known. Maybe it helps to complain, so that at first the problem is perceived?

MACOS_user | 8 Dec 2019 at 21:47

macostrader:
Hello dear @MetaQuotes Software Corp. team, do you plan some update for macOS users ?

I think, nowdays, there are so many MAC users out there who desire for MT4 native app. And MAC users group is getting bigger and bigger. They deserve app that meets the expectations of demanding user.

Some essential in 21st century is support of high resolution screens 2560x1600 or even higher 4k monitors. There are welcome also some UX & UI improvements. Yeah, you can use unstable PlayOnMac software to run Windows app on MAC , but it is not real solution from such big company as MetaQuotes.And it is not even hard, I think. Team of experienced programmers can solve this very fast. There must be only will. You don’t need to make whole new app out of scratch. You have a great app already, it only needs to be “re-coded” to other programming language.

Hope you make this app soon, and make MetaTrader Great Again !!!

they will never do this ! i tried tell them this to create NATIVE MACOS APP for MT4 and MT5 (not emulated for Windows Wine) - Metaquotes told me install Windows on my MACBOOK and Hackintosh PC ! Imagine this ! There he told me use Virtual machine with Windows imagine this : https://www.mql5.com/ru/forum/280614

There Metquotes say they will never create MT4 and MT5 for MacOS native app - https://www.mql5.com/ru/forum/325441

Also in latest MACOS Catalina do not support even emulated 32 bit Wine process in PLAY ON MAC (metaquotes officially recommend use this Windows Emulator in MACOS to launch mt4/mt5 but its not work now in Catalina because 32 bit not supported in Catalina MACOS 10.15.1) or any other windows emulator!

This message only concerns those using MetaTrader for Mac.

Unfortunately, the newest update for MacOS, Catalina, introduced a compatibility issue that does not allow MetaTrader programs to no longer function on the platform. We recommend our MacOS-based users who wish to continue trading on their Mac platform to postpone the update until a fix is available.

In the meantime, affected users can continue to trade via the ***, or install Windows onto their Mac systems as a second OS, or to use within virtualization software like Parallels.

All traders who utilise the PC or Windows platform are not affected, and can continue trading without concern.

If you have further questions regarding this issue, please contact our customer service.

Kind regards,

Admiral Markets

Big level of International company called Metaquotes....

MACOS_user | 8 Dec 2019 at 22:04

gaborka1:

Hello everyone,

why is not there a "native OSX version"?

I find it strange to always play with wine.

I thought the company Metaquotes is better!

its not about this company....i also in shock - this is international company that cannot code Compatible 64 and 32 bit Native MT4 and MT5 platform app for MAC and Linux

if I worked as a programmer in this company, I would have thrown myself out of the balcony of the 10th floor with my cheep computer that works at Windows

AwarenessForex | 28 Jun 2022 at 06:59

MACOS_user #:

its not about this company....i also in shock - this is international company that cannot code Compatible 64 and 32 bit Native MT4 and MT5 platform app for MAC and Linux

if I worked as a programmer in this company, I would have thrown myself out of the balcony of the 10th floor with my cheep computer that works at Windows

gaborka1 #:

Hello everyone,

why is not there a "native OSX version"?

I find it strange to always play with wine.

I thought the company Metaquotes is better!

macostrader #:
Hello dear @MetaQuotes Software Corp. team, do you plan some update for macOS users ?

I think, nowdays, there are so many MAC users out there who desire for MT4 native app. And MAC users group is getting bigger and bigger. They deserve app that meets the expectations of demanding user.
.........

Henry Latourrette #:

seriously guys... when will a Mac OS X Metatrader version be available ?

It's been years from this and this was never working properly.

Feri Muhibudin #:
why not make Mac OS X version?

For all those "traders" who are begging for MT4 to be ported to native macOS...that will never happen. Neither would MT5 for mac. The actual userbase for serious derivatives traders using Apple hardware/OS is very, very small (as there is little financial incentive to use/develop trading software on proprietary Apple hardware/OS). The Trading infrastructure for stocks/futures/fx are using Windows OS or some flavor of Linux + emulator/Wine for certain Windows components. This is a simple reality and has been for the last 2-3 decades or so.

A similar example would be if I wanted to use Final Cut Pro very badly. The answer would not be to beg the developer to make a Windows version. The answer is to either find the equivalent software for Windows, attempt to use a MacOS emulator, ...or buy a mac with sufficient specs if it is genuinely that serious.

So the logical conclusion is to either:

use the pre-packaged MT4 for Mac from your broker (e.g ask the broker),
install mt4 windows yourself in a Wine bottle
use a WindowsOS VM within MacOS (e.g. Parallels)
rent a cheap Windows VPS. Then use Remote Desktop app to access it. Linux may also work, but will require extra setup on your part.
get a used laptop (intel Core 3rd gen or higher / AMD Ryzen 2nd gen or higher), use Windows 10/11 LTSC (or Pro version, disabling all updates/bloatware except security updates) and use that exclusively to run mt4.

Hope this helps someone break their delusions about wanting native MacOS trading software.

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