[mq5] Download news data using Webrequest ==> .json file

I will share a simple method to download economic news data from an online JSON file and save it locally using the WebRequest() function.

The purpose is to fetch data from https://nfs.faireconomy.media/ff_calendar_thisweek.json, which provides the economic calendar for the current week.

Source code: 

void DownloadAndParse()

{
   string json_url = "https://nfs.faireconomy.media/ff_calendar_thisweek.json";
   string fileName = "calendar_thisweek.json";
   uchar result[];
   char data[];
   string headers;
   string result_headers;
   int timeout = 5000;
   int res;

   Print("Requesting JSON from: ", json_url);
   ResetLastError();
   res = WebRequest("GET", json_url, headers, timeout, data, result, result_headers);

   if (res == 200)
   {
      Print("JSON downloaded!");
     
      // Chuyển dữ liệu từ uchar sang string
      string jsonRaw = "";
      int size = ArraySize(result);
      jsonRaw = CharArrayToString(result, 0, size);
     
      // Lưu file JSON
      int fileHandle = FileOpen(fileName, FILE_WRITE | FILE_TXT | FILE_ANSI);
      if (fileHandle != INVALID_HANDLE)
      {
         FileWriteString(fileHandle, jsonRaw);
         FileClose(fileHandle);
         Print("JSON saved to file.");

      }
      else
      {
         Print("Failed to open file for writing. Error: ", GetLastError());
      }
   }
   else
   {
      Print("Download failed. HTTP Code: ", res, " | Error: ", GetLastError());
   }

}

void OnStart()
{
    DownloadAndParse();
}

How it works:

• WebRequest() is used to send a GET request to the specified URL.

• If successful ( HTTP code 200 ), the JSON content is retrieved.

• The downloaded data is converted from a uchar[] array into a readable string .

• The string is then saved to a local .json file for later use.

Important notes:

• You must allow URL access in your MetaTrader terminal:

  • Go to Tools > Options > Expert Advisors.

  • Add https://nfs.faireconomy.media to the list of allowed URLs.

• Always handle errors carefully to avoid unexpected failures in your EA or scrip

• You can easily integrate this download method into your EA or indicator to fetch the latest economic events automatically.
  

Download file folder:

• After downloading, the JSON file will be automatically saved in the MQL5 > Files directory of your terminal.