Many professional traders and developers consider decompilation without permission equivalent to theft. The MetaTrader ecosystem is already plagued by cloned EAs and fraud. Before risking malware, legal trouble, or spaghetti code, consider these alternatives. 1. Contact the Original Developer If you purchased an EA, ask for the MQ4 file. Many developers will provide it with proof of purchase. Offer to sign a non-disclosure agreement if needed. 2. Use a Disassembler (Not Decompiler) Tools like MT4 Disassembler (command line, open source) show you the low-level instructions without pretending to give perfect MQ4. Harder to use, but no "fake" code. 3. Rewrite from Specification If you understand what the EA does (entry conditions, exit logic, money management), rewrite it from scratch. This is legal and educational. 4. Decompile Only What You Legally Own If you have an old EX4 of your own work (lost source), and you're sure of its origin – use local, trusted offline tools. Do not upload your EX4 to any "online decompiler" website. Part 8: Step-by-Step – If You Still Want to Try GitHub Tools (Safe Approach) If you are determined to experiment, do so in extreme isolation.
Decompiled output (real example from broken GitHub tool): decompile ex4 to mq4 github work
When a trader loses the original MQ4 file or wants to understand how a competing (or purchased) EA works, the search begins: "How to decompile EX4 to MQ4?" And more specifically, "Where can I find working tools on GitHub?" Offer to sign a non-disclosure agreement if needed
double CalculateRSI(int period) double sumGain = 0; for(int i=0; i<period; i++) sumGain += Close[i]; return sumGain / period; i++) sumGain += Close[i]
double func_1(int a1_0) double d1_0 = 0.0; for(int i1_0=0; i1_0<a1_0; i1_0++) d1_0 = d1_0 + Close[i1_0]; return (d1_0 / a1_0);
Functionally similar, but no original naming, comments, or structure. Multiply this by 5000 lines — you get an unmaintainable mess. This is critical. Many "EX4 to MQ4" tools on GitHub are malicious.