Magic numbers and why I give every EA version its own range
Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2026 11:07 am
When I update an EA I now change its magic number, not only the version string. Each EA gets a block of numbers, for example 41000 to 41099 for my EURUSD breakout EA, and every new version takes the next number in the block.
Why it helped:
One thing to watch: some trade copiers and prop firm dashboards group by magic number, so changing it can look like a new strategy to them.
How do others handle versioning in live accounts? Separate numbers, comments on the order, or something else?
Why it helped:
- After an update, old open trades still belong to the old version. Without a separate magic number, the new code tried to manage positions it didn't open, with different stop logic. That happened to me once and it wasn't pretty.
- Reporting by version becomes trivial. I can filter the account history by magic number and see how v2.3 did against v2.4 without guessing dates.
- If I run the same EA on two charts with different settings, each chart gets its own number inside the block.
One thing to watch: some trade copiers and prop firm dashboards group by magic number, so changing it can look like a new strategy to them.
How do others handle versioning in live accounts? Separate numbers, comments on the order, or something else?