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.
Reverse Engineering EX4 to MQ4: An Analysis of Open Source GitHub Methodologies, Challenges, and Ethical Implications
: Many repositories are essentially advertisements that include a
are merely command-line wrappers. They require an external, proprietary
MetaQuotes, the Russian developer of the MetaTrader platform, designed the EX4 format as a fortress. When a developer writes an EA in MQL4 (MetaQuotes Language 4), they compile it into EX4 bytecode to protect their intellectual property. Ideally, this code is unreadable to humans.
Before diving into the decompilation process, it's essential to understand the file types involved: