PositionsTotal HOW

Example from file: examples/demos/lowlevel/01_general_operations.go

The PositionsTotal() method returns the total number of open positions on the trading account. This is one of the simplest and most frequently used queries when working with trading strategies.

It does not return details about positions — only their count. If you need to get a list with detailed information (symbol, ticket, volume, etc.), use the OpenedOrders() or OpenedOrdersTickets() methods.

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🧩 Code example

positionsTotalData, err := account.PositionsTotal(ctx)
if err != nil {
    helpers.PrintShortError(err, "PositionsTotal failed")
} else {
    // Direct field access: TotalPositions
    fmt.Printf("  Total open positions:          %d\n", positionsTotalData.TotalPositions)
}

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🟢 Detailed Code Explanation

positionsTotalData, err := account.PositionsTotal(ctx)

A gRPC request is sent to the MetaTrader server. In response, the gateway returns a PositionsTotalResponse object containing the TotalPositions field — the number of open positions on the account.

Note: This method does not require any parameters — it simply returns the count of currently open positions.

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if err != nil {
    helpers.PrintShortError(err, "PositionsTotal failed")
}

If an error occurs during the request execution (e.g., no connection or unauthorized user), it is handled through the PrintShortError() helper.

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fmt.Printf("  Total open positions:          %d\n", positionsTotalData.TotalPositions)

If there are no errors, the number of open positions is printed to the console. For example:

Total open positions:          3

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📦 What the Server Returns

message PositionsTotalData {
  // Total number of positions
  int32 total_positions = 1;
}

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Example Output

Total open positions:          2

📘 This means that 2 active positions are currently open on the account (e.g., EURUSD and GBPUSD).

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🧠 What It's Used For

The PositionsTotal() method is used:

• to check for open trades before opening a new one;
• in risk management algorithms that limit the number of active positions;
• during trading system initialization to determine the current account state;
• in monitoring dashboards to display the total number of trades.

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💬 In Simple Terms

PositionsTotal() is a quick way to find out how many trades are currently open on the account. The method does not return trade details, only their count — convenient for checks and conditions like: "if no positions, open a new one".