SymbolInfoSessionTrade HOW

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

The SymbolInfoSessionTrade() method is used to retrieve trading session times — periods when trading operations are allowed for a symbol.

Unlike SymbolInfoSessionQuote() (which shows when quotes are available), this method shows when trading is allowed — that is, when the server accepts orders and executes trades.

---

🧩 Code example

tradeSessionReq := &pb.SymbolInfoSessionTradeRequest{
    Symbol:       cfg.TestSymbol,
    DayOfWeek:    pb.DayOfWeek_MONDAY,
    SessionIndex: 0,
}
tradeSessionData, err := account.SymbolInfoSessionTrade(ctx, tradeSessionReq)
if err != nil {
    helpers.PrintShortError(err, "SymbolInfoSessionTrade failed")
} else {
    fmt.Printf("  Monday trade session #0:\n")
    // From and To are *timestamppb.Timestamp holding a time of day (broker server time); their date is not meaningful.
    // Count the seconds from the start of From's day: a session that runs to midnight ends at 24:00 = 86400
    // (To is then the next day's 00:00, which Hour()/Minute() alone would show as 0).
    if tradeSessionData.From != nil && tradeSessionData.To != nil {
        dayStart := tradeSessionData.From.AsTime().Truncate(24 * time.Hour)
        fromSeconds := int64(tradeSessionData.From.AsTime().Sub(dayStart).Seconds())
        toSeconds := int64(tradeSessionData.To.AsTime().Sub(dayStart).Seconds())
        fmt.Printf("    From (seconds from day start): %d\n", fromSeconds)
        fmt.Printf("    To (seconds from day start):   %d\n", toSeconds)
    }
}

🟢 Detailed Code Explanation

tradeSessionReq := &pb.SymbolInfoSessionTradeRequest{
    Symbol:       cfg.TestSymbol,
    DayOfWeek:    pb.DayOfWeek_MONDAY,
    SessionIndex: 0,
}

A request is created with parameters:

• Symbol — trading instrument (e.g., EURUSD);
• DayOfWeek — day of the week for which the schedule is needed;
• SessionIndex — sequential session number for that day.

---

tradeSessionData, err := account.SymbolInfoSessionTrade(ctx, tradeSessionReq)

A request is sent to the MetaTrader server via gRPC. The response returns a structure with From and To fields — trading session start and end.

---

if tradeSessionData.From != nil && tradeSessionData.To != nil {
    dayStart := tradeSessionData.From.AsTime().Truncate(24 * time.Hour)
    fromSeconds := int64(tradeSessionData.From.AsTime().Sub(dayStart).Seconds())
    toSeconds := int64(tradeSessionData.To.AsTime().Sub(dayStart).Seconds())
    fmt.Printf("    From (seconds from day start): %d\n", fromSeconds)
    fmt.Printf("    To (seconds from day start):   %d\n", toSeconds)
}

From and To carry a time of day in the broker server's time zone (seconds from 00:00); their date part has no meaning. Both are converted to time.Time and counted from the start of From's day. A session that runs to midnight ends at 24:00: To is then the next day's 00:00, so it gives 86400. Taking only Hour()/Minute()/Second() of To would print 0 for that end.

---

📘 What is SessionIndex

The SessionIndex parameter is not related to the day of the week, it indicates the session number within the selected day.

For example, if a symbol has several trading intervals during the day:

DayOfWeek	SessionIndex	From	To
MONDAY	0	09:00	12:00
MONDAY	1	13:00	17:00
TUESDAY	0	09:00	17:00

That is:

• DayOfWeek — day of the week;
• SessionIndex — sequential session number on that day.

If an instrument has only one trading session per day (e.g., Forex 24 hours), then SessionIndex = 0.

---

📦 What the Server Returns

message SymbolInfoSessionTradeData {
  google.protobuf.Timestamp From = 1; // Trading session start time
  google.protobuf.Timestamp To = 2;   // Trading session end time
}

---

💡 Example Output

Monday trade session #0:
    From (seconds from day start): 0
    To (seconds from day start):   86400

📘 This means trading is available all day — from 00:00 to 24:00 (EURUSD on MetaQuotes-Demo).

---

ℹ️ When There Is No Session

A day (or a SessionIndex) without a session does not answer with zeros: the call returns an error, ERR_MARKET_SESSION_INDEX. To read every session of a day, ask for SessionIndex 0, 1, 2, … until that error.

---

🧠 What It's Used For

The SymbolInfoSessionTrade() method is used:

• to check trading hours before opening orders;
• to avoid trading outside sessions;
• for visualizing market operation (charts, calendars);
• in backtests and simulations to account for trading schedules.

---

💬 In Simple Terms

SymbolInfoSessionTrade() shows what hours and days trading is allowed for a symbol. From 0 and To 86400 mean trading all day; a day without a session answers with ERR_MARKET_SESSION_INDEX.