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Get Symbol String Property

Request: retrieve string-type property value for a symbol.

API Information:

  • Low-level API: MT5Account.symbol_info_string(...) (defined in package/MetaRpcMT5/helpers/mt5_account.py)
  • gRPC service: mt5_term_api.MarketInfo
  • Proto definition: SymbolInfoString (defined in mt5-term-api-market-info.proto)

RPC

  • Service: mt5_term_api.MarketInfo
  • Method: SymbolInfoString(SymbolInfoStringRequest) -> SymbolInfoStringReply
  • Low-level client (generated): MarketInfoStub.SymbolInfoString(request, metadata, timeout)

💬 Just the essentials

  • What it is. Retrieve a single string-type property value for a symbol (DESCRIPTION, CURRENCY_BASE, PATH, etc.).
  • Why you need it. Get specific text symbol properties like currency codes, descriptions, and metadata.
  • When to use. Use symbol_params_many() for multiple properties. Use this method for single property queries.

🎯 Purpose

Use it to query specific string symbol properties:

  • Get symbol description and display names
  • Retrieve currency codes (base, profit, margin)
  • Check symbol path and categorization
  • Get exchange and ISIN information
  • Query symbol formula and metadata
  • Check bank and country information

📚 Tutorial

For a detailed line-by-line explanation with examples, see: -> symbol_info_string - How it works

Method Signature

async def symbol_info_string(
    self,
    symbol: str,
    property: market_info_pb2.SymbolInfoStringProperty,
    deadline: Optional[datetime] = None,
    cancellation_event: Optional[asyncio.Event] = None,
) -> market_info_pb2.SymbolInfoStringData

Request message:

message SymbolInfoStringRequest {
  string symbol = 1;
  SymbolInfoStringProperty type = 2;
}

Reply message:

message SymbolInfoStringReply {
  oneof response {
    SymbolInfoStringData data = 1;
    Error error = 2;
  }
}

message SymbolInfoStringData {
  string value = 1;
}

🔽 Input

Parameter Type Description
symbol str (required) Symbol name
property SymbolInfoStringProperty (enum) Property to retrieve (DESCRIPTION, PATH, etc.)
deadline datetime (optional) Deadline for the gRPC call (UTC datetime)
cancellation_event asyncio.Event (optional) Event to cancel the operation

⬆️ Output

Field Type Python Type Description
value string str The string value of the property

Return value: The method returns SymbolInfoStringData object with value field containing the requested property.

Note: In Python code, use the full enum path from the market_info module.

SymbolInfoStringProperty

Defined in mt5-term-api-market-info.proto.

Constant Value Description
SYMBOL_BASIS 0 Symbol basis
SYMBOL_CATEGORY 1 Symbol category
SYMBOL_COUNTRY 2 Symbol country
SYMBOL_SECTOR_NAME 3 Sector name
SYMBOL_INDUSTRY_NAME 4 Industry name
SYMBOL_CURRENCY_BASE 5 Base currency
SYMBOL_CURRENCY_PROFIT 6 Profit currency
SYMBOL_CURRENCY_MARGIN 7 Margin currency
SYMBOL_BANK 8 Feeder bank
SYMBOL_DESCRIPTION 9 Symbol description
SYMBOL_EXCHANGE 10 Exchange name
SYMBOL_FORMULA 11 Formula for custom symbols
SYMBOL_ISIN 12 ISIN code
SYMBOL_PAGE 13 Web page URL
SYMBOL_PATH 14 Symbol path in symbol tree

Usage in Python: 

import MetaRpcMT5.mt5_term_api_market_info_pb2 as market_info_pb2

# Get symbol description
desc = await account.symbol_info_string("EURUSD", market_info_pb2.SYMBOL_DESCRIPTION)
print(f"Description: {desc.value}")

# Get currency pair
base = await account.symbol_info_string("EURUSD", market_info_pb2.SYMBOL_CURRENCY_BASE)
profit = await account.symbol_info_string("EURUSD", market_info_pb2.SYMBOL_CURRENCY_PROFIT)
print(f"Pair: {base.value}/{profit.value}")

🧩 Notes & Tips

  • Automatic reconnection: Built-in protection against transient gRPC errors with automatic reconnection via execute_with_reconnect.
  • Default timeout: If deadline is None, the method will wait indefinitely (or until server timeout).
  • Access the value: The returned SymbolInfoStringData object has a .value field containing the string.
  • Currency properties: CURRENCY_BASE, CURRENCY_PROFIT, and CURRENCY_MARGIN are essential for margin and profit calculations.
  • Path format: SYMBOL_PATH uses backslash separators (e.g., "Forex\Majors\EURUSD").
  • Empty values: Some properties may return empty strings if not set by the broker.
  • ISIN codes: Only available for securities like stocks and bonds.

🔗 Usage Examples

1) Get symbol description

import MetaRpcMT5.mt5_term_api_market_info_pb2 as market_info_pb2

# Get symbol description
result = await account.symbol_info_string(
    symbol="EURUSD",
    property=market_info_pb2.SYMBOL_DESCRIPTION
)
print(f"Description: {result.value}")  # Output: Description: Euro vs US Dollar

2) Get currency triplet (base, profit, margin)

import MetaRpcMT5.mt5_term_api_market_info_pb2 as market_info_pb2

# Get all three currency codes
base = await account.symbol_info_string(
    symbol="XAUUSD",
    property=market_info_pb2.SYMBOL_CURRENCY_BASE
)

profit = await account.symbol_info_string(
    symbol="XAUUSD",
    property=market_info_pb2.SYMBOL_CURRENCY_PROFIT
)

margin = await account.symbol_info_string(
    symbol="XAUUSD",
    property=market_info_pb2.SYMBOL_CURRENCY_MARGIN
)

print(f"XAUUSD Currencies:")
print(f"  Base: {base.value}")      # XAU (Gold)
print(f"  Profit: {profit.value}")  # USD
print(f"  Margin: {margin.value}")  # USD

3) Get symbol path and parse hierarchy

import MetaRpcMT5.mt5_term_api_market_info_pb2 as market_info_pb2

result = await account.symbol_info_string(
    symbol="EURUSD",
    property=market_info_pb2.SYMBOL_PATH
)

# Parse path hierarchy
path = result.value
folders = path.split("\\")

print(f"Symbol Path: {path}")
print(f"Hierarchy: {' > '.join(folders)}")
# Output: Hierarchy: Forex > Majors > EURUSD

4) Get ISIN code for stocks

import MetaRpcMT5.mt5_term_api_market_info_pb2 as market_info_pb2

result = await account.symbol_info_string(
    symbol="AAPL",
    property=market_info_pb2.SYMBOL_ISIN
)

if result.value:
    print(f"AAPL ISIN: {result.value}")
else:
    print("ISIN not available")

5) Get exchange name

import MetaRpcMT5.mt5_term_api_market_info_pb2 as market_info_pb2

result = await account.symbol_info_string(
    symbol="BTCUSD",
    property=market_info_pb2.SYMBOL_EXCHANGE
)

print(f"Exchange: {result.value}")

6) Display symbol metadata

import MetaRpcMT5.mt5_term_api_market_info_pb2 as market_info_pb2

async def display_symbol_metadata(account, symbol: str):
    """Display comprehensive string metadata for a symbol"""

    # Get description
    desc = await account.symbol_info_string(
        symbol=symbol,
        property=market_info_pb2.SYMBOL_DESCRIPTION
    )

    # Get path
    path = await account.symbol_info_string(
        symbol=symbol,
        property=market_info_pb2.SYMBOL_PATH
    )

    # Get currencies
    base_curr = await account.symbol_info_string(
        symbol=symbol,
        property=market_info_pb2.SYMBOL_CURRENCY_BASE
    )

    profit_curr = await account.symbol_info_string(
        symbol=symbol,
        property=market_info_pb2.SYMBOL_CURRENCY_PROFIT
    )

    print(f"Symbol Metadata: {symbol}")
    print(f"  Description: {desc.value}")
    print(f"  Path: {path.value}")
    print(f"  Base Currency: {base_curr.value}")
    print(f"  Profit Currency: {profit_curr.value}")

# Usage
await display_symbol_metadata(account, "EURUSD")

7) Get symbol with timeout

import MetaRpcMT5.mt5_term_api_market_info_pb2 as market_info_pb2
from datetime import datetime, timedelta

deadline = datetime.utcnow() + timedelta(seconds=3)

try:
    result = await account.symbol_info_string(
        symbol="GBPUSD",
        property=market_info_pb2.SYMBOL_DESCRIPTION,
        deadline=deadline
    )
    print(f"Description: {result.value}")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Timeout or error: {e}")

📚 See also