Skip to content

Get Used Margin (get_margin)

Sugar method: Returns currently used margin (locked funds) in one line.

API Information:

  • Method: sugar.get_margin()
  • Returns: Used margin as float
  • Layer: HIGH (MT5Sugar)

Method Signature

async def get_margin(self) -> float

ℹ️ Input / Output

Input Type Description
None - No parameters required
Output Type Description
margin float Currently used margin

🏛️ Essentials

  • What it is: Sum of margin locked by all your open positions.
  • Why you need it: Check available margin before opening new trades, calculate margin level.
  • Formula: Total margin required to maintain current open positions.

⚡ Under the Hood

MT5Sugar.get_margin()
    ↓ calls
MT5Service.get_account_double(ACCOUNT_MARGIN)
    ↓ calls
MT5Account.account_info_double(property_id=ACCOUNT_MARGIN)
    ↓ gRPC protobuf
AccountInformationService.AccountInfoDouble(property_id=10)
    ↓ MT5 Terminal

What happens:

  1. Sugar Layer: Calls service with ACCOUNT_MARGIN constant
  2. Service Layer: Calls account with property_id for margin
  3. Account Layer: gRPC call with specific property enum
  4. Result: Used margin as float

Related files:

  • Sugar: src/pymt5/mt5_sugar.py:406
  • Service: src/pymt5/mt5_service.py:298
  • Account: package/MetaRpcMT5/helpers/mt5_account.py:578

When to Use

Before trading - Check if you have free margin for new positions

Risk management - Monitor margin usage vs account size

Margin level calculation - Calculate (Equity / Margin) * 100

Position sizing - Ensure you don't exceed margin limits

Multiple positions - Track total margin commitment

🔗 Usage Examples

1) Basic usage

margin = await sugar.get_margin()
print(f"Used Margin: ${margin:.2f}")
# Output: Used Margin: $500.00

2) Check available margin before trading

equity = await sugar.get_equity()
margin = await sugar.get_margin()
free_margin = equity - margin

print(f"Equity:        ${equity:.2f}")
print(f"Used Margin:   ${margin:.2f}")
print(f"Free Margin:   ${free_margin:.2f}")

if free_margin < 100:
    print("Not enough free margin to trade")

3) Calculate margin level

equity = await sugar.get_equity()
margin = await sugar.get_margin()

if margin > 0:
    margin_level = (equity / margin) * 100
    print(f"Margin Level: {margin_level:.2f}%")

    if margin_level < 200:
        print("WARNING: Low margin level")
    elif margin_level < 100:
        print("DANGER: Stop-out risk!")
else:
    print("No open positions")

Margin-related methods:

  • get_free_margin() - Available margin for trading
  • get_margin_level() - Margin level percentage
  • get_equity() - Current account value
  • calculate_required_margin() - Calculate margin for planned trade
  • get_account_info() - All account data including margin

Margin calculation:

# Manual calculation
equity = await sugar.get_equity()
margin = await sugar.get_margin()
free_margin = equity - margin
margin_level = (equity / margin * 100) if margin > 0 else 0

# Or use dedicated methods
free_margin = await sugar.get_free_margin()
margin_level = await sugar.get_margin_level()

Common Pitfalls

1) Confusing margin with balance

# WRONG - margin is not balance
margin = await sugar.get_margin()
print(f"I have ${margin:.2f}")  # This is locked, not available!

# CORRECT - use balance or equity
balance = await sugar.get_balance()
print(f"Balance: ${balance:.2f}")

2) Not checking margin before trading

# WRONG - opening trade without margin check
ticket = await sugar.buy_market("EURUSD", 1.0)  # Might fail!

# CORRECT - verify free margin first
free_margin = await sugar.get_free_margin()
required_margin = await sugar.calculate_required_margin("EURUSD", 1.0)

if free_margin >= required_margin:
    ticket = await sugar.buy_market("EURUSD", 1.0)
else:
    print("Insufficient margin")

Pro Tips

  1. Zero margin = No positions - Margin is 0 when you have no open positions

  2. Margin increases with leverage - Lower leverage = more margin required

  3. Watch margin level - Keep margin level above 200% for safety

  4. Use get_free_margin() - Simpler than equity - margin calculation

  5. Calculate before trading - Use calculate_required_margin() to plan trades

📚 See Also