fully automated vs semi-automated, is anyone actually hands-off long term

[Dean]

the dream sold everywhere is set an EA and walk away. but everyone i actually talk to who runs automation still babysits it, tweaks it, intervenes. is anyone genuinely hands-off on a forex EA for years, or is full automation more of a marketing fantasy than a real lived state?

[Ryan]

ive run one EA close to hands-off for about three years, but 'hands-off' really means i check it weekly, update the news calendar, and re-validate after major broker or build changes. truly zero-touch for years is a fantasy because the market regime and your execution environment both drift. low-touch is achievable, no-touch is a sales slide.

[visionaire]

low-touch is the realistic target and its still a great outcome. the people who intervene constantly usually dont have a tested system, theyre discretionary trading through an EA wrapper. a genuinely validated system needs monitoring and periodic maintenance, not daily fiddling. if you tweak it every week its not automated, its manual with extra steps.

[Daniel]

everyone selling 'set and forget' is forgetting to mention the part where it forgets your account balance for you. fully hands-off works right up until the regime changes and then its fully hands-off into a drawdown.

[thomas_x]

to give the original question a concrete answer: yes, low-touch for years is real and i know several who do it, but every one of them has a monitoring routine and a kill switch, and every one has had to retire or retune a system when its edge decayed. the automation removes the minute-to-minute clicking, not the responsibility. plan for maintenance and youll be fine, expect magic and youll be blindsided.