Liquidity ThermometerThis is a universal indicator that assesses market liquidity based on five key market parameters: volume, volatility, candlestick range, body size, and price momentum.
The indicator does not use open interest data and is suitable for all markets, including spot, futures, and Forex.
This indicator normalizes each metric historically and creates a composite index between 0 and 1, where higher values correspond to a stable and calm market environment, and lower values indicate periods of increased risk and potential liquidity stress.
LT generates an integral liquidity index in the range based on five normalized components:
-nVol — normalized volume, reflecting trading density and activity.
-nATR — the volatility component (ATR), inverted, as high volatility is typically associated with declining liquidity.
-nRange — the normalized candlestick range, also inverted to assess the structural narrowness of the price movement.
-nBody — the normalized candlestick body size (|close − open|), inverted to assess the balance of supply and demand.
-nMove — the normalized value of the price impulse movement (|Δclose|), reflecting short-term price spikes.
Each metric is linearly normalized over a sliding window (200 bars) using the formula:
norm(x) = (x − min) / (max − min),
where at max = min, the value is fixed at 0.5 to ensure stability.
The ALT index is calculated as a weighted combination:
ALT = 0.35 nVol + 0.20 (1 − nATR) + 0.20 (1 − nRange) + 0.15 (1 − nBody) + 0.10 (1 − nMove)
The result is further smoothed using EMA(3) to reduce micronoise.
Red Zone (MLI < 0.25) — Risk, Thin Liquidity
When the indicator falls into the red zone, it means the market is extremely volatile:
Characteristics:
Low volume — small trades have a strong impact on the price.
High volatility — candlesticks rise or fall sharply.
Wide candlestick range — the market is "breathing heavily," easily breaking price extremes.
Impulsive movements — small market shocks lead to sharp spikes.
Thin liquidity — few orders in the order book, large orders "eat up" the market.
What this means for a trader:
🔥 High risk of spikes and false breakouts.
⚠ Possible series of liquidations on leverage.
❌ It is not recommended to enter long or short positions without a filter or protection.
✅ Can be used for short scalping strategies if you know the entry point, but very carefully.
Green Zone (MLI > 0.75) — High Liquidity, Safe Zone
When the indicator rises into the green zone, it means the market is stable and balanced:
Characteristics:
High volume — the market is deep, orders are executed without a strong impact on the price.
Low volatility — candlesticks are stable, no sharp spikes.
Narrow candlestick range — price moves calmly.
Weak impulse movements — no sharp surges.
Sufficient liquidity — the market can handle large orders.
What this means for a trader:
✅ Safe zone for opening positions.
🔄 Easier to set stop-loss and take-profit orders.
💡 You can trade both up and down, the risk of sharp movements is minimal.
⚡ Under these conditions, there is a lower risk of spikes and accidental liquidations.
It does not predict price movements or guarantee results. It is an analytical tool intended for additional research into market structure.
[i]price
9/15 EMA Scalper 9/15 EMA Scalper — by uzairbaloch
This script is a price-action based scalping system built around the 9 EMA and 15 EMA trend structure.
It identifies short-term reversal points where the market pulls back into the EMAs and confirms direction with a strong candle signal.
The strategy looks for:
• A clear EMA trend (9 above 15 for buys, 9 below 15 for sells)
• Pullback into EMA9/EMA15 with candle bodies touching the fast EMA
• Strong confirmation candle (engulfing / strong momentum / controlled wick)
• Optional slope filter to avoid flat, choppy sessions
• Automatic trade labels showing Entry, SL and TP (based on R:R)
The script is designed for scalping on gold, indices, and high-volatility FX pairs.
It resets trade logic immediately after SL or TP is hit, so it can catch the next valid signal without delay.
This tool is meant as an indicator — not a full strategy — and can be used to visually mark high-probability EMA pullback setups with precise levels.
Author: uzairbaloch
Average Price BUY-SELL_Bulent-V2Tracking prices that you have defined and trigger the crossing of them
Normalised Volume Oscillator [BackQuant]Normalised Volume Oscillator
A refined evolution of the Klinger Volume Oscillator, rebuilt for clarity, precision, and adaptability. This tool normalizes volume-driven momentum into a bounded scale so you can easily identify shifts in accumulation and distribution across any asset or timeframe, while keeping readings comparable between markets.
What this indicator does
The Normalised Volume Oscillator quantifies the balance between buying and selling pressure using the Klinger Volume Oscillator (KVO) as its base, then rescales it dynamically into a normalized range between -0.5 and +0.5. This normalization allows traders to interpret relative strength and exhaustion in volume flow, rather than dealing with raw unbounded values that differ across symbols.
It is a momentum-volume hybrid that reveals the strength of trend participation: when buyers dominate, normalized readings rise toward +0.5; when sellers dominate, they fall toward -0.5. The midline (0) acts as an equilibrium between accumulation and distribution.
Core components
Klinger Volume Oscillator: The foundation of this indicator, combining volume with price trend direction to measure long-term money flow relative to short-term movement.
Normalization process: The raw KVO is scaled over a user-defined Normalisation Period , computing `(KVO - lowest) / (highest - lowest) - 0.5`. This centers all readings around zero, allowing overbought/oversold detection independent of asset volatility or volume magnitude.
Signal moving average: The normalized KVO is smoothed with a user-selectable moving average type—SMA, EMA, DEMA, TEMA, HMA, ALMA, and others. This becomes the signal line for confirmation of trend direction or mean-reversion setups.
How it works conceptually
1. The KVO detects when volume supports price movement (bullish) or diverges from it (bearish).
2. The script normalizes the raw KVO so that relative magnitude is consistent—what is “strong buying pressure” looks the same on BTCUSD as it does on AAPL.
3. Overbought and oversold regions are derived statistically, rather than from arbitrary values, based on percentile zones around ±0.4 and ±0.5.
4. The oscillator is optionally combined with a moving average to help identify crossovers, momentum shifts, and divergence confirmation.
How to interpret it
Above 0: Indicates dominant buying pressure and likely continuation of upward momentum.
Below 0: Suggests dominant selling pressure and potential continuation of downward movement.
Crosses of 0: Often mark transitions between accumulation and distribution phases.
+0.4 to +0.5 zone: Overbought region where buying intensity is stretched; watch for deceleration or divergence.
[-0.4 to -0.5 zone: Oversold region indicating panic or exhaustion in selling.
Signal-line crossover: A traditional momentum confirmation method; when the normalized KVO crosses above its moving average, buyers regain control, and vice versa.
Why normalization matters
Typical volume oscillators are asset-specific—what is considered “high” volume for one symbol is not the same for another. By dynamically normalizing KVO values within a rolling lookback, this version transforms raw amplitude into a standardized scale. This means you can:
Compare multiple assets objectively.
Set consistent alert thresholds for overbought/oversold regions.
Avoid misleading interpretations from absolute oscillator values.
Customization and UI
Moving Average Type & Period: Select your preferred smoothing method (SMA, EMA, TEMA, etc.) and adjust its period to tune sensitivity.
Normalisation Period: Defines how many bars the KVO range is measured over; shorter periods adapt faster, longer ones smooth more.
Visual Toggles:
* Show Oscillator : enables or hides the core histogram.
* Show Moving Average : adds a smoothed overlay for signal confirmation.
* Paint Candles : optional color overlay for chart candles based on oscillator direction.
* Show Static Levels : displays ±0.4 and ±0.5 zones for overbought/oversold boundaries.
How to use it
Trend confirmation: Use midline (0) crossovers as confirmation of emerging trend shifts—cross above 0 suggests a new bullish phase, cross below 0 a bearish one.
Reversal spotting: Look for normalized readings reaching ±0.5 and flattening, or diverging against price extremes.
Divergence analysis: When price makes a new high but the normalized oscillator fails to, it signals waning buying conviction (and vice versa for lows).
Multi-timeframe integration: Works best alongside higher timeframe trend filters or moving averages; normalization makes this consistent.
Alerts
Prebuilt alert conditions allow quick automation:
Midline crossovers (0): transition between accumulation and distribution.
Overbought (+0.4) and Oversold (-0.4) triggers for potential exhaustion.
Signal moving-average crosses for confirmation entries.
Tips for use
Combine with price structure—don’t fade every overbought/oversold reading; confirm with break of structure or candle patterns.
Use longer normalization periods for position trading, shorter for intraday analysis.
In choppy markets, treat 0-line oscillations as noise filters, not trade triggers.
Summary
The Normalised Volume Oscillator modernizes the classic Klinger Volume Oscillator by normalizing its readings into a standardized range. This makes it more adaptive across assets and timeframes, improves interpretability, and provides intuitive, data-driven overbought/oversold levels. Whether used standalone or as a confirmation layer, it offers a clearer view of volume dynamics—revealing when markets are truly being accumulated, distributed, or stretched beyond their sustainable extremes.
PE Fair ValueIn short, it’s an automated fair value estimator based on the price-to-earnings model, with full manual control if TradingView’s fundamental data is missing.
Summary:
1. Lets the user choose the EPS source – either automatically from TradingView fundamentals (EPS TTM) or a manual value.
2. Attempts to fetch the stock’s P/E ratio (TTM) automatically; if unavailable, it uses a manual fallback P/E.
3. Calculates:
Actual P/E = current price ÷ EPS
Fair Value = EPS × chosen (auto/manual) P/E
Percentage difference between market price and fair value
4. Plots the fair-value line on the chart for visual comparison.
5. Displays a table in the top-right corner showing:
EPS used
Target P/E
Actual P/E
Fair value
Current price
Difference vs fair value (colored green or red)
6. Creates alerts when the stock is trading above or below the calculated fair value.
7. Also plots the current closing price for reference.
Top Finder & Dip Hunter [BackQuant]Top Finder & Dip Hunter
A practical tool to map where price is statistically most likely to exhaust or mean-revert. It builds objective support for dips and resistance for tops from multiple methodologies, then filters raw touches with volume, momentum, trend, and price-action context to surface higher-quality reversal opportunities.
What this does
Draws a Dip Support line and a Top Resistance line using the method you select, or a blended hybrid.
Evaluates each touch/penetration against Quality Filters and assigns a 0–100 composite score.
Prints clean DIP and TOP signals only when depth/extension and quality pass your thresholds.
Optionally annotates the chart with the computed quality score at signal time.
Why it’s useful
Objectivity: Converts vague “looks extended” into rules, reduces discretion creep.
Signal hygiene: Filters raw touches using trend, volume, momentum, and candle structure to avoid obvious traps.
Adaptable regimes: Switch methods, sensitivity, and lookbacks to match choppy vs trending conditions.
How support and resistance are built
Pick one per side, or use “Hybrid.”
Dynamic: Anchors to the extreme of a lookback window, padded by recent ATR, so buffers expand in volatile periods and contract when calm.
Fibonacci: Uses the 0.618/0.786 retracement pair inside the current swing window to target common reaction zones.
Volatility: Uses a moving-average basis with standard-deviation bands to capture statistically stretched moves.
Volume-Weighted: Centers off VWAP and penalizes deviations using dispersion of price around VWAP, helpful on intraday instruments.
Hybrid: A weighted average of the above to smooth out single-method biases.
When a touch becomes a signal
Depth/extension test:
Dips must penetrate their support by at least Min Dip Depth % .
Tops must extend above resistance by at least Min Top Rise % .
Quality Score gate: The composite must clear Min Quality Score . Components:
Trend alignment: Favor dips in bullish regimes and tops in bearish regimes using EMAs and RSI.
Volume confirmation: Reward expansion or spikes versus a 20-period baseline.
RSI context: Prefer oversold for dips, overbought for tops.
Momentum shift: Look for short-term momentum turning in the expected direction.
Candle structure: Reward hammer/shooting-star style responses at the level.
How to use it
Pick your regime:
Range/chop, small caps, mean-revert intraday → Volatility or Volume Weighted .
Cleaner swings/trends → Dynamic or Fibonacci .
Unsure or mixed conditions → Hybrid .
Set windows: Start with Lookback = 50 for both sides. Increase in higher timeframes or slow assets, decrease for fast scalps.
Tune sensitivity: Raise Dip/Top Sensitivity to widen buffers and reduce noise. Lower to be more aggressive.
Gate with quality: Begin with Min Quality Score = 60 . Push to 70–80 for cleaner swing entries, relax to 50–60 for scalps.
Act on first prints: The script only fires on new qualified events. Use the score label to prioritize A-setups.
Typical workflows
Intraday futures/crypto: Volume-Weighted or Volatility methods for both sides, higher Sensitivity , require Volume Filter and Momentum Filter on. Look for DIP during opening drive exhaustion and TOP near late-session fatigue.
Swing equities/FX: Dynamic or Fibonacci with moderate sensitivity. Keep Trend Filter on to only take dips above the 200-EMA and tops below it.
Countertrend scouts: Lower Min Dip Depth % / Min Top Rise % slightly, but raise Min Quality Score to compensate.
Reading the chart
Lines: “Dip Support” and “Top Resistance” are the current actionable rails, lightly smoothed to reduce flicker.
Signals: “DIP” prints below bars when a qualified dip appears, “TOP” prints above for qualified tops.
Scores: Optional labels show the composite at signal time. Favor higher numbers, especially when aligned with higher-timeframe trend.
Background hints: Light highlights mark raw touches meeting depth/extension, even if they fail quality. Treat these as early warnings.
Tuning tips
If you get too many false DIP signals in downtrends, raise Min Dip Depth % and keep Trend Filter on.
If tops appear late in squeezes, lower Top Sensitivity slightly or switch top side to Fibonacci .
On assets with erratic volume, prefer Volatility or Dynamic methods and down-weight the Volume Filter .
For strict systems, increase Min Quality Score and require both Volume and Momentum filters.
What this is not
It is not a blind reversal signal. It’s a structured context tool. Combine with your risk plan and higher-timeframe map.
It is not a guarantee of mean reversion. In strong trends, expect fewer, higher-score opportunities and respect invalidation quickly.
Suggested presets
Scalp preset: Lookback 30–40, Sensitivity 1.2–1.5, Quality ≥ 55, Volume & Momentum filters ON.
Swing preset: Lookback 75–100, Sensitivity 1.0–1.2, Quality ≥ 70, Trend & Volume filters ON.
Chop preset: Volatility/Volume-Weighted methods, Quality ≥ 60, Momentum filter ON, RSI emphasis.
Input quick reference
Dip/Top Method: Choose the model for each side or “Hybrid” to blend.
Lookback: Swing window the levels are built from.
Sensitivity: Scales volatility padding around levels.
Min Dip Depth % / Min Top Rise %: Minimum breach/extension to qualify.
Quality Filters: Trend, Volume, Momentum toggles, plus Min Quality Score gate.
Visuals: Colors and whether to print score labels.
Best practices
Map higher-timeframe trend first, then act on lower-timeframe DIP/TOP in the trend’s favor.
Use the score as triage. Skip mediocre prints into news or at session open unless score is exceptional.
Pre-define stop placement relative to the level you used. If a DIP fails, exit on loss of structure rather than waiting for the next print.
Bottom line: Top Finder & Dip Hunter codifies where reversals are most defensible and only flags the ones with supportive context. Tune the method and filters to your market, then let the score keep your playbook disciplined.
Machine Learning Moving Average [BackQuant]Machine Learning Moving Average
A powerful tool combining clustering, pseudo-machine learning, and adaptive prediction, enabling traders to understand and react to price behavior across multiple market regimes (Bullish, Neutral, Bearish). This script uses a dynamic clustering approach based on percentile thresholds and calculates an adaptive moving average, ideal for forecasting price movements with enhanced confidence levels.
What is Percentile Clustering?
Percentile clustering is a method that sorts and categorizes data into distinct groups based on its statistical distribution. In this script, the clustering process relies on the percentile values of a composite feature (based on technical indicators like RSI, CCI, ATR, etc.). By identifying key thresholds (lower and upper percentiles), the script assigns each data point (price movement) to a cluster (Bullish, Neutral, or Bearish), based on its proximity to these thresholds.
This approach mimics aspects of machine learning, where we “train” the model on past price behavior to predict future movements. The key difference is that this is not true machine learning; rather, it uses data-driven statistical techniques to "cluster" the market into patterns.
Why Percentile Clustering is Useful
Clustering price data into meaningful patterns (Bullish, Neutral, Bearish) helps traders visualize how price behavior can be grouped over time.
By leveraging past price behavior and technical indicators, percentile clustering adapts dynamically to evolving market conditions.
It helps you understand whether price behavior today aligns with past bullish or bearish trends, improving market context.
Clusters can be used to predict upcoming market conditions by identifying regimes with high confidence, improving entry/exit timing.
What This Script Does
Clustering Based on Percentiles : The script uses historical price data and various technical features to compute a "composite feature" for each bar. This feature is then sorted and clustered based on predefined percentile thresholds (e.g., 10th percentile for lower, 90th percentile for upper).
Cluster-Based Prediction : Once clustered, the script uses a weighted average, cluster momentum, or regime transition model to predict future price behavior over a specified number of bars.
Dynamic Moving Average : The script calculates a machine-learning-inspired moving average (MLMA) based on the current cluster, adjusting its behavior according to the cluster regime (Bullish, Neutral, Bearish).
Adaptive Confidence Levels : Confidence in the predicted return is calculated based on the distance between the current value and the other clusters. The further it is from the next closest cluster, the higher the confidence.
Visual Cluster Mapping : The script visually highlights different clusters on the chart with distinct colors for Bullish, Neutral, and Bearish regimes, and plots the MLMA line.
Prediction Output : It projects the predicted price based on the selected method and shows both predicted price and confidence percentage for each prediction horizon.
Trend Identification : Using the clustering output, the script colors the bars based on the current cluster to reflect whether the market is trending Bullish (green), Bearish (red), or is Neutral (gray).
How Traders Use It
Predicting Price Movements : The script provides traders with an idea of where prices might go based on past market behavior. Traders can use this forecast for short-term and long-term predictions, guiding their trades.
Clustering for Regime Analysis : Traders can identify whether the market is in a Bullish, Neutral, or Bearish regime, using that information to adjust trading strategies.
Adaptive Moving Average for Trend Following : The adaptive moving average can be used as a trend-following indicator, helping traders stay in the market when it’s aligned with the current trend (Bullish or Bearish).
Entry/Exit Strategy : By understanding the current cluster and its associated trend, traders can time entries and exits with higher precision, taking advantage of favorable conditions when the confidence in the predicted price is high.
Confidence for Risk Management : The confidence level associated with the predicted returns allows traders to manage risk better. Higher confidence levels indicate stronger market conditions, which can lead to higher position sizes.
Pseudo Machine Learning Aspect
While the script does not use conventional machine learning models (e.g., neural networks or decision trees), it mimics certain aspects of machine learning in its approach. By using clustering and the dynamic adjustment of a moving average, the model learns from historical data to adjust predictions for future price behavior. The "learning" comes from how the script uses past price data (and technical indicators) to create patterns (clusters) and predict future market movements based on those patterns.
Why This Is Important for Traders
Understanding market regimes helps to adjust trading strategies in a way that adapts to current market conditions.
Forecasting price behavior provides an additional edge, enabling traders to time entries and exits based on predicted price movements.
By leveraging the clustering technique, traders can separate noise from signal, improving the reliability of trading signals.
The combination of clustering and predictive modeling in one tool reduces the complexity for traders, allowing them to focus on actionable insights rather than manual analysis.
How to Interpret the Output
Bullish (Green) Zone : When the price behavior clusters into the Bullish zone, expect upward price movement. The MLMA line will help confirm if the trend remains upward.
Bearish (Red) Zone : When the price behavior clusters into the Bearish zone, expect downward price movement. The MLMA line will assist in tracking any downward trends.
Neutral (Gray) Zone : A neutral market condition signals indecision or range-bound behavior. The MLMA line can help track any potential breakouts or trend reversals.
Predicted Price : The projected price is shown on the chart, based on the cluster's predicted behavior. This provides a useful reference for where the price might move in the near future.
Prediction Confidence : The confidence percentage helps you gauge the reliability of the predicted price. A higher percentage indicates stronger market confidence in the forecasted move.
Tips for Use
Combining with Other Indicators : Use the output of this indicator in combination with your existing strategy (e.g., RSI, MACD, or moving averages) to enhance signal accuracy.
Position Sizing with Confidence : Increase position size when the prediction confidence is high, and decrease size when it’s low, based on the confidence interval.
Regime-Based Strategy : Consider developing a multi-strategy approach where you use this tool for Bullish or Bearish regimes and a separate strategy for Neutral markets.
Optimization : Adjust the lookback period and percentile settings to optimize the clustering algorithm based on your asset’s characteristics.
Conclusion
The Machine Learning Moving Average offers a novel approach to price prediction by leveraging percentile clustering and a dynamically adapting moving average. While not a traditional machine learning model, this tool mimics the adaptive behavior of machine learning by adjusting to evolving market conditions, helping traders predict price movements and identify trends with improved confidence and accuracy.
Multi-Mode Seasonality Map [BackQuant]Multi-Mode Seasonality Map
A fast, visual way to expose repeatable calendar patterns in returns, volatility, volume, and range across multiple granularities (Day of Week, Day of Month, Hour of Day, Week of Month). Built for idea generation, regime context, and execution timing.
What is “seasonality” in markets?
Seasonality refers to statistically repeatable patterns tied to the calendar or clock, rather than to price levels. Examples include specific weekdays tending to be stronger, certain hours showing higher realized volatility, or month-end flow boosting volumes. This tool measures those effects directly on your charted symbol.
Why seasonality matters
It’s orthogonal alpha: timing edges independent of price structure that can complement trend, mean reversion, or flow-based setups.
It frames expectations: when a session typically runs hot or cold, you size and pace risk accordingly.
It improves execution: entering during historically favorable windows, avoiding historically noisy windows.
It clarifies context: separating normal “calendar noise” from true anomaly helps avoid overreacting to routine moves.
How traders use seasonality in practice
Timing entries/exits : If Tuesday morning is historically weak for this asset, a mean-reversion buyer may wait for that drift to complete before entering.
Sizing & stops : If 13:00–15:00 shows elevated volatility, widen stops or reduce size to maintain constant risk.
Session playbooks : Build repeatable routines around the hours/days that consistently drive PnL.
Portfolio rotation : Compare seasonal edges across assets to schedule focus and deploy attention where the calendar favors you.
Why Day-of-Week (DOW) can be especially helpful
Flows cluster by weekday (ETF creations/redemptions, options hedging cadence, futures roll patterns, macro data releases), so DOW often encodes a stable micro-structure signal.
Desk behavior and liquidity provision differ by weekday, impacting realized range and slippage.
DOW is simple to operationalize: easy rules like “fade Monday afternoon chop” or “press Thursday trend extension” can be tested and enforced.
What this indicator does
Multi-mode heatmaps : Switch between Day of Week, Day of Month, Hour of Day, Week of Month .
Metric selection : Analyze Returns , Volatility ((high-low)/open), Volume (vs 20-bar average), or Range (vs 20-bar average).
Confidence intervals : Per cell, compute mean, standard deviation, and a z-based CI at your chosen confidence level.
Sample guards : Enforce a minimum sample size so thin data doesn’t mislead.
Readable map : Color palettes, value labels, sample size, and an optional legend for fast interpretation.
Scoreboard : Optional table highlights best/worst DOW and today’s seasonality with CI and a simple “edge” tag.
How it’s calculated (under the hood)
Per bar, compute the chosen metric (return, vol, volume %, or range %) over your lookback window.
Bucket that metric into the active calendar bin (e.g., Tuesday, the 15th, 10:00 hour, or Week-2 of month).
For each bin, accumulate sum , sum of squares , and count , then at render compute mean , std dev , and confidence interval .
Color scale normalizes to the observed min/max of eligible bins (those meeting the minimum sample size).
How to read the heatmap
Color : Greener/warmer typically implies higher mean value for the chosen metric; cooler implies lower.
Value label : The center number is the bin’s mean (e.g., average % return for Tuesdays).
Confidence bracket : Optional “ ” shows the CI for the mean, helping you gauge stability.
n = sample size : More samples = more reliability. Treat small-n bins with skepticism.
Suggested workflows
Pick the lens : Start with Analysis Type = Returns , Heatmap View = Day of Week , lookback ≈ 252 trading days . Note the best/worst weekdays and their CI width.
Sanity-check volatility : Switch to Volatility to see which bins carry the most realized range. Use that to plan stop width and trade pacing.
Check liquidity proxy : Flip to Volume , identify thin vs thick windows. Execute risk in thicker windows to reduce slippage.
Drill to intraday : Use Hour of Day to reveal opening bursts, lunchtime lulls, and closing ramps. Combine with your main strategy to schedule entries.
Calendar nuance : Inspect Week of Month and Day of Month for end-of-month, options-cycle, or data-release effects.
Codify rules : Translate stable edges into rules like “no fresh risk during bottom-quartile hours” or “scale entries during top-quartile hours.”
Parameter guidance
Analysis Period (Days) : 252 for a one-year view. Shorten (100–150) to emphasize the current regime; lengthen (500+) for long-memory effects.
Heatmap View : Start with DOW for robustness, then refine with Hour-of-Day for your execution window.
Confidence Level : 95% is standard; use 90% if you want wider coverage with fewer false “insufficient data” bins.
Min Sample Size : 10–20 helps filter noise. For Hour-of-Day on higher timeframes, consider lowering if your dataset is small.
Color Scheme : Choose a palette with good mid-tone contrast (e.g., Red-Green or Viridis) for quick thresholding.
Interpreting common patterns
Return-positive but low-vol bins : Favorable drift windows for passive adds or tight-stop trend continuation.
Return-flat but high-vol bins : Opportunity for mean reversion or breakout scalping, but manage risk accordingly.
High-volume bins : Better expected execution quality; schedule size here if slippage matters.
Wide CI : Edge is unstable or sample is thin; treat as exploratory until more data accumulates.
Best practices
Revalidate after regime shifts (new macro cycle, liquidity regime change, major exchange microstructure updates).
Use multiple lenses: DOW to find the day, then Hour-of-Day to refine the entry window.
Combine with your core setup signals; treat seasonality as a filter or weight, not a standalone trigger.
Test across assets/timeframes—edges are instrument-specific and may not transfer 1:1.
Limitations & notes
History-dependent: short histories or sparse intraday data reduce reliability.
Not causal: a hot Tuesday doesn’t guarantee future Tuesday strength; treat as probabilistic bias.
Aggregation bias: changing session hours or symbol migrations can distort older samples.
CI is z-approximate: good for fast triage, not a substitute for full hypothesis testing.
Quick setup
Use Returns + Day of Week + 252d to get a clean yearly map of weekday edge.
Flip to Hour of Day on intraday charts to schedule precise entries/exits.
Keep Show Values and Confidence Intervals on while you calibrate; hide later for a clean visual.
The Multi-Mode Seasonality Map helps you convert the calendar from an afterthought into a quantitative edge, surfacing when an asset tends to move, expand, or stay quiet—so you can plan, size, and execute with intent.
Previous D/W/M HLOCHey traders,
Here's a simple Multi-Timeframe indicator that essentially turns time and price into a box. It'll take the previous high, low, opening price, or closing price from one of the three timeframes of your choice (day, week, or month). For whatever reason I can't get the opening price to function consistently so if you find improvements feel free to let me know, this will help traders who prefer to use opening price over closing price.
Naturally this form of charting is classical and nature and some key figures you could use to study its usage are
- Richard W. Schabacker (1930s)
- Edwards & Magee (1948)
- Peter Brandt
- Stacey Burke (more on the intraday side - typically our preference)
It's usage put plainly:
- Quantifying Accumulation or Distribution
- Revealing Energy Build-Up (Compression)
- Framing Breakouts and False Breakouts
- Structuring Time
- Identifying opportunities to trade a daily, weekly, or monthly range.
Kalman VWAP Filter [BackQuant]Kalman VWAP Filter
A precision-engineered price estimator that fuses Kalman filtering with the Volume-Weighted Average Price (VWAP) to create a smooth, adaptive representation of fair value. This hybrid model intelligently balances responsiveness and stability, tracking trend shifts with minimal noise while maintaining a statistically grounded link to volume distribution.
If you would like to see my original Kalman Filter, please find it here:
Concept overview
The Kalman VWAP Filter is built on two core ideas from quantitative finance and control theory:
Kalman filtering — a recursive Bayesian estimator used to infer the true underlying state of a noisy system (in this case, fair price).
VWAP anchoring — a dynamic reference that weights price by traded volume, representing where the majority of transactions have occurred.
By merging these concepts, the filter produces a line that behaves like a "smart moving average": smooth when noise is high, fast when markets trend, and self-adjusting based on both market structure and user-defined noise parameters.
How it works
Measurement blend : Combines the chosen Price Source (e.g., close or hlc3) with either a Session VWAP or a Rolling VWAP baseline. The VWAP Weight input controls how much the filter trusts traded volume versus price movement.
Kalman recursion : Each bar updates an internal "state estimate" using the Kalman gain, which determines how much to trust new observations vs. the prior state.
Noise parameters :
Process Noise controls agility — higher values make the filter more responsive but also more volatile.
Measurement Noise controls smoothness — higher values make it steadier but slower to adapt.
Filter order (N) : Defines how many parallel state estimates are used. Larger orders yield smoother output by layering multiple one-dimensional Kalman passes.
Final output : A refined price trajectory that captures VWAP-adjusted fair value while dynamically adjusting to real-time volatility and order flow.
Why this matters
Most smoothing techniques (EMA, SMA, Hull) trade off lag for smoothness. Kalman filtering, however, adaptively rebalances that tradeoff each bar using probabilistic weighting, allowing it to follow market state changes more efficiently. Anchoring it to VWAP integrates microstructure context — capturing where liquidity truly lies rather than only where price moves.
Use cases
Trend tracking : Color-coded candle painting highlights shifts in slope direction, revealing early trend transitions.
Fair value mapping : The line represents a continuously updated equilibrium price between raw price action and VWAP flow.
Adaptive moving average replacement : Outperforms static MAs in variable volatility regimes by self-adjusting smoothness.
Execution & reversion logic : When price diverges from the Kalman VWAP, it may indicate short-term imbalance or overextension relative to volume-adjusted fair value.
Cross-signal framework : Use with standard VWAP or other filters to identify convergence or divergence between liquidity-weighted and state-estimated prices.
Parameter guidance
Process Noise : 0.01–0.05 for swing traders, 0.1–0.2 for intraday scalping.
Measurement Noise : 2–5 for normal use, 8+ for very smooth tracking.
VWAP Weight : 0.2–0.4 balances both price and VWAP influence; 1.0 locks output directly to VWAP dynamics.
Filter Order (N) : 3–5 for reactive short-term filters; 8–10 for smoother institutional-style baselines.
Interpretation
When price > Kalman VWAP and slope is positive → bullish pressure; buyers dominate above fair value.
When price < Kalman VWAP and slope is negative → bearish pressure; sellers dominate below fair value.
Convergence of price and Kalman VWAP often signals equilibrium; strong divergence suggests imbalance.
Crosses between Kalman VWAP and the base VWAP can hint at shifts in short-term vs. long-term liquidity control.
Summary
The Kalman VWAP Filter blends statistical estimation with market microstructure awareness, offering a refined alternative to static smoothing indicators. It adapts in real time to volatility and order flow, helping traders visualize balance, transition, and momentum through a lens of probabilistic fair value rather than simple price averaging.
Price–Volume Anomaly DetectorDescription
This indicator identifies unusual relationships between price strength and trading volume. By analyzing expected intraday volume behavior and comparing it with current activity, it highlights potential exhaustion, absorption, or expansion events that may signal changing market dynamics.
How It Works
The script profiles average volume by time of day and compares current volume against this adaptive baseline. Combined with normalized price movement (ATR-based), it detects conditions where price and volume diverge:
Exhaustion: Strong price move on low volume (potential fade)
Absorption: Weak price move on high volume (potential reversal)
Expansion: Strong price move on high volume (momentum continuation)
Key Features
Adaptive time-based volume normalization
Configurable sensitivity thresholds
Optional visibility for each anomaly type
Adjustable label transparency and offset
Light Mode support: label text automatically adjusts for dark or light chart backgrounds
Lightweight overlay design
Inputs Overview
Volume Profile Resolution: Defines time bucket size for expected volume
[* ]Lookback Days: Controls how quickly the profile adapts
Price / Volume Thresholds: Tune anomaly sensitivity
Show Expansion / Exhaustion / Absorption: Toggle specific labels
Label Transparency & Offset: Adjust chart visibility
How to Use:
Apply the indicator to any chart or timeframe.
Observe where labels appear:
🔴 Exhaustion: strong price, weak volume
🔵 Absorption: weak price, strong volume
🟢 Expansion: strong price, strong volume
Use these as context clues, not trade signals — combine with broader volume or trend analysis.
How It Helps
Reveals hidden price–volume imbalances
Highlights areas where momentum may be fading or strengthening
Enhances understanding of market behavior beyond raw price action
⚠️Disclaimer:
This script is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It is not financial advice and should not be considered a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any financial instrument. Trading involves significant risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. Users should perform their own due diligence and consult with a licensed financial advisor before making any trading decisions. The author does not guarantee any profits or results from using this script, and assumes no liability for any losses incurred. Use this script at your own risk.
IIR One-Pole Price Filter [BackQuant]IIR One-Pole Price Filter
A lightweight, mathematically grounded smoothing filter derived from signal processing theory, designed to denoise price data while maintaining minimal lag. It provides a refined alternative to the classic Exponential Moving Average (EMA) by directly controlling the filter’s responsiveness through three interchangeable alpha modes: EMA-Length , Half-Life , and Cutoff-Period .
Concept overview
An IIR (Infinite Impulse Response) filter is a type of recursive filter that blends current and past input values to produce a smooth, continuous output. The "one-pole" version is its simplest form, consisting of a single recursive feedback loop that exponentially decays older price information. This makes it both memory-efficient and responsive , ideal for traders seeking a precise balance between noise reduction and reaction speed.
Unlike standard moving averages, the IIR filter can be tuned in physically meaningful terms (such as half-life or cutoff frequency) rather than just arbitrary periods. This allows the trader to think about responsiveness in the same way an engineer or physicist would interpret signal smoothing.
Why use it
Filters out market noise without introducing heavy lag like higher-order smoothers.
Adapts to various trading speeds and time horizons by changing how alpha (responsiveness) is parameterized.
Provides consistent and mathematically interpretable control of smoothing, suitable for both discretionary and algorithmic systems.
Can serve as the core component in adaptive strategies, volatility normalization, or trend extraction pipelines.
Alpha Modes Explained
EMA-Length : Classic exponential decay with alpha = 2 / (L + 1). Equivalent to a standard EMA but exposed directly for fine control.
Half-Life : Defines the number of bars it takes for the influence of a price input to decay by half. More intuitive for time-domain analysis.
Cutoff-Period : Inspired by analog filter theory, defines the cutoff frequency (in bars) beyond which price oscillations are heavily attenuated. Lower periods = faster response.
Formula in plain terms
Each bar updates as:
yₜ = yₜ₋₁ + alpha × (priceₜ − yₜ₋₁)
Where alpha is the smoothing coefficient derived from your chosen mode.
Smaller alpha → smoother but slower response.
Larger alpha → faster but noisier response.
Practical application
Trend detection : When the filter line rises, momentum is positive; when it falls, momentum is negative.
Signal timing : Use the crossover of the filter vs its previous value (or price) as an entry/exit condition.
Noise suppression : Apply on volatile assets or lower timeframes to remove flicker from raw price data.
Foundation for advanced filters : The one-pole IIR serves as a building block for multi-pole cascades, adaptive smoothers, and spectral filters.
Customization options
Alpha Scale : Multiplies the final alpha to fine-tune aggressiveness without changing the mode’s core math.
Color Painting : Candles can be painted green/red by trend direction for visual clarity.
Line Width & Transparency : Adjust the visual intensity to integrate cleanly with your charting style.
Interpretation tips
A smooth yet reactive line implies optimal tuning — minimal delay with reduced false flips.
A sluggish line suggests alpha is too small (increase responsiveness).
A noisy, twitchy line means alpha is too large (increase smoothing).
Half-life tuning often feels more natural for aligning filter speed with price cycles or bar duration.
Summary
The IIR One-Pole Price Filter is a signal smoother that merges simplicity with mathematical rigor. Whether you’re filtering for entry signals, generating trend overlays, or constructing larger multi-stage systems, this filter delivers stability, clarity, and precision control over noise versus lag, an essential tool for any quantitative or systematic trading approach.
Fair Value Lead-Lag Model [BackQuant]Fair Value Lead-Lag Model
A cross-asset model that estimates where price "should" be relative to a chosen reference series, then tracks the deviation as a normalized oscillator. It helps you answer two questions: 1) is the asset rich or cheap vs its driver, and 2) is the driver leading or lagging price over the next N bars.
Concept in one paragraph
Many assets co-move with a macro or sector driver. Think BTC vs DXY, gold vs real yields, a stock vs its sector ETF. This tool builds a rolling fair value of the charted asset from a reference series and shows how far price is above or below that fair value in standard deviation units. You can shift the reference forward or backward to test who leads whom, then use the deviation and its bands to structure mean-reversion or trend-following ideas.
What the model does
Reference mapping : Pulls a reference symbol at a chosen timeframe, with an optional lead or lag in bars to test causality.
Fair value engine : Converts the reference into a synthetic fair value of the chart using one of four methods:
Ratio : price/ref with a rolling average ratio. Good when the relationship is proportional.
Spread : price minus ref with a rolling average spread. Good when the relationship is additive.
Z-Score : normalizes both series, aligns on standardized units, then re-projects to price space. Good when scale drifts.
Beta-Adjusted : rolling regression style. Uses covariance and variance to compute beta, then builds a fair value = mean(price) + beta * (ref − mean(ref)).
Deviation and bands : Computes a z-scored deviation of price vs fair value and plots sigma bands (±1, ±2, ±3) around the fair value line on the chart.
Correlation context : Shows rolling correlation so you can judge if deviations are meaningful or just noise when co-movement is weak.
Visuals :
Fair value line on price chart with sigma envelopes.
Deviation as a column oscillator and optional line.
Threshold shading beyond user-set upper and lower levels.
Summary table with reference, deviation, status, correlation, and method.
Why this is useful
Mean reversion framework : When correlation is healthy and deviation stretches beyond your sigma threshold, probability favors reversion toward fair value. This is classic pairs logic adapted to a driver and a target.
Trend confirmation : If price rides the fair value line and deviation stays modest while correlation is positive, it supports trend persistence. Pullbacks to negative deviation in an uptrend can be buyable.
Lead-lag discovery : Shift the reference forward by +N bars. If correlation improves, the reference tends to lead. Shift backward for the reverse. Use the best setting for planning early entries or hedges.
Regime detection : Large persistent deviations with falling correlation hint at regime change. The relationship you relied on may be breaking down, so reduce confidence or switch methods.
How to use it step by step
Pick a sensible reference : Choose a macro, index, currency, or sector driver that logically explains the asset’s moves. Example: gold with DXY, a semiconductor stock with SOXX.
Test lead-lag : Nudge Lead/Lag Periods to small positive values like +1 to +5 to see if the reference leads. If correlation improves, keep that offset. If correlation worsens, try a small negative value or zero.
Select a method :
Start with Beta-Adjusted when the relationship is approximately linear with drift.
Use Ratio if the assets usually move in proportional terms.
Use Spread when they trade around a level difference.
Use Z-Score when scales wander or volatility regimes shift.
Tune windows :
Rolling Window controls how quickly fair value adapts. Shorter equals faster but noisier.
Normalization Period controls how deviations are standardized. Longer equals stabler sigma sizing.
Correlation Length controls how co-movement is measured. Keep it near the fair value window.
Trade the edges :
Mean reversion idea : Wait for deviation beyond your Upper or Lower Threshold with positive correlation. Fade back toward fair value. Exit at the fair value line or the next inner sigma band.
Trend idea : In an uptrend, buy pullbacks when deviation dips negative but correlation remains healthy. In a downtrend, sell bounces when deviation spikes positive.
Read the table : Deviation shows how many sigmas you are from fair value. Status tells you overvalued or undervalued. Correlation color hints confidence. Method tells you the projection style used.
Reading the display
Fair value line on price chart: the model’s estimate of where price should trade given the reference, updated each bar.
Sigma bands around fair value: a quick sense of residual volatility. Reversions often target inner bands first.
Deviation oscillator : above zero means rich vs fair value, below zero means cheap. Color bins intensify with distance.
Correlation line (optional): scale is folded to match thresholds. Higher values increase trust in deviations.
Parameter tips
Start with Rolling Window 20 to 30, Normalization Period 100, Correlation Length 50.
Upper and Lower Threshold at ±2.0 are classic. Tighten to ±1.5 for more signals or widen to ±2.5 to focus on outliers.
When correlation drifts below about 0.3, treat deviations with caution. Consider switching method or reference.
If the fair value line whipsaws, increase Rolling Window or move to Beta-Adjusted which tends to be smoother.
Playbook examples
Pairs-style reversion : Asset is +2.3 sigma rich vs reference, correlation 0.65, trend flat. Short the deviation back toward fair value. Cover near the fair value line or +1 sigma.
Pro-trend pullback : Uptrend with correlation 0.7. Deviation dips to −1.2 sigma while price sits near the −1 sigma band. Buy the dip, target the fair value line, trail if the line is rising.
Lead-lag timing : Reference leads by +3 bars with improved correlation. Use reference swings as early cues to anticipate deviation turns on the target.
Caveats
The model assumes a stable relationship over the chosen windows. Structural breaks, policy shocks, and index rebalances can invalidate recent history.
Correlation is descriptive, not causal. A strong correlation does not guarantee future convergence.
Do not force trades when the reference has low liquidity or mismatched hours. Use a reference timeframe that captures real overlap.
Bottom line
This tool turns a loose cross-asset intuition into a quantified, visual fair value map. It gives you a consistent way to find rich or cheap conditions, time mean-reversion toward a statistically grounded target, and confirm or fade trends when the driver agrees.
VWAP Entry Assistant (v1.0)Description:
Anchored VWAP with a lightweight assistant for VWAP reversion trades.
It shows the distance to VWAP, an estimated hit probability for the current bar, the expected number of bars to reach VWAP, and a recommended entry price.
If the chance of touching VWAP is low, the script suggests an adjusted limit using a fraction of ATR.
The VWAP line is white by default, and a compact summary table appears at the bottom-left.
Educational tool. Not financial advice. Not affiliated with TradingView or any exchange. Always backtest before use.
Volume Cluster Heatmap [BackQuant]Volume Cluster Heatmap
A visualization tool that maps traded volume across price levels over a chosen lookback period. It highlights where the market builds balance through heavy participation and where it moves efficiently through low-volume zones. By combining a heatmap, volume profile, and high/low volume node detection, this indicator reveals structural areas of support, resistance, and liquidity that drive price behavior.
What Are Volume Clusters?
A volume cluster is a horizontal aggregation of traded volume at specific price levels, showing where market participants concentrated their buying and selling.
High Volume Nodes (HVN) : Price levels with significant trading activity; often act as support or resistance.
Low Volume Nodes (LVN) : Price levels with little trading activity; price moves quickly through these areas, reflecting low liquidity.
Volume clusters help identify key structural zones, reveal potential reversals, and gauge market efficiency by highlighting where the market is balanced versus areas of thin liquidity.
By creating heatmaps, profiles, and highlighting high and low volume nodes (HVNs and LVNs), it allows traders to see where the market builds balance and where it moves efficiently through thin liquidity zones.
Example: Bitcoin breaking away from the high-volume zone near 118k and moving cleanly through the low-volume pocket around 113k–115k, illustrating how markets seek efficiency:
Core Features
Visual Analysis Components:
Heatmap Display : Displays volume intensity as colored boxes, lines, or a combination for a dynamic view of market participation.
Volume Profile Overlay : Shows cumulative volume per price level along the right-hand side of the chart.
HVN & LVN Labels : Marks high and low volume nodes with color-coded lines and labels.
Customizable Colors & Transparency : Adjust high and low volume colors and minimum transparency for clear differentiation.
Session Reset & Timeframe Control : Dynamically resets clusters at the start of new sessions or chosen timeframes (intraday, daily, weekly).
Alerts
HVN / LVN Alerts : Notify when price reaches a significant high or low volume node.
High Volume Zone Alerts : Trigger when price enters the top X% of cumulative volume, signaling key areas of market interest.
How It Works
Each bar’s volume is distributed proportionally across the horizontal price levels it touches. Over the lookback period, this builds a cumulative volume profile, identifying price levels with the most and least trading activity. The highest cumulative volume levels become HVNs, while the lowest are LVNs. A side volume profile shows aggregated volume per level, and a heatmap overlay visually reinforces market structure.
Applications for Traders
Identify strong support and resistance at HVNs.
Detect areas of low liquidity where price may move quickly (LVNs).
Determine market balance zones where price may consolidate.
Filter noise: because volume clusters aggregate activity into levels, minor fluctuations and irrelevant micro-moves are removed, simplifying analysis and improving strategy development.
Combine with other indicators such as VWAP, Supertrend, or CVD for higher-probability entries and exits.
Use volume clusters to anticipate price reactions to breaking points in thin liquidity zones.
Advanced Display Options
Heatmap Styles : Boxes, lines, or both. Boxes provide a traditional heatmap, lines are better for high granularity data.
Line Mode Example : Simplified line visualization for easier reading at high level counts:
Profile Width & Offset : Adjust spacing and placement of the volume profile for clarity alongside price.
Transparency Control : Lower transparency for more opaque visualization of high-volume zones.
Best Practices for Usage
Reduce the number of levels when using line mode to avoid clutter.
Use HVN and LVN markers in conjunction with volume profiles to plan entries and exits.
Apply session resets to monitor intraday vs. multi-day volume accumulation.
Combine with other technical indicators to confirm high-probability trading signals.
Watch price interactions with LVNs for potential rapid movements and with HVNs for possible support/resistance or reversals.
Technical Notes
Each bar contributes volume proportionally to the price levels it spans, creating a dynamic and accurate representation of traded interest.
Volume profiles are scaled and offset for visual clarity alongside live price.
Alerts are fully integrated for HVN/LVN interaction and high-volume zone entries.
Optimized to handle large lookback windows and numerous price levels efficiently without performance degradation.
This indicator is ideal for understanding market structure, detecting key liquidity areas, and filtering out noise to model price more accurately in high-frequency or algorithmic strategies.
Cumulative Volume Delta Z Score [BackQuant]Cumulative Volume Delta Z Score
The Cumulative Volume Delta Z Score indicator is a sophisticated tool that combines the cumulative volume delta (CVD) with Z-Score normalization to provide traders with a clearer view of market dynamics. By analyzing volume imbalances and standardizing them through a Z-Score, this tool helps identify significant price movements and market trends while filtering out noise.
Core Concept of Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD)
Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD) is a popular indicator that tracks the net difference between buying and selling volume over time. CVD helps traders understand whether buying or selling pressure is dominating the market. Positive CVD signals buying pressure, while negative CVD indicates selling pressure.
The addition of Z-Score normalization to CVD makes it easier to evaluate whether current volume imbalances are unusual compared to past behavior. Z-Score helps in detecting extreme conditions by showing how far the current CVD is from its historical mean in terms of standard deviations.
Key Features
Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD): Tracks the net buying vs. selling volume, allowing traders to gauge the overall market sentiment.
Z-Score Normalization: Converts CVD into a standardized value to highlight extreme movements in volume that are statistically significant.
Divergence Detection: The indicator can spot bullish and bearish divergences between price and CVD, which can signal potential trend reversals.
Pivot-Based Divergence: Identifies price and CVD pivots, highlighting divergence patterns that are crucial for predicting price changes.
Trend Analysis: Colors bars according to trend direction, providing a visual indication of bullish or bearish conditions based on Z-Score.
How It Works
Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD): The CVD is calculated by summing the difference between buying and selling volume for each bar. It represents the net buying or selling pressure, giving insights into market sentiment.
Z-Score Normalization: The Z-Score is applied to the CVD to normalize its values, making it easier to compare current conditions with historical averages. A Z-Score greater than 0 indicates a bullish market, while a Z-Score less than 0 signals a bearish market.
Divergence Detection: The indicator detects regular and hidden bullish and bearish divergences between price and CVD. These divergences often precede trend reversals, offering traders a potential entry point.
Pivot-Based Analysis: The indicator uses pivot highs and lows in both price and CVD to identify divergence patterns. A bullish divergence occurs when price makes a lower low, but CVD fails to follow, suggesting weakening selling pressure. Conversely, a bearish divergence happens when price makes a higher high, but CVD doesn't confirm the move, indicating potential selling pressure.
Trend Coloring: The bars are colored based on the trend direction. Green bars indicate an uptrend (CVD is positive), and red bars indicate a downtrend (CVD is negative). This provides an easy-to-read visualization of market conditions.
Standard Deviation Levels: The indicator plots ±1σ, ±2σ, and ±3σ levels to indicate the degree of deviation from the average CVD. These levels act as thresholds for identifying extreme buying or selling pressure.
Customization Options
Anchor Timeframe: The user can define an anchor timeframe to aggregate the CVD, which can be customized based on the trader’s needs (e.g., daily, weekly, custom lower timeframes).
Z-Score Period: The period for calculating the Z-Score can be adjusted, allowing traders to fine-tune the indicator's sensitivity.
Divergence Detection: The tool offers controls to enable or disable divergence detection, with the ability to adjust the lookback periods for pivot detection.
Trend Coloring and Visuals: Traders can choose whether to color bars based on trend direction, display standard deviation levels, or visualize the data as a histogram or line plot.
Display Options: The indicator also allows for various display options, including showing the Z-Score values and divergence signals, with customizable colors and line widths.
Alerts and Signals
The Cumulative Volume Delta Z Score comes with pre-configured alert conditions for:
Z-Score Crossovers: Alerts are triggered when the Z-Score crosses the 0 line, indicating a potential trend reversal.
Shifting Trend: Alerts for when the Z-Score shifts direction, signaling a change in market sentiment.
Divergence Detection: Alerts for both regular and hidden bullish and bearish divergences, offering potential reversal signals.
Extreme Imbalances: Alerts when the Z-Score reaches extreme positive or negative levels, indicating overbought or oversold market conditions.
Applications in Trading
Trend Identification: Use the Z-Score to confirm bullish or bearish trends based on cumulative volume data, filtering out noise and false signals.
Reversal Signals: Divergences between price and CVD can help identify potential trend reversals, making it a powerful tool for swing traders.
Volume-Based Confirmation: The Z-Score allows traders to confirm price movements with volume data, providing more reliable signals compared to price action alone.
Divergence Strategy: Use the divergence signals to identify potential points of entry, particularly when regular or hidden divergences appear.
Volatility and Market Sentiment: The Z-Score provides insights into market volatility by measuring the deviation of CVD from its historical mean, helping to predict price movement strength.
The Cumulative Volume Delta Z Score is a powerful tool that combines volume analysis with statistical normalization. By focusing on volume imbalances and applying Z-Score normalization, this indicator provides clear, reliable signals for trend identification and potential reversals. It is especially useful for filtering out market noise and ensuring that trades are based on significant price movements driven by substantial volume changes.
This indicator is perfect for traders looking to add volume-based analysis to their strategy, offering a more robust and accurate way to gauge market sentiment and trend strength.
Volume Sampled Supertrend [BackQuant]Volume Sampled Supertrend
A Supertrend that runs on a volume sampled price series instead of fixed time. New synthetic bars are only created after sufficient traded activity, which filters out low participation noise and makes the trend much easier to read and model.
Original Script Link
This indicator is built on top of my volume sampling engine. See the base implementation here:
Why Volume Sampling
Traditional charts print a bar every N minutes regardless of how active the tape is. During quiet periods you accumulate many small, low information bars that add noise and whipsaws to downstream signals.
Volume sampling replaces the clock with participation. A new synthetic bar is created only when a pre-set amount of volume accumulates (or, in Dollar Bars mode, when pricevolume reaches a dollar threshold). The result is a non-uniform time series that stretches in busy regimes and compresses in quiet regimes. This naturally:
filters dead time by skipping low volume chop;
standardizes the information content per bar, improving comparability across regimes;
stabilizes volatility estimates used inside banded indicators;
gives trend and breakout logic cleaner state transitions with fewer micro flips.
What this tool does
It builds a synthetic OHLCV stream from volume based buckets and then applies a Supertrend to that synthetic price. You are effectively running Supertrend on a participation clock rather than a wall clock.
Core Features
Sampling Engine - Choose Volume buckets or Dollar Bars . Thresholds can be dynamic from a rolling mean or median, or fixed by the user.
Synthetic Candles - Plots the volume sampled OHLC candles so you can visually compare against regular time candles.
Supertrend on Synthetic Price - ATR bands and direction are computed on the sampled series, not on time bars.
Adaptive Coloring - Candle colors can reflect side, intensity by volume, or a neutral scheme.
Research Panels - Table shows total samples, current bucket fill, threshold, bars-per-sample, and synthetic return stats.
Alerts - Long and Short triggers on Supertrend direction flips for the synthetic series.
How it works
Sampling
Pick Sampling Method = Volume or Dollar Bars.
Set the dynamic threshold via Rolling Lookback and Filter (Mean or Median), or enable Use Fixed and type a constant.
The script accumulates volume (or pricevolume) each time bar. When the bucket reaches the threshold, it finalizes one or more synthetic candles and resets accumulation.
Each synthetic candle stores its own OHLCV and is appended to the synthetic series used for all downstream logic.
Supertrend on the sampled stream
Choose Supertrend Source (Open, High, Low, Close, HLC3, HL2, OHLC4, HLCC4) derived from the synthetic candle.
Compute ATR over the synthetic series with ATR Period , then form upperBand = src + factorATR and lowerBand = src - factorATR .
Apply classic trailing band and direction rules to produce Supertrend and trend state.
Because bars only come when there is sufficient participation, band touches and flips tend to align with meaningful pushes, not idle prints.
Reading the display
Synthetic Volume Bars - The non-uniform candles that represent equal information buckets. Expect more candles during active sessions and fewer during lulls.
Volume Sampled Supertrend - The main line. Green when Trend is 1, red when Trend is -1.
Markers - Small dots appear when a new synthetic sample is created, useful for aligning activity cycles.
Time Bars Overlay (optional) - Plot regular time candles to compare how the synthetic stream compresses quiet chop.
Settings you will use most
Data Settings
Sampling Method - Volume or Dollar Bars.
Rolling Lookback and Filter - Controls the dynamic threshold. Median is robust to outliers, Mean is smoother.
Use Fixed and Fixed Threshold - Force a constant bucket size for consistent sampling across regimes.
Max Stored Samples - Ring buffer limit for performance.
Indicator Settings
SMA over last N samples - A moving average computed on the synthetic close series. Can be hidden for a cleaner layout.
Supertrend Source - Price field from the synthetic candle.
ATR Period and Factor - Standard Supertrend controls applied on the synthetic series.
Visuals and UI
Show Synthetic Bars - Turn synthetic candles on or off.
Candle Color Mode - Green/Red, Volume Intensity, Neutral, or Adaptive.
Mark new samples - Puts a dot when a bucket closes.
Show Time Bars - Overlay regular candles for comparison.
Paint candles according to Trend - Colors chart candles using current synthetic Supertrend direction.
Line Width , Colors , and Stats Table toggles.
Some workflow notes:
Trend Following
Set Sampling Method = Volume, Filter = Median, and a reasonable Rolling Lookback so busy regimes produce more samples.
Trade in the direction of the Volume Sampled Supertrend. Because flips require real participation, you tend to avoid micro whipsaws seen on time bars.
Use the synthetic SMA as a bias rail and trailing reference for partials or re-entries.
Breakout and Continuation
Watch for rapid clustering of new sample markers and a clean flip of the synthetic Supertrend.
The compression of quiet time and expansion in busy bursts often makes breakouts more legible than on uniform time charts.
Mean Reversion
In instruments that oscillate, faded moves against the synthetic Supertrend are easier to time when the bucket cadence slows and Supertrend flattens.
Combine with the synthetic SMA and return statistics in the table for sizing and expectation setting.
Stats table (top right)
Method and Total Samples - Sampling regime and current synthetic history length.
Current Vol or Dollar and Threshold - Live bucket fill versus the trigger.
Bars in Bucket and Avg Bars per Sample - How much time data each synthetic bar tends to compress.
Avg Return and Return StdDev - Simple research metrics over synthetic close-to-close changes.
Why this reduces noise
Time based bars treat a 5 minute print with 1 percent of average participation the same as one with 300 percent. Volume sampling equalizes bar information content. By advancing the bar only when sufficient activity occurs, you skip low quality intervals that add variance but little signal. For banded systems like Supertrend, this often means fewer false flips and cleaner runs.
Notes and tips
Use Dollar Bars on assets where nominal price varies widely over time or across symbols.
Median filter can resist single burst outliers when setting dynamic thresholds.
If you need a stable research baseline, set Use Fixed and keep the threshold constant across tests.
Enable Show Time Bars occasionally to sanity check what the synthetic stream is compressing or stretching.
Link again for reference
Original Volume Based Sampling engine:
Bottom line
When you let participation set the clock, your Supertrend reacts to meaningful flow instead of idle prints. The result is a cleaner state machine, fewer micro whipsaws, and a trend read that respects when the market is actually trading.
Volume x Close in CroresThis indicator provides a clear visualization of the monetary volume activity for each candle by calculating the product of trading volume and closing price and converting it into crores for easier readability.
Cumulative Volume Delta Profile and Heatmap [BackQuant]Cumulative Volume Delta Profile and Heatmap
A multi-view CVD workstation that measures buying vs selling pressure, renders a price-aligned CVD profile with Point of Control, paints an optional heatmap of delta intensity, and detects classical CVD divergences using pivot logic. Built for reading who is in control, where participation clustered, and when effort is failing to produce result.
What is CVD
Cumulative Volume Delta accumulates the difference between aggressive buys and aggressive sells over time. When CVD rises, buyers are lifting the offer more than sellers are hitting the bid. When CVD falls, the opposite is true. Plotting CVD alongside price helps you judge whether price moves are supported by real participation or are running on fumes.
Core Features
Visual Analysis Components
CVD Columns - Plot of cumulative delta, colored by side, for quick read of participation bias.
CVD Profile - Price-aligned histogram of CVD accumulation using user-set bins. Shows where net initiative clustered.
Split Buy and Sell CVD - Optional two-sided profile that separates positive and negative CVD into distinct wings.
POC - Point of Control - The price level with the highest absolute CVD accumulation, labeled and line-marked.
Heatmap - Semi-transparent blocks behind price that encode CVD intensity across the last N bars.
Divergence Engine - Pivot-based detection of Bearish and Bullish CVD divergences with optional lines and labels.
Stats Panel - Top level metrics: Total CVD, Buy and Sell totals with percentages, Delta Ratio, and current POC price.
How it works
Delta source and sampling
You select an Anchor Timeframe that defines the higher time aggregation for reading the trend of CVD.
The script pulls lower timeframe volume delta and aggregates it to the anchor window. You can let it auto-select the lower timeframe or force a custom one.
CVD is then accumulated bar by bar to form a running total. This plot shows the direction and persistence of initiative.
Profile construction
The recent price range is split into Profile Granularity bins.
As price traverses a bin, the current delta contribution is added to that bin.
If Split Buy and Sell CVD is enabled, positive CVD goes to the right wing and negative CVD to the left wing.
Widths are scaled by each side’s maximum so you can compare distribution shape at a glance.
The Point of Control is the bin with the highest absolute CVD. This marks where initiative concentrated the most.
Heatmap
For each bin, the script computes intensity as absolute CVD relative to the maximum bin value.
Color is derived from the side in control in that bin and shaded by intensity.
Heatmap Length sets how far back the panels extend, highlighting recurring participation zones.
Divergence model
You define pivot sensitivity with Pivot Left and Right .
Bearish divergence triggers when price confirms a higher high while CVD fails to make a higher high within a configurable Delta Tolerance .
Bullish divergence triggers when price confirms a lower low while CVD fails to make a lower low.
On trigger, optional link lines and labels are drawn at the pivots for immediate context.
Key Settings
Delta Source
Anchor Timeframe - Higher TF for the CVD narrative.
Custom Lower TF and Lower Timeframe - Force the sampling TF if desired.
Pivot Logic
Pivot Left and Right - Bars to each side for swing confirmation.
Delta Tolerance - Small allowance to avoid near-miss false positives.
CVD Profile
Show CVD Profile - Toggle profile rendering.
Split Buy and Sell CVD - Two-sided profile for clearer side attribution.
Show Heatmap - Project intensity panels behind price.
Show POC and POC Color - Mark the dominant CVD node.
Profile Granularity - Number of bins across the visible price range.
Profile Offset and Profile Width - Position and scale the profile.
Profile Position - Right, Left, or Current bar alignment.
Visuals
Bullish Div Color and Bearish Div Color - Colors for divergence artifacts.
Show Divergence Lines and Labels - Visualize pivots and annotations.
Plot CVD - Column plot of total CVD.
Show Statistics and Position - Toggle and place the summary table.
Reading the display
CVD columns
Rising CVD confirms buyers are in control. Falling CVD confirms sellers.
Flat or choppy CVD during wide price moves hints at passive or exhausted participation.
CVD profile wings
Thick right wing near a price zone implies heavy buy initiative accumulated there.
Thick left wing implies heavy sell initiative.
POC marks the strongest initiative node. Expect reactions on first touch and rotations around this level when the tape is balanced.
Heatmap
Brighter blocks indicate stronger historical net initiative at that price.
Stacked bright bands form CVD high volume nodes. These often behave like magnets or shelves for future trade.
Divergences
Bearish - Price prints a higher high while CVD fails to do so. Effort is not producing result. Potential fade or pause.
Bullish - Price prints a lower low while CVD fails to do so. Capitulation lacks initiative. Potential bounce or reversal.
Stats panel
Total CVD - Net initiative over the window.
Buy and Sell volume with percentages - Side composition.
Delta Ratio - Buy over Sell. Values above 1 favor buyers, below 1 favor sellers.
POC Price - Current control node for plan and risk.
Workflows
Trend following
Choose an Anchor Timeframe that matches your holding period.
Trade in the direction of CVD slope while price holds above a bullish POC or below a bearish POC.
Use pullbacks to CVD nodes on your profile as entry locations.
Trend weakens when price makes new highs but CVD stalls, or new lows while CVD recovers.
Mean reversion
Look for divergences at or near prior CVD nodes, especially the POC.
Fade tests into thick wings when the side that dominated there now fails to push CVD further.
Target rotations back toward the POC or the opposite wing edge.
Liquidity and execution map
Treat strong wings and heatmap bands as probable passive interest zones.
Expect pauses, partial fills, or flips at these shelves.
Stops make sense beyond the far edge of the active wing supporting your idea.
Alerts included
CVD Bearish Divergence and CVD Bullish Divergence.
Price Cross Above POC and Price Cross Below POC.
Extreme Buy Imbalance and Extreme Sell Imbalance from Delta Ratio.
CVD Turn Bullish and CVD Turn Bearish when net CVD crosses zero.
Price Near POC proximity alert.
Best practices
Use a higher Anchor Timeframe to stabilize the CVD story and a sensible Profile Granularity so wings are readable without clutter.
Keep Split mode on when you want to separate initiative attribution. Turn it off when you prefer a single net profile.
Tune Pivot Left and Right by instrument to avoid overfitting. Larger values find swing divergences. Smaller values find micro fades.
If volume is thin or synthetic for the symbol, CVD will be less reliable. The script will warn if volume is zero.
Trading applications
Context - Confirm or question breakouts with CVD slope.
Location - Build entries at CVD nodes and POC.
Timing - Use divergence and POC crosses for triggers.
Risk - Place stops beyond the opposite wing or outside the POC shelf.
Important notes and limits
This is a price and volume based study. It does not access off-book or venue-level order flow.
CVD profiles are built from the data available on your chart and the chosen lower timeframe sampling.
Like all volume tools, readings can distort during roll periods, holidays, or feed anomalies. Validate on your instrument.
Technical notes
Delta is aggregated from a lower timeframe into an Anchor Timeframe narrative.
Profile bins update in real time. Splitting by side scales each wing independently so both are readable in the same panel.
Divergences are confirmed using standard pivot definitions with user-set tolerances.
All profile drawing uses fixed X offsets so panels and POC do not swim when you scroll.
Quick start
Anchor Timeframe = Daily for intraday context.
Split Buy and Sell CVD = On.
Profile Granularity = 100 to 200, Profile Position = Right, Width to taste.
Pivot Left and Right around 8 to 12 to start, then adapt.
Turn on Heatmap for a fast map of interest bands.
Bottom line
CVD tells you who is doing the lifting. The profile shows where they did it. Divergences tell you when effort stops paying. Put them together and you get a clear read on control, location, and timing for both trend and mean reversion.
Stop Loss and TargetsEnter your purchase price, SL% and up to 3x TP%s. Automatically plots them on your chart to enable quicker set up of alerts.
VWAP Deviation Oscillator [BackQuant]VWAP Deviation Oscillator
Introduction
The VWAP Deviation Oscillator turns VWAP context into a clean, tradeable oscillator that works across assets and sessions. It adapts to your workflow with four VWAP regimes plus two rolling modes, and three deviation metrics: Percent, Absolute, and Z-Score. Colored zones, optional standard deviation rails, and flexible plot styles make it fast to read for both trend following and mean reversion.
What it does
This tool measures how far price is from a chosen VWAP and expresses that gap as an oscillator. You can view the deviation as raw price units, percent, or standardized Z-Score. The plot can be a histogram or a line with optional fills and sigma bands, so you can quickly spot polarity shifts, overbought and oversold conditions, and strength of extension.
VWAP modes track a session VWAP that resets (4H, Daily, Weekly) or a rolling VWAP that updates continuously over a fixed number of bars or days.
Deviation modes let you choose the lens: Percent, Absolute, or Z-Score. Each highlights different aspects of stretch and mean pressure.
Visual encoding uses a 10-zone color palette to grade the magnitude of deviation on both sides of zero.
Volatility guards compute mode-specific sigma so thresholds are stable even when volatility compresses.
Why this works
VWAP is a high signal anchor used by institutions to gauge fair participation. Deviations around VWAP cluster in regimes: mild oscillations within a band, decisive pushes that signal imbalance, and standardized extremes that often precede either continuation or snapback. Expressing that distance as a single time series adds clarity: bias is the oscillator’s sign, risk context is its magnitude, and regime is the way it behaves around sigma lines.
How to use it
Trend following
Favor the side of the zero line. Bullish when the oscillator is above zero and making higher swing highs. Bearish when below zero and making lower swing lows. Use +1 sigma and +2 sigma in your mode as strength tiers. Pullbacks that hold above zero in uptrends, or below zero in downtrends, are often continuation entries.
Mean reversion
Fade stretched readings when structure supports it. Look for tests of +2 sigma to +3 sigma that fail to progress and roll back toward zero, or the mirror on the downside. Z-Score mode is best when you want standardized gates across assets. Percent mode is intuitive for intraday scalps where a given percent stretch tends to mean revert.
Session playbook
Use Daily or Weekly VWAP for intraday or swing context. Rolling modes help when the asset lacks clean session boundaries or when you want a continuous anchor that adapts to liquidity shifts.
Key settings
VWAP computation
VWAP Mode = 4 Hours, Daily, Weekly, Rolling (Bars), Rolling (Days). Session modes reset the VWAP when a new session begins. Rolling modes compute VWAP over a fixed trailing window.
Rolling (Lookback: Bars) controls the trailing bar count when using Rolling (Bars).
Rolling (Lookback: Days) converts days to bars at runtime and uses that trailing span.
Use Close instead of HLC3 switches the price reference. HLC3 is smoother. Close makes the anchor track settlement more tightly.
Deviation measurement
Deviation Mode
Percent : 100 * (Price / VWAP - 1). Good for uniform scaling across instruments.
Absolute : Price - VWAP. Good when price units themselves matter.
Z-Score : Standardizes the absolute residual by its own mean and standard deviation over Z/Std Window . Ideal for cross-asset comparability and regime studies.
Z/Std Window sets the mean and standard deviation window for Z-Score mode.
Volatility controls
Percent Mode Volatility Lookback estimates sigma for percent deviations.
Absolute Mode Volatility Lookback estimates sigma for absolute deviations.
Minimum Sigma Guard (pct pts) prevents the percent sigma from collapsing to near zero in extremely quiet markets.
Visualization
Plot Type = Histogram or Line. Histogram emphasizes impulse and polarity changes. Line emphasizes trend waves and divergences.
Positive Color / Negative Color define the palette for line mode. Histogram uses a 10-bucket gradient automatically.
Show Standard Deviations plots symmetric rails at ±1, ±2, ±3 sigma in the current mode’s units.
Fill Line Oscillator and Fill Opacity add a soft bias band around zero for line mode.
Line Width affects both the oscillator and the sigma rails.
Reading the zones
The oscillator’s color and height map deviation to nine graded buckets on each side of zero, with deeper greens above and deeper reds below. In Percent and Absolute modes, those buckets are scaled by their mode-specific sigma. In Z-Score mode the bucket edges are fixed at 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 2.8.
0 to +1 sigma weak positive bias, usually rotational.
+1 to +2 sigma constructive impulse. Pullbacks that hold above zero often continue.
+2 to +3 sigma strong expansion. Watch for either trend continuation or exhaustion tells.
Beyond +3 sigma statistical extreme. Requires structure to avoid fading too soon.
Mirror logic applies on the negative side.
Suggested workflows
Trend continuation checklist
Pick a session VWAP that matches your timeframe, for example Daily for intraday or Weekly for position trades.
Wait for the oscillator to hold the correct side of zero and for a sequence of higher swing lows in the oscillator (uptrend) or lower swing highs (downtrend).
Buy pullbacks that stabilize between zero and +1 sigma in an uptrend. Sell rallies that stabilize between zero and -1 sigma in a downtrend.
Use the next sigma band or a prior price swing as your target reference.
Mean reversion checklist
Switch to Z-Score mode for standardized thresholds.
Identify tests of ±2 sigma to ±3 sigma that fail to extend while price meets support or resistance.
Enter on a polarity change through the prior histogram bar or a small hook in line mode.
Fade back to zero or to the opposite inner band, then reassess.
Notes on the three modes
Percent is easy to reason about when you care about proportional stretch. It is well suited to intraday and multi-asset dashboards.
Absolute tracks cash distance from VWAP. This is useful when instruments have tight ticks and you plan risk in price units.
Z-Score standardizes the residual and is best for quant studies, cross-asset comparisons, and threshold research that must be scale invariant.
What the alerts can tell you
Polarity changes at zero can mark the start or end of a leg.
Crosses of ±1 sigma identify overbought or oversold in the current mode’s units.
Zone changes signal an upgrade or downgrade in deviation strength.
Troubleshooting and edge cases
If your instrument has long flat periods, keep Minimum Sigma Guard above zero in Percent mode so the rails do not vanish.
In Rolling modes, very short windows will respond quickly but can whip around. Session modes smooth this by resetting at well known boundaries.
If Z-Score looks erratic, increase Z/Std Window to stabilize the estimate of mean and sigma for the residual.
Final thoughts
VWAP is the anchor. The deviation oscillator is the narrative. By separating bias, magnitude, and regime into a simple stream you can execute faster and review cleaner. Pick the VWAP mode that matches your horizon, choose the deviation lens that matches your risk framework, and let the color graded zones guide your decisions.
Current Price (Customizable) by DRtradeCurrent Price Line & Dynamic Label (Fully Customizable)
The ultimate tool for clear, real-time price visualization.
This powerful, lightweight indicator draws a clean horizontal line at the current market price, updating instantly with every price tick. Unlike other current price line scripts, this tool ensures you always see where the price is right now and provides full control over every visual element.
Key Features:
- Real-Time Tracking: The line moves dynamically with price ticks within the current candle, eliminating lag and providing true current market price awareness.
- Line Extension Control: Choose to extend: Left, Right, or Both. Helpful for scalpers and options traders
- Visual Customizations: Color, Style, Size, Width, etc.
- Label Positioning: Left of Candle, Above Candle, or Right of Candle
All customization options are available in the indicator's settings menu.
Ping me with feature reqeusts.
Volume Based Sampling [BackQuant]Volume Based Sampling
What this does
This indicator converts the usual time-based stream of candles into an event-based stream of “synthetic” bars that are created only when enough trading activity has occurred . You choose the activity definition:
Volume bars : create a new synthetic bar whenever the cumulative number of shares/contracts traded reaches a threshold.
Dollar bars : create a new synthetic bar whenever the cumulative traded dollar value (price × volume) reaches a threshold.
The script then keeps an internal ledger of these synthetic opens, highs, lows, closes, and volumes, and can display them as candles, plot a moving average calculated over the synthetic closes, mark each time a new sample is formed, and optionally overlay the native time-bars for comparison.
Why event-based sampling matters
Markets do not release information on a clock: activity clusters during news, opens/closes, and liquidity shocks. Event-based bars normalize for that heteroskedastic arrival of information: during active periods you get more bars (finer resolution); during quiet periods you get fewer bars (coarser resolution). Research shows this can reduce microstructure pathologies and produce series that are closer to i.i.d. and more suitable for statistical modeling and ML. In particular:
Volume and dollar bars are a common event-time alternative to time bars in quantitative research and are discussed extensively in Advances in Financial Machine Learning (AFML). These bars aim to homogenize information flow by sampling on traded size or value rather than elapsed seconds.
The Volume Clock perspective models market activity in “volume time,” showing that many intraday phenomena (volatility, liquidity shocks) are better explained when time is measured by traded volume instead of seconds.
Related market microstructure work on flow toxicity and liquidity highlights that the risk dealers face is tied to information intensity of order flow, again arguing for activity-based clocks.
How the indicator works (plain English)
Choose your bucket type
Volume : accumulate volume until it meets a threshold.
Dollar Bars : accumulate close × volume until it meets a dollar threshold.
Pick the threshold rule
Dynamic threshold : by default, the script computes a rolling statistic (mean or median) of recent activity to set the next bucket size. This adapts bar size to changing conditions (e.g., busier sessions produce more frequent synthetic bars).
Fixed threshold : optionally override with a constant target (e.g., exactly 100,000 contracts per synthetic bar, or $5,000,000 per dollar bar).
Build the synthetic bar
While a bucket fills, the script tracks:
o_s: first price of the bucket (synthetic open)
h_s: running maximum price (synthetic high)
l_s: running minimum price (synthetic low)
c_s: last price seen (synthetic close)
v_s: cumulative native volume inside the bucket
d_samples: number of native bars consumed to complete the bucket (a proxy for “how fast” the threshold filled)
Emit a new sample
Once the bucket meets/exceeds the threshold, a new synthetic bar is finalized and stored. If overflow occurs (e.g., a single native bar pushes you past the threshold by a lot), the code will emit multiple synthetic samples to account for the extra activity.
Maintain a rolling history efficiently
A ring buffer can overwrite the oldest samples when you hit your Max Stored Samples cap, keeping memory usage stable.
Compute synthetic-space statistics
The script computes an SMA over the last N synthetic closes and basic descriptors like average bars per synthetic sample, mean and standard deviation of synthetic returns, and more. These are all in event time , not clock time.
Inputs and options you will actually use
Data Settings
Sampling Method : Volume or Dollar Bars.
Rolling Lookback : window used to estimate the dynamic threshold from recent activity.
Filter : Mean or Median for the dynamic threshold. Median is more robust to spikes.
Use Fixed? / Fixed Threshold : override dynamic sizing with a constant target.
Max Stored Samples : cap on synthetic history to keep performance snappy.
Use Ring Buffer : turn on to recycle storage when at capacity.
Indicator Settings
SMA over last N samples : moving average in synthetic space . Because its index is sample count, not minutes, it adapts naturally: more updates in busy regimes, fewer in quiet regimes.
Visuals
Show Synthetic Bars : plot the synthetic OHLC candles.
Candle Color Mode :
Green/Red: directional close vs open
Volume Intensity: opacity scales with synthetic size
Neutral: single color
Adaptive: graded by how large the bucket was relative to threshold
Mark new samples : drop a small marker whenever a new synthetic bar prints.
Comparison & Research
Show Time Bars : overlay the native time-based candles to visually compare how the two sampling schemes differ.
How to read it, step by step
Turn on “Synthetic Bars” and optionally overlay “Time Bars.” You will see that during high-activity bursts, synthetic bars print much faster than time bars.
Watch the synthetic SMA . Crosses in synthetic space can be more meaningful because each update represents a roughly comparable amount of traded information.
Use the “Avg Bars per Sample” in the info table as a regime signal. Falling average bars per sample means activity is clustering, often coincident with higher realized volatility.
Try Dollar Bars when price varies a lot but share count does not; they normalize by dollar risk taken in each sample. Volume Bars are ideal when share count is a better proxy for information flow in your instrument.
Quant finance background and citations
Event time vs. clock time : Easley, López de Prado, and O’Hara advocate measuring intraday phenomena on a volume clock to better align sampling with information arrival. This framing helps explain volatility bursts and liquidity droughts and motivates volume-based bars.
Flow toxicity and dealer risk : The same authors show how adverse selection risk changes with the intensity and informativeness of order flow, further supporting activity-based clocks for modeling and risk management.
AFML framework : In Advances in Financial Machine Learning , event-driven bars such as volume, dollar, and imbalance bars are presented as superior sampling units for many ML tasks, yielding more stationary features and fewer microstructure distortions than fixed time bars. ( Alpaca )
Practical use cases
1) Regime-aware moving averages
The synthetic SMA in event time is not fooled by quiet periods: if nothing of consequence trades, it barely updates. This can make trend filters less sensitive to calendar drift and more sensitive to true participation.
2) Breakout logic on “equal-information” samples
The script exposes simple alerts such as breakout above/below the synthetic SMA . Because each bar approximates a constant amount of activity, breakouts are conditioned on comparable informational mass, not arbitrary time buckets.
3) Volatility-adaptive backtests
If you use synthetic bars as your base data stream, most signal rules become self-paced : entry and exit opportunities accelerate in fast markets and slow down in quiet regimes, which often improves the realism of slippage and fill modeling in research pipelines (pair this indicator with strategy code downstream).
4) Regime diagnostics
Avg Bars per Sample trending down: activity is dense; expect larger realized ranges.
Return StdDev (synthetic) rising: noise or trend acceleration in event time; re-tune risk.
Interpreting the info panel
Method : your sampling choice and current threshold.
Total Samples : how many synthetic bars have been formed.
Current Vol/Dollar : how much of the next bucket is already filled.
Bars in Bucket : native bars consumed so far in the current bucket.
Avg Bars/Sample : lower means higher trading intensity.
Avg Return / Return StdDev : return stats computed over synthetic closes .
Research directions you can build from here
Imbalance and run bars
Extend beyond pure volume or dollar thresholds to imbalance bars that trigger on directional order flow imbalance (e.g., buy volume minus sell volume), as discussed in the AFML ecosystem. These often further homogenize distributional properties used in ML. alpaca.markets
Volume-time indicators
Re-compute classical indicators (RSI, MACD, Bollinger) on the synthetic stream. The premise is that signals are updated by traded information , not seconds, which may stabilize indicator behavior in heteroskedastic regimes.
Liquidity and toxicity overlays
Combine synthetic bars with proxies of flow toxicity to anticipate spread widening or volatility clustering. For instance, tag synthetic bars that surpass multiples of the threshold and test whether subsequent realized volatility is elevated.
Dollar-risk parity sampling for portfolios
Use dollar bars to align samples across assets by notional risk, enabling cleaner cross-asset features and comparability in multi-asset models (e.g., correlation studies, regime clustering). AFML discusses the benefits of event-driven sampling for cross-sectional ML feature engineering.
Microstructure feature set
Compute duration in native bars per synthetic sample , range per sample , and volume multiple of threshold as inputs to state classifiers or regime HMMs . These features are inherently activity-aware and often predictive of short-horizon volatility and trend persistence per the event-time literature. ( Alpaca )
Tips for clean usage
Start with dynamic thresholds using Median over a sensible lookback to avoid outlier distortion, then move to Fixed thresholds when you know your instrument’s typical activity scale.
Compare time bars vs synthetic bars side by side to develop intuition for how your market “breathes” in activity time.
Keep Max Stored Samples reasonable for performance; the ring buffer avoids memory creep while preserving a rolling window of research-grade data.
