Built-in Technical Indicators#

Pine Script’s ta namespace includes dozens of built-in technical indicator functions covering moving averages, oscillators, volatility indicators, and more. This chapter introduces the most commonly used indicators and their parameters.

Moving Averages#

ta.sma — Simple Moving Average#

ta.sma(source, length)

sma20 = ta.sma(close, 20)
plot(sma20, "SMA 20", color=color.orange)

ta.ema — Exponential Moving Average#

ta.ema(source, length)

EMA assigns greater weight to recent prices, making it more responsive than SMA:

ema12 = ta.ema(close, 12)
ema26 = ta.ema(close, 26)
plot(ema12, "EMA 12", color=color.blue)
plot(ema26, "EMA 26", color=color.orange)

Other Moving Averages#

Oscillators#

ta.rsi — Relative Strength Index#

ta.rsi(source, length)

//@version=6
indicator("RSI")

rsiValue = ta.rsi(close, 14)
plot(rsiValue, "RSI", color=color.purple)

hline(70, "Overbought", color=color.red,   linestyle=hline.style_dashed)
hline(30, "Oversold",   color=color.green, linestyle=hline.style_dashed)
hline(50, "Midline",    color=color.gray,  linestyle=hline.style_dotted)

ta.macd — Moving Average Convergence/Divergence#

ta.macd(source, fastLength, slowLength, signalLength)
// Returns [macdLine, signalLine, histLine]

//@version=6
indicator("MACD")

[macdLine, signalLine, hist] = ta.macd(close, 12, 26, 9)

plot(hist,       "Histogram", style=plot.style_histogram,
     color=hist >= 0 ? color.new(color.green, 20) : color.new(color.red, 20))
plot(macdLine,   "MACD",   color=color.blue)
plot(signalLine, "Signal", color=color.orange)
hline(0, color=color.gray)

ta.stoch — Stochastic Oscillator (KD)#

ta.stoch(close, high, low, length)
// Returns the %K value; %D = ta.sma(%K, 3)

//@version=6
indicator("Stochastic KD")

kValue = ta.stoch(close, high, low, 14)
dValue = ta.sma(kValue, 3)

plot(kValue, "K", color=color.blue)
plot(dValue, "D", color=color.orange)
hline(80, "Overbought", color=color.red)
hline(20, "Oversold",   color=color.green)

ta.cci — Commodity Channel Index#

ta.cci(source, length)

ta.williams — Williams %R#

ta.williams(high, low, close, length)

Trend Indicators#

ta.adx — Average Directional Index#

[plusDI, minusDI, adx] = ta.dmi(diLength, adxSmoothing)

//@version=6
indicator("ADX / DMI")

[plusDI, minusDI, adxValue] = ta.dmi(14, 14)

plot(plusDI,   "+DI",  color=color.green)
plot(minusDI,  "-DI",  color=color.red)
plot(adxValue, "ADX",  color=color.blue, linewidth=2)
hline(25, "Trend Threshold", color=color.gray, linestyle=hline.style_dashed)

Volatility Indicators#

ta.bb — Bollinger Bands#

ta.bb(source, length, mult)
// Returns [middle, upper, lower]

//@version=6
indicator("Bollinger Bands", overlay=true)

[middle, upper, lower] = ta.bb(close, 20, 2)

plot(upper,  "Upper",  color=color.blue)
plot(middle, "Middle", color=color.orange)
plot(lower,  "Lower",  color=color.blue)

fill(plot(upper, display=display.none),
     plot(lower, display=display.none),
     color=color.new(color.blue, 92))

ta.atr — Average True Range#

ta.atr(length)

ATR is commonly used to set dynamic stop-loss distances:

//@version=6
indicator("ATR Stop-Loss Demo", overlay=true)

atrValue   = ta.atr(14)
multiplier = input.float(2.0, "ATR Multiplier")

stopLong  = close - atrValue * multiplier
stopShort = close + atrValue * multiplier

plot(stopLong,  "Long Stop",  color=color.red,   style=plot.style_stepline)
plot(stopShort, "Short Stop", color=color.green, style=plot.style_stepline)

Volume Indicators#

ta.obv — On Balance Volume#

ta.obv

ta.vwap — Volume Weighted Average Price#

ta.vwap(source)
// Or use the built-in VWAP directly: ta.vwap

//@version=6
indicator("VWAP", overlay=true)

vwapValue = ta.vwap(hlc3)
plot(vwapValue, "VWAP", color=color.purple, linewidth=2)

Pivot Point Detection#

ta.pivothigh / ta.pivotlow#

Detects pivot highs and lows, commonly used for automatic trend line drawing:

ta.pivothigh(source, leftBars, rightBars)
ta.pivotlow(source, leftBars, rightBars)
// Returns the price of the pivot point; returns na if the current bar is not a pivot

//@version=6
indicator("Pivot Points", overlay=true)

pivotH = ta.pivothigh(high, 5, 5)
pivotL = ta.pivotlow(low,  5, 5)

plotshape(pivotH, "Pivot High", shape.triangledown,
          location.abovebar, color.red,   size=size.small)
plotshape(pivotL, "Pivot Low",  shape.triangleup,
          location.belowbar, color.green, size=size.small)

Crossover Detection#

//@version=6
indicator("MA Crossover", overlay=true)

ma5  = ta.sma(close, 5)
ma20 = ta.sma(close, 20)

golden = ta.crossover(ma5, ma20)
death  = ta.crossunder(ma5, ma20)

plotshape(golden, "Golden Cross", shape.labelup,
          location.belowbar, color.green, text="G", textcolor=color.white)
plotshape(death,  "Death Cross",  shape.labeldown,
          location.abovebar, color.red,   text="D", textcolor=color.white)

Reference#

• ta namespace — Pine Script Language Reference
• Technical indicators — Pine Script Official Docs