> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.ispecalgo.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.ispecalgo.com/en/isa-terminal/indikatory.md). # Indicators Indicators help you read price direction, volatility, trading volume and possible reversals on terminal charts. They support analysis; they are not ready-made entry signals. ## Add an indicator The catalogue is available on ordinary charts. **Bot and tester charts** show the selected strategy's indicators: you cannot manually add or remove them. You can hide them, change their appearance and rearrange panels. Calculation parameters can be changed only where the strategy allows it. 1. Open a chart for the required pair and timeframe. 2. Click the chart's add-indicator button. 3. Select an indicator from the catalogue. 4. Adjust parameters, lines, levels and placement if needed. 5. Add it to the chart. Search and category filters are available: **Standard** for classic technical indicators, **Custom** for extended trend, momentum, volume and market regime indicators. ## Settings ### Placement Display an indicator over the **price chart** for moving averages, channels and trend lines, or in a **separate panel** below it for momentum, volume and oscillators. Moving a panel indicator onto price may distort the scale. RSI ranges from 0 to 100 and is usually best kept in a separate panel. ### Calculation parameters Depending on the indicator, these include period, multiplier, short and long lookbacks. Shorter periods react faster but show more noise. Longer periods smooth movement but lag. Channel multipliers widen or narrow the boundaries. ### Lines For each line you can set color, display type (line, area, histogram, etc.), solid/dashed/dotted style, width and calculation price (close, open, high or low). Some indicators have several lines: Bollinger Bands has upper, middle and lower bands; MACD has MACD, signal and histogram. ### Levels Horizontal reference levels include RSI 70/30, Stochastic 80/20, MFI 80/20, CCI +100/−100, MACD 0 and ADX 25/20. Add, remove or edit them; the maximum is **10 levels per indicator**. ## Price chart indicators These usually overlay candles. Values below are defaults. | Indicator | Shows | Settings | Use | | -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **SMA** | Simple average price over a period | Period 14 | Smoothed trend line. Price above it is often read as strength, below as weakness. | | **EMA** | Average giving more weight to recent candles; faster than SMA | Period 14 | More responsive trend tracking; compare fast and slow EMAs. | | **WMA** | Weighted average favoring recent candles | Period 14 | Faster than SMA, for reduced lag without excessive jumps. | | **HMA** | Hull moving average, smoother with less lag | Period 9 | Visual direction changes; shorter periods increase sensitivity. | | **Bollinger Bands** | Upper, middle and lower bands around an average | Period 20, multiplier 2.0 | Narrowing indicates lower volatility; widening indicates stronger movement. A touch alone is not a signal. | | **Donchian Channel** | Period highs and lows | Period 20 | Range boundaries for assessing breakouts and sideways markets. | | **Keltner Channels** | An average-based channel that expands with volatility | Period 20, ATR period 10, multiplier 2.0 | Price fluctuation boundaries; combine with Bollinger to see a squeeze. | | **SuperTrend** | Trend direction line | Period 10, multiplier 3.0 | Green below price indicates upward movement; red above indicates downward movement. Color changes mark direction changes. | | **Parabolic SAR** | Dots following price | Step 0.02, maximum 0.2 | Dots below price suggest an upward regime, above a downward one. Better in trends; may switch frequently in ranges. | | **VWAP** | Volume-weighted average price, reset daily at 00:00 UTC | None | Intraday fair-price reference. Price above suggests stronger buying, below stronger selling. | | **EMA Trend + RSI** | Two chart EMAs and an RSI panel | Fast EMA 10, slow EMA 30, RSI 14 | View trend direction and momentum together. | ## Separate panel indicators These usually appear below the chart. | Indicator | Shows | Settings | Use | | -------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Volume** | Trading volume: green for rising candles, red for falling ones | None | Check whether volume confirms price movement. A rise without volume is weaker than one with increased volume. | | **RSI** | Price momentum on a 0–100 scale | Period 14; levels 70/30 | Above 70: overbought; below 30: oversold. Compare RSI and price direction for divergence. | | **Stochastic** | Close relative to the period's high-low range | %K 14, smoothing 3, %D 3; levels 80/20 | Above 80: overbought; below 20: oversold. %K/%D crosses show short-term momentum changes. | | **MACD** | Fast/slow EMA difference, signal line and histogram | Fast 12, slow 26, signal 9; level 0 | Histogram shows MACD–Signal divergence; zero crossings help assess momentum changes. | | **ATR** | Average price movement including gaps | Period 14 | Volatility, not direction; helps assess stop widths, channels and expected movement. | | **StDev** | Standard deviation from average price | Period 20 | Higher values mean greater dispersion and volatility; no direction by itself. | | **ADX / DMI** | Trend strength and direction through ADX, +DI and −DI | Period 14; levels 25/20 | ADX above 25 suggests a clear trend, below 20 a range. +DI above −DI favors upward movement; the reverse favors downward movement. | | **CCI** | Typical price deviation from its average | Period 20; levels +100/−100 | Above +100 suggests strong upward movement or overbought conditions; below −100 the reverse. | | **MFI** | Money Flow Index: RSI-like momentum with volume | Period 14; levels 80/20 | Above 80: overbought; below 20: oversold. Includes volume in momentum analysis. | | **OBV** | Cumulative volume signed by price direction | None | Compare its trend with price. Rising OBV with flat price may suggest accumulation. | ## Extended indicators The **Custom** category adds noise filters, market regime, momentum, relative volume and possible trend changes. ### On the price chart | Indicator | Shows | Settings | Use | | ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **HalfTrend** | Trend line switching after a confirmed side change, with reversal arrows | Amplitude 2 | Green: upward regime; red: downward. Larger amplitude reduces switches but adds lag. Ranges can cause false reversals. | | **Range Filter** | A line less sensitive to small moves and price-range boundaries | Period 100, multiplier 3.0 | The line changes little within the range. Color changes mark direction changes. A larger multiplier widens the corridor and reduces switching. | | **NRTR** | A trailing line reversing after a set percentage retracement | Percentage 2.0% | Green below price is a support reference; red above is resistance. A smaller percentage gives earlier but more frequent false reversals. | | **Regression Channel** | Overall price direction channel and slope histogram | Period 100, upper/lower deviation 2.0/2.0 | Bands show deviation from the center. Green above-zero histogram means positive slope; red below-zero means negative. A boundary touch is a range edge, not a guaranteed reversal. | ### In a separate panel | Indicator | Shows | Settings | Use | | --------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **WaveTrend** | WT1/WT2 momentum lines and their difference histogram | Channel 10, averaging 21, signal 4; levels ±60, ±53, 0 | Above +60: overbought; below −60: oversold. Crosses help assess momentum changes, but extremes can persist in strong trends. | | **QQE** | Smoothed RSI and an additional momentum assessment line | RSI 14, smoothing 5, multiplier 4.236; levels 70/50/30 | RSI MA/QQE crosses suggest momentum changes. Higher multipliers reduce false crosses but delay signals. | | **Fisher Transform** | Lines highlighting possible direction changes | Period 9; level 0 | Watch Fisher/Trigger crosses. Shorter periods react faster with more noise. Use with the higher-timeframe trend. | | **Relative Volume (RVOL)** | Current volume relative to previous candles' average | Period 20; levels 1.0/2.0 | Above 1: above-average volume; above 2: notable activity spike. Confirms strength, not direction. | | **Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD)** | Cumulative estimated buying minus selling volume | None; level 0 | Rising suggests buying pressure; falling suggests selling pressure. Compare with price. This is an approximate activity measure. | | **Squeeze Momentum** | Low-volatility periods and subsequent momentum | Bollinger period 20, multiplier 2.0; Keltner period 20, multiplier 1.5; level 0 | Dots show a squeeze; their disappearance marks release. Histogram above zero: upward momentum, below: downward. Assess trade direction after release. | | **Fractal Regime** | Tendency to trend or revert to the mean | Lookback 128, smoothing 5, minimum candles per regime 3; levels 0.45/0.50/0.55 | Above 0.55: trending; below 0.45: mean-reverting; near 0.50: uncertain. It describes market state, not trade direction. | ## Quick selection guide * **Trend direction:** SMA, EMA, WMA, HMA, SuperTrend, ADX, HalfTrend, Range Filter, NRTR. * **Volatility and squeeze:** ATR, StDev, Bollinger Bands, Keltner Channels, Squeeze Momentum. * **Overbought/oversold:** RSI, Stochastic, CCI, MFI, WaveTrend, QQE, Fisher Transform. * **Volume and activity:** Volume, OBV, MFI, VWAP, RVOL, CVD. * **Price channels:** Bollinger Bands, Donchian Channel, Keltner Channels, Regression Channel. * **Momentum:** MACD, RSI, Stochastic, WaveTrend, QQE, Squeeze Momentum. * **Market regime:** Fractal Regime. ## Practical rules 1. Start with 1–3 indicators, such as EMA + Volume + RSI, to keep the chart readable. 2. Do not treat similar indicators as independent confirmation: RSI and Stochastic both measure momentum. 3. Check the timeframe you use for decisions. Identical settings can behave differently on 5m and 1h. 4. Consider market regime. Trend indicators struggle in ranges; momentum extremes can persist in strong trends. 5. An indicator does not guarantee a trade. Check its interpretation against market conditions, risk and your strategy rules.