Indicator Blocks Reference
==========================

Indicators are mathematical calculations applied to price or volume data.
Drag them from the **Indicators** panel onto the canvas and connect them to comparison or signal blocks.

Every indicator has an **Offset** field — a positive integer that shifts the value back in time.
``Offset = 0`` means *today*, ``Offset = 1`` means *yesterday*, and so on.
This is useful for comparing the current value to a previous one.

.. tip::
   Parameters marked with ⚙ can be added to the **Optimizer** for automatic tuning.
   Enter comma-separated values (e.g. ``14, 21, 28``) to test multiple settings at once.

----

Trend / Overlap
---------------

.. _sma:

SMA — Simple Moving Average
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Calculates the arithmetic mean of the closing price over the last *N* candles.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Period** ⚙
     - ``50``
     - Number of candles in the lookback window.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift value back N bars. 0 = current bar.

**Formula:** ``SMA = (C₁ + C₂ + … + Cₙ) / n``

**Common uses:** Identify trend direction; cross-overs between short and long SMA generate buy/sell signals.
A rising 50-day SMA means price is in an uptrend on average.

----

.. _ema:

EMA — Exponential Moving Average
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Like SMA but weights recent prices more heavily, so it reacts faster to price changes.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Period** ⚙
     - ``50``
     - Lookback window. Shorter = more responsive, more noise.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

**Formula:** ``EMA = Price × k + EMA_prev × (1 − k)``  where  ``k = 2 / (period + 1)``

**Common uses:** Trend-following systems; often faster to signal reversals than SMA.

----

.. _wma:

WMA — Weighted Moving Average
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Assigns linearly increasing weights to each bar, so the most recent bar has the highest weight.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Period** ⚙
     - ``30``
     - Lookback window.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

**Formula:** ``WMA = (n×Cₙ + (n-1)×Cₙ₋₁ + … + 1×C₁) / (n×(n+1)/2)``

**Common uses:** Smoother response than SMA with less lag than EMA.

----

.. _dema:

DEMA — Double Exponential Moving Average
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Applies EMA twice then subtracts the second from the first to reduce lag.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Period** ⚙
     - ``30``
     - Lookback window.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

**Formula:** ``DEMA = 2 × EMA(n) − EMA(EMA(n))``

**Common uses:** Fast trend identification with reduced false signals compared to a single EMA.

----

.. _tema:

TEMA — Triple Exponential Moving Average
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Further reduces lag by computing EMA three times.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Period** ⚙
     - ``30``
     - Lookback window.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

**Formula:** ``TEMA = 3×EMA − 3×EMA(EMA) + EMA(EMA(EMA))``

**Common uses:** Very responsive moving average; best for volatile, fast-moving markets.

----

.. _vwma:

VWMA — Volume-Weighted Moving Average
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Weights each price by its trading volume — high-volume bars count more.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Period** ⚙
     - ``20``
     - Lookback window.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

**Formula:** ``VWMA = Σ(Closeᵢ × Volumeᵢ) / Σ(Volumeᵢ)``

**Common uses:** More accurate representation of the "true" average price.
If price > VWMA, buyers are in control; if price < VWMA, sellers are.

----

.. _sar:

SAR — Parabolic SAR
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Plots dots above (bearish) or below (bullish) the price. When the dots flip sides, a trend reversal is signalled.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Acceleration** ⚙
     - ``0.02``
     - Step factor; increases each bar a new extreme is made.
   * - **Maximum** ⚙
     - ``0.2``
     - Upper limit for the acceleration factor.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

**Common uses:** Trailing stop-loss placement; exit long when Close crosses below SAR.

----

.. _oscillators:

Oscillators
-----------

.. _rsi:

RSI — Relative Strength Index
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Measures the speed and magnitude of recent price changes on a scale of 0–100.
Values above ``70`` indicate overbought; below ``30`` indicate oversold.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Period** ⚙
     - ``14``
     - Number of bars for the average gain/loss calculation.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

**Formula:** ``RSI = 100 − 100 / (1 + RS)``  where  ``RS = Avg Gain / Avg Loss``

**Interpretation:**

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 75

   * - RSI value
     - Meaning
   * - < 30
     - Oversold — potential bounce / buy setup.
   * - 30 – 70
     - Neutral range.
   * - > 70
     - Overbought — potential pullback / sell setup.
   * - Divergence
     - Price makes new high but RSI doesn't → weakening momentum.

----

.. _stoch:

Stochastic Oscillator
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Compares the current close to the high-low range over a lookback window,
producing two smoothed lines: **%K** (fast) and **%D** (slow).

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Fast-K Period** ⚙
     - ``14``
     - Bars used for the raw %K calculation.
   * - **Slow-K Period** ⚙
     - ``3``
     - Smoothing applied to %K.
   * - **Slow-D Period** ⚙
     - ``3``
     - Smoothing applied to Slow-K to produce %D.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

**Formula:** ``%K = (Close − Lowest Low) / (Highest High − Lowest Low) × 100``

**Common uses:** Buy when %K crosses above %D below 20; sell when %K crosses below %D above 80.

----

.. _stochrsi:

StochRSI — Stochastic RSI
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Applies the Stochastic formula to RSI values instead of price, making it
more sensitive than either indicator alone.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **RSI Period** ⚙
     - ``14``
     - Period for the underlying RSI.
   * - **FastK Period** ⚙
     - ``5``
     - Smoothing for %K.
   * - **FastD Period** ⚙
     - ``3``
     - Smoothing for %D.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

**Common uses:** Detecting short-term overbought/oversold extremes within an existing trend.

----

.. _crsi:

CRSI — Connors RSI
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A composite oscillator combining three components: a short RSI, a "streak" RSI
(consecutive up/down days), and a percentile rank of recent returns.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **RSI Length** ⚙
     - ``3``
     - Period for the base RSI component.
   * - **Streak Length** ⚙
     - ``2``
     - Period for the streak RSI (up/down day run).
   * - **Percentile Rank Length** ⚙
     - ``52``
     - Lookback for the percentile rank of 1-day returns.
   * - **Timeframe** ⚙
     - ``252``
     - Trading days used in the percentile calculation.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

**Common uses:** Mean-reversion entries — buy below 10, sell above 90.

----

.. _cci:

CCI — Commodity Channel Index
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Measures deviation of price from its statistical mean.
Positive values mean price is above average; negative means below.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Period** ⚙
     - ``14``
     - Lookback window.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

**Formula:** ``CCI = (Typical Price − SMA) / (0.015 × Mean Deviation)``

**Common uses:** Values above +100 signal overbought; below −100 signal oversold.

----

.. _cmo:

CMO — Chande Momentum Oscillator
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Similar to RSI but uses the sum of both up and down days in the denominator.
Oscillates between −100 and +100.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Period** ⚙
     - ``14``
     - Lookback window.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

**Common uses:** Overbought above +50; oversold below −50.

----

.. _ultosc:

Ultimate Oscillator
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Combines three different timeframes into one oscillator to reduce false signals.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Period 1** ⚙
     - ``7``
     - Short-term window.
   * - **Period 2** ⚙
     - ``14``
     - Medium-term window.
   * - **Period 3** ⚙
     - ``28``
     - Long-term window.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

**Common uses:** Buy divergence: price makes lower low, oscillator makes higher low.
Overbought above 70, oversold below 30.

----

.. _willr:

Williams %R
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Measures momentum. Like the Stochastic but inverted — ranges from −100 to 0.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Period** ⚙
     - ``14``
     - Lookback window.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

**Formula:** ``%R = (Highest High − Close) / (Highest High − Lowest Low) × −100``

**Common uses:** Oversold below −80; overbought above −20.

----

Momentum
--------

.. _macd:

MACD — Moving Average Convergence Divergence
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tracks the relationship between two EMAs. Produces three outputs:

- **MACD line** — Fast EMA minus Slow EMA.
- **Signal line** — EMA of the MACD line.
- **Histogram** — MACD line minus Signal line.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Fast Period** ⚙
     - ``12``
     - Bars for the fast EMA.
   * - **Slow Period** ⚙
     - ``26``
     - Bars for the slow EMA.
   * - **Signal Period** ⚙
     - ``9``
     - Bars for smoothing the MACD line.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

**Common uses:**
Buy when MACD crosses above the Signal line; sell when it crosses below.
A positive histogram means bullish momentum is accelerating.

----

.. _ppo:

PPO — Percentage Price Oscillator
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Like MACD but expressed as a percentage difference — useful for comparing assets with different price levels.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Fast Period** ⚙
     - ``12``
     - Fast EMA period.
   * - **Slow Period** ⚙
     - ``26``
     - Slow EMA period.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

**Formula:** ``PPO = (Fast EMA − Slow EMA) / Slow EMA × 100``

----

.. _trix:

TRIX
~~~~~

1-day Rate-of-Change of a triple-smoothed EMA. Crosses above zero are bullish.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Period** ⚙
     - ``30``
     - Lookback window for each EMA layer.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

----

.. _momentum:

Momentum
~~~~~~~~~

Ranks stocks in the universe by their historical Rate-of-Change over *N* bars.
Returns the **top-ranked** symbols — use it as the input to a rebalance block.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Period** ⚙
     - ``189``
     - Bars (trading days) used to measure momentum (ROC).

.. note::
   This block returns a **list of symbols** ranked highest to lowest by momentum.
   Connect it to the *Selected* input of a **Rebalance: Enter** block.

----

Directional Movement
--------------------

.. _adx:
.. _adxr:

ADXR — Average Directional Index Rating
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Measures trend *strength* (not direction). High values mean a strong trend (up or down);
low values mean ranging, sideways market.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Period** ⚙
     - ``14``
     - Lookback window.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

**Interpretation:**

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 75

   * - Value
     - Meaning
   * - < 20
     - No trend / choppy market. Avoid trend-following strategies.
   * - 20 – 40
     - Developing trend.
   * - > 40
     - Strong trend in place.

----

.. _dx:

DX — Directional Index
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The raw precursor to ADX. Measures the difference between +DI and −DI lines.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Period** ⚙
     - ``14``
     - Lookback window.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

----

.. _volatility:

Volatility
----------

.. _bbands:

BBands — Bollinger Bands
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Plots a middle band (SMA) with upper and lower bands at a set number of standard deviations.
The bands *squeeze* during low volatility and *expand* during high volatility.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Period** ⚙
     - ``20``
     - Lookback for the middle SMA and standard deviation.
   * - **Upper Dev** ⚙
     - ``2``
     - Standard deviations above the middle band.
   * - **Lower Dev** ⚙
     - ``2``
     - Standard deviations below the middle band.
   * - **MA Type**
     - SMA
     - Moving average type for the middle band.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

**Outputs:** ``Upper Band``, ``Middle Band``, ``Lower Band``

**Common uses:**
Mean-reversion — buy at lower band, sell at upper band.
Breakout — buy when price closes above upper band after a squeeze.

----

.. _atr:

ATR — Average True Range
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Measures market volatility as the average of the "true range" — the largest of: High − Low, abs(High − Prev Close), abs(Low − Prev Close).
Does **not** indicate direction — only magnitude of movement.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Period** ⚙
     - ``14``
     - Bars to average the true range over.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

**True Range** = max of: High − Low, abs(High − Prev Close), abs(Low − Prev Close).

**Common uses:** Position sizing (risk a fixed multiple of ATR per trade);
stop-loss placement at Close − 2 × ATR.

----

.. _natr:

NATR — Normalized ATR
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ATR expressed as a percentage of the close price — makes it comparable across different-priced assets.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Period** ⚙
     - ``14``
     - Lookback window.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

**Formula:** ``NATR = ATR / Close × 100``

----

.. _stddev:

StdDev — Standard Deviation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Measures price dispersion around the mean. Higher values = more volatile.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Period** ⚙
     - ``5``
     - Lookback window.
   * - **NbDev**
     - ``1``
     - Multiplier (usually left at 1).
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

----

Volume
------

.. _obv:

OBV — On Balance Volume
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cumulative sum of volume — adds volume on up days, subtracts on down days.
The direction of OBV predicts price moves.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

**Common uses:** Bullish if OBV is rising while price is flat — accumulation.
Bearish if OBV is falling while price is flat — distribution.

----

.. _mfi:

MFI — Money Flow Index
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A volume-weighted RSI. Ranges 0–100.
Values above 80 = overbought; below 20 = oversold.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Period** ⚙
     - ``14``
     - Lookback window.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

**Formula:** Uses Typical Price × Volume to compute positive/negative money flow, then scales as RSI.

----

.. _cmf:

CMF — Chaikin Money Flow
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Measures money flow as the sum of the Accumulation/Distribution ratio, normalised by volume.
Ranges from −1 to +1.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Period** ⚙
     - ``20``
     - Lookback window.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

**Common uses:** Above 0 = buying pressure; below 0 = selling pressure.

----

.. _bop:

BOP — Balance of Power
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Measures the strength of buyers vs. sellers by comparing the close relative to the open within the full daily range.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

**Formula:** ``BOP = (Close − Open) / (High − Low)``

**Range:** −1 (sellers dominated) to +1 (buyers dominated).

----

.. _adosc:

ADOSC — Accumulation/Distribution Oscillator
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The difference between a fast and slow EMA of the Accumulation/Distribution line.
Positive = accumulation; Negative = distribution.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Fast Period** ⚙
     - ``3``
     - Period for the fast A/D EMA.
   * - **Slow Period** ⚙
     - ``10``
     - Period for the slow A/D EMA.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

----

Cycle
-----

.. _aroon:

Aroon
~~~~~~

Measures how recently price made its highest high and lowest low within the lookback window.
Produces two lines: **AroonUp** and **AroonDown** (0–100 each).

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Period** ⚙
     - ``14``
     - Lookback window.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

**Interpretation:**
AroonUp near 100 = price hit a recent high → uptrend.
AroonDown near 100 = price hit a recent low → downtrend.

----

.. _aroonosc:

Aroon Oscillator
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AroonUp minus AroonDown. Ranges from −100 to +100.
Positive = uptrend; Negative = downtrend; Near zero = no trend.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Period** ⚙
     - ``14``
     - Lookback window.
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

----

.. _htsine:

HT Sine — Hilbert Transform SineWave
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Uses the Hilbert Transform to detect market cycles.
Outputs a **Sine** line and a **Lead Sine** line.
When the Sine crosses the Lead Sine, a cycle turning point is signalled.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

.. warning::
   This is an advanced indicator. Works best in range-bound (non-trending) markets.

----

Index
-----

.. _index_value:

Index Value
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Returns the price of the benchmark index (NASDAQ or SPY) at the current date.
Use it to make decisions based on the broad market — for example, only buy stocks when the index is above its 200-day SMA.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars (0 = today, 1 = yesterday).

.. note::
   The index source is set in the **Config** block (NASDAQ or SPY).

----

.. _index_weekly_close:

Index Weekly Close
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Returns the most recent weekly closing price of the benchmark index.
Useful for strategies that only act on weekly data.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N weeks.

----

.. _index_weekly_quantile:

Index Weekly Quantile
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Returns the *q*-th percentile of the benchmark's weekly closes over the full history.
Use this to set dynamic thresholds — e.g. "only buy if the index is above its median weekly close".

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Quantile**
     - ``50``
     - Percentile level (0 = min, 100 = max, 50 = median).
   * - **Offset**
     - ``0``
     - Shift back N bars.

----

Threshold Value
---------------

.. _threshold:

Threshold Value
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A plain number block used as the right-hand side of comparisons.
Drop it into the **B** slot of a comparison block to set a fixed level.

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 25 15 60

   * - Parameter
     - Default
     - Description
   * - **Value** ⚙
     - ``0``
     - Numeric constant. Supports comma-separated values for the Optimizer.

**Example:** Connect RSI → *Greater Than* → Threshold (``30``) to create "RSI > 30".