ICHI (Ichimoku Cloud)¶
What it shows: a set of lines that show trend, momentum and support at a glance. Tenkan is a fast line and Kijun a slow line (each the middle of the highest high and lowest low of its window). Senkou A and Senkou B are the two edges of the "cloud", drawn ahead of price.
How people use it: price above the cloud is read as an uptrend, below it as a downtrend. Tenkan crossing above Kijun (a "TK cross") is a buy signal; crossing below, a sell. Price crossing back below the Kijun is a classic exit.
Pairs well with: ADX or Choppiness (TK crosses inside a flat cloud are often false) and ATR to set stop distances.
Settings¶
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Tenkan length | 9 | Candles for the fast line. Shorter makes the Tenkan react sooner, so TK crosses come earlier and more often, with more false signals. Must be smaller than Kijun length. |
| Kijun length | 26 | Candles for the slow line. It also sets how far the cloud is drawn ahead (this many candles, counting the current one). Shorter gives earlier, more frequent crosses and exits; longer gives fewer, later ones. Must be smaller than Senkou B length. |
| Senkou B length | 52 | Candles for Senkou B, the slower cloud edge. Longer makes that edge flatter and harder for price to get through, so a price-above-the-cloud filter lets fewer trades in. |
You set the defaults on the Indicators page. A condition can use its own settings, which override the defaults for that condition only.
Ready-made conditions¶
| For | Condition | Fires when |
|---|---|---|
| Buy | Tenkan crosses above Kijun (TK cross) | the one candle Tenkan moves from below the Kijun line to above it |
| Buy | Price above Senkou A (cloud) | every candle price is above the Senkou A (cloud) line |
| Buy | Price above Senkou B (cloud) | every candle price is above the Senkou B (cloud) line |
| Buy | Price crosses above Kijun | the one candle price moves from below the Kijun line to above it |
| Sell | Tenkan crosses below Kijun (TK cross) | the one candle Tenkan moves from above the Kijun line to below it |
| Sell | Price below Senkou A (cloud) | every candle price is below the Senkou A (cloud) line |
| Sell | Price below Senkou B (cloud) | every candle price is below the Senkou B (cloud) line |
| Sell | Price crosses below Kijun | the one candle price moves from above the Kijun line to below it |
"Above", "below", "is" and "rising" / "falling" stay true on every candle the state lasts, so they can fire many candles in a row. "Crosses" and "flips" fire once, on the candle it happens, so you get one signal per move.
Warnings you may see¶
- "It compares a line with itself (same indicator, same settings), so it can never fire. Give the two lines different settings.": both sides of the condition are the very same line. Pick a different line or different settings for one side. With ">=", "<=", "==" or "touches" the message ends "so it is always true" instead.
- "It can never be true: a cross happens on one candle, so it cannot happen on N candles in a row. Use 'within the last N candles' instead.": a "crosses" condition with a "… in a row" lookback of 2 or more. Switch the lookback to Within the last.
- "Tenkan length must be between 1 and 1000" / "Tenkan length must be a whole number": shown in the condition editor when a condition's own value is out of range. Fix the number; the condition can't be saved until then.
- "Kijun length must be between 1 and 1000" / "Kijun length must be a whole number": shown in the condition editor when a condition's own value is out of range. Fix the number; the condition can't be saved until then.
- "Senkou B length must be between 1 and 1000" / "Senkou B length must be a whole number": shown in the condition editor when a condition's own value is out of range. Fix the number; the condition can't be saved until then.
- "Tenkan length must be smaller than Kijun length": in a condition, Tenkan length has to stay below Kijun length.
- "Kijun length must be smaller than Senkou B length": in a condition, Kijun length has to stay below Senkou B length.
Where they show: on the Strategies page, open Create entry conditions / Edit entry conditions (or the exit ones). Each condition's messages appear right under it. The setting messages ("must be between", "whole number", "must be one of", "must be smaller than") start with the indicator's short name, for example "MACD: Fast must be between 1 and 1000", and keep the conditions from being saved until fixed. The other warnings never block saving and are repeated in the strategy's Entry or Exit section, starting with the condition's name.
Good to know¶
- It is worked out from each candle's high and low (not the close, not volume).
- Ichimoku was made for daily charts; on short timeframes the cloud is thin and price crosses it often.
- It needs some history before its value settles: the longest window (Senkou B length) + Kijun length - 1 candles (77 at 9 / 26 / 52), because the cloud is shifted 25 candles. Apathia loads that history for you.
- The cloud you compare price with on a candle was worked out 25 candles earlier: Senkou A and Senkou B are shifted forward 25 rows, which draws the cloud 26 candles ahead counting the current candle (as on TradingView). So "price above the cloud" uses nothing from the future. The shift follows Kijun length (Kijun length - 1 rows).
- Price above both Senkou A and Senkou B is above the cloud. Requiring both lets fewer trades in.
- The Chikou line (the close drawn 25 candles back) is left out, because using it would need future prices. To get the same idea, use ROC with length 25 above 0.