Supertrend¶
What it shows: a line below price in an uptrend and above it in a downtrend, set a distance away based on recent volatility (how much price usually moves).
How people use it: when it flips from above to below price it is read as a buy signal; a flip the other way as a sell. It is also used as a trailing stop.
Pairs well with: ADX to avoid flips in sideways markets, and a longer moving average for the bigger trend.
Settings¶
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Period | 10 | How many candles of volatility (ATR) it uses. Shorter adjusts faster. |
| Multiplier | 3.0 | How far the line sits from price. Larger means fewer flips and a wider stop (later exits, bigger swings tolerated); smaller means more flips. |
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 | Supertrend flips to bullish | the one candle the direction changes to bullish |
| Buy | Supertrend is bullish | every candle the direction is bullish (+1) |
| Sell | Supertrend flips to bearish | the one candle the direction changes to bearish |
| Sell | Supertrend is bearish | every candle the direction is bearish (-1) |
"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¶
- "Supertrend(10,3) Direction only moves between -1 and 1, so 2 can never be reached.": a number you typed is outside the range this line can take, so the condition can never be true (or is always true). Check the number. You can still save it.
- "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.
- "Period must be between 1 and 1000" / "Period 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.
- "Multiplier must be between 0.1 and 20": 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.
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, low and close (not volume).
- Direction is +1 (bullish) or -1 (bearish).
- It needs some history before its value settles: 6 × the Period candles, and at least 100 (100 at the defaults). Apathia loads that history for you.
- "Flips" fires once, on the candle the direction changes; "is bullish" stays true for the whole trend.