Using your own indicators
A strategy can read an indicator you already have on your platform. In section 2, choose Add an indicator > Your own and tell the builder:
- The indicator's name, as your platform knows it.
- Its settings, in the same order as its settings window.
- Its lines, in order, each with a short name you'll use in your rules.
Each time a bar closes, the strategy reads each line on the bar that just closed. A gap in a line counts as "no value", so rules using it aren't met.
Strategies with your own indicators can't be previewed in the builder: only your platform can calculate them. Export and backtest on your platform instead.
Per platform
| Platform | What to give and do |
|---|---|
| MT5 | Put the .ex5 in MQL5\Indicators. Use its file name without .ex5 (include a subfolder: Market\Name). Line 1 is buffer 0. |
| MT4 | The same, in MQL4\Indicators with the .ex4. |
| cTrader | Give its type name (class name). Before building, open the cBot, click Manage references, tick the indicator and press Apply. |
| NinjaTrader 8 | Give its name as it appears in the Indicators list. Line 1 is its first plot. |
| TradingView | Add your indicator to the chart first, then the strategy. In the strategy's Inputs, under Your indicators, choose the indicator's line for each one. |
Tip: if a whole number reaches the indicator as the wrong type, write decimal settings as 2.0 rather than 2. After the first backtest, check the indicator's lines match your chart.
If MT5 or MT4 says Could not load your indicator, the name or folder is wrong.
Didn't find your answer? Contact us and say what you were trying to do.