Quickstart

1. Pick an indicator

The catalog lists every indicator with one sentence, its status and how far it has been checked; the sidebar groups them by what they measure. Start from the question you want answered — where is the structure, is there a trend, is a move exhausted — rather than from a signal.

2. Check what data it needs

Scripts declare their data requirements in a Data Contract at the end of the header. The block is being added to every script; where it is still missing, the README describes which data the indicator reads.

// Data Contract:
//   Price:     REQUIRED   chart symbol
//   Volume:    OPTIONAL   real trade volume only — degrades to neutral
//   OI:        NO
//   Reference: NO
//   Verdict:   CFD-degraded

The verdict tells you whether the script can work on your symbol:

Verdict	Meaning
CFD-safe	Price only. Works on any symbol.
CFD-degraded	Works on any symbol. Volume or open-interest parts switch off visibly when the feed has no real trade volume.
Reference-required	Needs a reference market in addition to the chart symbol.
Exchange-only	Needs real trade volume. Without it the script switches off visibly instead of degrading.

Why this matters: Data validity.

3. Add it to the chart

Follow Add a script to TradingView. Keep the defaults on the first run; the input tooltips explain what each setting does and why it exists.

4. Use a standard chart type

Indicators read the bars the chart gives them. Heikin Ashi, Renko, Kagi, Line Break and Point & Figure produce synthetic prices. Use candles or bars when you act on a reading.

5. Create an alert

Scripts with alerts expose each event as a named condition in TradingView’s Create Alert dialog. Messages follow one format, so an alert stays identifiable when the same script runs on several charts:

<code> · <event> · {{ticker}} {{interval}}

Codes, event names and the bar-close rule are described under Alerts.