Moving Average

The Moving Average build is a single configurable average that smooths a chosen price source over a set lookback — 20 bars by default — and plots the result on the chart. A type selector covers the common variants — SMA (default), EMA, WMA, RMA (SMMA), HMA, ALMA, VWMA, DEMA, TEMA, KAMA, LSMA, McGinley Dynamic, and Hamming — each following its standard published formula with no added logic; an optional second moving average with cross alerts covers crossover work.

How to Trade the Moving Average?

• Price above a rising MA 1: the elementary trend filter; the slope carries most of the information.
• Price crossing MA 1: the simplest trend-change trigger — responsive but whipsaw-prone around a flat average.
• MA 1 crossing MA 2 (with Show MA 2 enabled): the classic fast/slow crossover — later entries, fewer false starts.
• Distance from the average: stretch on either side gauges how extended the current swing is.

Moving Average Settings

• MA 1 Type (default SMA): calculation used for the primary average.
• MA 1 Length (default 20): bars in the MA 1 calculation.
• MA 1 Source (default close): price series MA 1 is calculated on.
• Show MA 2 (default disabled): displays the second moving average.
• MA 2 Type (default SMA): calculation used for MA 2.
• MA 2 Length (default 50): bars in the MA 2 calculation.
• MA 2 Source (default close): price series MA 2 is calculated on.
• ALMA Offset (default 0.85): ALMA type only — nearer 1 favors responsiveness, nearer 0 smoothness.
• ALMA Sigma (default 6): ALMA type only — larger widens the Gaussian window.
• LSMA Offset (default 0): LSMA type only — bar offset applied to the regression value.

Alerts

Price Cross Above MA 1 and Price Cross Below MA 1 fire when the source crosses MA 1, while MA 1 Cross Above MA 2 and MA 1 Cross Below MA 2 cover the two-line crossover; both evaluate even while the MA 2 plot is hidden.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which moving average type should I use?

Match the type to the job: SMA as the transparent reference, EMA or HMA for faster signal work, KAMA or McGinley on instruments that alternate between trend and chop. Switching types changes timing at the margin — it does not remove the lag trade-off.

How do I build a crossover setup?

Enable Show MA 2 and keep MA 1 faster than MA 2 — the 20/50 defaults already are — then read MA 1 crossing above MA 2 as bullish and below as bearish. The two MA-cross alert conditions cover automation.

What is the main limitation of moving averages?

Lag is structural: every average summarizes past prices, so crosses confirm turns after they begin, and sideways tape whips price across any average repeatedly. An average describes trend rather than predicting it.