# Parabolic SAR Oscillator

Parabolic SAR Oscillator is an indicator on [Vela](https://vela.luxalgo.com/chart), our next-generation charting platform, written in Pine Script®.

Turns the Parabolic SAR trailing stop into a bounded oscillator, detrending price against the SAR and normalizing the result between -100 and 100. Extreme readings confirm the running trend while zero-line crosses give early reversal cues. A smooth, low-noise trend gauge for traders who prefer their SAR as an oscillator rather than dots on price.

- Indicator in the LuxAlgo Library, by LuxAlgo, published Jul 11, 2022.
- Access: free.
- Concepts: [Parabolic SAR](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/parabolic-sar/) (primary), [Overbought/oversold](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/overbought-oversold/)
- Open on Vela: https://vela.luxalgo.com/chart?pineScriptCodeId=cmpwn4dt60064vhsgzcpadz21
- Page: https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/parabolic-sar-oscillator/

**Parabolic SAR Oscillator** re-expresses the [Parabolic SAR](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/parabolic-sar/) trailing stop as a detrended, bounded oscillator. Price is detrended by subtracting the close from the SAR value, and the result is normalized into a fixed -100 to 100 range, a smooth, noise-free series that makes the SAR's leading, trend-anticipating character easier to read than dots on price.

Note the polarity: because the SAR trails beneath price while a market rises, the bullish extreme sits at -100, the reverse of most [overbought and oversold](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/overbought-oversold/) scales.

## How to Trade the Parabolic SAR Oscillator?

- **Reading pinned at -100**: strong confirmation of an up-trending market.
- **Reading pinned at 100**: the mirror case: the SAR is tracking above price in a downtrend.
- **Cross of the 0 line**: an early cue that the trend may be reversing, arriving before the opposite extreme is reached.

Because the output is bounded, the same -100, 0, and 100 reading rules apply on any symbol or timeframe, and the detrended series sits naturally alongside other oscillator work.

## Parabolic SAR Oscillator Settings

- **Acceleration** (default 0.01): initial value of the convergence factor when a new trend is detected: how early the SAR engages.
- **Increment**: growth of the convergence factor, controlling sensitivity to trend development.
- **Maximum**: cap on the convergence factor, preventing over-extension in fast markets.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Why does -100 mean an uptrend here?
The oscillator subtracts the close from the SAR, and in a rising market the SAR sits below price, pushing the normalized value to the lower bound. Treat -100 as full bullish confirmation and 100 as full bearish confirmation.

### When would I choose this over the standard overlay?
The [classic Parabolic SAR](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/parabolic-sar/) excels as a visual trailing stop on price. The oscillator form is better when you want trend state as a clean series: catching 0-line reversals early or lining the SAR up against other oscillators.

### Is the Parabolic SAR Oscillator free to use?
Yes. It's available at no cost from the LuxAlgo Library, and you can run or backtest it in Quant, our coding agent, directly from this page. You can also copy the source code from this page and run it anywhere Pine Script® runs.

## Related indicators

- [Parabolic SAR](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/parabolic-sar/) (Trend): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/parabolic-sar.md
- [RSI Candlestick Oscillator](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/rsi-candlestick-oscillator/) (Overbought/oversold): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/rsi-candlestick-oscillator.md
- [Adaptive Bounds RSI](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/adaptive-bounds-rsi/) (Overbought/oversold): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/adaptive-bounds-rsi.md
- [SuperTrend AI (Clustering)](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/supertrend-ai-clustering/) (Supertrend): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/supertrend-ai-clustering.md
- [KNN Supertrend Horizon](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/knn-supertrend-horizon/) (Supertrend): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/knn-supertrend-horizon.md
- [Supertrend Parameter Sensitivity 3D](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/supertrend-parameter-sensitivity-3d/) (Supertrend): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/supertrend-parameter-sensitivity-3d.md
- [SuperTrend Recovery](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/supertrend-recovery/) (Supertrend): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/supertrend-recovery.md
- [Evasive SuperTrend](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/evasive-supertrend/) (Supertrend): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/evasive-supertrend.md

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Source: https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/parabolic-sar-oscillator/ (LuxAlgo Library). Free to use with attribution: https://www.luxalgo.com/library/license/