# Qstick

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

Qstick averages each bar's close-minus-open body over 8 bars, quantifying whether recent candles are net bullish or bearish, with a 9-period EMA signal line for a faster trigger. A four-state color scheme separates growing from fading pressure on each side of zero, a gradient fill anchors readings to the zero line, and alerts cover both zero-line and signal-line crosses.

- Indicator in the LuxAlgo Library, by LuxAlgo, published Feb 9, 2026.
- Access: free.
- Concepts: [Qstick](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/qstick/) (primary)
- Open on Vela: https://vela.luxalgo.com/chart?pineScriptCodeId=ezu7000fs1gn2jx214zm8e00
- Page: https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/qstick/

**Qstick** distills candle color into one line: a simple moving average of close minus open over the last 8 bars, so readings above zero mean recent bodies are net bullish and readings below zero mean intrabar selling has the upper hand. This build renders [Qstick](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/qstick/) with a four-state color scheme (bullish or bearish by side of zero, full-strength while the line extends away from it and faded while it rolls back) plus a 9-period EMA signal line and a gradient fill that grows more opaque the further the average body stretches from zero. Gaps between bars never enter the calculation; only what happens inside each bar counts.

## How to Trade the Qstick?

- **Zero cross up**: average bodies flip net bullish. Buyers are winning the open-to-close battle.
- **Zero cross down**: the bearish mirror, intrabar selling taking over.
- **Signal-line crosses**: Qstick crossing its EMA gives an earlier trigger than the zero cross, echoing the signal-line convention.
- **Fading segments**: the muted line states flag pressure stalling before any cross prints, so acceleration and exhaustion read apart at a glance.

Four alerts cover both zero crosses and both signal-line crosses.

## Qstick Settings

- **Qstick Length** (default 8): bars in the body average. There is no universal setting: short lookbacks time turns, longer ones smooth the line into a bias filter.
- **Signal Line** (default enabled) with **Length** (default 9): the EMA overlay, 9 mirroring the classic signal-line convention.
- **Gradient Fill** (default enabled): the zero-anchored fill; the remaining inputs set the growing/fading, signal-line, and zero-line colors.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How does Qstick differ from MACD?

[MACD](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/macd/) measures the spread between two smoothed price averages, so it responds to movement between bars as well as within them. Qstick averages only the open-to-close body, ignoring gaps entirely, a purer read of intrabar conviction, at the cost of missing gap-driven momentum.

### Why does Qstick ignore gaps?

By construction: close minus open contains no information about the jump from the prior close. That is deliberate: the candle body records the session's directional verdict, and Qstick quantifies nothing else. On gap-heavy symbols, pair it with a gauge that sees closing prices.

### Is Qstick comparable across instruments?

No. The line is unbounded and scales with the instrument's price, so a given value means nothing out of context. Judge extremes against the line's own recent range on the same chart rather than against fixed levels.

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- [Pretty Good Oscillator](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/pretty-good-oscillator/) (Momentum & Oscillators): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/pretty-good-oscillator.md
- [Gator Oscillator](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/gator-oscillator/) (Momentum & Oscillators): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/gator-oscillator.md
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- [5/35 Oscillator](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/5-35-oscillator/) (Momentum & Oscillators): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/5-35-oscillator.md

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