What it does
Adaptive Supertrend draws a single trailing line under price in an uptrend and above price in a downtrend. The line turns blue when the trend is up and orange-red when it is down, and an arrow marks every bar where the direction flips.
The difference from a classic Supertrend is the multiplier. Instead of a fixed distance, the band width responds to how volatile the market is right now compared with its recent norm. Quiet markets get tighter bands, while fast markets get more room, so the line is less likely to be clipped by a single wide candle.
How it works
- True range is the larger of high minus low, high minus the previous close and the previous close minus low. The ATR is a Wilder average of true range over the ATR length.
- With adaptation on, the indicator divides the current ATR by the simple average of the last 50 ATR values. That ratio is clamped between the minimum and maximum factor (0.7 to 1.5 by default) and multiplied by the base multiplier.
- Upper band = (high + low) / 2 + multiplier × ATR. Lower band = (high + low) / 2 − multiplier × ATR.
- The lower band can only rise and the upper band can only fall, unless the previous close broke through them, in which case they reset.
- The trend turns up when price closes above the previous upper band and turns down when it closes below the previous lower band. The plotted line is the lower band in an uptrend and the upper band in a downtrend.
Arrows and alerts are only produced once a bar has closed, so a flip that appears mid-bar and then reverses is never marked.
How to use it
- Treat the line as a trend filter: favour long ideas while it is blue and short ideas while it is orange-red.
- Use the line as a reference for a trailing stop-loss. Size the position from that distance with the Position Size Calculator.
- Confirm flips with structure. A flip that also breaks a recent swing high or low, or agrees with a higher-timeframe trend, tends to be more meaningful than one inside a range.
- It works on any symbol and timeframe. H1 to D1 usually give cleaner swings than M1 to M5, where spread and noise matter more.
Settings
| Input | Default | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| ATR length | 10 | Smoothing of the volatility measure |
| Base ATR multiplier | 3.0 | Overall band distance; higher means fewer flips |
| Adapt multiplier to volatility | true | Turns the adaptive scaling on or off |
| Baseline ATR average length | 50 | Window used to judge whether volatility is high or low |
| Minimum / maximum multiplier factor | 0.7 / 1.5 | Limits how far adaptation can tighten or widen the bands |
| Pop-up alert / Push notification | false / false | Alerts once per closed bar on a new flip |
Limitations
- Like any trailing-band tool it lags: a flip only happens after price has already moved by roughly the band distance.
- In sideways markets it can flip back and forth several times, each flip producing a small loss if traded mechanically.
- The adaptive multiplier widens the bands after a volatility spike, which means a later flip and a larger stop distance.
- The line and colour on the live, unfinished bar can still change until that bar closes. Arrows and alerts wait for the close.
- This is an educational tool, not a trading system. Test it on a demo account before relying on it, and remember trading involves substantial risk.