What it does
Ichimoku Signals draws all five Ichimoku lines on the price chart and shades the cloud (kumo) green when Senkou Span A is above Span B and red when it is below. On top of the standard display it marks two classic events with arrows: the Tenkan-sen crossing the Kijun-sen, and a close that breaks out of the cloud.
You can choose to see either signal type or both, and receive one alert per closed bar.
How it works
The Tenkan-sen and Kijun-sen are read from MetaTrader's built-in Ichimoku. The remaining lines are drawn by the indicator:
- Tenkan-sen = (highest high + lowest low) ÷ 2 over 9 bars.
- Kijun-sen = (highest high + lowest low) ÷ 2 over 26 bars.
- Senkou Span A = (Tenkan + Kijun) ÷ 2, plotted 26 bars ahead.
- Senkou Span B = (highest high + lowest low) ÷ 2 over 52 bars, plotted 26 bars ahead.
- Chikou Span = the close, plotted 26 bars back.
Signals are tested on each closed bar against the cloud that is visible under that bar (the spans calculated 26 bars earlier):
- TK cross: the Tenkan moves above the Kijun (bullish) or below it (bearish). With the cloud filter on, a bullish cross also needs the close above the cloud top and a bearish cross a close below the cloud bottom.
- Kumo breakout: the close moves above the cloud top after being at or below it, or below the cloud bottom after being at or above it.
How to use it
- Price above a green cloud describes an established uptrend; price below a red cloud a downtrend. Price inside the cloud is a zone of indecision.
- Kumo breakouts mark a possible change of regime. Many traders wait for the Chikou Span to be free of past price as extra confirmation.
- Filtered TK crosses are trend-continuation cues: they appear after a pullback when the trend resumes on the correct side of the cloud.
- A thick cloud ahead acts as a stronger barrier than a thin one. The shaded future cloud helps you see that in advance.
- Ichimoku was built for higher timeframes; H4, D1 and W1 usually give clearer readings than intraday charts.
Settings
| Input | Default | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Tenkan-sen period | 9 | Speed of the conversion line |
| Kijun-sen period | 26 | Base line speed and the cloud and Chikou shift |
| Senkou Span B period | 52 | Width and stability of the cloud |
| Signals to mark | Both | Choose TK crosses, kumo breakouts or both |
| TK cross cloud filter | true | Removes TK crosses that occur against the cloud |
| Pop-up alert / Push notification | false / false | One alert per closed bar on a new signal |
Limitations
- All Ichimoku lines are based on past highs and lows, so signals lag, sometimes by many bars on a slow market.
- In sideways conditions price drifts in and out of a thin cloud, producing breakouts that fail.
- The lines on the live bar update with each tick; arrows and alerts are only confirmed when the bar closes.
- The standard 9/26/52 settings are a convention, not an optimum. Changing them changes every signal.
- Use it as one input among several and manage risk on every trade. Trading involves substantial risk of loss.