FAQ

FAQ

Quick answers to the most common questions. Each answer points to the page where the full explanation lives.

I pasted my YAML and the strategy says "Inactive" — what went wrong?

The strategy will not run until you check the consent checkbox in the Inputs tab. If consent is checked and it still says Inactive, the error table will list what is wrong — usually a YAML syntax error, an unrecognized token name, or a schema validation failure. Fix the reported issue and try again. → Quick Start · Troubleshooting

Why does my strategy show zero trades?

Five common causes: the setup never reaches CONFIRMED, the direction mode excludes the side where your entries are defined, a risk circuit breaker triggered early in the window, a custom token is connected wrong or feeding bad data, or a one-shot entry already fired and the setup never reset. Enable expression diagnostics and trace the evaluation chain from setup state through entry trigger. → Troubleshooting · Rules & Risk

What is the difference between a setup and an entry?

A setup defines when a trading window opens — conditions that must be met before entries are allowed to evaluate. An entry defines what to do within that window — the actual order submission logic. Entries belong to setups. An entry cannot fire until its owning setup is CONFIRMED. → Rules & Risk

How do I connect an external indicator to the strategy?

Add the indicator to your chart, then create a custom token in the Inputs tab with a unique name, the correct type (Number or True/False), and the source set to the indicator's plot. Your expressions can then reference the token by name. Verify the connection with the token diagnostics label. → Quick Start · Settings

Why did my results change overnight?

TradingView recalculates the strategy when new bars arrive. If your expressions reference tokens like TIMENOW or bar-state booleans (BARSTATE_ISREALTIME), those tokens evaluate differently on historical bars than they did in real time. The results changed because the inputs changed — new bars altered the evaluation context. → Backtesting & Realism

What does "one-shot" mean for entries?

One-shot is the default entry behavior. A one-shot entry fires once per setup activation and does not re-submit while it has an open trade or a trigger latch set. If you want the same entry to fire multiple times (pyramiding), set oneShot = false and configure the pyramidingMaxAdds field. → Rules & Risk

How does anchored exit sizing work?

When you define take profits and stop losses with allocation percentages, the engine calculates quantities against the peak open position size for that entry group — not the current open quantity. This means a 50% TP always closes 50% of the peak, regardless of whether another exit already reduced the position. If total allocations exceed 100%, they are scaled down proportionally. → For the Geeks · Rules & Risk

Can I automate this strategy?

Technically yes — TradingView alerts can be set on strategy order events and routed to automation bridges. But there are three separate models between your backtest and a real trade (tester, alert, broker), each with different assumptions about fill price, timing, and execution. The gap between them is where real money gets lost. Do not automate a strategy you have not tested at realistic slippage across multiple time windows. Automation makes a strategy faster — not better, not safer. → Alerts & Automation

What happens when a risk limit is hit?

All new entries halt silently. There is no popup, no special alert, and the error table may still say "Strategy Active." The only evidence is that trades stop appearing in the trade list. If your strategy goes quiet mid-window, a circuit breaker is a likely cause. → Settings · Troubleshooting

My TP and SL are on the same bar — which one fills?

The tester fills orders on standard OHLC without knowing the intra-bar price sequence. If both a TP and an SL would have been hit on the same bar, the tester picks one based on its internal fill priority — but the real market may have hit the other one first. This is a fundamental limitation of the OHLC fill model, and it matters most on volatile bars with tight TP/SL levels where the backtest could be crediting wins that would have been losses in real time (or vice versa). → Backtesting & Realism

How do I know my expressions are evaluating correctly?

Enable "Show expression value label" in the Inputs tab. Every expression appears with its current value, evaluation status (EVAL, SKIP, or EMPTY), and usage status. If an expression shows EVAL and produces the values you expect, it is working. If it shows SKIP, its owning setup or gate is blocking evaluation. → Quick Start · Expression Reference · Troubleshooting

What is the GLOBAL setup?

GLOBAL is an implicit setup that exists for each enabled direction. It starts CONFIRMED and never cancels. Entries that do not specify belongs_to_setup are automatically attached to GLOBAL, meaning they evaluate every bar without any setup gating. For simple strategies, this is convenient. For complex strategies, it can lead to entries firing when you thought they were gated. → Rules & Risk · YAML Reference

Where can I find working examples?

Workflows has four complete strategies — Beginner through Extreme — with full YAML for every section. They are not trading recommendations. They are teaching tools that demonstrate the expression and YAML system at increasing levels of depth. Start at the level that matches where you are. → Workflows

What tokens can I use in my expressions?

The engine provides over 70 built-in tokens covering price data, bar timing, session state, strategy statistics, and position state — before you connect a single custom indicator. The full list with descriptions and usage examples is in Default Tokens. Custom tokens (up to 30) let you connect any indicator output on your chart. → Default Tokens · Settings

Can I use Swing Mode with multiple setups?

Yes, but the interactions are non-obvious. In Swing Mode, a long entry can close an existing short position and vice versa. This direction reversal interacts with pyramiding, OCA groups, and position cycle management. Test each direction in isolation first, then test Swing Mode with minimal complexity before layering in multiple setups. → Settings · Rules & Risk

What does lock_prices actually do?

When lock_prices is enabled on an exit, the limit or stop price is captured once — at the moment the trigger condition first fires — and then held constant for the lifetime of the order. Without it, the price expression recalculates every bar. Latching is useful for fixed targets (like a stop based on entry price minus ATR) but can become stale if the market moves significantly after the latch. → For the Geeks · Settings

Why does my position size keep growing?

Likely causes: pyramiding is set high (default 50) and your entry conditions fire frequently, adding concurrent trades; or percent-of-equity sizing compounds as unrealized profit grows the equity base. Check the pyramiding setting and consider whether your strategy needs multiple concurrent positions or whether a lower limit matches your intent. → Settings · Troubleshooting