Average True Range (ATR)

#What you see

A line in its own pane, scaled to the lowest and highest ATR of the visible candles. The value is in the market's price units.

#How it is calculated

With N = Period:

1. True range of a candle: the largest of high − low, |high − previous close| and |low − previous close|. This way gaps between candles count as well.
2. The first ATR is the simple average of the first N true ranges, starting with the second loaded candle.
3. After that, Wilder smoothing: ATR = (previous ATR × (N − 1) + true range) / N.

#How to read it

• A high ATR means wide candles and fast moves, a low ATR a quiet market. The ATR says nothing about direction.
• A rising ATR during a breakout confirms participation; a long stretch of falling ATR (contraction) often comes before a breakout.
• The ATR is commonly used to size stops and targets, e.g. a stop 1.5 × ATR away, so the distance adapts to current volatility.
• The value is in price units and grows with the price level. To compare markets or long periods, use ATR Moving, which works in percent of price and normalises over a window.

#Using it in strategies

Output: value (price units). In the Trade Setup, "Range" or "Compare" restricts trading to a volatility band; the right thresholds depend on market and timeframe. In WickScript use the built-in atr(length) (Wilder), e.g. close - 2 * atr(14) for a stop level, and the series truerange for the true range of a single candle. You can also load this indicator with use indicator "ATR" with period 14 as a and read a.value.

#Settings

Open the settings with the slider icon next to the indicator (Indicators, F3). Numeric settings can be swept as Step 1 / Step 2 parameters when you run a strategy.

#Inputs

#Styles

#Outputs

These values can be used in Trade Setup triggers, filters and exits (see Trade Setup) and in WickScript.

#Use in WickScript

use indicator creates this indicator inside a script, with settings by their ID. Each output is a field of the name after as. See WickScript indicators.

wickscript 1
indicator "Average True Range (ATR) from the list" in pane
use indicator "ATR" with period 14 as myAtr
show myAtr.value as line "value"