Choppiness Index
Choppiness Index from 0 to 100: high values mean a sideways, choppy market, low values a directional trend.
What you see
A line in its own pane on a fixed scale from 0 to 100, with grey reference lines at the upper threshold, the lower threshold and 50.
How it is calculated
With N = Period:
sum TR= sum of the true ranges of the last N candles (true range as in the ATR, using each candle's previous close).range= highest high − lowest low of the same N candles.CHOP = 100 × log10(sum TR / range) / log10(N)
If price moves in a straight line, the candle ranges add up to about the total range and CHOP is low. If price swings back and forth, the candle ranges add up to much more than the net range and CHOP is high. The first value appears on the N-th candle.
How to read it
- Above the upper threshold (default 61.8): a choppy, consolidating market in which trend-following entries often fail.
- Below the lower threshold (default 38.2): strong directional movement. The index does not say in which direction.
- Long stretches of high values often end in a breakout; very low values after a long trend can mean the move is getting exhausted.
Using it in strategies
Output: value. In the Trade Setup, "Compare" with value below 50 works as a filter for trend strategies; "Range" from 61.8 to 100 limits a mean-reversion setup to choppy phases. In WickScript use the built-in chop(length), e.g. chop(14) < 38.2, or use indicator "CHOP" with period 14 as ch and read ch.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
| Setting | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Period | Number | 14 | Number of candles (N, at least 2). (min 2) |
Styles
| Setting | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Line Color | Color | #ff00ff | |
| Upper Threshold | Number | 61.8 | Level of the upper reference line. Only changes the drawing, not the values. |
| Lower Threshold | Number | 38.2 | Level of the lower reference line. Only changes the drawing, not the values. |
| Height | Number | 100 | Height of the pane in pixels. |
Outputs
These values can be used in Trade Setup triggers, filters and exits (see Trade Setup) and in WickScript.
| Output | In WickScript | Description |
|---|---|---|
| value | value |
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 "Choppiness Index from the list" in pane
use indicator "CHOP" with period 14 as myChop
show myChop.value as line "value"