Auto chart patterns: what SuperCharting detects and how it works
Auto chart patterns in SuperCharting: head and shoulders, double tops, triangles, wedges, flags and more, found from pivots, with breakout labels and targets.
SuperCharting's auto chart patterns are indicators that scan price for classic shapes, such as head and shoulders, double tops, triangles, wedges, flags and cups. They draw the lines for you, label the breakout and project a target. You find them under Indicators → Technicals → Patterns, either one script per pattern or all of them together in All chart patterns. This page lists what is detected, explains how detection works, and covers what it cannot do.
The patterns that are detected
The Patterns chip lists 18 chart-pattern scripts plus the Auto trend detector:
| Group | Scripts |
|---|---|
| Reversal tops and bottoms | Double top, Double bottom, Triple top, Triple bottom |
| Head and shoulders | Head and shoulders, Inverted head and shoulders |
| Ranges and triangles | Rectangle, Triangle |
| Wedges | Rising wedge, Falling wedge |
| Continuation | Bullish flag, Bearish flag, Bullish pennant, Bearish pennant |
| Cups | Cup and handle, Inverted cup and handle |
| Waves | Elliott wave |
| Combined | All chart patterns |
| Trend | Auto trend detector (Beta) |
All chart patterns runs every pattern in one script. On its Inputs tab it has a tick box for each one. Elliott wave is off by default, as on TradingView. Using the combined script counts as one indicator against the 50 a chart can carry, instead of 17.
The same chip also lists the 44 candlestick pattern scripts and All candlestick patterns. Those are covered in candlestick patterns.
How detection works
Every chart-pattern script follows the same steps:
- Find pivots. A pivot high is a bar whose high is the highest of Pivot length bars on each side (10 by default). A pivot low is the mirror image. Pivots are kept as an alternating high-low-high sequence. A newer pivot of the same kind replaces the previous one if it is more extreme.
- Test the shape. Each time a new pivot is confirmed, the script checks the latest pivots against each pattern's rules. Two pivots within Price tolerance (%) (1.5%) count as the same level, and a pattern must be taller than that tolerance.
- Draw it. When the shape fits, its lines are drawn straight away.
- Wait for the breakout. The script watches the breakout level, such as the neckline of a head and shoulders. When price closes through it, the pattern name is written at the breakout bar and the pattern's height is projected from there as a target.
- Drop it. If no breakout comes within Max bars to breakout (60 bars), or price breaks the other way, the pattern is dropped.
Flags and pennants also need a strong move before them. Min pole height (%) defaults to 3%.
The confirmation delay
A pivot is only known once Pivot length bars have closed after it. A pattern whose last point is today's high cannot appear until about ten bars later. The breakout label itself is placed on the bar that actually closed through the level. Lower Pivot length for faster, noisier detection, or raise it for fewer, larger patterns.
How to add auto chart patterns in SuperCharting
- Open a chart, for example NSE:RELIANCE on the 1D interval, or XAUUSD on 4h.
- Click Indicators, choose Technicals and then the Patterns chip.
- Click All chart patterns, or a single pattern such as Head and shoulders chart pattern. Typing "head" in Search narrows the list.
- Open Settings from the legend gear. Adjust Pivot length, Price tolerance (%) and Max bars to breakout, and untick any patterns you do not want.
- Show only last pattern keeps just the latest one. Show labels and Show target control the text and the target line. You can also set Line width and the bullish, bearish and neutral colours.
- Click Ok.
To see how patterns develop over time, open Bar Replay and step forward bar by bar. The patterns appear as the pivots get confirmed.
Other automatic drawing tools
The Indicators chip has more scripts that draw structure for you:
- Auto trend detector (Beta, under Patterns): joins two rising pivot lows into an up-trend line, or two falling pivot highs into a down-trend line. The line is cut and marked "Trend break" on the first close through it, and a label names the trend in force.
- Auto trendlines (Beta): joins each new pivot high to the previous one as resistance, and pivot lows as support. Breakouts are labelled, and Max trendlines (5) keeps only the newest.
- Auto key levels (Beta): POC, value area and open, high, low and close of the current and previous day, week and month, drawn as horizontal lines.
- Auto fib retracement, Auto fib extension and Auto pitchfork: Fibonacci levels and a pitchfork from the latest zigzag swings. See Fibonacci tools.
- Zigzag and Pivot points high low: the swing points themselves.
Drawing patterns yourself
If you prefer to mark patterns by hand, the drawing toolbar's Patterns group has XABCD, Cypher, Head and shoulders, ABCD, Triangle and Three drives patterns, five Elliott wave tools, and cycle tools. These are drawings, so they show exactly where you click and never move on their own. See drawing tools.
What auto patterns do not do
- No alerts. The chart-pattern scripts define no alert conditions, so there is nothing to pick in the Create alert dialog. To be told about a breakout, draw a horizontal line at the neckline or breakout level and set a price alert there.
- Not a prediction. A detected pattern is a shape that matched rules. The projected target is a measured move, not a forecast, and many patterns fail. Use them for study and review, not as buy or sell signals.
- Settings change results. Different Pivot length or tolerance values find different patterns on the same chart, so another platform's pattern scanner may not agree with these.
Frequently asked questions
Why did a pattern appear several bars after the fact?
Its last pivot needed Pivot length bars to confirm. With the default of 10, that is ten closed bars. Lower the value for earlier, noisier detection.
Why do I see no patterns at all?
The rules may not match recent price, or patterns may be expiring before a breakout. Try a higher timeframe, a smaller Pivot length, or a larger Max bars to breakout. Also check that the pattern is ticked in All chart patterns.
Are these TradingView's own pattern scripts?
TradingView does not publish the source of its chart-pattern built-ins. SuperCharting's scripts carry the same names and are written to work the same way, so results may differ in detail.
Does Elliott wave detection label waves 1 to 5?
Yes. It reads a five-wave impulse from six alternating pivots and checks the classic rules. Wave 4 may not overlap wave 1, and wave 3 may not be the shortest. When wave 5's pivot is confirmed, it joins and numbers the waves 1 to 5.