Pine Script - Complete Programming Guide

Welcome to the most comprehensive Pine Script tutorial. This guide will take you from absolute beginner to building professional-grade trading indicators and automated strategies.

Table of Contents

1. introduction
2. variables
3. operators
4. functions
5. inputs
6. plotting
7. moving-averages
8. rsi
9. macd
10. bollinger-bands
11. atr
12. volume
13. basics
14. entries-exits
15. stops
16. backtesting
17. timeframes
18. custom-functions
19. arrays
20. optimization

What is Pine Script?

Pine Script is TradingView’s proprietary programming language designed specifically for financial chart analysis. Unlike general-purpose programming languages, Pine Script is optimized for:

• Time series data - Built-in support for OHLCV (Open, High, Low, Close, Volume) data
• Indicator development - Easy-to-use functions for technical analysis
• Strategy backtesting - Test your trading ideas on historical data
• Real-time alerts - Get notified when market conditions match your criteria
• Multi-timeframe analysis - Analyze data across different timeframes

Why Learn Pine Script?

Version History

Pine Script has evolved significantly since its introduction:

Always use the latest version (v5 or v6) for your scripts.

Your First Pine Script

Let’s start with the simplest possible indicator:

//@version=6
indicator("My First Script")
plot(close)

What this does:

• //@version=6 - Uses Pine Script version 6
• indicator("My First Script") - Names your script
• plot(close) - Plots closing prices on the chart

Step-by-Step Explanation

//@version=6
indicator("Simple Price Plot")
 
// Calculate 20-period Simple Moving Average
sma20 = ta.sma(close, 20)
 
// Plot the SMA
plot(sma20, color=color.blue, title="20 SMA")

Breaking down each element:

//@version=6                           // 1. Version declaration
indicator("Simple Price Plot")         // 2. Script name
 
// INPUT: User-configurable parameter
length = input.int(20, "Length")      // 3. User input
 
// CALCULATION: Calculate SMA
smaValue = ta.sma(close, length)      // 4. Indicator calculation
 
// OUTPUT: Draw on chart
plot(smaValue,                        // 5. What to plot
     color=color.blue,                // 6. Color
     title="20 SMA")                  // 7. Label

Understanding the Code Structure

Every Pine Script follows this structure:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  1. VERSION DECLARATION                 │
│     //@version=6                       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  2. SCRIPT TYPE                         │
│     indicator() or strategy()          │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  3. INPUTS (Optional)                   │
│     input.*()                          │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  4. CALCULATIONS                        │
│     Variables, functions, logic        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  5. OUTPUT                              │
│     plot(), plotshape(), fill()        │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Script Types

There are two main types of Pine Scripts:

// INDICATOR - For analysis only (no trading)
indicator("My Indicator", overlay=true)
 
// STRATEGY - For backtesting and trading
strategy("My Strategy", overlay=true)

Key Concepts Explained

1. Series vs Int vs Float

//@version=6
indicator("Data Types Demo")
 
// SERIES - Changes every bar (most common)
seriesPrice = close
seriesMA = ta.sma(close, 20)
 
// INT - Whole number
intCount = 10
 
// FLOAT - Decimal number
floatPrice = 1234.56
 
plot(seriesPrice)

2. Bar Context

//@version=6
indicator("Bar Context")
 
// Current bar
currentClose = close
 
// Previous bar (1 bar ago)
prevClose = close[1]
 
// 5 bars ago
fiveBarsAgo = close[5]
 
// Check if current bar is green
isGreen = close > open

3. Built-in Variables

// Price data
open    // Open price
high    // High price
low     // Low price
close   // Close price
volume  // Trading volume
 
// Bar information
bar_index     // Current bar number
time          // Bar timestamp
ta.sma()      // Moving average
ta.ema()      // Exponential moving average
ta.rsi()      // Relative Strength Index

Common Errors and How to Fix Them

Error: Compilation Error

Problem: Code won’t compile Solution: Check for:

• Missing closing brackets )
• Missing quotes ""
• Typo in function names
• Duplicate variable names

Error: Loop Not Allowed

Problem: Traditional for-loops aren’t supported in v2 Solution: Use vector operations:

// Wrong
for i = 0 to 10
    sum := sum + close[i]
 
// Correct
sum = math.sum(close, 11)

Error: Reference Undeclared Variable

Problem: Using variable before defining it Solution: Always define variables before use

Next Steps

Now that you understand the basics, continue with:

1. variables - Deep dive into data types and variables
2. operators - Mathematical and logical operations
3. functions - Using and creating functions
4. moving-averages - Build your first indicator

Quick Reference

// Basic structure
//@version=6
indicator("Name", overlay=true)
 
// Inputs
input.int(14, "Period")
input.float(2.0, "Multiplier")
input.color(color.blue, "Color")
 
// Calculations
sma = ta.sma(close, 20)
ema = ta.ema(close, 20)
rsi = ta.rsi(close, 14)
 
// Output
plot(sma)
plotshape(condition)
hline(50)

Start your Pine Script journey here. Complete all tutorials to become proficient.