Flag And Pennant Detector
A pole is only worth calling a pole if it moved with some conviction, so this indicator screens candidate swing legs on two independent measures: length against a multiple of ATR (so the bar is symbol- and volatility-aware rather than a hardcoded pip or percent figure), and a straight-line efficiency ratio - net move divided by the sum of every bar-to-bar absolute move across the leg - so a leg that travelled the same net distance but chopped back and forth to get there scores lower than one that moved in a straight line, even at identical length and duration. After a qualifying pole, the following bars are watched for a consolidation that gives back only a bounded fraction of the pole. Its shape is read by splitting the consolidation into two halves and comparing each half's own high-low range: a range that shrinks by more than a configured threshold is called a Pennant (the classic converging wedge); a range that stays roughly the same width is called a Flag. A close beyond the consolidation's own most recent boundary extreme, in the pole's direction, is the breakout, and it projects a target the same price distance as the pole itself, measured from the breakout price - the standard published Flag/Pennant target. Being honest about a real simplification: the boundary lines drawn on the chart connect the first-half and second-half range extremes, which is an approximation of a fitted trendline, not a least-squares regression through every touch point. The breakout trigger itself uses the fixed second-half extreme as the level to clear, not a continuously extrapolated slope - a strongly sloped channel can therefore be pierced visually before the trigger fires. This keeps the logic simple and predictable at the cost of not perfectly matching a hand-drawn trendline in every case. Notes and limitations - Only one setup (the most recent qualifying pole) is tracked at a time; a second valid pole forming while one is already pending is not evaluated until the first resolves or expires. - The boundary lines are drawn between two-half range extremes, not a regression fit, and the breakout level is that fixed extreme, not a slope-extrapolated line - see the full description for what this trades off. - ATR-based pole sizing and efficiency scoring reduce but do not eliminate symbol-specific tuning; the defaults are a reasonable starting point, not a universal setting. - This is a structure-identification tool, not a trade signal; the breakout and its projected target are reported, not recommended.
Indicator · MT5 · v1.0 · Free
About Flag And Pennant Detector
Flag And Pennant Detector is an indicator for MetaTrader 5 based on ATR. It draws buy and sell arrows on the chart and can alert you with a pop-up, sound, email or push message. It has 10 settings, such as Swing bars, Atr period and Min pole atr multiple. MQL source code included.
Files in the download: FlagPennantDetector.ex5, FlagPennantDetector.mq5, FlagPennantDetector.txt.
Settings
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Swing bars | 5 | Bars each side required to confirm a swing |
| Atr period | 14 | ATR period used to size a qualifying pole |
| Min pole atr multiple | 2.5 | Minimum pole length as a multiple of ATR |
| Max pole bars | 20 | Maximum bars a pole leg may take to form |
| Min pole efficiency | 0.55 | Minimum straight-line efficiency of the pole leg (0-1) |
| Max flag bars | 25 | Maximum bars allowed to form the consolidation |
| Max retrace percent | 0.55 | Max consolidation range as a fraction of the pole |
| Narrowing threshold | 0.35 | Fractional range shrink that qualifies as a Pennant |
| Max bars to breakout | 40 | Bars to wait for breakout before the setup expires |
| Alerts | true | Alert once on breakout |
How to install
- Download the ZIP from your PolyMaria library and unzip it.
- In MetaTrader 5 open File → Open Data Folder, then go to MQL5 → Indicators.
- Copy the .mq5 file(s) there. Put any .mqh files in MQL5 → Include.
- Open the .mq5 file in MetaEditor and press Compile (F7) if MetaTrader does not show it.
- Drag the indicator from the Navigator onto a chart and adjust the settings.
Tags: Breakout · ATR · Buy/Sell Arrows · Alerts · MT5 Indicator · MQL5 Source Code