Volume Based Auto Support & Resistance only draws a level where a higher timeframe candle traded far more volume than normal, then ranks that level Large, Huge or Massive so you know which lines carry the most weight. You get up to 12 levels from four higher timeframes on your chart, plus a scanner that watches 7 more tickers for new spikes and level touches.
Heavy volume at one price leaves a lot of traders holding positions from that exact spot, and when price comes back they defend it, add to it or get out, which is why those prices keep getting reactions. Below you will see how the levels are built, how I read them on the chart, every setting and default, and exactly what locks in and what updates live.
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WHAT IT DOES
Picture a 4 hour candle that trades way more volume than the candles around it. That candle just became a level. Every finished higher timeframe candle gets measured against normal volume for that symbol and timeframe, and the ones that clear the bar get sorted into one of three sizes:
Each timeframe holds three lines at a time: one for its latest Large or bigger spike, one for its latest Huge or bigger spike and one for its latest Massive spike. So when a Massive spike prints, all three of that timeframe’s lines jump to the same price, then they split apart again as smaller spikes come in.
Every line has a small label off to the right of price with two pieces of info, the timeframe it came from and its spike size. 60 L is a Large spike from the 60 minute chart, 240 M is a Massive spike from the 240 minute (4 hour) chart, and so on. You can turn the labels off or change their text color, background color, size and how many bars to the right of price they sit.
The indicator pulls levels from four higher timeframes at once, so with three spike sizes each you can have up to 12 levels on one chart. The lines get thicker with each timeframe slot, which means with the default settings your highest timeframe draws the thickest lines, and those are the ones to respect most. Every timeframe has to be set higher than your chart timeframe, and a red warning shows at the top of the chart if one is set the same or lower.
Each timeframe has its own on and off switch and its own size filter: all three sizes, Huge and Massive only, or Massive only. Massive levels always show on any timeframe you have turned on. For the cleanest chart possible, set every timeframe to Massive only and you will only see the prices where the biggest volume traded. These filters change your scanner results too, so the chart and the scanner follow the same rules.
A level turns your support color when price is above it and your resistance color when price is below it, with a light shaded fill between the line and price. Green and red are the defaults, and you can change the line and fill colors for both.
HOW IT WORKS
Every time a candle closes on one of your higher timeframes, the indicator compares that candle’s volume to a self-adjusting average of recent volume on the same timeframe. That average blends a few recent stretches of candles together and adapts to each symbol and timeframe by itself, so there is nothing for you to tune.
If the candle’s volume lands far enough above that average, it counts as a spike, and how far above it lands decides whether it is Large, Huge or Massive. The level then goes on your chart at that candle’s confirmed closing price, which is where the candle finished after all that volume traded.
The chart and the scanner use the same formulas, so a ticker on your scanner gets judged exactly like the ticker on your chart. The exact averaging windows, weightings and size cutoffs stay private, since that is the part that makes the script worth protecting.
HOW TO TRADE WITH IT
Say price has been dropping for an hour and runs into a thick Massive line from your 720 minute (12 hour) chart. That is the kind of spot I watch for a bounce, because it is one of the prices where the most volume traded. Huge and Massive levels from your higher timeframes are the ones to focus on, and the Large levels fill in the smaller reaction spots between them.
When a line suddenly jumps to the current price, a new spike just printed, which means heavy volume came in right at that spot. I treat that as my cue to start watching for a turn. If price does not turn there, watch whether the move speeds up instead. Waiting for a fresh level to print near price before you try to buy a bottom or sell a top keeps you out of a lot of chop.
When most of the levels pull in close to price and their colors flip together, green to red or red to green, it can mean sentiment is shifting. I use that as a heads up to get ready for a possible trend change, not as a reason to jump in on its own.
If price breaks away from a cluster of levels and no new lines show up near the move, heavy volume did not come along for the ride. Breakouts like that can drift right back to the levels they left, so be careful chasing them.
Flip up to your higher timeframe charts and note any Massive level that sat in place for a long stretch. Draw a horizontal line there and keep it on your lower timeframe charts so a major level never sneaks up on you.
The levels are only as good as the volume data behind them, so make sure you load the feed with the most volume for each symbol. For a stock that is usually its main listing exchange, and for a crypto pair it is the exchange with the most trading on that pair.
MULTI-TICKER MONITORING
The scanner keeps an eye on up to 7 more tickers while you focus on your main chart. It runs the same spike detection and builds the same kind of levels for each one, and it shows what it finds in a small table where a ticker’s row only shows up when something is happening.
Spikes: When one of your scanned tickers prints a new spike on a timeframe you have turned on, its row shows the size and timeframe, like BTCUSD – Spike: Massive 240. Back to back spikes on candles in a row each count as their own event, and each one stays in the table for the number of chart candles you set (3 by default).
Touches: When a scanned ticker’s current candle reaches one of its own levels, the row lists which timeframes’ levels it is touching, like ETHUSD – Touch: 60, 240. A ticker with a touch and a spike at the same time shows both on one row.
You choose what the table shows: level touches and volume spikes, level touches only, or volume spikes only. That same setting decides which alerts can fire. You can also move the table to any of 9 spots on the chart, change its text and background colors, turn any ticker off, or swap any slot for a symbol you trade. The defaults are 7 major crypto pairs.
One way I like to use it is loading tickers from one sector. When several related tickers react at their volume levels at the same time, you get a read on how that whole group is moving.
CONFIGURATION
STAY NOTIFIED
The indicator has four alert conditions:
Each spike fires its alert once, so one spike will not bury you in repeats. The scanner display mode decides which of these alerts can fire, and anything you turn off, whether it is a timeframe, a ticker or a spike size, drops out of the alerts too. If you have not done it before, here is how to set up TradingView alerts.
LEVEL CONFIRMATION
A new level shows up a little after the higher timeframe candle that created it, and that short wait is on purpose. The indicator only checks finished higher timeframe candles, never one that is still forming, so a spike building on a live 4 hour candle will not draw anything until that candle closes.
Once that candle closes and counts as a spike, the level appears on the next chart bar at the candle’s confirmed closing price, and it is locked from then on. It will not move, redraw or repaint, and what you see when you scroll back through old bars is exactly what showed in real time. Levels never use future data either. They are built only from candles that already finished.
Your live chart candle is a different story, the same as with any indicator. The line colors, the fills, touch detection and the scanner table all update while the candle is forming, so a line can flip between support and resistance colors as price trades back and forth across it, and a touch alert can fire mid-candle the moment price reaches a level. Once that chart candle closes, everything on it is final.
MARKETS & TIMEFRAMES
It runs on any symbol that has volume data on TradingView, which covers stocks, crypto, futures and forex. A symbol with no volume data cannot draw levels, because volume is the only thing the levels are built from.
You can use it on any chart timeframe as long as all four higher timeframes in the settings are higher than your chart. The defaults are set up for the 1 minute chart, so bump them up when you trade a higher timeframe. Save a chart layout for each timeframe you trade often so the right settings are already there when you open it.
To see what else you can put on the same chart, browse every Trend Friend indicator for TradingView.
GOOD TO KNOW
POWER USER TIPS
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Access the full Premium Indicator Suite on your TradingView charts. All 10 indicators, chart templates, and priority support.
COMMON QUESTIONS
CHANGELOG
When the Premium Suite moved into TradingView's Paid Space, the Volume Based Auto Support & Resistance's description got a full rewrite to match the current version and the old release notes were removed to avoid confusion. This page reflects the current version of the indicator, so everything above matches what you get on your chart.
Major overhaul upgrading to Pine Script v6 with a completely new adaptive volume spike classification system, per-timeframe and per-ticker controls, scanner level touch detection, labels on every level, and 4 new alert types.
EXPLORE THE SUITE
Premium Suite
Complement Volume Based Auto S&R with session and OHLC levels that this indicator doesn’t cover.
Premium Suite
Use the signal arrows to time entries at your volume levels, with a clear spot for your stop just past the level.
Premium Suite
A smoothed 6-oscillator trend strength indicator with momentum confirmation. Use the ribbon to confirm direction when price reaches volume-based S&R levels for added confluence before entering.
