Create Custom Alerts in Pine Script for TradingView

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Alerts are a powerful tool in Pine Script that allow traders to stay informed about critical market events and conditions based on their trading strategies. This comprehensive guide will teach you how to create custom alerts in Pine Script for TradingView.

What are Alerts in Pine Script?

Alerts allow you to configure notifications that will trigger when certain conditions are met in your Pine Script strategy. With custom alerts, you can notify yourself of trade signals, key levels being reached, order fills, and any other events you want to track.

Alerts are a key part of bringing your Pine Script strategies to life for live trading. Without alerts, you would need to constantly watch the chart for your strategy signals. Alerts automate this process so you don’t miss opportunities.

Basic Alert Syntax and Structure

Creating an alert in Pine Script is straightforward. The core alert function takes an alertcondition and an optional message parameter:

alert(alertcondition, message)

For example:

alertcondition(close > open, "Long Signal")

This will trigger a default system alert with the message “Long Signal” whenever the close is higher than the open on the current bar.

The alertcondition is the key part of the alert. This is what defines the logic for when the alert triggers.

Alertcondition, the Core of an Alert

The alertcondition parameter is where you specify the condition that will trigger the alert. This usually references values from your strategy, like an indicator or price data.

For example:

rsi = rsi(close, 14)
alertcondition(rsi > 70, "RSI Overbought")

This will trigger when the 14-period RSI crosses above 70.

You can reference anything available in your script – indicators, strategy orders, price data, etc.

Logical and comparison operators like >, <, ==, crossover, crossunder etc. can be used to create the alertcondition logic.

Customize Alert Messages

By default, Pine Script alerts just use a simple system message. You can customize the message using the optional message parameter:

message = "Long Signal on " + syminfo.ticker + " (" + timeframe.period + ")"
alertcondition(close > open, message)

Now the alert message will include the symbol name and timeframe period.

You can build custom messages using variables from your script, formatting, and hardcoded text.

Making Alerts Repaint-Proof

A common mistake with alerts is using a condition that repaints, causing alerts to trigger incorrectly on historical bars.

To avoid this, only reference the current bar’s values in your alertcondition:

// Avoid repainting
alertcondition(close[1] > open[1], "Long") 

// May repaint
alertcondition(close > open, "Long")

Passing Strategy Values into Alerts

To create useful alerts, often you need to reference values from your strategy in the alert message.

For example, to include the strategy order size:

strategy.order_size = 100

message = "Long Signal - Order Size: " + string.tostring(strategy.order_size)
alertcondition(close > open, message)

Now the alert message will include the size.

You can pass in any variable from your strategy in this way.

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Multiple Alert Conditions

You can add multiple alert function calls to create different alerts:

alertcondition(close > open, "Long Signal")
alertcondition(close < open, "Short Signal")

Now separate alerts will trigger for long and short signals.

There is no limit to the number of alerts you can add to your script.

Make Alerts Trigger Once Per Bar

By default, alerts will trigger continuously on each bar where the condition is true.

To make an alert trigger just once, use alert.freq_once_per_bar:

alert.freq_once_per_bar = true
alertcondition(close > open, "Long Entry")

Now this alert will trigger once when the condition first becomes true, and not again until a new bar.

Common Alert Use Cases

Some examples of useful alerts:

Price crossing a key level
Indicator crossing above/below a threshold
New long/short signal from a strategy
Order fill confirmation
News event occurring (use request.economic data)
Current bar closing above/below prior bar/moving average
RSI/Stochastics crossing into overbought/oversold
Pattern or candlestick detected
New day/week/month beginning or ending

The possibilities are endless!

Frequently asked questions

Q: How can I create alerts in Pine Script for TradingView?

A: To create alerts in Pine Script for TradingView, you can use the alert() function.

Q: What parameters does the alert() function require?

A: The alert() function requires a “condition” parameter, which determines when the alert will be triggered.

Q: Can I create alerts based on specific conditions?

A: Yes, you can create alerts based on specific conditions by using the “condition” parameter in the alert() function.

Q: What is a ticker in Pine Script?

A: In Pine Script, a ticker refers to the symbol or instrument you are trading, such as a stock or cryptocurrency.

Q: How do I set up an alert in Pine Script?

A: To set up an alert in Pine Script, you need to define the conditions for the alert to be triggered using the alert() function.

Q: Where can I find more information about creating alerts in Pine Script?

A: You can find more information about creating alerts in Pine Script in the Pine Script User Manual provided by TradingView.

Q: Can I create alerts for my script’s strategy?

A: Yes, Pine Script allows traders to create alerts for their script’s strategy by using the alert() function.

Q: Is it possible for a Pine Script alert to repaint or change dynamically?

A: No, once a Pine Script alert is triggered, it cannot repaint or change dynamically.

Q: How can I use dynamic values in my alert conditions?

A: To use dynamic values in your alert conditions, you can use variables or functions that update in real-time based on the market data.

Q: What should I do if I want to customize the alert sound or message?

A: If you want to customize the alert sound or message, you can add additional parameters to the alert() function to customize the alert settings.

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Pine Script Alert – Conclusion

Alerts are a powerful feature in Pine Script for bringing your strategies to life. With custom alerts, you can stay informed of key events and signals for live trading.

The key points are:

Use alertcondition to define the logic triggering the alert
Customize alert messages with variables
Avoid repainting by only using current bar data
Pass strategy details like orders into alerts
Create different alerts for long/short/exit signals
Configure alerts to trigger once per bar when needed

With these tips, you can create effective alerts for any Pine Script strategy. Alerts help automate the trading process so you never miss an opportunity.