How to Get Buy and Sell Signals on TradingView
A "buy/sell signal" indicator plots an arrow or label on the chart when a set of conditions is met. TradingView does not ship one by default — signals come from scripts, either community-published or paid.
Here is how to add one, and more importantly how to judge whether it is worth trusting.
Add a signal indicator
For paid or invite-only signal scripts, the author must first grant your TradingView username access — see how to add an invite-only indicator.
The one thing to check before trusting any signal: repainting
A repainting script changes its history. A buy arrow that appeared three bars ago quietly moves or vanishes when the data updates, which makes the backtest look immaculate and the live results dreadful.
How to check:
Also watch for signals that only ever appear at perfect tops and bottoms. Nothing legitimate does that.
Do not trade signals in isolation
A signal is a trigger, not a strategy. Three things turn it into one:
Filtering signals by trend alone removes most of the losing ones in a ranging market.
Get notified when a signal fires
Right-click the indicator name → Add alert on ..., then choose the signal condition from the dropdown. Set the trigger to Once Per Bar Close so you are not alerted on a wick. Full detail: how to set up TradingView alerts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does TradingView have built-in buy and sell signals?
No. TradingView provides charting and indicators; buy/sell arrows come from scripts published by authors, either free community scripts or paid invite-only ones.
What is the best buy and sell indicator on TradingView?
The best ones combine trend, momentum and volatility rather than firing on a single crossover, and they do not repaint. Judge candidates by whether their historical signals stay put after bars close.
What does repainting mean?
A repainting indicator changes or removes past signals as new data arrives, so its history looks far better than its live performance.
Are free signal indicators any good?
Some are. The problem is that most free scripts fire on a single condition, which produces many signals in trending markets and constant false triggers in ranges.
What a confirmed signal looks like
SimpleAlgo's signals are non-repainting: once a candle closes, the arrow on that candle never changes. Each one requires trend, momentum and volatility to agree, and the same conditions are exposed as alerts so you can leave the chart. Access starts from $5.77/week on the annual plan, and your first purchase is covered by a 7-day money-back guarantee. See the signals in action.
