CHOP (Choppiness Index)¶
What it shows: whether the market is trending or moving sideways, from 0 to 100. Low values mean a clean trend; high values mean choppy, sideways movement. It does not show direction.
How people use it: as a filter: trend strategies only trade when it is low (below 38.2), range strategies when it is high (above 61.8).
Pairs well with: any direction signal, such as a moving-average cross (for trends) or RSI (for ranges).
Settings¶
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 14 | The window. Shorter changes its mind faster. |
| Trending | 38.2 | Below this the market counts as trending. Lower lets fewer trades through. |
| Ranging | 61.8 | Above this the market counts as ranging. Higher lets fewer trades through. |
You set the defaults on the Indicators page. A condition can use its own settings, which override the defaults for that condition only.
Ready-made conditions¶
| For | Condition | Fires when |
|---|---|---|
| Buy or sell | Choppiness below 38.2 (trending) | every candle CHOP is below 38.2 |
| Buy or sell | Choppiness above 61.8 (ranging) | every candle CHOP is above 61.8 |
"Above", "below", "is" and "rising" / "falling" stay true on every candle the state lasts, so they can fire many candles in a row. Numbers in the condition names follow your settings on the Indicators page.
Warnings you may see¶
- "CHOP(14) only moves between 0 and 100, so 200 can never be reached.": a number you typed is outside the range this line can take, so the condition can never be true (or is always true). Check the number. You can still save it.
- "Length must be between 1 and 1000" / "Length must be a whole number": shown in the condition editor when a condition's own value is out of range. Fix the number; the condition can't be saved until then.
Where they show: on the Strategies page, open Create entry conditions / Edit entry conditions (or the exit ones). Each condition's messages appear right under it. The setting messages ("must be between", "whole number", "must be one of", "must be smaller than") start with the indicator's short name, for example "MACD: Fast must be between 1 and 1000", and keep the conditions from being saved until fixed. The other warnings never block saving and are repeated in the strategy's Entry or Exit section, starting with the condition's name.
Good to know¶
- It is worked out from each candle's high, low and close (not volume).
- It needs some history before its value settles: the length + 1 candles (15 at length 14). Apathia loads that history for you.
- Choppiness shows no direction, so the same conditions are offered for buys and sells.