CMF (Chaikin Money Flow)¶
What it shows: whether volume has been mostly buying or selling over a window, from -1 to +1, based on where each candle closed in its range.
How people use it: above zero means buying pressure; crossing above zero is used to confirm a buy.
Pairs well with: a price signal such as a moving-average cross.
Settings¶
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 20 | The window. Shorter flips around zero more often. |
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 | CMF crosses above zero | the one candle CMF moves from below 0 to above it |
| Buy | CMF above zero | every candle CMF is above 0 |
| Sell | CMF crosses below zero | the one candle CMF moves from above 0 to below it |
| Sell | CMF below zero | every candle CMF is below 0 |
"Above", "below", "is" and "rising" / "falling" stay true on every candle the state lasts, so they can fire many candles in a row. "Crosses" and "flips" fire once, on the candle it happens, so you get one signal per move.
Warnings you may see¶
- "CMF(20) only moves between -1 and 1, so 2 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.
- "It can never be true: a cross happens on one candle, so it cannot happen on N candles in a row. Use 'within the last N candles' instead.": a "crosses" condition with a "… in a row" lookback of 2 or more. Switch the lookback to Within the last.
- "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 high, low, close and volume. Because it uses volume, on On candle touch it reads the last closed candle (the forming candle's volume is not known yet).
- It needs some history before its value settles: the length in candles (20 at length 20). Apathia loads that history for you.