Aug 11, 2025 • 15 min read

How to Build a TradingView Strategy: From Idea to Backtest

A practical path from hypothesis to code to backtest—covering signal design, risk management, plotting, and performance settings.

1) Define the hypothesis and market regime

  • State the edge in plain English: trend-following, mean-reversion, volatility breakout, etc.
  • Decide the regime: trending vs ranging, session windows, and instruments/timeframes.
  • Choose objective signals that can be expressed in code.

2) Draft the signal and risk rules

  • Inputs: lengths, multipliers, toggles (use input.*).
  • Signal: breakouts, crossovers, momentum, or structure-based triggers.
  • Risk: stop, take profit, trailing, position sizing, daily loss caps.

3) Code skeleton (Pine v6)

//@version=6
strategy("Idea to Backtest", overlay=true, initial_capital=100000, commission_type=strategy.commission.percent, commission_value=0.01)

len = input.int(20, "Basis Length")
mult = input.float(2.0, "ATR Mult", minval=0.1, step=0.1)

basis = ta.sma(close, len)
atr = ta.atr(14)
long  = ta.crossover(close, basis + mult * atr)
short = ta.crossunder(close, basis - mult * atr)

if long
    strategy.entry("L", strategy.long)
if short
    strategy.entry("S", strategy.short)

// Risk example
stopATR = 1.5 * atr
takeATR = 2.5 * atr
strategy.exit("LX", from_entry="L", stop=close - stopATR, limit=close + takeATR)
strategy.exit("SX", from_entry="S", stop=close + stopATR, limit=close - takeATR)

4) Plot for debugging and trust

  • Plot basis/filters and mark entries/exits. Visual inspection catches many logic bugs.
  • Use plotshape(), plotchar(), and color coding for clarity.

5) Backtest settings that matter

  • Set commission and slippage to realistic values.
  • Pick an order sizing approach: fixed contracts, percent of equity, or risk-per-trade.
  • Avoid repaint by using confirmed data for HTF filters.

6) Walk-forward and robustness checks

  • Split sample into in-sample (optimize) and out-of-sample (validate). Avoid peeking.
  • Run multiple symbols and timeframes; look for consistent behavior, not perfect metrics.
  • Perform parameter sweeps—stable plateaus beat narrow spikes.

7) Example: regime-switching strategy

//@version=6
strategy("Regime-Switching Trend", overlay=true)

// Inputs
fast = input.int(20, "Fast EMA")
slow = input.int(50, "Slow EMA")
adxLen = input.int(14, "ADX Len")
atrLen = input.int(14, "ATR Len")
riskATR = input.float(1.8, "Risk ATR")

// Signals
emaFast = ta.ema(close, fast)
emaSlow = ta.ema(close, slow)
trendUp = emaFast > emaSlow
trendDn = emaFast < emaSlow

adx = ta.adx(adxLen)
trending = adx > 20

long = trending and trendUp and ta.crossover(emaFast, emaSlow)
short = trending and trendDn and ta.crossunder(emaFast, emaSlow)

// Orders
if long
    strategy.entry("L", strategy.long)
if short
    strategy.entry("S", strategy.short)

atr = ta.atr(atrLen)
strategy.exit("LX", from_entry="L", stop=close - riskATR * atr)
strategy.exit("SX", from_entry="S", stop=close + riskATR * atr)

8) Documentation and patterns to internalize

Review Pine v6 reference for strategy.exit, time(), request.security(), and plotting. See our guides onrepaint pitfalls,MTF design, andtop Pine patterns.

Tools to accelerate the build

PineScripter.app turns natural-language specs into well-structured Pine v6 code and includes validation for common pitfalls. Visual-first builders likePineify can help with prototyping, andPine Script Wizard is great for simple prompt-to-code flows.

Generate Pine Script (free trial)