Automated Trading for ThinkOrSwim
Gain back your time, reduce emotional mistakes, and improve your performance by creating your own automated trading strategy.
Start with the Basics
Deploy your first automated trading strategy in ThinkOrSwim.
Fundamentals
If you're a beginner, start with this 1-hour deep dive, with practical examples. I'll show you how to build 8 real-world automated trading scripts.
Through real examples, you'll learn the entire process to create an automated trading script in ThinkOrSwim (start to finish).
Examples include:
- Automatically buy pullback in strong trends
- Automatically sell covered calls at Fibonacci levels
- Automatically sell when a squeeze loses momentum
- And more!
Advanced
AdvancedIn this tutorial, you'll apply the fundamental skills you've learned to turn a full trading setup into a complete automated trading strategy.
You'll learn the exact steps you need to follow, to turn setups into complete automated trading strategies that you can deploy in ThinkOrSwim.
Watch this video for a deep dive into the One Two Punch setup.
How to Use Automated Trading Scripts
Use pre-written code to automatically enter and exit positions, based on specific criteria
Automated Trading Strategy Examples
Explore different strategies and real trade examples to use in your own trading.
#1 - Momentum Trading
Enter when one EMA crosses above another EMA
#2 - Buy the Dip
Enter when price pulls back to the Market Pulse line
#3 - Candlestick Patterns
Enter when specific candlestick patterns mark pivots
#4 - Trend Reversals
Enter when the Market Pulse goes from Deceleration to Acceleration
#5 - Overbought Oversold
Enter when there is a red or green Edge Signal arrow
#6 - 50 SMA Pullback
Enter on a pullback to the 50-period Simple Moving Average
Example 1
Momentum Cross
Tools Required: Momentum Cross indicator
Description: This script leverages the Momentum Cross indicator to automate trading based on the 3 EMA crossing above or below the 8 EMA. It is designed to capture momentum reversals in overbought or oversold stocks.
- Bullish Position: 3 EMA crossing above 8 EMA
- Bearish Position: 3 EMA crossing below 8 EMA
When to Use: Use this script when you've identified overbought or oversold stocks and want to enter positions at the point of momentum reversal.
Practical Example:
A stock breaches its Volatility Box models, triggers a green Edge Signal arrow, and the 3 EMA crosses above the 8 EMA. This script can automatically place a limit buy order at the crossover point.
Example 2
Buy the Dip
Tools Required: Market Pulse indicator
Description: This script automatically buys the next pullback to the Market Pulse line, helping you capitalize on pullback opportunities in healthy trends, without constant chart monitoring.
- Bullish Position: Close price is below Market Pulse line
- Bearish Position: Close price is above Market Pulse line
When to Use: Use this script in strong bull trends when you want to automate buying pullbacks to the Market Pulse line.
Practical Example:
Automatically buying indices such as SPY, QQQ, VOO, or VGT during a pullback to the Market Pulse line in a strong bull trend.
Example 3
Candlestick Patterns
Tools Required: Candlestick pattern recognition
Description: This script automates trading orders using candlestick patterns. It enables automatic entry into positions when the current candle marks a new pivot point:
- Bullish Position: Close above the previous candle's high
- Bearish Position: Close below the previous candle's low
When to Use: Use this script when you want to automate trading based on candlestick pivot patterns within specific support or resistance zones. This script checks the bar prior, to confirm the signal has finished printing.
Practical Example: Automatically buying or selling Google stock (GOOGL or GOOG) whenever the price forms a pivot point inside the daily or hourly Volatility Box model clouds.
Example 4
Trend Reversals
Tools Required: Market Pulse and Momentum Cross indicators
Description: This script automates trading by identifying the end of a strong preceding trend and entering a position when the trend reverses.
- Bullish Position: Market Pulse turns green
- Bearish Position: Market Pulse turns red
When to Use: Use this script when trading volatile stocks with strong morning trends, and you want to automate trend reversal entries when the morning trend exhausts.
Practical Example: Automatically monitoring a volatile stock for the morning trend to establish, and entering a position when the trend reverses, all without requiring manual intervention.
Example 5
Short When Overbought
Tools Required: Edge Signals indicators
Description: This script automates swing trading by placing orders based on if we have an overbought/oversold confirmation signal (manually combined with price channels).
- Bullish Position: Green Edge Signal arrow
- Bearish Position: Red Edge Signal arrow
When to Use: Use this script when trading within trend channels and looking to capitalize on overbought conditions at the channel's top, and oversold conditions at the channel's bottom.
Practical Example: Automatically shorting the Nasdaq when it reaches the top of a bearish trend channel and a red Edge Signal arrow appears.
Example 6
Pullback to 50-SMA
Tools Required: 50-Simple Moving Average and Slingshot Squeeze
Description: This script automates trading for stocks in which you'd like to enter when price pulls back to the 50-period Simple Moving Average.
- Bullish Position: Close below the 50-SMA
- Bearish Position: Close above the 50-SMA
When to Use: Use this script when trading stocks with confirmed Slingshot Squeeze setups and a strong backtest history, focusing on pullbacks to key support levels.
Practical Example: Leverage 20 years of backtest data to identify optimal squeeze setups. Then, use this script to enter positions only when the stock pulls back to the 50-SMA or Market Pulse line.