Trend Squeeze Indicator for ThinkOrSwim (Free Download)

Q: What is the Trend Squeeze indicator?

It's a free ThinkOrSwim study that plots an arrow when a squeeze and a healthy trend line up. The 3, 8, 21 and 34 EMAs and the 50 and 200 SMAs must be stacked in order, the bar must pull back to the 8 EMA, the Squeeze must show a red dot, and the 3 EMA must cross the 8 EMA.

Q: How do I add the Trend Squeeze indicator to ThinkOrSwim?

Click the Studies icon, click Create, delete the starter code, name the study, and paste in the code from the Code tab. Click OK, then Apply. You can also download the .ts file and import it. The chart needs at least 200 bars so the 200 SMA has a value.

Q: What moving averages define a healthy trend in the Trend Squeeze?

Six of them, stacked like a chain. For a bullish trend, the 3 EMA is above the 8 EMA, the 8 is above the 21, the 21 is above the 34, the 34 EMA is above the 50 SMA and the 50 SMA is above the 200 SMA. A bearish trend reverses every comparison.

Q: What does the squeezeRequired input do?

It decides whether the arrow needs a squeeze. At the default of yes, an arrow plots only on a bar with a red Squeeze dot. Set it to no and the squeeze check passes on every bar, so the indicator works as a standalone trend indicator. In the video, that produced far more arrows.

Q: Why does the Trend Squeeze check the 8 EMA on the signal bar?

It makes sure the bar is still inside the pullback. A bullish arrow needs the bar's low below the 8 EMA, and a bearish arrow needs the bar's high above it. That keeps the arrows on pullbacks into the moving averages instead of bars that are already stretched away from them.

Q: Can I use the Trend Squeeze indicator on intraday charts?

Yes. The code doesn't depend on the timeframe. I built it on a daily chart and showed it on a 5-minute chart in the video, where it marked bullish and bearish arrows during Friday's session. On any timeframe, the chart needs 200 bars of history for the 200 SMA.

Q: How does the indicator know when there's a squeeze?

It calls ThinkOrSwim's built-in Squeeze study with its default settings and reads the SqueezeAlert plot. That plot is 0 on a red dot, when the squeeze is on, and 1 on a green dot. The indicator treats a 0 as a squeeze.

Q: What results did the Trend Squeeze backtester show in the video?

The only results come from a preview of the members-only Part 2 backtester, which layers on the triple squeeze and adds its own exits. On the S&P 500 daily chart over 5 years, its trend exit had 10 winners and 4 losers, and exiting when the squeeze fired gave 1 more winner and 3 fewer losers. The free indicator has no backtester.

IndicatorFreeBeginner23 min video58 lines of codeNov 17, 2024Updated Oct 21, 2026

A free trend squeeze indicator for ThinkOrSwim: arrows when the 3 EMA crosses the 8 EMA on a pullback, in a stacked trend, during a squeeze.

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Overview

In this tutorial I build a trend squeeze indicator for ThinkOrSwim from scratch. It looks for a healthy trend, where the 3, 8, 21 and 34-period EMAs and the 50 and 200-period SMAs are stacked in order, then waits for a pullback, a squeeze and a shift in momentum before it plots an arrow.

The goal is to find the best Squeeze setups in places where the trend is already healthy, then ride the momentum. It's a beginner-friendly build, and one input turns the squeeze filter off so you can also use it as a standalone trend indicator.

Key Takeaways

The Trend Squeeze indicator for ThinkOrSwim plots an arrow when 4 conditions line up on the same bar: stacked moving averages, a squeeze, a 3/8 EMA cross and a pullback to the 8 EMA.
A healthy bullish trend means the 3 EMA is above the 8 EMA, the 8 above the 21, the 21 above the 34, the 34 EMA above the 50 SMA and the 50 SMA above the 200 SMA. The bearish stack is the reverse.
The squeeze check reads the SqueezeAlert plot of ThinkOrSwim's built-in Squeeze study at its default settings. A value of 0 means a red dot, so the squeeze is on.
2 inputs control it: showLines (default yes) shows or hides the 6 moving averages, and squeezeRequired (default yes) turns the squeeze filter off so it works as a standalone trend indicator.
The only results in the video come from a preview of the members-only Part 2 backtester, which layers on the triple squeeze and adds its own exits. On the S&P 500 daily chart over 5 years, its trend exit had 10 winners and 4 losers.

What the Trend Squeeze Indicator Looks For

The Trend Squeeze indicator is a ThinkOrSwim study that finds Squeeze setups in places where the trend is already healthy. I built it to find the best squeeze setups in a trend and then ride the momentum. The logic follows the steps I walk through on the S&P 500 daily screenshot at the start of the video:

Find a healthy trend. Six moving averages, four EMAs and two SMAs, have to be stacked in order.
Look for a pullback. Price dips back into the moving averages, and the 3 EMA slips under the 8 EMA.
Wait for a squeeze. The indicator needs the Squeeze's red dot on the bar.
Wait for momentum to shift. Instead of entering in the chop of the pullback, it waits for the 3 EMA to cross back over the 8 EMA. That's where the arrow plots, the trend squeeze entry.

The table lists what has to be true on the bar for each arrow. If you're new to the red and green dots, our Squeeze hub covers what the dots mean, so this page doesn't repeat it.

Check on the signal bar	Bullish arrow	Bearish arrow
Trend	3 EMA > 8 EMA > 21 EMA > 34 EMA > 50 SMA > 200 SMA	3 EMA < 8 EMA < 21 EMA < 34 EMA < 50 SMA < 200 SMA
Squeeze (when squeezeRequired is yes)	Red dot: SqueezeAlert equals 0	Red dot: SqueezeAlert equals 0
Momentum shift	3 EMA crosses above the 8 EMA	3 EMA crosses below the 8 EMA
Pullback	The bar's low is below the 8 EMA	The bar's high is above the 8 EMA
What plots	Cyan up arrow	Pink down arrow

The free indicator marks entries only. It plots no exit, target or stop, so where you get out is up to you.

The Healthy Trend: Six Moving Averages in a Chain

A healthy trend in the Trend Squeeze indicator is a chain of 6 moving averages: the 3, 8, 21 and 34-period exponential moving averages, then the 50 and 200-period simple moving averages. Each one has to sit above the next for a bullish trend, from the 3 EMA at the top down to the 200 SMA. For a bearish trend, each one sits below the next.

The fast EMAs at the top of the chain are the ones a pullback moves first. The 50 and 200 SMAs at the bottom move slowly and describe the longer trend.

Our free Stacked Moving Averages indicator uses a shorter version of the same stack, and its tutorial covers how EMAs and SMAs differ. The comparison below comes from the two downloads.

Feature	Trend Squeeze	Stacked Moving Averages
EMAs	3, 8, 21, 34	8, 21, 34
SMAs	50, 200	50, 200
34 EMA compared with the 50 SMA	Yes, it's part of the chain	No, only 50 SMA vs 200 SMA
When the arrow plots	Pullback, squeeze and 3/8 EMA cross inside the stack	The first bar the stack forms

How to Build the Trend Squeeze Indicator in ThinkOrSwim

Building the Trend Squeeze indicator takes one new study in the thinkScript editor. I built it on a daily chart and clicked Apply after each piece to test it as I went.

Open a chart. I used the daily timeframe.
Click the Studies icon at the top of the chart, then click Create.
Delete the code that's already in the editor and give the study a name. I called mine TI_TrendSqueeze.
Write the code in the order of the steps below, or paste the finished code from the Code tab on this page.
Click OK, then Apply.

If you'd rather start from the download, our guide on how to import a study into ThinkOrSwim covers that route.

How the Code Works

The Trend Squeeze code has 6 parts: the moving averages, the trend checks, the lines, the momentum cross, the squeeze check and the signals. Each snippet below is copied from the download.

Step 1: Define the Moving Averages

The # sign starts a comment. I wrote the trend rule as a comment at the top, 3 EMA above 8 EMA above 21 EMA and so on, so the chain is in front of me while I code.