"Q_Pilot" Indicator
Q_Pilot V1.0 User Manual
Your co-pilot for smarter trades.
By QuantVue · QuantVue.io · Join our Discord
Disclaimer (Boring stuff the lawyer makes us say...)
Q_Pilot V1.0 is a technical analysis tool designed to assist with trade decision-making. It does not constitute financial advice, and no signal, score, or forecast produced by Q_Pilot should be interpreted as a guarantee of future performance. All trading involves risk, including the risk of total loss of capital. Past performance of any signal or feature is not indicative of future results.
You are solely responsible for your own trading decisions. Always use proper risk management, position sizing, and stop losses. QuantVue and its contributors are not responsible for any losses incurred while using this tool.
If you are new to trading, we strongly recommend paper trading (simulated trading) with Q_Pilot before committing real capital. No representation is being made that any strategy or any system sold by QuantVue will work without error or result in profits. The author and publisher of these systems is not a licensed financial advisor and will not accept liability for any financial losses or damages incurred as a result of using the tools. By using these tools, you acknowledge that you understand these risks and that you are solely responsible for the outcomes of your decision. You also agree to never hold QuantVue, it's staff, or it's principals liable for any possible trading losses you may incur for any reason or cause. It is your responsibility to do your own research, due diligence, and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment or trading decisions. Since we are not a licensed financial advisor, all indicators, algorithms, scripts, and other tools are presented for educational and entertainment purposes only.
Quick Start Guide (Let's go!! 🚀)
If you just want to get up and running, here's everything you need in under two minutes.
Step 1: Add Q_Pilot to Your Chart
Open any chart on TradingView, click the Indicators button (or press /), search for Q_Pilot V1.0, and add it. The indicator loads with sensible defaults — you can start reading signals immediately.
Step 2: Understand the Three Things on Your Screen
Colored candles — Bright candles mean the system has high conviction. Dim candles mean the signal is weak. White candles mean the system is uncommitted.
BUY / SELL labels — These appear when all of Q_Pilot's internal engines agree on a new direction. Each label includes the system's conviction score as a percentage. They require consensus, not just a single condition.
The Dashboard (top-right corner) — A live summary panel showing trend direction, strength score, momentum, forecast, and more. Think of it as your instrument panel.
Step 3: Your First Trade Read
Look at the most recent BUY or SELL label. Then check the dashboard:
Score above 50%? The trend has legs.
Score below 30%? The move is weak — consider waiting.
Momentum says "Accelerating"? The move is gaining steam.
Momentum says "Decelerating"? Conviction is fading.
That's it. You're reading Q_Pilot. The rest of this manual covers every feature in depth.
How Q_Pilot Works (The Big Picture)
Q_Pilot runs multiple independent analysis engines simultaneously:
A trend engine that measures directional strength
A momentum engine that detects shifts in buying and selling pressure
An adaptive average engine that tracks price with self-adjusting smoothness
A volume engine that monitors the balance between buyers and sellers
A channel detection engine that identifies when the market is stuck in a range
No single engine controls the system. Q_Pilot requires confluence — multiple engines must agree — before it produces a signal. This multi-engine consensus approach filters out most noise and false signals that plague single-indicator setups.
The system also produces a composite strength score (0–100%) that tells you how convicted all engines are in the current direction. This score powers the candle coloring, take profit logic, and prediction ribbon.
Display Modes
Q_Pilot offers three display modes, selectable from Settings → Display & Layout → Display Mode.
Trend Only
Shows directional signals (BUY/SELL), trend strength scoring, candle coloring, take profit markers, re-entry signals, volume exhaustion alerts, and the prediction ribbon. Best for traders focused on riding trends.
Channel Only
Detects when the market is moving sideways and draws the channel boundaries (resistance, support, midline). Candles shift to the channel color when a range is confirmed. Dashboard shows channel width, your position within the range, and proximity alerts. Best for traders focused on range-bound strategies (buying support, selling resistance).
Trend + Channel
Combines both modes. When the market is trending, you see trend signals and scoring. When the market enters a range, channel detection takes over and the display shifts automatically. This is the most comprehensive mode but also the busiest visually.
Tip: Many experienced Q_Pilot users run two copies of the indicator on separate chart panels — one set to Trend Only and one set to Channel Only. This gives you a clean, uncluttered view of each regime.
Signals
BUY and SELL Signals
These are Q_Pilot's primary directional signals. A BUY label appears below a candle when the system detects a new bullish opportunity. A SELL label appears above a candle when it detects a new bearish opportunity.
What triggers them: All of Q_Pilot's internal engines must agree — trend direction, momentum alignment, and adaptive averages must all point the same way. This is a consensus system, not a single-trigger crossover.
What the color tells you: Signal labels are brighter when conviction is high at the moment of the signal. A dim BUY label means the engines agree on direction but strength is low — the move may be tentative. A bright BUY label means the engines agree AND conviction is strong. Each label also displays the composite strength score as a percentage (e.g., "BUY 42%"), so you can read conviction at a glance without checking the dashboard.
Confluence Threshold: By default, all signals are shown regardless of their score. If you enable the Confluence Threshold option in Settings → Signals, BUY and SELL signals will only appear when the composite strength score meets or exceeds your chosen threshold (default 50%). Signals that don't meet the threshold are silently suppressed — including their alerts. This is useful for filtering out low-conviction entries automatically.
How to use them:
A BUY signal is your entry cue for a long position (or your exit cue if you're short).
A SELL signal is your entry cue for a short position (or your exit cue if you're long).
Always check the Score on the dashboard before acting. A signal with a score below 30% is low-conviction and may not follow through.
Signals do NOT repeat. Once a BUY fires, the next signal will be a SELL (and vice versa). There is always one active direction.
Take Profit (TP) Signals
A small yellow TP label appears when the conviction behind your current trade has faded significantly from its peak.
What this means: When you entered the trade (at the BUY or SELL signal), the composite strength score was at a certain level. It may have climbed higher as the trend developed. The TP signal fires when that score has dropped by a configurable percentage from its highest point.
What this does NOT mean: TP is not a reversal signal. The trend may still be intact — TP simply tells you that the fuel that was driving the move has diminished.
How to use it:
Conservative traders: exit the full position at TP.
Moderate traders: close half the position at TP and trail a stop on the remainder.
Aggressive traders: tighten your stop loss at TP but stay in the trade.
Adjusting sensitivity: The Take Profit Sensitivity % setting (default 50%) controls how much the score must decay. Lower values (e.g., 30%) give earlier TP signals — good for scalping. Higher values (e.g., 70%) let trades run longer — good for swing trading.
Re-Entry Signals
Disabled by default. When enabled, these appear after a TP signal if the trend briefly weakens but then all engines realign without a full reversal.
The sequence: BUY → price trends up → TP fires (strength faded) → one or more engines lose alignment → all engines snap back into agreement → RE-ENTRY LONG appears.
How to use it:
Re-entries are a second bite at the same trend. They work best on strong, trending assets where pullbacks are shallow.
A re-entry also gets its own TP signal, so the exit logic is the same.
If you find yourself seeing many re-entries on an asset, consider increasing the TP Sensitivity % so the initial TP fires later.
Volume Exhaustion Signals
These are caution signals, not trade signals.
VOL PEAK (orange label above the bar): Buying pressure reached an extreme and is now reversing. This warns that the current up-move may be running out of fuel.
VOL BOTTOM (green label below the bar): Selling pressure reached an extreme and is now reversing. This warns that the current down-move may be running out of fuel.
How to use them:
If you're long and see a VOL PEAK: tighten your stop or reduce your position.
If you're short and see a VOL BOTTOM: tighten your stop or reduce your position.
If you're flat and see a VOL BOTTOM during a downtrend: start watching for a BUY signal — the selling may be drying up.
These are NOT reversal entries by themselves. Wait for a proper BUY/SELL signal to confirm a reversal.
Dashboard integration: The Volume row shows "Overbought" or "Oversold" when pressure is extreme, and "⚠ Armed" when the system has detected an extreme but is waiting for the reversal trigger.
Prediction Ribbon
A thin colored line that runs below each candle, showing Q_Pilot's directional forecast.
Blue — The system expects upward price movement.
Red — The system expects downward price movement.
Yellow — The market is too choppy to forecast; no edge.
The ribbon is generated by combining trend direction, momentum acceleration, composite strength, and volume exhaustion state into a single score that ranges from strong continuation to likely reversal.
How to use it:
Scroll back on your chart and compare past ribbon colors to what actually happened. This builds your intuition for how the ribbon behaves on your specific asset and timeframe.
When the ribbon turns yellow, consider staying flat or reducing position size.
A blue ribbon during a BUY signal is confirmation. A red ribbon during a BUY signal is a warning that the system's sub-components disagree — proceed with caution.
Channel Proximity Alerts
In Channel or Trend + Channel mode, ⚡ RESIST and ⚡ SUPPORT labels appear when price reaches the top or bottom 10% of a confirmed channel.
How to use them:
Near resistance in a channel: watch for shorts or exits from longs.
Near support in a channel: watch for longs or exits from shorts.
If a BUY signal fires near channel resistance, there may be limited upside before the ceiling.
The Dashboard
The dashboard is a real-time info panel in the top-right corner of your chart. It adapts to your display mode, showing only the rows relevant to your active features.
Header
Q PILOT — indicator name and current display mode (TREND, CHANNEL, or T+C).
Ticker and timeframe — shows the symbol you're charting and the current timeframe (e.g., AAPL · 5m).
Trend Section (Trend and T+C modes)
Trend
Current direction: BULLISH, BEARISH, or NEUTRAL. Color-coded to match.
Strength
Qualitative label: VERY WEAK, WEAK, MODERATE, STRONG, or EXTREME. Based on the composite strength score.
Momentum
Whether momentum is Accelerating (gaining steam) or Decelerating (losing steam), with direction arrows.
Score
The composite strength score as a percentage (0–100%). This is the single most important number on the dashboard.
Signal Age
How long the current signal has been active. Shows "FRESH" in yellow on new signals, then converts to real time (e.g., 15m, 2.3h, 1.5d). Helps you gauge whether you're early or late to a move.
Condition Section (Trend and T+C modes)
Volume
Current volume pressure state: Overbought, Oversold, Elevated, or Subdued. Shows "⚠ Armed" when an exhaustion trigger is being loaded.
Market
CLEAR or CHOPPY. When choppy, signals are suppressed and the prediction ribbon turns yellow.
Forecast
The prediction engine's outlook with a score from -5 to +5. Positive = continuation, negative = fading/reversal. Shows "⚠ Choppy — No Edge" in chop.
ORB Section (when enabled, ≤15m timeframes)
ORB
Current status: Waiting, Building, Range Holding, Bull Break ▲, Bear Break ▼, or Both Broken. Shows the opening range levels below.
Channel Section (Channel and T+C modes)
Channel
ACTIVE or NO CHANNEL.
Range
The support and resistance prices defining the channel.
Width
Channel width as a percentage of price. Narrow channels (< 2%) are tight consolidations. Wide channels (> 4%) are broad ranges.
Position
Where price sits within the channel: Near Floor, Lower Half, Mid Range, Upper Half, or Near Ceiling, with a percentage.
Adaptive Section (Channel mode with Adaptive ON)
Volatility
Current volatility regime: Very Low through Very High, with a percentage score. Color shifts from green (calm) to orange (volatile).
Efficiency
How directional the current price movement is: Directional, Mixed, or Choppy. Helps you understand why the adaptive system is tightening or loosening parameters.
Adapted
The live effective parameters the adaptive system is currently using (Lookback, Threshold, Width, Confirm). Useful for advanced users who want to see the system's real-time decisions.
Footer Section
S/R
Active detection method and number of zones found (e.g., "HYBRID · 6 zones").
Engine
Current engine tuning preset: Balanced, Aggressive, Conservative, or Custom. Color-coded for quick identification.
Candle Coloring
Q_Pilot replaces your default candle colors with conviction-mapped coloring. This is controlled by two settings:
Color Candles (on/off)
When ON, candles are colored by Q_Pilot. When OFF, your chart's default colors are used.
Candle Color Mode
Standard Mode: Candles are colored bullish or bearish with brightness (transparency) that reflects the composite strength score. A very bright bullish candle means the system has high conviction in an upward move. A dim bullish candle means the direction is bullish but conviction is weak.
Gradient Mode: Candles smoothly blend from your neutral color (white by default) at 0% strength to the full bullish or bearish color at 100% strength. This gives you a continuous visual spectrum — you can literally see the trend "warming up" or "cooling down" bar by bar.
Channel Mode behavior: When a channel is confirmed and you're in Channel or T+C mode, candles shift to the channel color. The brightness reflects channel depth — how firmly the market is stuck in the range.
Tip: Gradient mode is particularly useful for new users because it makes trend transitions visually obvious. Standard mode is preferred by experienced users who want faster visual parsing.
Support and Resistance Zones
Q_Pilot identifies up to 6 key price zones — 3 resistance levels above the current price and 3 support levels below.
How Zones Are Displayed
Each zone appears as a glowing band on the chart. Stronger zones glow brighter; weaker zones are more transparent. At the center of each zone is a dotted laser line. To the right of each zone is a price label with a strength bar (▮▮▮▯▯ — more filled bars = stronger zone).
Detection Methods
You can choose how Q_Pilot finds these levels:
Pivot Clusters: Scans for prices where the market has reversed multiple times. The more reversals at the same price area, the stronger the zone. Best for assets with clear, repeated swing points.
Price Density: Finds prices where the most trading activity occurred, weighted by volume. Zones with heavy participation become key levels. Best for high-volume assets where institutional activity leaves footprints.
MTF Key Levels: Pulls significant highs and lows from higher timeframes. These act as broader structural reference points that lower timeframes tend to respect. Best for traders who want a top-down perspective.
Hybrid: Combines pivot clustering with volume density scoring. A level that has both multiple reversals AND heavy trading volume is scored higher than one with only reversals. This is the most well-rounded method and recommended for most users.
Tuning S/R Detection
S/R History: How many bars to scan. Longer windows (300+) find long-established levels. Shorter windows (100) find levels from recent price action only.
Reversal Significance: How major a swing point must be to count. Higher values (15+) only detect major turning points. Lower values (5) are more sensitive.
Zone Merge Distance: How close two reversal points must be before merging into one zone. Higher values create wider zones. Lower values keep zones tighter.
Channel Detection
Q_Pilot's channel detection engine identifies when the market has stopped trending and is moving sideways within a defined range.
What You See
When a channel is confirmed, you'll see:
Resistance line (upper boundary) and support line (lower boundary) drawn in the channel color.
A midline (cross style) marking the center of the range.
A color fill between resistance and support.
Candles shift to the channel color.
The dashboard shows channel data (range, width, position).
Adaptive Channel
When Adaptive Channel is ON (the default), Q_Pilot automatically adjusts all channel detection parameters based on the current market environment. In calm, range-bound conditions, it tightens detection for faster recognition. In volatile, trending conditions, it widens parameters to avoid false channel calls.
The manual settings (Channel Lookback, Trend Threshold, Max Width, Confirmation Bars) serve as the baseline — the adaptive system scales them up or down from there. This means you set your preferred baseline once, and the system handles the volatility adjustments for you.
When Adaptive Channel is OFF, the manual settings are used exactly as-is.
Trading Channels
Channels are inherently mean-reverting environments. The classic channel strategy is:
Buy near the bottom of the channel (⚡ SUPPORT alert).
Target the midline or the top of the channel.
Sell near the top of the channel (⚡ RESIST alert).
Target the midline or the bottom.
Important: Channels break. When a channel has been active for a long time and you see a BUY/SELL signal fire in Trend + Channel mode, the market may be transitioning from range-bound to trending. Watch for follow-through with rising strength scores and accelerating momentum.
Opening Range Break (ORB)
ORB is a specialized feature for intraday traders. It detects breakouts from the first trading range established after market open.
Only available on 15-minute and lower timeframes.
How It Works
At market open (default 9:30 AM ET), Q_Pilot begins recording the high and low.
For the duration of the opening window (default 15 minutes), it tracks the expanding range.
When the window closes, the range is frozen as the Opening Range — drawn as a yellow box with dashed lines.
If price closes above the opening range high: ORB ▲ (bullish breakout).
If price closes below the opening range low: ORB ▼ (bearish breakout).
ORB Settings
Session Open Hour/Minute: Set to match your market's open. Default is 9:30 AM ET for US equities. Forex traders might set 8:00 AM London. Crypto traders could set midnight UTC.
OR Window: How long to build the range. 5 minutes = aggressive (tight range, more breakouts). 15 minutes = standard. 30 minutes = conservative (wider range, fewer but more reliable breakouts).
Extend Until Broken: When ON, the opening range lines stay on chart until broken. Previous sessions' levels remain visible for backtesting and review.
Trading ORB
ORB works best when combined with Q_Pilot's other features:
An ORB bullish breakout that aligns with a BUY signal and a high composite score is a high-probability setup.
An ORB bearish breakout into a VOL BOTTOM signal might be a trap — the selling pressure is exhausted.
If ORB status shows "Range Holding" late in the session, the market is likely in consolidation — consider channel trading strategies.
Engine Tuning
Q_Pilot's analysis is powered by a trend engine and a momentum engine working in concert. The Engine Tuning section lets you configure how responsive or deliberate these engines are.
Presets
For most users, presets are all you need:
Balanced (default): A general-purpose configuration that works well on most assets and timeframes. Start here.
Aggressive: Faster reactions, earlier signals, more responsive to new moves. Best for scalping, day trading fast-moving assets, or lower timeframes (1m–5m). Trade-off: more noise, potentially more false signals.
Conservative: Slower, smoother, more deliberate. Requires more sustained moves before reacting. Best for swing trading, higher timeframes (1H+), or noisy/volatile assets. Trade-off: signals arrive later, potentially missing the start of moves.
Custom: Unlocks the individual tuning parameters below the dropdown.
Custom Tuning
When Custom is selected, you can adjust five parameters. Each parameter defaults to 0, which gives you the Balanced behavior. Use negative values to make that dimension faster/more reactive. Use positive values to make it slower/more deliberate.
Trend Reactivity
How quickly the trend engine detects new directions
Faster, more reactive
Slower, more deliberate
Trend Stability
How much the trend reading is smoothed
Rawer, more jittery
Calmer, steadier
Momentum Sensitivity
How quickly momentum shifts are detected
Earlier detection, more noise
Later detection, less noise
Momentum Baseline
How broad the momentum reference window is
Shorter reference, more responsive
Longer reference, more filtering
Signal Confirmation
How quickly momentum shifts are confirmed
Faster confirmation, more false reads
Slower confirmation, fewer false reads
Tip: Most traders should just use presets. Custom tuning is for experienced users who have spent time with Q_Pilot and want to optimize for a specific asset or strategy.
The Chop Filter
Markets spend a significant amount of time moving sideways with no clear direction. Trading in these conditions is a reliable way to lose money. Q_Pilot's chop filter suppresses signals when trend strength is too low to be meaningful.
How It Works
The chop filter has a threshold. When the system's internal trend strength falls below this threshold, the market is labeled CHOPPY on the dashboard, the prediction ribbon turns yellow, and BUY/SELL signals are suppressed.
Adjusting the Chop Filter
The Chop Filter setting (default 0) is an offset:
0 (default): Standard filtering. Signals are suppressed only during clearly directionless markets.
Positive values (1–30): Stricter filtering. Requires stronger trends before allowing signals. Useful if you're seeing too many signals that don't follow through.
Negative values (-1 to -20): Looser filtering. Allows signals in weaker trends. Useful if you're missing moves because the filter is too aggressive for your asset.
Tip: If your dashboard frequently shows "CHOPPY" on an asset where you see clear moves, try decreasing the chop filter by 5–10 points. If you're getting signals that constantly fail, try increasing it by 5–10 points.
Background Zones
When enabled, Q_Pilot applies a subtle color tint to the chart background:
During a bullish trend: faint blue/bullish tint.
During a bearish trend: faint red/bearish tint.
During a confirmed channel: faint channel-colored tint.
No active regime: no background color.
The tint intensity scales with strength — stronger trends produce a slightly more visible background.
Tip: Background zones are most useful on busy charts where candle colors alone might not be enough to quickly identify the regime at a glance.
Colors and Customization
Q_Pilot provides four color controls:
Bullish Color (default cyan #00BFFF): Used for everything bullish — candles, BUY labels, backgrounds, ribbon.
Bearish Color (default red): Used for everything bearish — candles, SELL labels, backgrounds, ribbon.
Channel Color (default blue #2196F3): Used for channel lines, fill, proximity alerts, channel backgrounds.
Neutral Candle Color (default white): Used when the system has no strong directional read.
You can customize these to match your chart theme or personal preference. All features update simultaneously when you change a color.
Alerts
Q_Pilot supports TradingView alerts for all major events. To set up alerts, right-click the indicator name on your chart, select Add Alert, and choose from the available conditions:
LONG
New BUY signal
SHORT
New SELL signal
Near Resistance
Price enters the top 10% of a confirmed channel
Near Support
Price enters the bottom 10% of a confirmed channel
Channel Detected
A new channel is confirmed
Channel Breakout
An active channel breaks
Volume Exhaustion Bottom
Selling pressure exhaustion detected
Volume Exhaustion Peak
Buying pressure exhaustion detected
Take Profit
TP signal fires
Re-Entry
Re-entry signal fires
Re-Entry Take Profit
TP for a re-entry fires
Entered Chop Zone
Market transitions to choppy
Exited Chop Zone
Market transitions out of choppy
ORB Bullish Breakout
Price breaks above the opening range
ORB Bearish Breakout
Price breaks below the opening range
Note: When the Confluence Threshold is enabled, LONG and SHORT alerts will only fire for signals that meet the threshold. All other alerts are unaffected.
Tip: At minimum, set alerts for LONG, SHORT, and Take Profit. These cover entry and exit. Add Volume Exhaustion alerts if you want early warning on potential turning points.
Signal-by-Signal Playbook
This section provides a step-by-step response guide for every signal Q_Pilot produces.
When You See: BUY
Read the percentage on the label — this is the composite strength score at the moment the signal fired. Above 40% is decent. Above 60% is strong.
Check Momentum on the dashboard. "Accelerating ▲" is ideal. "Decelerating ▽" means momentum is already fading — you might be late.
Check Market. If it says CHOPPY, the signal is suppressed for a reason — be cautious.
Check S/R zones. Is there a resistance level very close above? That could cap your upside.
If everything aligns: enter long. Set your stop below the most recent swing low or the nearest support zone.
When You See: SELL
Same process as BUY but mirrored. Enter short (or exit longs). Stop above the most recent swing high or the nearest resistance zone.
When You See: TP
How far has price moved since the BUY/SELL? If it's a meaningful gain, consider locking in at least partial profits.
Check if the Score is collapsing or just slowly declining. A sharp drop = urgent. A gradual fade = you have time.
Your options: close the full position, close half and trail a stop, or simply tighten your stop.
When You See: RE-ENTRY
This means the trend pulled back but didn't break. All engines have realigned.
Entry logic is the same as a BUY/SELL. Check Score, Momentum, and S/R zones.
Re-entries tend to work best when the initial move was strong (the original signal had a high score).
When You See: VOL PEAK
You're in a long trade and buying pressure just peaked. The up-move may be exhausting.
This is NOT a sell signal. It's a caution flag.
Tighten your stop. Consider taking partial profits. Watch for a TP signal to follow.
When You See: VOL BOTTOM
You're in a short trade and selling pressure just bottomed. The down-move may be exhausting.
Same logic: tighten stop, consider partial profits, watch for TP.
When You See: ⚡ RESIST or ⚡ SUPPORT
Price has reached the edge of a confirmed channel.
In a channel, the edge is where reversals happen. Consider fading (trading against the move toward the edge).
If combined with a BUY/SELL signal, the market may be breaking out of the channel — watch for follow-through.
When You See: ORB ▲ or ORB ▼
Price has broken the opening range.
Check if the breakout direction aligns with Q_Pilot's trend. Aligned = high conviction. Against = be cautious.
Use the opening range level as your stop. If ORB ▲ fires, your stop goes just below the OR high.
Example Trade Walkthroughs
Example 1: Clean Trend Trade
Setup: You're watching a stock on the 15-minute chart. Q_Pilot has been showing BEARISH with a SELL signal active. The Score has been declining from 55% to 25%. Candles are dim red, indicating weakening conviction.
What happens: A BUY 42% signal fires. The dashboard now shows:
Trend: BULLISH
Strength: MODERATE
Score: 42%
Momentum: Accelerating ▲
Signal Age: FRESH
Your action: You enter long. The score is moderate (42%) but momentum is accelerating — this trend is building, not fading. You set your stop below the nearest support zone.
How it develops: Over the next hour, candles brighten (score climbing). Score reaches 68%. Momentum still reads Accelerating. The prediction ribbon is solid blue.
Exit: A TP signal fires when the score drops from 68% to 34%. You close half the position and move your stop to breakeven. The remaining half runs until the next SELL signal, where you exit fully.
Example 2: Channel Trade
Setup: The 5-minute chart shows Channel ACTIVE on the dashboard. Range: $148.20 — $149.80. Width: 1.1%. Position: Near Floor (8%).
What happens: An ⚡ SUPPORT label appears. Price is at the bottom of the channel.
Your action: You enter long near $148.30, targeting the midline ($149.00) or resistance ($149.80). Stop goes below the channel support at $148.10.
How it develops: Price climbs to midline. Position now shows "Upper Half (62%)."
Exit: You take profits at $149.60 as Position hits "Near Ceiling (92%)." A clean channel rotation for a $1.30 move.
Example 3: Volume Exhaustion Save
Setup: You're long from a BUY signal at Score 55%. Price has been trending up for 2 hours. Score peaked at 72% and is now at 58%.
What happens: A VOL PEAK label appears. The Volume row on the dashboard shows "⚠ Armed" then "Overbought ▲▲."
Your action: You tighten your stop from $2.00 below to $0.75 below. You sell half the position.
How it develops: Three bars later, a TP signal fires. You exit the remaining position.
What would have happened without Q_Pilot: Price reverses sharply over the next 30 minutes, giving back the entire move. The VOL PEAK warning gave you a 3-bar head start on the exit.
Common Mistakes
1. Trading Every Signal
Not every BUY or SELL signal is a good trade. Always check the Score and Momentum on the dashboard. A low-score signal in a choppy market is an invitation to lose money.
2. Ignoring Volume Exhaustion
VOL PEAK and VOL BOTTOM are easy to dismiss because they don't tell you to buy or sell. But they're some of Q_Pilot's most valuable outputs. Treat them as your early warning system.
3. Fighting the Chop Filter
If the dashboard says CHOPPY and the ribbon is yellow, the system is telling you there's no edge. Don't override this by reducing the Chop Filter to -20 just to get signals. The filter exists to protect you.
4. Using the Wrong Display Mode
Running Trend + Channel on a 1-minute chart during choppy hours creates visual overload. Pick the mode that matches your strategy. If you trade trends, use Trend Only. If you trade ranges, use Channel Only.
5. Setting TP Too Tight
Setting Take Profit Sensitivity to 10–20% will give you very early exits. You'll feel good about "locking in profits," but you'll miss the meat of every move. Start with the default (50%) and adjust after you've seen how it behaves on your asset.
6. Ignoring Signal Age
A BUY signal that fired 2 minutes ago is very different from one that fired 3 hours ago. The Signal Age row on the dashboard tells you exactly how old the current signal is. Entering a trade that's been running for hours means you're buying at a much higher price than the signal suggested.
7. Not Using Stops
Q_Pilot helps you find entries and exits, but it does not manage risk. Always use stop losses. The nearest S/R zone below your entry (for longs) or above your entry (for shorts) is a natural place for your stop.
8. Over-Tuning Engine Settings
The Balanced preset works well for most situations. Don't spend hours in Custom mode trying to find the "perfect" settings. If you must tune, start with Aggressive or Conservative and only move to Custom if those don't fit.
Frequently Asked Questions
General
Q: What assets does Q_Pilot work on? A: Any asset on TradingView with sufficient price history — stocks, ETFs, futures, forex, crypto. It's designed to be asset-agnostic. Some features (like ORB) are designed specifically for assets with defined market hours.
Q: What timeframes work best? A: Q_Pilot works on all timeframes. For day trading, 1m–15m timeframes with the Aggressive preset work well. For swing trading, 1H–4H with Balanced or Conservative. For position trading, Daily–Weekly with Conservative.
Q: Can I use Q_Pilot on multiple timeframes simultaneously? A: Yes. Many traders add Q_Pilot to multiple chart panels at different timeframes to get a top-down view. A BUY signal on both the 1H and 15m charts is stronger than a signal on just one.
Q: Does Q_Pilot repaint? A: BUY/SELL signals, TP signals, re-entry signals, and volume exhaustion signals are all calculated on the close of each bar and do not repaint. S/R glow zones are recalculated on each bar for visual display.
Signals
Q: Why isn't Q_Pilot giving me any signals? A: Most likely the Chop Filter is active (dashboard shows CHOPPY). This means the market is directionless. Try a different timeframe or wait for conditions to improve. You can also lower the Chop Filter value, but understand that you're accepting weaker signals. If you have the Confluence Threshold enabled, signals below that score are also being suppressed — try lowering the threshold or disabling it.
Q: I see a BUY signal but the Score is only 15%. Should I take it? A: A 15% score means the engines agree on direction but conviction is very low. This is a marginal signal. In most cases, waiting for a signal with a higher score will serve you better. If you want to automatically filter these out, enable the Confluence Threshold in Settings → Signals.
Q: The prediction ribbon is red but Q_Pilot is showing a BUY signal. Which do I trust? A: This is a disagreement state. The BUY signal means all engines aligned at the moment it fired. The red ribbon means the prediction engine — which looks at additional factors like momentum acceleration and volume exhaustion — sees trouble ahead. When these conflict, exercise extra caution. Consider waiting one or two bars to see if the ribbon shifts.
Q: How is TP different from a SELL signal? A: A SELL signal means all engines have flipped bearish — it's a directional reversal. A TP signal means the current bullish trend is losing strength but hasn't reversed. The trend may continue, just with less conviction.
Q: What does the Confluence Threshold do? A: When enabled, it sets a minimum composite strength score for BUY/SELL signals to appear. If a signal fires but doesn't meet the threshold, it's silently suppressed — you won't see the label or receive an alert. This is a stricter filter than the Chop Filter, which only blocks signals during directionless markets. The Confluence Threshold blocks any signal below a specific conviction level, even in trending conditions.
Channel Detection
Q: The channel keeps flickering on and off. How do I fix this? A: Increase the Confirmation Bars setting. This requires the market to stay range-bound for more bars before confirming. Also try increasing the Trend Threshold so the system needs a weaker trend before declaring a channel.
Q: Can I use channel detection on crypto? A: Yes, but crypto tends to have wider ranges. Increase Max Channel Width % to 8–10% for crypto assets. Also consider increasing the Adaptive History to 300+ since crypto volatility regimes can persist longer.
S/R Zones
Q: Why am I only seeing 2 zones instead of 6? A: Q_Pilot only shows zones it has confidence in. If the detection method can only find 2 meaningful levels in the lookback window, it shows 2. Try increasing S/R History or switching to Hybrid mode for more zones.
Q: Which detection method should I use? A: Start with Hybrid — it's the most well-rounded. If you trade high-volume assets (large-cap stocks, major forex pairs), Price Density works extremely well. If you trade assets with clean swing points and lower volume, Pivot Clusters may be better.
ORB
Q: ORB says "OFF" on my dashboard. What's wrong? A: ORB only works on 15-minute and lower timeframes. Switch to a 1m, 3m, 5m, or 15m chart. Also make sure Enable ORB is turned on in the Opening Range Break settings.
Q: I trade futures that open at different times. How do I set ORB up? A: Change the Session Open Hour and Session Open Minute to match your market's open time in US Eastern Time. For example, ES futures open at 9:30 AM ET (Hour: 9, Minute: 30). CME grains open at 8:30 AM CT, which is 9:30 AM ET.
Technical
Q: Q_Pilot seems slow on lower timeframes. Is this normal? A: The S/R engine scans up to 500 bars of history every bar, which can add computation time on very low timeframes with long lookbacks. If performance is an issue, try reducing S/R History to 100 or switching to MTF Key Levels (which requires fewer calculations).
Q: Can I use Q_Pilot in a strategy (backtest)? A: Q_Pilot is an indicator, not a strategy script. It cannot be directly backtested in TradingView's strategy tester. However, you can visually backtest by scrolling through historical data and observing how signals would have performed. Use the prediction ribbon and Signal Age to evaluate past calls.
Settings Reference
A complete reference of every setting in Q_Pilot, organized by group.
Display & Layout
Display Mode
Trend Only
Which analysis modes are visible: Trend Only, Channel Only, or Trend + Channel.
Show Dashboard
ON
Shows/hides the real-time info panel.
Show Background Zones
ON
Adds a subtle color tint to the chart background during active regimes.
Signals
Show BUY / SELL Signals
ON
Displays directional signal labels on the chart.
Show Take Profit Signals
ON
Marks when trend conviction has faded from its peak.
Take Profit Sensitivity %
50%
How much conviction must decay before TP fires. Lower = earlier exits.
Show Re-Entry Signals
OFF
Marks re-entry opportunities after TP when all engines realign.
Show Volume Exhaustion
ON
Displays VOL PEAK and VOL BOTTOM caution labels.
Show Prediction Ribbon
ON
Shows the directional forecast ribbon below candles.
Chop Filter
0
Adjusts signal suppression threshold. Positive = stricter, negative = looser.
Confluence Threshold
OFF
When ON, only shows BUY/SELL signals that meet the threshold below.
Confluence Threshold %
50%
Minimum composite strength required for signals. Only active when Confluence Threshold is ON.
Candles & Colors
Color Candles
ON
Colors candles based on the current market state.
Candle Color Mode
Standard
Standard (brightness = conviction) or Gradient (neutral-to-color blend).
Bullish Color
#00BFFF
Color for all bullish elements.
Bearish Color
Red
Color for all bearish elements.
Channel Color
#2196F3
Color for all channel elements.
Neutral Candle Color
White
Color for uncommitted candles.
Channel Detection
Adaptive Channel
ON
Auto-adjusts channel parameters to current volatility.
Channel Lookback
20
Bars used to define channel boundaries. Baseline when Adaptive is ON.
Trend Threshold
15.0
How weak the trend must be to declare a channel. Baseline when Adaptive is ON.
Max Channel Width %
4.0%
Widest allowed channel as % of price. Baseline when Adaptive is ON.
Confirmation Bars
5
Consecutive weak-trend bars required before confirming. Baseline when Adaptive is ON.
Adaptive History
200
Volatility history length for adaptive scaling.
Efficiency Blend
0.4
Weight of price efficiency signal in adaptive confirmation.
Support & Resistance
Show S/R Levels
ON
Displays glowing support and resistance zones.
Detection Method
Pivot Clusters
How levels are found: Pivot Clusters, Price Density, MTF Key Levels, or Hybrid.
S/R History
150
Bars of history to scan for levels.
Reversal Significance
10
How major a swing point must be to count.
Zone Merge Distance
1.5
How close reversals must be to merge into one zone.
Support Glow
#00E5FF
Glow color for support zones.
Resistance Glow
#FF4081
Glow color for resistance zones.
Volume Exhaustion
Lookback Window
20
Bars used to establish normal volume pressure.
Sensitivity
1.5
How extreme pressure must be before flagging exhaustion. Lower = more signals.
Smoothing
21
How smoothly the baseline adapts over time.
Peak Color
#FF6D00
Color for VOL PEAK labels.
Bottom Color
#00E676
Color for VOL BOTTOM labels.
Opening Range Break
Enable ORB
OFF
Turns on opening range breakout detection. ≤15m timeframes only.
Session Open Hour
9
Market open hour in US Eastern Time.
Session Open Minute
30
Market open minute in US Eastern Time.
OR Window (minutes)
15
Duration of the opening range window.
Extend Until Broken
ON
OR lines extend forward until price breaks through.
ORB Color
#FFD600
Color for ORB lines, box, and labels.
Engine Tuning
Preset
Balanced
Pre-configured engine profile: Balanced, Aggressive, Conservative, or Custom.
Price Source
Close
Price data used by the momentum engine. Custom mode only.
Trend Reactivity
0
Offset for trend detection speed. Negative = faster. Custom mode only.
Trend Stability
0
Offset for trend smoothing. Negative = rawer signal. Custom mode only.
Momentum Sensitivity
0
Offset for momentum detection speed. Negative = faster. Custom mode only.
Momentum Baseline
0
Offset for momentum reference window. Negative = shorter. Custom mode only.
Signal Confirmation
0
Offset for momentum confirmation speed. Negative = faster. Custom mode only.
Getting Help
Website: QuantVue.io
Discord: discord.gg/quantvue — Ask questions, share setups, and connect with other Q_Pilot users.
Updates: Follow QuantVue on TradingView for indicator updates and release notes.
Q_Pilot V1.0 — Your co-pilot for smarter trades. © QuantVue. All rights reserved.
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