SMC-Pullback-CodeBase/README.md

# SMC Pullback

**Swing high / low detection by the pullback rule — MetaTrader 5 indicator**

Marks swing highs and lows using the pullback definition instead of the usual
3-candle pattern. A high is confirmed only when price trades back through the low
of the candle that made it, so every marked point is an actual rejection rather
than a shape. Closed bars only, no repainting.

📦 **MQL5 Code Base:** https://www.mql5.com/en/code/76451

---

## What is in this folder

```text
Indicators/Code Base/
│
└── SMC Pullback v1.0.mq5             the indicator - one self-contained file

```

No includes, no dependencies. The whole indicator is one `.mq5`.

`make_figures.py` re-implements the detector in Python and draws the figures from
its output, so the diagrams cannot drift away from the MQL5 code. It doubles as an
independent check on the algorithm.

## Installing

1. Copy `SMC Pullback v1.0.mq5` into `MQL5/Indicators/Code Base` (or any subfolder of it).
2. Open it in MetaEditor and compile (F7).
3. Drag it onto a chart from the Navigator.

Works on any symbol and any timeframe. It needs no other indicator and no market
data beyond the chart's own history.

---

## The rule

The detector never looks for both sides at once. It searches for **one side at a
time** and holds three values:

- **Direction** — which side it is currently looking for.
- **Tracked extreme** — the highest high (or lowest low) of the current leg.
- **Reference level** — the *opposite* edge of the candle that made that extreme.

The reference is the key. A candle that sets a new highest high also supplies the
level that will later confirm it: **its own low**. When price trades back through
that low, the high becomes a swing and the search flips to the low side, seeded
from the candle that caused the break. Looking for a low is the mirror image.

Because confirming one side always flips the search to the other, **highs and lows
alternate automatically** — there is no rule enforcing it and no comparison against
earlier swings.

On each closed candle two independent questions are asked: *did it make a new
extreme?* and *did it break the reference?* That gives four cases per direction:

| # | Current trend | Current candle | Action 1 | Action 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Looking for a **HIGH** | **Inside bar** — no new high, reference low intact | nothing | nothing |
| 2 | Looking for a **HIGH** | **New high**, reference low intact | tracked high = this candle's high | reference low = this candle's low |
| 3 | Looking for a **HIGH** | **Break** — no new high, trades below the reference low | confirm the tracked high as a **swing high** | flip to LOW, seeded from this candle |
| 4 | Looking for a **HIGH** | **Outside bar** — new high *and* breaks the reference low | confirm **this candle's own high** as a swing high | flip to LOW, seeded from this candle |
| 5 | Looking for a **LOW** | **Inside bar** — no new low, reference high intact | nothing | nothing |
| 6 | Looking for a **LOW** | **New low**, reference high intact | tracked low = this candle's low | reference high = this candle's high |
| 7 | Looking for a **LOW** | **Break** — no new low, trades above the reference high | confirm the tracked low as a **swing low** | flip to HIGH, seeded from this candle |
| 8 | Looking for a **LOW** | **Outside bar** — new low *and* breaks the reference high | confirm **this candle's own low** as a swing low | flip to HIGH, seeded from this candle |

Rows 1–4 and 5–8 are exact mirrors, which is why the engine is only a few dozen lines.

Rows 4 and 8 are the interesting ones. An **outside bar** can extend the leg and
break the reference in the same candle, and the two rules contradict each other.
The resolution is to let the candle be the swing itself: its own extreme is
confirmed, and the same candle then opens the opposite leg. On the chart that
shows up as a marker above *and* below one bar, with a vertical leg between them.

See [here](https://www.mql5.com/en/code/76451) for the full explanation with figures.

## No repainting

The tracked extreme is provisional and is **never drawn**. A swing reaches the
chart only on the candle that confirms it, and once drawn it is never moved,
recoloured or removed. Only closed bars are evaluated — the forming bar is ignored.

The trade-off, stated plainly: **confirmation lag**. The newest swing appears only
after the break that validates it. A marker that appeared the instant a new high
printed would have to move later, which is exactly what repainting means.

---

## Inputs

| Group | Input | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detection | Start by looking for | swing high | Affects only the oldest bars; after the first confirmation the direction follows the breaks. |
| Detection | Break confirmed by | Wick | `Wick` is the literal rule. `Close` requires a close through the reference — fewer, larger swings. |
| Display | Draw the swing markers | true | Buffers stay filled either way, so `iCustom` is unaffected. |
| Display | Arrow code high / low | 217 / 218 | Wingdings codes. |
| Display | Arrow distance | 10 | Pixels between the candle and the arrow. |
| Display | Draw the legs | true | The dotted zig-zag between consecutive swings. |
| Display | Leg colour / style / width | silver, dotted, 1 | |
| Alerts | Popup / Push | false | Fire once per swing, on live updates only. |

**Choosing a break mode:** start with `Wick`. On M1–M15, or on wick-heavy symbols
such as gold and index CFDs, switch to `Close` — it removes most swings caused by a
single spike without changing the logic anywhere else. There is no period or
sensitivity to tune; a higher timeframe is the other way to get larger structure.

## Using it from an EA

Two buffers, non-empty only on confirmed swings (empty value `0.0`):

| Buffer | Contents |
|---|---|
| `0` | price of a confirmed swing **high** |
| `1` | price of a confirmed swing **low** |

```mql5
int h = iCustom(_Symbol, _Period, "SMC_Pullback");
double buf[];
CopyBuffer(h, 0, 0, 100, buf);   // swing highs
```

The detection engine is a single self-contained class, `CPullbackDetector`, with no
buffer or chart dependencies — it takes the price arrays and reports confirmed
swings. Copy it straight into an EA if you would rather not go through `iCustom`.

## Scope

This indicator stops at the swing points. It does **not** label HH/HL/LH/LL and it
does not derive BOS, CHoCH, IDM, order blocks or liquidity levels. Those are
separate steps that all need a reliable set of swings first — which is what this
provides.

---

## Credits and use

The pullback definition of a swing comes from the **Trading Hub 3.0** methodology.
This is an independent MQL5 implementation of that rule; it shares no code with any
other project.

Copyright 2026, **Sandro Begashvili**

Published free on the MQL5 Code Base: https://www.mql5.com/en/code/76451