A/D Line on TradingView — Pine Script v5 Source

Pine has ta.accdist as a built-in variable, so the A/D Line is a one-liner — and the Chaikin Oscillator is two more. See the explainer for the concept.

What you’ll need

• A TradingView account (free tier is fine)
• The Pine Editor

The source

//@version=5
indicator("AlgoGen A/D Line", shorttitle="AG AD", overlay=false)

plot(ta.accdist, "A/D Line", color=#1baf7a, linewidth=2)

ta.accdist is the built-in cumulative Accumulation/Distribution Line — the running total from the output chart.

From scratch

//@version=5
indicator("AlgoGen A/D (manual)", overlay=false)
mfm = (high == low) ? 0.0 : ((close - low) - (high - close)) / (high - low)
var float ad = 0.0
ad := ad + mfm * volume
plot(ad, color=#1baf7a, linewidth=2)

The high == low guard handles flat bars; var makes ad persist so the sum accumulates. This reproduces ta.accdist.

The Chaikin Oscillator

chaikinOsc = ta.ema(ta.accdist, 3) - ta.ema(ta.accdist, 10)
plot(chaikinOsc, "Chaikin Osc", color=#2a78d6, linewidth=2)
hline(0, "Zero", color=color.gray)

A MACD of the A/D Line — a zero-centered momentum read on money flow, and Chaikin’s own companion indicator.

Highlighting divergence

The A/D Line’s best use is spotting divergence from price — worth automating:

len = input.int(20, "Divergence lookback")
priceUp = close > close[len]
adDown  = ta.accdist < ta.accdist[len]
bgcolor(priceUp and adDown ? color.new(color.red, 85) : na, title="Bearish divergence")
alertcondition(priceUp and adDown, "A/D bearish divergence", "Price up but A/D down")

When price makes ground over the window but the A/D Line doesn’t follow, the background tints and an alert can fire — the distribution warning from the explainer, made visible and testable.

Gotchas

• var for the manual sum. Without it the running total resets every bar. Not needed for ta.accdist (built in), essential for the manual version.
• Read slope, not level. The A/D Line is a cumulative total on an arbitrary scale; watch direction and divergence.
• Volume required. No real volume, no meaningful A/D Line.

Same indicator elsewhere: Python, MQL5, EasyLanguage, NinjaScript. Then test an A/D rule in AlgoGen.

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This post is educational, not financial advice. Indicators describe the past; they don’t predict the future. Backtest anything before you risk real money on it.