CMF on TradingView — Pine Script v5 Source

Pine has ta.cmf built in, and the from-scratch version is short enough to be worth showing — it makes the money flow multiplier explicit. 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 CMF", shorttitle="AG CMF", overlay=false)

length = input.int(20, "Length", minval=1)
cmfVal = ta.cmf(length)

col = cmfVal >= 0 ? #0ca30c : #d03b3b
plot(cmfVal, "CMF", color=col, style=plot.style_columns)
hline(0, "Zero", color=color.gray)
hline(0.05, "Accum", color=color.new(color.gray, 60))
hline(-0.05, "Distrib", color=color.new(color.gray, 60))

ta.cmf(length) computes the standard Chaikin Money Flow; colouring the histogram by sign (green above zero, red below) makes accumulation vs distribution obvious — matching the output chart. The ±0.05 lines mark the usual “meaningful pressure” thresholds.

From scratch

//@version=5
indicator("AlgoGen CMF (manual)", overlay=false)
length = input.int(20, "Length")
mfm = (high == low) ? 0.0 : ((close - low) - (high - close)) / (high - low)
mfv = mfm * volume
cmfManual = math.sum(mfv, length) / math.sum(volume, length)
plot(cmfManual, color=#2a78d6, linewidth=2)

math.sum(x, length) is the rolling window sum; the high == low guard handles flat bars. This reproduces ta.cmf exactly.

Using CMF as a confirmation filter

CMF shines as a filter on price signals rather than a trigger on its own. Tint the background by the money-flow regime so you only take longs while buyers dominate:

accum   = cmfVal > 0.05
distrib = cmfVal < -0.05
bgcolor(accum ? color.new(#0ca30c, 92) : distrib ? color.new(#d03b3b, 92) : na)
alertcondition(ta.crossover(cmfVal, 0),  "CMF turned positive", "Money flow turned to accumulation")
alertcondition(ta.crossunder(cmfVal, 0), "CMF turned negative", "Money flow turned to distribution")

Now the pane greens up during accumulation and reds during distribution — a clean visual gate for “only go long when money flow agrees.”

Gotchas

• Flat-bar guard. high == low would divide by zero; return 0 for those bars.
• math.sum, not ta.sma. CMF divides the sum of money flow volume by the sum of volume — use math.sum, and divide after summing.
• Volume required. No reliable volume, no reliable CMF; on symbols without real volume the reading is meaningless.

Same indicator elsewhere: Python, MQL5, EasyLanguage, NinjaScript. Then test a CMF filter 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.