Keltner Channels on TradingView — Pine Script v5 Source

Pine has ta.kc for Keltner Channels, and combining it with ta.bb gives you the famous squeeze in a few lines. 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 Keltner", shorttitle="AG KC", overlay=true)

emaLen = input.int(20, "EMA length")
mult   = input.float(2.0, "ATR mult")
atrLen = input.int(10, "ATR length")

mid = ta.ema(close, emaLen)
rng = ta.atr(atrLen)
upper = mid + mult * rng
lower = mid - mult * rng

pU = plot(upper, "Upper", color=#4a3aa7)
pL = plot(lower, "Lower", color=#4a3aa7)
plot(mid, "Middle", color=#eb6834, linewidth=2)
fill(pU, pL, color=color.new(#2a78d6, 92))

ta.ema for the centerline and ta.atr for the width — the modern Keltner from the output chart. (Pine also has a built-in ta.kc(close, length, mult) if you prefer the one-call version.)

The squeeze highlighter

// Bollinger inside Keltner = squeeze.
basis = ta.sma(close, 20)
dev = 2 * ta.stdev(close, 20)
bbU = basis + dev
bbL = basis - dev
squeeze = bbU < upper and bbL > lower
bgcolor(squeeze ? color.new(color.gray, 80) : na, title="Squeeze")

When the Bollinger Bands contract inside the Keltner Channels, the background lights up — the low-volatility coil that often precedes a breakout.

Breakout signals and alerts

Turn the channel into tradeable events — a close escaping the band, with an exit back at the centerline:

longBreak  = ta.crossover(close, upper)
shortBreak = ta.crossunder(close, lower)
plotshape(longBreak,  "Break up",   shape.triangleup,   location.belowbar, color=#0ca30c, size=size.tiny)
plotshape(shortBreak, "Break down", shape.triangledown, location.abovebar, color=#d03b3b, size=size.tiny)
alertcondition(longBreak,  "KC break up",   "Close broke above the upper Keltner band")
alertcondition(shortBreak, "KC break down", "Close broke below the lower Keltner band")

Combine these with the squeeze background above and you have a complete “coil, then break” visual: the pane greys out during compression, then a triangle marks the escape.

Gotchas

• ta.ema centerline. The modern Keltner uses an EMA; ta.sma would give the older style.
• ta.stdev for Bollinger, ta.atr for Keltner. Two different volatility measures — that difference is exactly what makes the squeeze informative.
• Separate ATR/EMA lengths. They’re commonly different (20/10); expose both.

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