Swing High / Swing Low — what it is and how to use it in trading
Definition
A swing high is a confirmed local price peak surrounded by lower bars on both sides; a swing low is the mirror-image local trough. These are the basic building blocks of market structure that BOS, CHoCH, and most other SMC operands are built on.
How it works in the builder
swing_high/swing_low are confirmed by left/right parameters — how many bars on each side must be lower/higher than the candidate. Confirmation therefore always lags by right bars: a swing can't be known before the bars to its right exist. last_swing_high/last_swing_low return the price of the last confirmed swing — a convenient level to compare a break or retest against.
What it looks like on the chart
On the chart swings are usually marked with a dot or flag right at the peak/trough — visually a zigzag line connecting the successive reversals.
Typical use
Swings on their own are rarely used as an entry condition — they're building material for BOS/CHoCH/liquidity sweep and a comparison level, for example close > last_swing_high — a plain structure-break analog without the extra confirmation delay.
Common pitfalls
The smaller left/right are, the more noise-sensitive a swing becomes — on a 5-minute chart with left=1, right=1 almost every other candle can qualify as a "swing"; larger values delay confirmation and leave far fewer swings. The parameter choice is a trade-off between sensitivity and reliability, not a universal constant.
This block is available in the strategy builder
137 no-code blocks — build an entry condition with this term and test it on history
Historical results do not guarantee future ones. The service is an informational and analytical tool, not an individual investment recommendation; trades are not executed.
Swing High
Block variants
Swing Low
Last Swing High
Last Swing Low