ZigZag — what it is and how to use it in trading
Definition
ZigZag is an overlay connecting confirmed local price reversals (swings) with straight segments, filtering out moves smaller than a given threshold to reveal the market's larger structural swings.
How it works in the builder
The zigzag operand takes a confirm_bars parameter (default 3) — essentially the same confirmation principle as swing_high/swing_low: a reversal only counts once confirm_bars bars have appeared confirming that a peak or trough really is a local extreme. The operand's value is the level of the last confirmed such reversal.
What it looks like on the chart
Drawn as a bold polyline connecting confirmed swing highs and lows, with a small dot at each turn — a literal market structure, not a smoothed trend line.
Typical use
It serves as the base for the Fibonacci levels (fib_236…fib_786 measure the last ZigZag move) and simplifies reading structure visually for conditions like "break of the previous swing segment".
Common pitfalls
confirm_bars sets the same sensitivity-versus-reliability trade-off as swing_high/swing_low's left/right: a smaller value "redraws" the most recent, not-yet-confirmed segment more often, a larger one delays confirmation. The very last, freshest segment of the line can in principle still change until confirmed by new bars.
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.