Understanding TradingView Indicator Limits on

First, let me say that none of what’s written below is a knock on TradingView.  I was thrilled when I discovered the widget back in the day — it was one less thing I had to worry about coding myself.  I could just plug in their widget and move on to writing SwingTradeBot’s core functionality.  So I’ve been  happily using their chart widget since day 1 of launching SwingTradeBot back in 2013.  It’s been a great tool & I recognize that they have a business to run and need to make money!  That’s likely why over the years they’ve modified what the free widget offers…

Recently someone reached out with a question about adding indicators to the interactive charts (The TradingView Chart Widget). They had subscribed to the Platinum Plan but were still encountering restrictions when trying to add indicators. Here’s a breakdown of the issue and how to work around it.

The interactive charts on SwingTradeBot are powered by TradingView (TV) & their platform dictates the functionality available. Over the years, TradingView has made changes to what users can do with their embedded chart widgets.

When the widget was first integrated into SwingTradeBot, TV allowed up to four free indicators. However, they have since reduced that limit to two indicators.  I’ve coded the site to add a couple of indicators by default.  If you’ve configured your default chart indicators those will be plotted on the charts.  If you then try add another indicator directly on a chart you’ll likely see this:

Workarounds & Suggestions
If you’re experiencing issues adding indicators, here’s what you can try:

1. Use the Default Chart Indicators Configuration:

Why Does This Happen?

Since TradingView controls the functionality of their embedded charts, SwingTradeBot has no direct ability to override their restrictions. These limitations apply across all platforms using TradingView’s free widgets, not just SwingTradeBot.

Final Thoughts

I understand that these restrictions can be frustrating, but I’m always looking for ways to provide the best experience within the constraints set by third-party providers. If you encounter further issues, feel free to reach out and let me know what indicators you’re trying to add!

Final Final Thoughts 😁

While looking into this I noticed that TV seems to have stopped supporting some of the (free) indicators they offered back when I first programmed the defaults system.  One of these days I’m going to go through and update the choices on that page to match what TV currently supports.