Give price bars different colours with TradingView's Pine Script

Give price bars different colours with TradingView’s Pine Script

TL;DR
Combine barcolor() with conditional logic so each bar reflects trend, volatility, or any signal you define.

At a Glance


Difficulty	Beginner
Time to implement	10-15 min
Category	Visual Effects

Quick Actions

Quick Start

//@version=5
indicator("Coloured bars", overlay=true)

color up   = color.new(color.green, 0)
color down = color.new(color.red, 0)

barcolor(close > close[1] ? up : down)

Tip. Return `na` from your colour logic whenever you want to keep TradingView’s default bar colour.

Why It Matters

Colour-coding bars makes it easier to spot regimes: trend versus chop, high volatility versus calm, or bullish versus bearish signals. Pine Script lets you assign colours per bar, so you can provide immediate visual feedback without cluttering the chart with extra indicators.

What You’ll Learn

Building colour palettes and reusing them
Cascaded if, conditional operator, and switch patterns for bar colours
Combining multiple conditions without conflicting outputs
Applying bar colours alongside other stylings (backgrounds, plots)

Quick Reference

Call	Purpose
`barcolor(color)`	Sets the colour for the current bar.
`color.new(color, transparency)`	Customises palette and transparency.
`if … else` / `switch`	Choose a colour based on multiple conditions.
`?:` (conditional operator)	Compact selection for simple cases.
`na`	Leave a bar uncoloured (fallback to default).

Implementation Blueprint

Define your colour palette
Reuse named colours instead of hard-coding each branch.

bullish = color.new(color.green, 0)
bearish = color.new(color.red, 0)
neutral = color.new(color.gray, 50)

Pick the control structure
Cascaded if, conditional operator, or switch ensure only one colour applies per bar.
```
color barColour =
    close > ema ? bullish :
    close < ema ? bearish :
    neutral
```
Apply the colour and avoid conflicts
Call barcolor() once with the final colour decision.
```
barcolor(barColour)
```

Example Playbook

//@version=5
indicator("Multi-state bar colours", overlay=true)

emaFast = ta.ema(close, 21)
emaSlow = ta.ema(close, 55)
atrVal  = ta.atr(14)

color bullishTrend = color.new(color.green, 0)
color bearishTrend = color.new(color.red, 0)
color squeeze      = color.new(color.orange, 0)
color neutral      = na

color barColour = neutral

if emaFast > emaSlow and close > emaFast + atrVal
    barColour := bullishTrend
else if emaFast < emaSlow and close < emaFast - atrVal
    barColour := bearishTrend
else if ta.tr(true) < atrVal * 0.5
    barColour := squeeze

barcolor(barColour)

plot(emaFast, "EMA 21", color=color.new(color.green, 50))
plot(emaSlow, "EMA 55", color=color.new(color.red, 50))

Why this works.

Cascaded `if` ensures only one colour wins per bar.
Squeeze detection defaults to orange only when neither bullish nor bearish conditions apply.
Using named colours keeps the palette consistent and easy to adjust.

Pro Tips & Pitfalls

Avoid calling barcolor() multiple times—later calls override earlier ones.
Keep transparency high when colouring bars on darker chart themes.
Combine bar colours with background or label cues for multi-layer storytelling.
Reset to na when you want bars to revert to default styling.

Troubleshooting & FAQ

My colours flicker or look inconsistent—why?

It usually means multiple colour conditions are firing on the same bar. Consolidate your logic into a single decision tree before calling barcolor().

Can I colour only body or only wick?

No—barcolor() changes the entire candle. Use plotcandle() for per-part customisation if you need separate wick/body colours.

Key Takeaways

All bar-colour logic should resolve to exactly one colour (or na) per bar.
Reusable colour definitions make scripts cleaner and easier to tweak.
Think in terms of regimes: trend, volatility, or custom flag states—and map each to a colour.
Use barcolor() alongside other visual tools for a cohesive indicator experience.

Keep Going

Open AI Editor to apply the pattern with guided assistance
Browse PineScript Examples for ready-to-run templates
Connect to Live Trading when you are ready to automate

Adapted from tradingcode.net, optimised for Algo Trade Analytics users.