What settings do TradingView indicators and strategies share?

TL;DR
indicator() and strategy() both accept title, shorttitle, overlay, precision, and max_labels_count (among others). Strategies add trading-specific fields like pyramiding and commission.

At a Glance

Setting	Indicator	Strategy	Purpose
`title`, `shorttitle`	✅	✅	Names shown on charts and in dialogs.
`overlay`	✅	✅	Draw on price chart or separate pane.
`precision` / `format`	✅	✅	Control numerical formatting.
`max_labels_count`, `max_lines_count`	✅	✅	Guard against excessive drawings.
`pyramiding`	❌	✅	Allow multiple entries per direction.
`calc_on_every_tick`, `calc_on_order_fills`	❌	✅	Advanced strategy evaluation modes.
`commission_`, `initial_capital`, `default_qty_`	❌	✅	Backtest configuration and order sizing.
`timeframe`, `timeframe_gaps`	✅	❌	Indicators can request alternative timeframes directly.

Quick Actions

Open any script and locate the declaration line (indicator(... or strategy(...).
List the shared options you rely on—consider converting when you need strategy-only features.
Use code snippets below to switch between indicator and strategy versions.

Shared Options Cheat Sheet

//@version=5
indicator(title="My Indicator", shorttitle="MI", overlay=false, precision=2, max_labels_count=50)

//@version=5
strategy(title="My Strategy", shorttitle="MS", overlay=true, precision=2, max_labels_count=50)

These options behave identically in both declarations, making it easy to port an indicator into a strategy shell (or vice versa) when you need to.

Indicator-Only Settings

timeframe – evaluate indicator logic on another resolution.
timeframe_gaps – control how gaps are filled when using a custom timeframe.

If you require these settings in a trading system, consider building a hybrid: indicator for visualisation + alerts feeding a strategy elsewhere.

Strategy-Only Settings

Category	Key options
Order sizing	`default_qty_type`, `default_qty_value`, `currency`, `initial_capital`
Order behaviour	`pyramiding`, `calc_on_order_fills`, `calc_on_every_tick`, `process_orders_on_close`, `backtest_fill_limits_assumption`
Costs & risk	`commission_type`, `commission_value`, `slippage`, `close_entries_rule`

When you convert an indicator to a strategy, make sure to populate these or TradingView defaults will apply (e.g., 1 contract share, zero commission).

Upgrading an Indicator to a Strategy

indicator("Baseline MA", overlay=true)
ma = ta.sma(close, 34)
plot(ma)

→ becomes

strategy("Baseline MA", overlay=true, pyramiding=1, initial_capital=10_000, default_qty_type=strategy.percent_of_equity, default_qty_value=10)
ma = ta.sma(close, 34)
plot(ma)

Add order commands and risk controls once the declaration is converted.

Key Takeaways

Shared settings (title, overlay, precision, drawing limits) behave the same for both script types.
Indicator-only settings revolve around multi-timeframe calculations; strategy-only settings configure trading, sizing, and costs.
Converting between script types is mostly about swapping the declaration and supplying the extra strategy fields.

Keep Going

Open AI Editor to refactor scripts between indicator/strategy form
Review strategy-only options for deeper backtesting control
Consult indicator guides when building pure visual tools

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