plotarrow() - Pine Script Function

plotarrow()

Overview

plotarrow() converts a numeric series into vertical arrows: positive values draw upward arrows, negative values draw downward arrows, and na values produce no arrow. The absolute magnitude controls arrow height, so tall arrows immediately highlight stronger readings.

Declare your script with overlay=true when you want the arrows to appear on the main price pane.

Syntax

plotarrow(series, title, colorup, colordown, offset, minheight, maxheight, editable, show_last, display, format, precision, force_overlay) → void

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
series	series int/float	Values to convert into arrows. Positive numbers plot above the bar, negative numbers below.
title	const string (optional)	Name displayed in the legend and style dialog.
colorup	series color (optional)	Color for upward arrows. Defaults to chart theme green.
colordown	series color (optional)	Color for downward arrows. Defaults to chart theme red.
offset	simple int (optional)	Shift arrows forward/backward by N bars.
minheight	input int (optional)	Minimum arrow size in pixels (default 5).
maxheight	input int (optional)	Maximum arrow size in pixels (default 100).
display	input plot_display (optional)	Choose where to show arrow data (pane, status line, etc.).

Other arguments (editable, show_last, format, precision, force_overlay) mirror those in plot().

Remarks

• Arrows use the close price for their anchor by default. Apply an offset if you need them to point to earlier bars (e.g., offset=-1).
• Scale the series yourself when you want consistent arrow heights regardless of magnitude, e.g., use series = longSignal ? 1 : shortSignal ? -1 : 0.
• To hide arrows during certain bars, return na from the series expression.

Example

//@version=5
indicator("plotarrow() signals", overlay=true)

fast = ta.ema(close, 21)
slow = ta.ema(close, 55)

longSignal  = ta.crossover(fast, slow)
shortSignal = ta.crossunder(fast, slow)

arrowSeries = longSignal ? 1 : shortSignal ? -1 : 0

plotarrow(arrowSeries,
    title="EMA cross signals",
    colorup=color.new(color.green, 0),
    colordown=color.new(color.red, 0),
    minheight=10,
    maxheight=50)

See Also

• plot()
• plotshape()
• plotchar()
• barcolor()
• bgcolor()