If you dive into systematic trading, sooner or later you’ll come across the term IBS – short for Internal Bar Strength.
This indicator is a simple yet very effective tool to help you better understand short‑term market behavior.
In this post, you’ll learn what the IBS is, how to interpret it, and how to implement it in TradingView using Pine Script.
What Is the IBS (Internal Bar Strength)?
The IBS measures where the closing price of a bar (or candle) is relative to its high and low.
It gives you a value between 0 and 100:
- 0 = the close is at the very low of the bar
- 100 = the close is at the very high
- 50 = the close is exactly in the middle of the range
A low IBS value often signals oversold conditions, while a high value can point to overbought situations.
Many traders use IBS as a filter in their intraday or swing setups.
Why Is IBS So Useful?
Unlike classic oscillators like RSI or Stochastic, IBS looks directly at the relationship between close, high, and low.
That makes it very good for spotting short‑term extremes in price:
✅ Simple calculation – only needs high, low, and close
✅ Fast signals – ideal for day trading or scalping
✅ Flexible – can be combined with moving averages or volume filters
How Traders Use IBS
A common approach is very straightforward:
- Go long when IBS is very low (e.g., below 20)
- Exit or reverse when IBS is very high (e.g., above 80)
You can improve this by adding trend filters or confirmation indicators.
Pine Script Example for IBS in TradingView
Here’s a ready‑to‑use Pine Script (v5) that implements a basic IBS strategy.
You can paste this code into a new TradingView strategy and start experimenting:
//@version=5
strategy("Internal Bar Strength", overlay=true, margin_long=100, margin_short=100)ibs_low = input(20.0, title = "IBS Low (0-100)")ibs_high = input(80.0, title = "IBS High (0-100)")ibs = 100 * ((close - low) / (high - low))buy_cond = ibs < ibs_lowexit_buy_cond = ibs > ibs_high
if buy_cond strategy.entry("B", strategy.long)if exit_buy_cond strategy.close("B")
How this script works:
- IBS is calculated by placing the close within the day’s range.
- When the IBS falls below the defined ibs_low level, it triggers a long entry.
- When IBS climbs above the ibs_high level, it closes the position.
Practical Tips
✔️ Test different timeframes: IBS is not just for daily candles. Try it on 15‑minute or hourly charts.
✔️ Add a trend filter: For example, only take long signals when price is above a moving average.
✔️ Backtest thoroughly: TradingView lets you run this script on historical data to see how it performs.
Final Thoughts
The Internal Bar Strength (IBS) is an underrated but powerful indicator for traders looking to spot short‑term turning points.
With just a few lines of Pine Script, you can implement it in TradingView and adapt it to your own trading style.
If you’re looking to improve your entries and make your strategies more precise, give IBS a try and see how it fits your system.
📌 Try it out and share your results in the comments!
👉 Discover more Pine Script ideas and trading strategies right here on nostro‑trading.com.
✅ Questions or feedback? Let me know!
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