Indicator Guide · Market Structure · v3.3
How To Use QuantumFlow SMC/ICT.
QuantumFlow is an auto-mapper for Smart Money Concepts and ICT analysis. It marks the things an SMC trader would otherwise draw by hand — order blocks, breaker blocks, fair value gaps, liquidity pools, equal highs and lows, premium and discount, the OTE band, and structure breaks — and it updates them live as the market moves. On top of the map it adds higher-timeframe bias, session and killzone tooling, a context dashboard, and 19 optional ICT tools that stay off until you turn them on. It is an indicator, not a strategy. It does not place orders on its own, and it does not tell you what to trade.
In 60 Seconds
- The question. Where are the order blocks, gaps and liquidity on this chart?
- On your chart. Order blocks, fair value gaps and liquidity sweeps draw in real time. ICT mode adds killzones and session highs and lows. A dashboard shows higher-timeframe bias and the regime.
- The limit. It is an indicator, not a strategy. It maps structure but does not tell you what to trade.
- Who it's for. It suits SMC and ICT traders who want structure drawn for them.
- Plan and version. It comes with Lifetime Access (October only) and with existing Pro plans, not Core. The current public version is QuantumFlow v3.3.
Your First Day
- Load it. Open
Indicators → Invite-Only Scripts and add QuantumFlow.
- Set Mode and Profile. Use ICT mode on futures like NQ and ES. Use SMC mode on 24/7 markets like crypto. Match Profile to your chart: Scalp, Intraday or Swing. Leave the Flow Filter on; that is the default.
- Set the view, then the alerts. Chart Density (Full, Balanced or Focus) controls how much is drawn. Hiding a map layer only changes what you see. The Entry Setups toggles in the Strategy group decide which setups send alerts and webhook orders.
- Start with one alert. Create the
Omni-Alert first; it covers entries, exits and invalidations.
- Automate on paper first. Webhooks are off by default, so turn on Enable Webhook Alerts. Create one alert on QuantumFlow set to
Any alert() function call. Paste your service's webhook URL and leave the message box empty. Test on a paper or sim account before anything real.
Pairs With
- Timing. EdgeFlow reads momentum pressure to help time your entries.
- Regime. SignalWave confirms which trend regime the market is in.
- Sizing. DeepWave helps you size stops and targets to live conditions.
Mastery Path
- Day 1. Learn what each zone, gap and liquidity mark means. Read the dashboard's HTF Bias and Regime rows too.
- Week 1. Watch zone taps on your market for a week before acting. Traders commonly treat a tap as a cue to watch, not act.
- Month 1. Add one sibling tool, such as EdgeFlow for timing. Automate only after paper fills match what you expect.
Questions
Does QuantumFlow place trades on its own?
No. It is an indicator, not a strategy. With webhooks on, its alerts can route orders to your service.
Which automation services work with QuantumFlow?
PickMyTrade works with Tradovate accounts only. TradersPost and Custom Template are also supported. CrossTrade is not available, and Shifu is not built in yet.
Can I turn map layers off to clean up my chart?
Yes. Since v3.3, hiding a map layer only changes what you see; its alerts and webhook orders keep working. To stop a setup's alerts, untick it under Entry Setups in the Strategy settings. Chart Density thins the whole chart in one step.
What happened to Trade Playouts?
They were removed in v3.3. The theoretical trade drawings are gone: QuantumFlow is an analysis tool, and the chart now stays on structure. The old Focus Trades toggle became Chart Density. Alerts and webhook automation still work.
I updated to v3.3. Do I need to re-create my alerts?
Yes, if you use QuantumFlow alerts or the webhook. TradingView runs each alert on a frozen copy of the script, so an alert made before the update keeps running v3.2. Check Entry Setups and Stop Cushion first (a changed Stop Cushion was reset to its default), then delete the alert and create it again. Alert names are unchanged.
Can QuantumFlow alerts change after they fire?
No. Alerts and webhook messages settle on confirmed bars. The higher-timeframe bias reads closed bars only. The map itself still updates live as price moves.
Does a mapped zone mean price will react there?
No. Zones are locations to watch, not predictions. Traders commonly wait for their own confirmation before acting on a tap.
Reading the chart
Color language (cyan, blue, mint)One palette across the whole chart. Cyan means bullish, target, or profit. Blue means bearish, stop, or risk. Mint means neutral — entry lines, equilibrium, and the highest-conviction zones. There is no red or green anywhere by design, so read direction from cyan versus blue, not from habit.
Order Block boxesThe zone left behind by the last candle before a strong move. A bull block below price is a demand zone; a bear block above price is a supply zone. The box fades as it ages and as price travels away from it — a bright box is fresh and near, a faint box is old or distant.
Breaker Block boxesAn order block that failed. Price broke through it, so the level flipped roles: old supply now acts as demand, or the reverse. These are levels price has already proven, which is why they are watched on the retest.
Unicorn zones (mint highlight)The highest-conviction class on the map. It marks where a fair value gap's midpoint sits inside an order block or breaker — two independent reasons for price to react, stacked at one price. Mint coloring makes them stand out from ordinary zones at a glance.
Fair Value Gap boxes with a dotted midlineA three-candle imbalance — the footprint of an aggressive move that left a gap in fair value. The dotted line through the middle is the CE (consequent encroachment), the level inside the gap where price most commonly reacts. A stronger move prints a more visible box. Gaps close to price stretch to the right so you can track them; gaps far from price stay as short marks where they formed.
Liquidity levels (BSL / SSL)Where stop orders sit. BSL marks stops resting above swing highs; SSL marks stops resting below swing lows. Each level is used once and then retired, so a level still on the chart is one that has not been taken yet.
The "~" label at a liquidity levelThe grab marker. It prints only when price wicks through the level and closes back inside — stops were taken and price rejected. If price closes fully through the level instead, no tilde prints: that liquidity was consumed on the way somewhere else.
Equal Highs / Equal Lows (dotted lines, EQH / EQL labels)Two or more swing points at nearly the same price. They act as magnets because a double top or double bottom is where stops stack up. Price is often driven into them before it turns.
Premium / Discount bandsThe active dealing range — the leg between the most recent confirmed swing high and swing low — marked with three thin bands instead of shading the whole chart. The dark blue band at the top edge is premium (price is expensive for this leg). The light blue band at the bottom edge is discount (price is cheap for this leg). The range re-anchors as new swings confirm, so it always reflects the leg you are actually trading.
Equilibrium bandThe center of the dealing range, drawn as a mint band with a dashed line. Fair value for the current leg — no directional edge either way. Above it is premium, below it is discount, and it decides whether a zone is being tapped from the favorable side or the unfavorable one.
OTE boxThe Optimal Trade Entry band: the deep part of a pullback on the active leg, where the classic ICT playbook expects accumulation to finish before the move resumes. In bullish structure it sits deep in discount; in bearish structure, deep in premium. It only draws while structure has a clear direction, and it requires Premium/Discount to be switched on.
BOS and CHoCH labelsBOS (Break of Structure) means price broke a swing level in the direction of the trend — continuation confirmed. CHoCH (Change of Character) means price broke a swing level against the trend — the first structural warning that the leg may be turning.
Killzone background shading (ICT mode)Subtle background tint over the high-participation windows: London (2:00–5:00 AM ET), NY AM (9:30 AM–12:00 PM ET), NY PM (1:30–4:00 PM ET), and Asia (8:00 PM–12:00 AM ET). Shading tells you the clock context of every zone on the chart.
Silver Bullet windows (ICT mode)Three one-hour windows the ICT method singles out for gap formation and fill: 10:00–11:00 AM ET, 2:00–3:00 PM ET, and 3:00–4:00 AM ET. Shaded separately from the wider killzones.
Session High/Low lines (ICT mode)The running high and low of the Asia and London sessions, drawn as horizontal lines. These are the levels the next session tends to run: Asia's range is often swept at the London open, London's range at the NY open. Each session resets at its own open, so holiday schedules never blend two days together.
Regime bar coloring (off by default)Candles blend gradually from neutral into the trend color as trend strength builds, and fade back as it cools. Deeply saturated cyan or blue candles mean a strong, established trend. A faint tint means an early or fading one. Mint means ranging, with no clear trend.
Dashboard header (ARMED / STANDBY)ARMED means the clock is inside a peak session window (London or NY killzone). STANDBY means it is not. It is a context flag about the hour, not a signal.
Dashboard: HTF Bias rowThe higher-timeframe direction — BULL, BEAR, or a dash — read from closed higher-timeframe bars only, so it never repaints mid-bar. A check mark means the higher timeframe agrees with your chart's structure. A cross means the two disagree.
Dashboard: Regime rowTRENDING with an up or down arrow, or RANGING. This is the trend-versus-chop read for your chart timeframe.
Dashboard: Structure rowThe current swing-trend direction on your chart — BULL, BEAR, or a dash while structure is undecided. This is the value the HTF check or cross is compared against.
Dashboard: Draw on Liq rowThe liquidity QuantumFlow reads as price's next draw: ERL when it is an old high or low outside the range, IRL first when an open gap sits in the way. Shows only while the Draw on Liquidity layer is on.
Dashboard: Range Used rowHow much of a normal day's range price has already covered. Near or over 100% means the day has already made its usual move.
Dashboard: Flow Index rowA proprietary read on how stretched price is. The arrow points at the side being favored, not at the direction of the number: an up arrow appears when price is stretched low and longs are the favored side; a down arrow appears when price is stretched high and shorts are the favored side. No arrow means nothing is stretched.
Dashboard: Baseline Dev rowHow far price currently sits from its fair-value baseline. A positive reading means price is above it, negative means below. Large readings in either direction are commonly read as price being extended from balance.
Dashboard: Session rowWhich window is live right now — SILVER BULLET, LONDON, NY AM, NY PM, ASIA, or a dash for the dead hours between them.
Dashboard: Active Zones rowA live count of the order blocks and fair value gaps currently on the chart. A quick density check: a high count means a busy, layered chart; a low count means the map is thin and there is not much structure to work with.
Dashboard: Automation rowYour webhook routing status — the provider name when automation is on, or OFF. Check this before you assume alerts are being sent anywhere.
Quantum Forecast dotted path (off by default)An experimental projection extending to the right of the last bar. Cyan lines mark a high-confidence pattern match, mint lines a moderate one, and the lines fade the further out they run. It is a sketch of one possible path, not a signal.
What each signal means — and how to react
A fresh tap into an order block on the favorable side of the rangePrice has come back to a zone the map marked earlier, and it is doing so from the half of the dealing range that suits the direction — a demand zone tapped from discount, or a supply zone tapped from premium. This is the moment the setup becomes live. It is not the moment it is proven. How traders use it: Traders commonly treat the tap as the cue to start watching, not to act. The usual checks take seconds: let the bar close inside the zone rather than reacting to the wick, glance at the Dashboard for an HTF Bias check mark and a Regime that is not RANGING, and look for your own lower-timeframe confirmation before committing. If price instead closes clean through the far edge of the zone, the setup is finished — that is exactly what the Long Invalidated and Short Invalidated alerts mark. A zone that has already been consumed leaves the chart, so anything still drawn is still in play.
A Unicorn zone (mint highlight)Two independent reasons to react are stacked at the same price: a fair value gap's midpoint sitting inside an order block or breaker. In the SMC framework it is treated as the highest-conviction zone class on the chart. How traders use it: This is the zone class most traders reserve their best locations for. A common approach is to concentrate planned risk at Unicorn and Breaker zones and to pass on plain ones — the same daily risk budget, spent on fewer and better locations. How you size any of it stays your own decision, set from your own plan. The High-Conviction alert fires on these, so it is worth setting even if you set nothing else. Consider being more patient here too: waiting for confirmation costs less at a zone the framework rates this highly than it does at an ordinary one.
A breaker block retestA zone failed and price broke through it, so the level flipped sides — old supply now acting as demand, or the reverse. The level has been tested by price and proven, which is why the retest is watched. Whether you see one is affected by your OB Mitigation setting: Close mode keeps zones alive through stop-hunt wicks, Wick mode retires them faster. How traders use it: Traders commonly work breakers in the direction of the flip, and read a close back through the breaker as the sign that the flip did not hold and the idea is done. Because the level already has history, many traders treat a breaker retest as higher-conviction context than an untested zone — what you do with that in your own risk plan is your call. Watch for a breaker that also carries a gap midpoint: that is a Unicorn, and it is the strongest version of this setup.
A liquidity grab — the "~" label at a BSL or SSL levelPrice wicked through a stop pool and closed back inside. Stops were taken and the move was rejected. The tilde only prints for this case. If price closes fully through the level, no tilde prints — that liquidity was consumed on the way to somewhere else, and it is a continuation event, not a reversal one. How traders use it: The two cases call for opposite handling, and mixing them up is the most expensive mistake on this chart. On a tilde, traders commonly look for the reclaim to hold and for a fresh zone to form on the way back — the grab is the setup, the zone is the location. On a clean break with no tilde, the common read is continuation, not a reversal to work against. Equal highs and lows are where these events cluster, so a tilde at an EQH or EQL is the textbook version. Remember that each level is used once and then retired: a level already swept is no longer fresh liquidity.
BOS versus CHoCHBOS means price broke a swing level with the trend — continuation is confirmed and the map re-anchors in the same direction. CHoCH means price broke a swing level against the trend — the earliest structural warning that the leg may be turning. Both re-anchor the dealing range, so premium, discount, equilibrium, and OTE all shift when one prints. How traders use it: BOS is commonly used as the cue to look for zones on the resulting pullback rather than to chase the break itself — the zones formed on a BOS leg are the ones most traders wait for. CHoCH is usually read as a reason to stand down on the old direction, not as a reason to flip immediately: one break against trend can be a stop run. Many traders wait for a following BOS in the new direction before treating the turn as real. If you want to see only the structure that agrees with the bigger picture, Filter LTF by HTF hides the counter-trend labels.
The Dashboard disagrees with the chart — RANGING, a cross on HTF Bias, or a stretched Flow IndexRANGING means there is no clear trend on your timeframe. A cross means the higher timeframe is pointed against your chart's structure. A Flow Index arrow means price is stretched and the panel is flagging which side is favored — the arrow points at the favored side, not at the direction of the reading. Zones keep printing through all of this; the odds of clean follow-through are simply lower. How traders use it: This is a size-down or stand-aside context for many traders, and conflicted conditions are a common source of avoidable losses. A common rule is to require a check mark plus a TRENDING Regime before treating a zone tap as a full setup, and to treat taps in conflicted conditions as rotations inside a range — small, quick, and worked against a nearby level rather than held for a distant target. If chop is costing you, the two strongest levers are leaving the Flow Filter on and switching the Profile one step slower.
Settings & presets
Mode (SMC / ICT)SMC gives you the core structural map — zones, gaps, liquidity, premium/discount, OTE, structure breaks. ICT adds everything time-based on top: killzone shading, Silver Bullet windows, and Asia/London session highs and lows. Start with ICT on futures like NQ and ES, where the session clock genuinely matters. Use SMC for a cleaner chart, or on 24/7 markets like crypto where the session tools carry less meaning.
Profile (Scalp / Intraday / Swing)This is the sensitivity control for how structure and swing points are detected, and it is the single setting most worth getting right. Scalp is very responsive and suits 1m to 5m charts. Intraday is balanced and suits 5m to 1H. Swing is slower, filters more noise, and suits 1H and above. If the chart feels noisy and zones keep failing, step one profile slower before you change anything else.
Flow FilterShips on, and should usually stay on. It is a conviction gate: zones only form on moves with real intent behind them, so weak, exhausted, or low-conviction moves never make it onto your chart. Switching it off shows every pattern unfiltered — more zones, more signals, lower average quality. Turn it off only to study what the filter is removing, then turn it back on.
Killzone EntriesOff by default. When on, entry alerts are only allowed during the London, New York AM and New York PM windows, so setups that form in the quiet hours are skipped. Exits are never filtered.
Entry Setups (Order Block · Breaker · FVG · Sweep · Confluence)All on by default, and since v3.3 the only place that controls signals. Untick a setup to stop its entry alerts and webhook orders; its zones still show on the chart.
Structure Labels (All / BOS / CHoCH)Controls which structure marks appear. All is the default and the right choice while you are learning to read the map. Narrow it to CHoCH only when you specifically want early turn warnings without continuation noise, or to BOS only when you are trading pure trend continuation and want the counter-trend chatter gone.
OB Mitigation (Wick / Close)Decides when a zone is treated as consumed and removed. Wick is stricter — any wick through the far side retires the zone, so only untouched zones remain and the chart stays clean. Close is more forgiving — only a candle close through the far side retires it, so zones survive stop-hunt wicks and swept-then-reclaimed levels stay on the chart. Common practice: Wick for scalping, Close for swing trading.
Order Blocks, Breaker Blocks, Unicorn Model, Fair Value Gaps, Liquidity, Equal H/LThe core map layers, all on by default. Since v3.3 they only change what you see: hiding a layer never turns off its alerts or webhook orders (that is the Entry Setups row's job). Equal H/L is the lightest layer to hide if your chart feels busy, and Chart Density thins the whole chart in one step.
Premium / DiscountLeave this on. It is the reference frame the whole map is read against — whether a zone is tapped from the favorable half of the range or the unfavorable one is central to how the method reads a setup. It also has to be on for OTE to draw at all.
OTE ZoneMarks the deep-pullback band on the active leg. It only draws while structure has a clear direction, and it requires Premium/Discount to be enabled. Most useful as a location filter: a zone that also sits inside OTE is a better location than the same zone outside it.
Killzones / Silver Bullet / Session H/LICT mode only — they do not appear in SMC mode, which is the most common reason members think they are missing. Killzones tell you whether a setup formed while real participation was present or during the dead hours. Silver Bullet narrows that to the three windows the method singles out for gaps. Session H/L gives you the Asia and London ranges, which are the levels the next session tends to run.
Session times (always New York)There is no timezone setting since v3.3. Every session tool reads New York time, as ICT defines the windows, so killzones, Silver Bullet windows and session lines land in the same place for every member, wherever you live.
HTF Bias and HTF TimeframeThe bigger-picture filter, read from closed higher-timeframe bars only so it never repaints mid-bar. It must be higher than your chart; if it isn't, QuantumFlow steps up automatically and shows the timeframe it used on the dashboard. Common pairings: trading 5m, use 1H; trading 15m, use 1H or 4H; trading 1H, use 4H or Daily. The check and cross marks on the Dashboard tell you at a glance whether the two timeframes agree.
Filter LTF by HTFOff by default. When on, only structure breaks that agree with the higher-timeframe direction are shown. It cuts noise in trending markets, but it also hides the counter-trend breaks that are your earliest reversal warning. Useful once you have a directional bias and want to stop second-guessing it; a poor choice in a ranging market.
Regime BarsOff by default since v3.3, so your zones stand out against normal candles. Turn it on to see trend strength on the candles themselves, with smooth transitions rather than hard switches: deep color means an established trend, a faint tint means one that is early or fading.
Dashboard and PositionLeave the Dashboard on. It is the fastest sanity check on the chart, and the HTF Bias, Regime, and Session rows answer most of the questions you would otherwise ask before taking a setup. Move it to whichever corner your price action is not using. Since v3.3 it reads in the order you would check it, shows only the rows for tools you use, and adds Draw on Liq and Range Used.
Chart Density (Full · Balanced · Focus)The main control for a clean chart, and the replacement for Focus Trades in v3.3. Full draws every layer you turned on at full strength. Balanced, the default, fades background layers such as higher-timeframe zones, prior levels and session shading, so the live structure stands out. Focus shows only what matters now: structure, order blocks, gaps, liquidity and the current range. Signals never change: every zone is still tracked and every alert still fires.
Stop CushionAdds breathing room past the protective stop in the webhook bracket, sized to how much the market is moving right now, so a single wick that only clips the level does not end the trade. Higher gives more room and more risk per trade; lower gives a tighter stop that noise knocks out more easily; zero puts the stop exactly on its level. It changes only the webhook payload, so changing it changes the bracket a connected service receives. If you had changed it before v3.3, check it: the update reset it to the default.
Partial Target + Break-Even and TP1 Distance (R)On by default. Adds a first partial-target level (TP1) to the webhook payload, at a set multiple of the signal's risk, for services whose template reads a TP1 field. TP1 Distance sets where it sits, in R. Webhook payload only: nothing is drawn on the chart.
Quantum Forecast and Forecast RangeExperimental and off by default. It projects a dotted path to the right of the chart — cyan for a high-confidence pattern match, mint for a moderate one, fading as the projection runs further out. Forecast Range sets how far forward it draws; shorter projections carry more confidence than longer ones. Treat it as a guide, never as a signal, and never as the reason for a decision.
Bull / Bear / Neutral colorsThe house palette is cyan for bullish, blue for bearish, and mint for neutral, and every layer follows these three choices. Change them if you need to, but keep the three distinct — the whole chart's readability depends on being able to separate them instantly.
Enable Webhook AlertsOff by default. When on, QuantumFlow writes a complete, ready-to-send order message on every confirmed entry, exit, and invalidation. The one-time setup matters: create a single alert on QuantumFlow, set the Condition to "Any alert() function call", paste your service's webhook URL, and leave the message box completely empty — QuantumFlow fills it in for you. Only one order message is sent per bar, and a repeat signal in the same direction never sends a second order, so the automation cannot stack or pyramid a position.
Webhook ProviderOnly verified providers are offered: PickMyTrade, TradersPost, and Custom Template. PickMyTrade receives a market entry with the protective bracket attached as distances, and uses a bracket-safe close action that does not open a position when your account is already flat. TradersPost receives a market entry with take-profit and stop-loss attached as prices, and flattens on exit. Custom Template is for any other service — paste its exact message format and drop the placeholders where each value belongs, using single braces, not TradingView's double braces.
Broker Symbol, Order Quantity, Auth Token, Account IDThe routing details, and the most common source of automation failures. Broker Symbol must match the contract name your broker uses; leave it blank to use the chart symbol. Order Quantity is sent with every order — confirm it before you enable anything, and confirm which contract you are on, since a micro and its full-size sibling are not the same risk. Auth Token is your service login key; TradersPost signs you in through the URL, so leave it blank there. Account ID routes to a specific account and can be left blank if your service does not need it.
Send Exit / Stop SignalsOn by default, and the recommended setting — it mirrors the indicator exactly, sending a flatten the moment an exit or invalidation confirms. Every entry payload already carries its protective bracket, so if your service manages the full bracket on the broker side you can switch this off and run bracket-at-entry style instead. Pick one model and stay with it; mixing the two is how members end up with duplicate or orphaned orders.
New in v3.3: 19 optional ICT tools
Every one ships off. Turn on only the ones you use; each has its own tooltip in the settings, and none of them changes a signal.
SMT DivergenceCompares your chart with a related market you choose and marks where they disagree at a swing: a dashed line labeled SMT joins the two highs or the two lows.
Midnight OpenThe price at 12:00 AM New York time, drawn as a thick mint line: the reference the rest of the day is measured from.
New York Opens (8:30 · 9:30)The 8:30 AM news-time price and the 9:30 AM stock-market-open price, drawn as two thin mint lines.
CBDR + Asian RangeTwo quiet-hours ranges drawn as faint dotted boxes: the CBDR (2–8 PM New York) and the Asian Range (8 PM–12 AM New York).
Standard Deviation ProjectionsLevels projected out from the CBDR or the Asian Range in multiples of that range, labeled from +1.0 to +4.0 above and −1.0 to −4.0 below.
Average Daily RangeTwo lines around today's open, one normal day's range apart. The dashboard's Range Used row shows how much of it is spent.
Prior Month High / LowLast month's high and low, labeled PMH and PML: the slowest, heaviest reference levels on the chart.
IPDA Data RangesThe highest and lowest prices of the last 20, 40 and 60 trading days, as faint lines.
CISD (Change in State of Delivery)A short labeled line where price closed back through the start of its last push: the moment delivery flips direction.
Power of 3 (AMD)A box around the overnight range, with a label showing which side broke first after it.
Balanced Price Range (BPR)A mint box where a bullish gap and a bearish gap overlap.
Order Block Mean ThresholdA dotted line across the middle of each order block, in the block's color.
InducementA dashed line labeled IDM at the small swing sitting between price and the zone beyond it.
Turtle SoupA TS label on a candle that broke the prior day's high or low, then closed back inside.
Draw on Liquidity (IRL / ERL)A solid line labeled DOL at the liquidity QuantumFlow reads as price's next draw; the dashboard shows the same read in its Draw on Liq row.
Liquidity VoidsA box over a single candle that moved a long way with almost no pushback. Each one is removed once price trades back through it.
Rejection BlocksA dashed box over a long wick, where price was pushed away hard.
Quarterly Theory (90m)Light shading that splits the trading day into 90-minute quarters, so you can see where each one starts and ends.
ICT MacrosShading over the short ICT macro windows, in New York time.
Where it fits in your workflow
- Timeframes. The Profile setting is the timeframe control, so match them: Scalp for 1m to 5m, Intraday for 5m to 1H, Swing for 1H and above. Intraday on a 5m or 15m chart is the most common configuration among members and the easiest place to learn the map. The ICT session tools are anchored to a clock, so killzones, Silver Bullet windows, and session highs and lows carry the most meaning on intraday charts and progressively less as you move toward daily and above. Pair your chart with a larger HTF Timeframe for bias — 5m with 1H, 15m with 1H or 4H, 1H with 4H or Daily.
- Asset classes. Works on every market on TradingView. ICT mode is most meaningful where real sessions exist — index futures such as NQ and ES, forex, energies, and metals — because the killzone, Silver Bullet, and session high/low tooling is built around that clock. On 24/7 markets like crypto, use SMC mode: the structural map, zones, gaps, liquidity, and premium/discount all still apply, while the session shading has less to say. Equities and index products respect the New York killzones, so ICT mode suits them during regular hours. The structural half of QuantumFlow is market-agnostic; only the time-based half is not. Market guides: Futures · Stocks · Crypto · Forex · Commodities.
- Use QuantumFlow for location and the other tools for timing. QuantumFlow answers where — which zone, which half of the range, which session. It does not tell you how much momentum is behind a move. That is what an oscillator like EdgeFlow is for.
- Stack bias, not opinions. QuantumFlow's HTF Bias row and SignalWave's trend regime are two independent reads on the same question. When both agree with your chart structure, you are trading with the grain. When they disagree, the check-versus-cross mark on the Dashboard is flagging the disagreement.
- Let TrendScore answer whether a trend regime is confirmed at all. A Neutral reading means TrendScore has no confirmed trend regime — that is the whole of what it means, and it is not a reading about whether the market is calm or quiet. Treat it as one less piece of agreement behind a zone tap, not as a description of conditions.
- DeepWave for context on stop distance. DeepWave's Expected Range shows the move size price has stayed inside most of the time from here. A stop much tighter than that is more exposed to ordinary noise, which is the problem the Stop Cushion setting addresses.
- Invalidation is not your stop. QuantumFlow's Invalidated alerts say the idea itself is finished: the structure the setup depended on has broken. Where your protective order sits is a separate decision, set from your own risk plan.
- Switch views with Chart Density, not by hiding layers. Focus shows only the live structure, Full shows every layer you turned on, and switching never changes a signal.
- Start with one alert, not nine. The Omni-Alert covers entries, exits, and invalidations in a single condition. Add the specific ones only once you know which events you actually act on.
- Paper-test any automation before it touches a funded account. Webhooks ship off by default. Wire the provider up on a paper or sim account, confirm the symbol, quantity, and account routing produce the fills you expect, and only then point it at anything real.
- QuantumFlow is an indicator, not a strategy. If you want a system that manages its own entries, exits, and risk end to end, that is what the Paradox Algo strategy is for. QuantumFlow's job is to make the market's structure visible and hand you better locations to work from.
Alerts
- Omni-Alert — one alert covering every entry, exit, and invalidation. The recommended starting point.
- Long Entry — a qualified bullish setup confirmed at bar close.
- Short Entry — a qualified bearish setup confirmed at bar close.
- Exit Long (TP) — the take-profit condition for a held long.
- Exit Short (TP) — the take-profit condition for a held short.
- Long Invalidated — the structure supporting a long setup has broken.
- Short Invalidated — the structure supporting a short setup has broken.
- High-Conviction — a Unicorn or confluence zone has been identified.
- QFv3 Master — fires on any QuantumFlow signal, for members who want the full stream.
- Automation setup: for webhooks, create one alert with the Condition set to "Any alert() function call", paste the service URL, and leave the message box empty. Only one order message is sent per bar, and a repeat signal in the same direction never sends a second order, so a position is never stacked. Platform details: Automating an indicator.
- After updating to v3.3: TradingView runs each alert on a frozen copy of the script, so delete and re-create your QuantumFlow alerts to run the new version. Alert names are unchanged.
Common mistakes
- Expecting an entry alert every session. Entries are deliberately selective — the engine waits for a clean tap in the right half of the range, in the right conditions. Long stretches of chart with no entry alert are normal and intended, not a sign that something is broken.
- Hiding a layer to silence its alerts. Since v3.3 that no longer works: layers only change what you see. Untick the setup under Entry Setups instead.
- Fading a fresh fair value gap because it "should fill". The method reads gaps as retest locations in the direction of the move that created them, not as levels to trade against. The dotted midline is where reactions cluster — it is a location to work with the move, not against it.
- Treating every liquidity takeout as a reversal. Only the wick-through-and-reclaim case prints the tilde label. When price closes fully through a level, no tilde prints and that liquidity was consumed in continuation. Do not fade it. Confusing the two cases is the single most expensive misread on this chart.
- Misreading the Flow Index arrow. The arrow points at the side being favored, not at the direction of the number. An up arrow means price is stretched low and longs are the favored side. Read the arrow as the answer, not as the reading.
- Reading a TrendScore Neutral as a quiet market. Neutral means TrendScore reads no directional conviction: a range-bound tape, not necessarily a calm one. Treating it as quiet will mislead you about what a zone tap is worth. Use it as an absence of trend agreement, not as a read on how active the market is.
- Treating Quantum Forecast as a prediction. It is experimental, ships off, and projects one possible path with confidence fading as it extends. Nothing about it forecasts what price will do. Use it as a sketch, never as a reason.
- Turning the Flow Filter off to get more signals. More zones is not more edge. Without the filter, weak and exhausted moves generate zones too, and average quality drops. If you want more activity, change the Profile — do not remove the conviction gate.
- Looking for killzones or Silver Bullet windows in SMC mode. The time-based tools are ICT mode only. If your session shading has vanished, check Mode before anything else. Session windows always use New York time, so they sit where ICT defines them.
- Turning off Premium/Discount and wondering where OTE went. OTE requires Premium/Discount to be enabled. More importantly, without the range you have lost the reference frame that tells you whether a zone is being tapped from the favorable side.
- Enabling webhooks with the alert message box filled in. The message box must be left completely empty — QuantumFlow writes the payload itself. Filling it in overrides what the indicator sends and is the most common automation setup failure.
- Changing the Stop Cushion and forgetting it is live. That setting moves the stop in the webhook payload. If you are automating, changing it changes the bracket a connected service receives.
- Running it on Heikin-Ashi candles. Heikin-Ashi prices are averaged, not real trades, so zones and alerts come out different; QuantumFlow shows a notice on those charts. Use regular candles.
- Judging the tool on one zone. A single failed order block says nothing. The map is a location-selection framework, and it is meant to be evaluated over a scroll-back of many taps, not over the last one that did not work.
Terms used here
Hover or tap any term for a plain-English definition.
Smart Money Concepts (SMC)A trading framework built around where large orders are likely resting and where price has left obvious imbalances behind, rather than around traditional indicator readings. ICTA time-based extension of the same framework, adding session windows and clock-anchored tools to the structural map. Order BlockThe zone left by the last candle before a strong move — a demand zone below price, or a supply zone above it. Price often returns to it before continuing. Breaker BlockAn order block that failed and flipped roles. Once price breaks through it, old resistance can act as support, or the reverse. UnicornThe overlap of a fair value gap's midpoint with an order block or breaker — two independent reasons to react stacked at one price. The highest-conviction zone class on the chart. Fair Value Gap (FVG)A three-candle imbalance where a move was so aggressive that the surrounding candles' wicks do not overlap, leaving a gap in fair value. Consequent Encroachment (CE)The midpoint of a fair value gap, drawn as a dotted line. The level inside the gap where price most commonly reacts. MitigationWhen price trades back into a zone far enough to consume it. A mitigated zone is retired and leaves the chart. Buy-Side Liquidity (BSL)Stop orders resting above swing highs. Price is often driven up into them before turning down. Sell-Side Liquidity (SSL)Stop orders resting below swing lows. Price is often driven down into them before turning up. Liquidity grab / sweepPrice wicks through a stop pool and closes back inside. Marked with a tilde. Distinct from a clean break, where price closes fully through and no tilde prints. Equal Highs / Equal Lows (EQH / EQL)Two or more swing points at nearly the same price — a double top or double bottom of resting stops, and a magnet for price. Dealing rangeThe active leg between the most recent confirmed swing high and swing low. It re-anchors as new swings confirm, so it always frames the move currently being traded. PremiumThe upper half of the dealing range. Price is expensive relative to the leg, which is the side the framework treats as favoring sellers. DiscountThe lower half of the dealing range. Price is cheap relative to the leg, which is the side the framework treats as favoring buyers. EquilibriumThe center of the dealing range — fair value for the current leg, with no directional edge either way. OTE (Optimal Trade Entry)The deep portion of a pullback on the active leg, where the ICT playbook expects accumulation to finish before the move resumes. BOS (Break of Structure)Price breaks a swing level in the direction of the trend, confirming continuation. CHoCH (Change of Character)Price breaks a swing level against the trend — the first structural warning that a leg may be turning. KillzoneA high-participation session window — London, NY AM, NY PM, or Asia — shaded on the chart so you can see the clock context of every setup. Silver BulletThree specific one-hour windows the ICT method singles out as most likely to produce and fill gaps. HTF BiasThe directional read from a higher timeframe, taken from closed higher-timeframe bars only so it never changes mid-bar. RegimeThe trend-versus-chop read for your chart timeframe, shown on the Dashboard as TRENDING with a direction, or RANGING. Stop CushionBreathing room added past the protective stop in the webhook bracket, sized to how much the market is moving right now, so a single wick that only clips the level does not end the trade. InvalidationThe point at which the structure a setup depended on has broken, so the idea is finished. Marked by the Invalidated alerts. WebhookA message QuantumFlow writes and TradingView sends to a connected automation service, so the service can act on the alert without you doing it by hand. RepaintingWhen an indicator changes a signal after the fact. QuantumFlow's alerts and webhook payloads settle on confirmed bars, and the higher-timeframe bias reads closed bars only.
For analysis and education. Paradox Algo is trading software, not financial advice — it does not issue trade recommendations. Trading involves substantial risk of loss.