How to Use Setup Scanner
A full walkthrough of the dashboard, indicators, settings, and how to get the most out of your scans.
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Tutorial video — coming soon
⚡ How It Works
STEP 01
Build Your Watchlist
Add the tickers you follow in Settings. Free accounts can scan up to 20 tickers at once; Pro scans your full list.
STEP 02
Run a Scan
Hit the Scan button or let auto-scan run on a schedule. The engine checks each ticker against your active indicators across every selected timeframe. Free accounts are limited to 5 manual scans per day.
STEP 03
Act on Signals
Review flagged setups. Each card shows the signal, strength, entry/stop/target levels, and a direct link to TradingView to confirm the chart.
Important: Setup Scanner surfaces technically interesting setups — it does not make buy or sell decisions for you. Always verify on a chart and apply your own risk management before entering a trade.
📊 The Dashboard
After a scan, results are organized into three sections: Bullish, Bearish, and Watch. The summary cards at the top show a breakdown of how many setups were found in each category.
Setup Cards
Each card represents one signal found on one ticker. Here's what each part means:
Ticker + Signal Name
The stock and which indicator fired (e.g. "AAPL — EMA Stack Alignment"). Click the TradingView link in the corner to open the chart at the correct timeframe.
Timeframe Badge
Which timeframe the signal fired on — 5m, 15m, 1h, 4h, or 1d. A daily signal is generally more significant than a 5-minute one.
Strength Bars
1–5 bars showing how strong the signal is. 5 bars = highest conviction. Strength is set per-indicator based on its tier rating and how cleanly the condition triggered.
ATR Levels (Stop / TP1 / TP2)
Calculated stop loss and two take-profit targets based on Average True Range, scaled to the timeframe. These are reference levels — not guaranteed exits.
Risk/Reward
The ratio of potential reward (to TP1) vs risk (to stop loss). A 1.5:1 R/R means for every $1 risked, you're targeting $1.50. Higher is generally better.
Trade Type
A quick label for how to think about the setup: breakout, reversal, trend, momentum, or watch. This comes directly from the indicator that fired.
Strength Levels
5 — Highest
Strongest possible signal — textbook setup, all conditions cleanly met
4 — Very Strong
High conviction, worth close attention
3 — Strong
Solid signal, verify on chart before acting
2 — Moderate
Weaker setup, use alongside other confirmation
1 — Weak
Early signal or borderline condition — treat as a heads-up only
Watch / Neutral Section
The Watch section shows tickers that aren't clearly bullish or bearish yet, but have a technical condition suggesting a big move is coming. Currently this is populated by Bollinger Squeeze setups — when the Bollinger Bands compress tightly, it signals that volatility is coiling. The breakout direction is unknown, so it's listed as Watch rather than Bullish/Bearish. Keep these on your radar and watch for a directional break.
The Width value shown (e.g. Width=0.018) is how compressed the bands are as a fraction of price. Lower = tighter squeeze = higher likelihood of an imminent breakout.
📡 Indicators
Setup Scanner runs up to 15 indicators. Each has a tier rating (2–5) reflecting its reliability based on historical performance and broad trader consensus. Higher tier = stronger signal when it fires. You can toggle any indicator on or off in Settings.
Golden / Death Cross
trend
The 50-period EMA crosses above (Golden) or below (Death) the 200-period EMA. One of the most widely watched signals in technical analysis — marks a major shift in trend direction. Rare but high-conviction when it fires.
EMA Stack Alignment
trend
The 9, 21, and 50 EMAs are stacked in order (9 > 21 > 50 for bullish, reversed for bearish). When all three align, the trend is strong and consistent across multiple timeframes. Great for trend-following entries.
Support / Resistance Break
breakout
Price breaks above a key resistance level or below a key support level. The scanner identifies these levels from recent price highs/lows and flags the breakout candle.
EMA 200 Bounce / Rejection
reversal
Price comes within one ATR of the 200 EMA and bounces back (bullish) or rejects and reverses (bearish). The 200 EMA is the most-watched dynamic support/resistance level by institutions.
RSI Divergence
reversal
Price makes a new high/low but RSI doesn't confirm it. Bullish divergence: price at lows but RSI rising. Bearish divergence: price at highs but RSI weakening. Often precedes a reversal.
Bollinger Band Breakout
volatility
Price closes outside the upper or lower Bollinger Band with above-average volume — signals a high-momentum move. Also generates a Watch signal when bands compress (squeeze).
Volume Climax
volume
An extreme volume spike (well above average) that often marks the end of a move or the start of a new one. Can signal institutional accumulation or distribution — watch price action closely after.
RSI Oversold / Overbought
reversal
RSI below 30 (oversold, potentially bullish) or above 70 (overbought, potentially bearish). Best used as a confirmation tool rather than a standalone signal.
Hammer / Shooting Star
reversal
Classic candlestick reversal patterns. Hammer (long lower wick) at a low = potential bullish reversal. Shooting Star (long upper wick) at a high = potential bearish reversal. Requires volume confirmation to fire.
EMA 9/21 Crossover
momentum
The 9 EMA crosses the 21 EMA. A shorter-term signal than the Golden Cross — useful for timing entries within an existing trend but produces more false signals on noisy timeframes.
MACD Cross
momentum
The MACD line crosses above or below the signal line. A classic momentum indicator — most reliable when the cross happens near the zero line and is confirmed by price action.
Stochastic Cross
reversal
The Stochastic %K crosses %D in oversold (<20) or overbought (>80) territory. More reliable as a reversal signal when combined with a key support/resistance level.
ADX Trend Strength
trend
ADX above a threshold signals a strong trending market regardless of direction. Useful for filtering out choppy, range-bound conditions where trend signals are less reliable.
VWAP Reclaim / Loss
intraday
Price reclaims (bullish) or loses (bearish) the Volume Weighted Average Price. Most useful on intraday timeframes (5m, 15m, 1h) — VWAP resets daily so it's less meaningful on daily charts.
OBV Trend Confirmation
volume
On-Balance Volume trending in the same direction as price confirms the move has volume support. OBV diverging from price can warn of a weakening trend before price shows it.
⏱ Timeframes
Each timeframe changes what kind of trader the signals are useful for. You can select multiple timeframes in Settings and the scanner will run each indicator across all of them.
5m
Scalp
Very short-term, high noise. Best for active scalpers with tight risk tolerance.
15m
Intraday
Short-term day trade setups. Good balance of speed and signal quality.
1h
Day Trade
Intraday setups with more context. Good for holding a few hours.
4h
Swing
Multi-day swing trades. Fewer signals but much higher reliability.
1d
Position
Daily candle signals. Best signal quality — ideal for swing and position traders.
Tip: Start with 1d only and a minimum strength of 3. This gives you the most reliable setups with the least noise. Add shorter timeframes once you're comfortable reading the results.
⚙️ Settings Guide
Watchlist
Add any NYSE or NASDAQ ticker to your watchlist. Free accounts are limited to 20 tickers per scan; Pro accounts can add as many as you want. Use the chips UI to add/remove tickers, or hit Reset to go back to the default list. The scanner only scans tickers in your watchlist.
Indicators
Toggle each indicator on or off. The tier pips next to each indicator show its reliability rating. By default, the four highest-tier indicators are on and the rest are off. You can turn on more but be aware that more indicators = more results to sift through. The indicators are sorted by tier — highest at the top.
Scan Settings
- Timeframes: Which timeframes to scan. See the timeframe guide above.
- Min Signal Strength: Filter out weak signals. Set to 3 to only see Strong or better. Set to 1 to see everything.
- Auto-scan Interval (Pro): How often the scanner runs automatically during market hours. Set to Off to only scan manually.
Alerts (Pro)
Get notified when a scan finds setups matching your criteria. Two options:
- Telegram: Add your Telegram Bot token and chat ID to receive instant messages when setups are found.
- Email: Enter an email address to receive scan result summaries.
The Min Alert Strength setting controls how strong a signal needs to be before it triggers an alert — set higher to avoid notification overload.
⭐ Free vs Pro
| Feature |
Free |
Pro — $10/mo |
| Tickers per scan |
Up to 20 |
Unlimited |
| Timeframes |
1 at a time |
All 5 simultaneously |
| Manual scans |
5 per day |
Unlimited |
| Auto-scan scheduler |
— |
✓ (every 5–60 min) |
| All 15 indicators |
✓ |
✓ |
| ATR levels + R/R |
✓ |
✓ |
| TradingView links |
✓ |
✓ |
| Telegram + email alerts |
— |
✓ |
💡 Tips
- Confirm on the chart. Every signal card has a TradingView link — always look at the actual chart before entering a trade. The scanner flags setups; your eyes confirm them.
- Use Min Strength to cut noise. If you're getting too many results, raise the minimum strength to 3 or 4. Quality over quantity.
- Daily timeframe is the most reliable. A Golden Cross on the daily is far more significant than on the 5-minute. Weight your attention accordingly.
- Watch section = patience required. A Bollinger Squeeze tells you a move is coming but not which way. Wait for a directional break before committing.
- ATR levels are guides, not guarantees. The stop/TP levels are calculated from recent volatility. Adjust them to key chart levels (support, resistance, previous highs/lows) when you open TradingView.
- Multiple signals on one ticker = higher conviction. If the same stock shows up with three bullish signals across different indicators, that's more interesting than a single signal. Cross-reference your results.