Guide: Indicators

Advanced

You do not need this page for basic usage. Start with Quick Start if you are new to Hexital.

Generated names

Unnamed indicators get a name from type + configuration. The base Indicator builds this in _generate_name() using _name_parts().

Defaults

_name_parts() returns period and source when those fields exist
Default source (usually "close") is not included in the name
A resample transform suffix is appended when timeframe= is set (e.g. EMA_10_T5)

Examples

Construction	Generated name
`SMA(period=10)`	`SMA_10`
`EMA(period=3)`	`EMA_3`
`MACD()`	`MACD_12_26_9`
`EMA(period=10, timeframe="T5")`	`EMA_10_T5`
`SMA(period=10, source=hlca)`	`SMA_10_HLCA`

Indicators with extra parameters override _name_parts() — see Custom indicators.

Nested dict outputs

Multi-value indicators store a dict on each candle. Read one field with ::

macd = MACD(candles=candles)
macd.calculate()
print(macd.reading("MACD"))           # full dict on latest candle
print(strategy.reading("MACD_12_26_9:signal"))

Series

Old (removed)	Current
`indicator.readings()`	`indicator.series()`
`hexital.reading_as_list(name)`	`hexital.series(name)`
`hexital.readings()`	`hexital.all_series()`

History and readiness

Before running calculate() — especially when prefetching from an exchange — you may need to know how many bars an indicator requires.

`minimum_candles`

Indicator.minimum_candles is the minimum bar count before this indicator can produce a reading. The count is 1-based: 15 means the 15th candle is the first that may have a non-None value after calculate().

Value	Meaning
`period` (default)	Indicators with a `period` field inherit `minimum_candles == period`
`0`	Unknown — no `period` and no override (e.g. Amorph without prefetch hints)
Custom	Override `_minimum_candles()` when warm-up differs from `period` (see Custom indicators)

Composites aggregate over children — minimum_candles is the maximum of the indicator's own value and every child's minimum_candles (e.g. MACD, BBANDS).

ema = EMA(period=10, candles=candles)
ema.minimum_candles   # 10

rsi = RSI(period=14, candles=candles)
rsi.minimum_candles   # 15  (period + 1)

`is_ready`

Indicator.is_ready is True when loaded history meets minimum_candles:

if ema.is_ready:
    ema.calculate()

When minimum_candles is 0, is_ready is True as long as there is at least one candle.

Child breakdown

[Indicator.minimum_candles_by_indicator()][hexital.core.indicator.Indicator.minimum_candles_by_indicator] returns each child indicator's minimum_candles, keyed by name — useful when inspecting composite warm-up:

macd = MACD(candles=candles)
macd.minimum_candles_by_indicator()
# e.g. {"MACD_12_26_9_fast": 12, "MACD_12_26_9_slow": 26, ...}

Strategy-level prefetch and multi-timeframe checks live on Hexital.

Chaining

Hexital allows you to chain indicators together seamlessly. In a chain, the output of one indicator can serve as the input for another, enabling automated, indefinite chaining of calculations.

This feature provides significant flexibility for creating custom indicators. For example, you can use an EMA to smooth the output of another indicator or incorporate indicators within other indicators to enhance their calculations.

A practical example is the calculation of the Stochastic Oscillator (STOCH). The k value of STOCH is used as the input for an SMA to compute the d value. Internally, this is implemented as the STOCH indicator chaining the SMA indicator, using its own k value as the input source.

See also Features — Indicator chaining.