Parabolic SAR

Indicators

• Price
• High
• Low

Parabolic SAR

0.02 · 0.02 · 0.2

• SAR
• up
• down

This is how the node looks on the board: inputs on the left, outputs on the right.

Trend stop that flips when the trend turns. Places dots below the price while it rises and above it while it falls. With every new high in an uptrend, every new low in a downtrend, they trail faster. When the price touches the dots, the trend turns and they jump to the other side. Many use them as a trailing stop. The “up” and “down” signals are true as long as the trend points that way. Example: “Parabolic SAR down” reports as soon as the trend turns down.

What it looks like

• Price (close of each candle)
• SAR in an uptrend
• SAR in a downtrend
• true as long as

BTC/USDT on 1-hour candles with the Parabolic SAR. Every new high or low in the trend speeds up the dots until the price touches them; then the trend turns. The strip shows when the “down” signal is true. An alert comes at its start, the candle where the trend turns down.

Settings

The settings appear on the right under “Properties” once you click the node on the board. Below each field you find the same explanation as here.

Start

Default: 0.02 · from 0.001 to 1

How fast the dots trail at the start of a trend, usually 0.02. Larger values pull them towards the price faster.

Step

Default: 0.02 · from 0.001 to 1

How much faster the dots get when the price makes a new high in an uptrend, a new low in a downtrend. Usually 0.02.

Maximum

Default: 0.2 · from 0.001 to 1

Limit for the speed of the dots, usually 0.2. Smaller values give them more room to the price in long trends.

Example

Notifies you as soon as the dots jump above the price, so the trend turns down.

How to connect the nodes:

1. Candle (Price) → Parabolic SAR (Price)
2. Candle (High) → Parabolic SAR (High)
3. Candle (Low) → Parabolic SAR (Low)
4. Parabolic SAR (down) → Push (Trigger)

On the board it reads: 0.02 · 0.02 · 0.2

Chain as JSON

To try it, copy it and paste it in the editor under “Import”. Importing creates a new chain.

psar.json

{
  "name": "Example: Parabolic SAR",
  "version": 1,
  "nodes": [
    { "id": "c1", "type": "core.candle", "position": { "x": 40, "y": 40 }, "settings": { "pair": "BTC/USDT", "timeframe": "1h" } },
    { "id": "s1", "type": "core.psar", "position": { "x": 260, "y": 40 }, "settings": {} },
    { "id": "p1", "type": "core.push", "position": { "x": 480, "y": 40 }, "settings": {} }
  ],
  "edges": [
    { "from": "c1.close", "to": "s1.close" },
    { "from": "c1.high", "to": "s1.high" },
    { "from": "c1.low", "to": "s1.low" },
    { "from": "s1.down", "to": "p1.in" }
  ]
}

Inputs and outputs

Only matching types connect: number series to number series (round pin), signal to signal (square), message to message (diamond).

Direction	Pin	Type	Note
Input	Price	Number series	required
Input	High	Number series	required
Input	Low	Number series	required
Output	SAR	Number series	appears in messages as a price, e.g. “$81,616”
Output	up	Signal (true/false)	–
Output	down	Signal (true/false)	–

Good to know

• In messages the value is called “SAR 0.02 · 0.02 · 0.2”.
• Warm-up with the default settings: 450 candles (this many extra candles are loaded by the replay before the value is reliable).
• Search also finds it under: parabolic, sar, stop, trailing stop, trend, reversal, dots.

Technical details

Parabolic SAR after Wilder: the dot moves towards the extreme of the trend by the acceleration factor; the factor starts at the start value and rises by the step with every new extreme up to the maximum. The dot stays outside the range of the two candles before; when the price touches it, the trend turns. The first direction follows on the second candle from the close before. The same calculation as ta.sar in TradingView.

• Type in the chain: core.psar · Version 1.0.0 · Category key ind
• Settings in the chain: start (Start), increment (Step), max (Maximum)
• Pins in the chain: Input close, high, low · Output line, up, down
• Reference tests in the manifest: 1 (with fixed price data: 500 candles of 1h)
• How a node is built