CISD CSD + FVG IFVG ICT Indicator: Gaps, Flips and Shift Arrows

Written by Dominic Walsh · Published 3 Jun 2026 · Last updated 20 Aug 2026

The cisd csd + fvg ifvg ict indicator marks three ICT-style events straight on the candles. Those events are fresh fair value gaps, inversions of those gaps, and change-in-state-of-delivery shifts. Each event has its own arrow colour. The gaps also get a filled rectangle that extends to the right. It suits traders who already read displacement and imbalance and want the spotting done for them.

This build ships as cisd-csd-fvg-ifvg-indicator-forexmt4systems.ex4 for MT4 and cisd-csd-fvg-ifvg-indicator-forexmt4systems.ex5 for MT5; the screenshots below come from EURUSD H1.

Platforms	MT4 (.ex4) + MT5 (.ex5)
Chart window	Main price chart
Plots	6: FVG Bull, FVG Bear, IFVG Bull, IFVG Bear, CISD Bull, CISD Bear
Alerts	popup
Inputs	9

What the CISD CSD + FVG IFVG ICT Indicator draws on the chart

Six arrow plots share the price window. FVG Bull is the lime up arrow, code 233. It prints under the third candle of a bullish three-bar gap. The arrow sits ArrowOffsetPts (default 50) points below that candle’s low. FVG Bear is the red down arrow, code 234, above a bearish gap. With ShowFvgBoxes on, the gap itself becomes a filled rectangle in BullFvgColor or BearFvgColor. The box starts at the first candle of the pattern. It stretches FvgBoxExtendBars (default 50) bars to the right.

IFVG Bull is an aqua up arrow and IFVG Bear a magenta down arrow. They print on the candle whose close breaks through an older gap. That gap’s box then turns IfvgFlipColor. CISD Bull is a thicker yellow up triangle, code 217. CISD Bear is the orange down triangle, code 218. Both sit twice the arrow offset away from the candle. All six plots draw in the main chart window, and there is no separate pane.

• FVG Bull: arrow, lime, width 2, arrow code 233
• FVG Bear: arrow, red, width 2, arrow code 234
• IFVG Bull: arrow, aqua, width 2, arrow code 233
• IFVG Bear: arrow, magenta, width 2, arrow code 234
• CISD Bull: arrow, yellow, width 3, arrow code 217
• CISD Bear: arrow, orange, width 3, arrow code 218

How the CISD CSD + FVG IFVG ICT Indicator calculates its values

Fair value gaps

The test spans three bars. The loop compares each bar with the bar two places older. A bullish gap exists when this bar’s low is above that older bar’s high. A bearish gap is the older bar’s low above this bar’s high. Either gap must be at least FvgMinPipsX10 (default 3) points wide, or the code ignores it. On a five-digit quote that width is 0.3 pips. A qualifying gap writes the FVG arrow and draws the box between the two prices.

Inversions of an older gap

For every bar the code scans back from three bars to IfvgLookback (default 50) bars. It looks for an earlier gap of at least the same width. A bullish gap broken by a bearish close under its bottom edge prints IFVG Bear. The code recolours the old box and stops the scan. A bullish close back above the top of an old bearish gap prints IFVG Bull. Only the first violated gap in the window counts on any one bar.

CISD shift triangles

The CISD test is a two-bar rule. The previous candle must be bearish, closing under its open. This candle must close above the previous candle’s high. Both conditions together print CISD Bull. CISD Bear is the mirror: a bullish previous candle, then a close below its low. There is no swing or series-of-candles logic behind it. One close through an opposite-colour candle is the whole test.

How to read the signals

A lime FVG Bull arrow with a green box marks a bullish imbalance. Price jumped so fast that the third candle’s low never touched the first candle’s high. Many ICT traders wait for price to return into that box and look for longs there. A red FVG Bear arrow and box is the short-side mirror.

An IFVG arrow says the box failed. A magenta IFVG Bear prints on a bearish close through the bottom of a bullish gap. Buyers could not hold the imbalance, and the recoloured orange box now acts as resistance. CISD triangles are the quickest cue and the noisiest. A yellow CISD Bull after a run of red candles is the displacement many ICT setups wait for. It means most when it lands inside or just above a green FVG box.

Alert channels in this build: popup, one message per closed bar.

AlertOnSignal (default true) sends a popup message once per closed bar. It names the highest-priority event on that bar in the order CISD, IFVG, then FVG. There is no push, email or sound option in this build.

Every CISD CSD + FVG IFVG ICT Indicator input

Core settings

Setting	What it does	Default
IfvgLookback	Max bars an FVG is tracked for IFVG flip. IfvgLookback (default 50) sets the search window for older gaps. Lower it to keep the IFVG arrows on recent imbalances.	50
FvgMinPipsX10	Min FVG width in pips x10 (3 = 0.3 pips). FvgMinPipsX10 (default 3) sets the smallest gap that counts, in points. A higher value filters out hairline gaps on fast pairs and indices.	3
FvgBoxExtendBars	Bars to extend FVG box to the right. FvgBoxExtendBars (default 50) decides how far each FVG rectangle reaches to the right. Shorten it if the boxes clutter low timeframes.	50

Display settings

Setting	What it does	Default
ShowFvgBoxes	Draw FVG rectangles extending right. ShowFvgBoxes (default true) turns the rectangles on or off. Every arrow stays in place.	on
BullFvgColor	(see inputs panel)	sea green
BearFvgColor	(see inputs panel)	fire brick
IfvgFlipColor	(see inputs panel)	orange
ArrowOffsetPts	Arrow Y offset in points.	50

Alert settings

Setting	What it does	Default
AlertOnSignal	One alert per closed bar.	on

Settings that fit your chart

Gap and displacement logic comes from index and forex futures reading. The indicator is at home on EURUSD, GBPUSD, gold and the US indices. The screenshots use EURUSD H1, where three-candle gaps of a few pips form near the session opens. London and New York are the busy ones. There the 50-bar lookback covers about two trading days. On M1 and M5 the default 3-point minimum lets through many tiny gaps, so raise FvgMinPipsX10 there.

When the CISD CSD + FVG IFVG ICT Indicator fails

Gaps fill, often and fast. A three-candle imbalance on H1 is common. Many get traded through within a session. FVG arrows alone therefore produce far more boxes than tradeable setups. The IFVG recolour shows which ones failed, but only after the fact.

The CISD rule is shallow. One bearish candle closed through by the next is a strong bar, not proof of a delivery change. In a choppy range the yellow and orange triangles alternate every few bars. Treat a triangle as context for a box, not a trigger on its own.

The minimum width is in points, not pips. FvgMinPipsX10 at 3 means 0.3 pips on a five-digit quote, but 3 pips on a four-digit one. On gold or an index the point size differs again. The scan also stops at the first violated gap. A candle that closes through two stacked gaps marks only the nearer one.

Copy cisd-csd-fvg-ifvg-indicator-forexmt4systems.ex4 into MQL4/Indicators and cisd-csd-fvg-ifvg-indicator-forexmt4systems.ex5 into MQL5/Indicators, then restart the terminal and drag the CISD CSD + FVG IFVG ICT Indicator onto a chart. The step-by-step guide with screenshots is at how to install MT4 and MT5 indicators.

Related on forexmt4systems.com: ICT Style Strategy.

Background reading on the method behind the CISD CSD + FVG IFVG ICT Indicator: Money Supply at BabyPips, Money illusion on Wikipedia.

Download the CISD CSD + FVG IFVG ICT Indicator for MT4 and MT5

The zip cisd-csd-fvg-ifvg-indicator-forexmt4systems.zip holds cisd-csd-fvg-ifvg-indicator-forexmt4systems.ex4, cisd-csd-fvg-ifvg-indicator-forexmt4systems.ex5 and a short README, compiled files only. Enter your email below and the download link arrives in your inbox.

FAQ

Why does an FVG Bull box turn orange a few bars later?

A later candle closed below the bottom of that bullish gap with a bearish body. That break sits inside the IfvgLookback window, so the code treats it as an inversion. It prints a magenta IFVG Bear arrow on the breaking candle. It also repaints the old rectangle in IfvgFlipColor, orange by default.

What does the CISD Bull triangle need before it prints?

Two candles. The previous one must be bearish, closing under its open. The current one must close above that previous candle’s high. When both hold, a yellow triangle (code 217) prints twice the ArrowOffsetPts distance below the low. There is no swing-count or liquidity check behind it.

Why do some small gaps get no FVG arrow on a five-digit pair?

Every gap must be at least FvgMinPipsX10 points wide. The default of 3 is 0.3 pips on a five-digit quote. The code skips hairline gaps below that width on purpose. They fill on the next tick and only clutter the chart.

Does the popup alert fire for every FVG box on a busy candle?

Not every one. AlertOnSignal sends one popup per closed bar at most. When several events share a bar, it reports only the top one. The order is CISD, then IFVG, then FVG. Push, email and sound channels are not part of this build, so keep the terminal in view.

Are results guaranteed?

No. Trading involves risk. Results are not guaranteed; past performance is not indicative of future results. Use the CISD CSD + FVG IFVG ICT Indicator as one input. Always backtest before trading live.