Ichimoku Cloud Indicator: All Five Lines on One Chart

Written by Dominic Walsh · Published 10 Jun 2026 · Last updated 20 Aug 2026

The ichimoku cloud indicator puts the five classic Ichimoku Kinko Hyo lines on the price chart. Tenkan-sen and Kijun-sen track the fast and slow midpoints. Chikou Span trails price backward, and both Senkou lines project the cloud forward. Traders who want the whole framework get it in one drop.

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

Platforms	MT4 (.ex4) + MT5 (.ex5)
Chart window	Main price chart
Plots	5: Tenkan-sen, Kijun-sen, Chikou Span, Senkou Span A, Senkou Span B
Alerts	popup, push notification, email, sound
Inputs	9

What the Ichimoku Cloud Indicator draws on the chart

Tenkan-sen paints red across the recent midpoint. Kijun-sen paints blue across the slower one. Both sit directly on the candles at single width.

Chikou Span carries the closing line pushed backward by the Kijun setting. The lime line therefore stops short of the newest bar. Senkou Span A and Senkou Span B run forward by the same number of bars. Both draw in a dotted style and mark the cloud edges.

The build draws those two Senkou lines but leaves the space between them clear. Read the cloud from the gap rather than from a shaded block.

• Tenkan-sen: line, red, width 1
• Kijun-sen: line, blue, width 1
• Chikou Span: line, lime, width 1
• Senkou Span A: line, sandy brown, width 1
• Senkou Span B: line, thistle, width 1

How the Ichimoku Cloud Indicator calculates its values

Where the values come from

One call does the work. Each buffer pulls its value from the platform’s own Ichimoku routine. TenkanPeriod, KijunPeriod and SenkouPeriod pass straight through. Nothing gets recomputed, so the numbers match the built-in study bar for bar.

Ichimoku Kinko Hyo builds every line from midpoints rather than averages. A midpoint takes the highest high and the lowest low of its window. Halving that sum gives the value. The result reacts to range rather than to closing price.

The three periods

Defaults follow the original set. Tenkan-sen uses nine bars and Kijun-sen uses twenty six. Senkou Span B uses fifty two. Senkou Span A needs no period of its own, because it averages the two faster lines.

Forward and backward shifts

Shifts happen at draw time. Chikou Span moves back by the Kijun setting. Both Senkou lines move forward by the same amount. That push puts the cloud ahead of price. The newest cloud values describe a stretch that has not traded yet.

How to read the signals

A Tenkan-sen cross above Kijun-sen is the fastest signal here. The alert block watches for exactly that. Traders usually want the cross to agree with the cloud.

Price above both Senkou lines points to an up bias. Price below both points to a down one. Inside the gap the framework says little, and most Ichimoku traders stand aside.

Chikou Span answers a different question. The trailing line sitting clear of the candles it crosses shows real displacement. Many readers treat that as confirmation.

Alert channels in this build: popup, push notification, email and sound, one message per closed bar.

The cross check runs on the last completed bar. It can send a popup, a push notification, an email or a sound. Only a Tenkan-sen and Kijun-sen cross triggers it, one message per closed bar.

Every Ichimoku Cloud Indicator input

Core settings

Setting	What it does	Default
TenkanPeriod	Tenkan-sen period. Bars in the fast midpoint behind Tenkan-sen. Shorten it for quicker crosses.	9
KijunPeriod	Kijun-sen period. Bars in the slow midpoint. The same figure sets the Chikou pull-back and the Senkou push-forward.	26
SenkouPeriod	Senkou Span B period. Bars behind Senkou Span B, the slowest line in the set. A longer span flattens the far cloud edge.	52

Alert settings

Setting	What it does	Default
EnableAlerts	(see inputs panel)	on
EnablePopup	(see inputs panel)	on
EnablePushNotify	(see inputs panel)	off
EnableEmail	(see inputs panel)	off
EnableSound	(see inputs panel)	off
SoundFile	(see inputs panel)	alert.wav

Settings that fit your chart

Ichimoku came out of daily Japanese charts. The framework still reads best where bars carry real range. EURUSD on H1 shows the structure without the constant crossing you get lower down. H4 and D1 suit the original design. Crypto and index charts work too. Their long trends can leave price clear of the cloud for weeks.

When the Ichimoku Cloud Indicator fails

Ranges chop the two fast lines. Tenkan-sen and Kijun-sen cross back and forth while price drifts sideways. Every one of those crosses can raise an alert.

The cloud trails by design. Senkou Span B looks back across the longest window in the set. A sharp reversal leaves the cloud pointing the old way for a long time.

You cannot read Chikou Span on the newest bars. The line stops a Kijun span short of the current candle. Its confirmation always arrives late.

Five lines crowd a chart. On lower timeframes the set can hide the candles it describes. Traders often switch off Chikou Span or one Senkou line.

Copy ichimoku-indicator-forexmt4systems.ex4 into MQL4/Indicators and ichimoku-indicator-forexmt4systems.ex5 into MQL5/Indicators, then restart the terminal and drag the Ichimoku Cloud Indicator onto a chart. The step-by-step guide with screenshots is at how to install MT4 and MT5 indicators.

Related on forexmt4systems.com: Ichimoku Trend Strategy.

Download the Ichimoku Cloud Indicator for MT4 and MT5

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

FAQ

Why do Senkou Span A and Senkou Span B sit ahead of price?

Both lines shift forward by the Kijun setting when they draw. The values come from bars that have already finished. The platform simply places them well to the right. That forward block is the cloud. It gives you support and resistance levels marked out before price reaches them.

Does this build shade the area between the two Senkou lines?

No. Each buffer draws as a plain line. You get the two cloud boundaries in a dotted style with clear space between them. Reading stays the same: price above both lines, below both, or between them. Add a shaded object by hand if you prefer the filled look.

What does KijunPeriod change besides the Kijun-sen line?

It sets three things at once. The slow midpoint uses it. Chikou Span moves backward by it, and both Senkou lines move forward by it. Raising the number stretches the cloud further ahead and pushes the trailing line further behind. Change it only after testing the whole framework.

Which line drives the alert on a closed bar?

Tenkan-sen against Kijun-sen. The code compares the two values on the last completed bar with the pair before it. It reports a cross either way. Cloud position and Chikou Span play no part, so a message can arrive while the rest of the framework disagrees.

Are results guaranteed?

No. Trading involves risk. Results are not guaranteed; past performance is not indicative of future results. Use the Ichimoku Cloud Indicator as one input. Always backtest before trading live.