The mt5 smc smart money concepts indicator watches for a sharp price push. It tags the candle right before that push. Two markers show up on the chart: Bullish OB and Bearish OB. Traders who track order-block style entries get a plain, rules-based version instead of a hand-drawn zone. Both markers come straight from the same ATR-based push check, with no manual drawing needed.
This build ships as mt5-smc-smart-money-concepts-indicator-indicator-forexmt4systems.ex4 for MT4 and mt5-smc-smart-money-concepts-indicator-indicator-forexmt4systems.ex5 for MT5; the screenshots below come from EURUSD H1.
| Platforms | MT4 (.ex4) + MT5 (.ex5) |
|---|---|
| Chart window | Main price chart |
| Plots | 2: Bullish OB, Bearish OB |
| Alerts | popup, push notification, email, sound |
| Inputs | 8 |
What the Mt5 Smc Smart Money Concepts Indicator draws on the chart
Bullish OB (tan, clrTan) sits at the low of a red candle. It appears once the next close jumps up past the ATR threshold.
Bearish OB (slate blue, clrSlateBlue) sits at the high of a green candle. It appears once the next close drops past the ATR threshold.
- Bullish OB: plot, tan
- Bearish OB: plot, slate blue
How the Mt5 Smc Smart Money Concepts Indicator calculates its values
Building the ATR threshold
The code sums the true range of the last AtrPeriod bars. It divides that sum by AtrPeriod. AtrPeriod defaults to 28, so 28 bars feed the average.
That average sets the bar for MoveAtrMultiplier. The default is 1.5. A close-to-close move must beat 1.5 times the average before the code calls it a push.
Marking the block candle
Each new bar checks its move against that threshold. When the move clears MoveAtrMultiplier times the average, and the prior candle closed red, the code writes Bullish OB at that prior low.
The sell side works the same way. A drop past minus MoveAtrMultiplier times the average, after a green prior candle, sets Bearish OB at that prior high. Only the candle before the push gets marked.
Warm-up and updates
The scan needs at least AtrPeriod plus two bars of history before it can write a first ATR reading. Nothing marks until that warm-up passes.
After the first pass, later ticks only walk forward from where the code left off. They do not rescan the full chart history each time.
How to read the signals
A Bullish OB marker flags the last down candle before a strong rally. Traders read that as accumulation.
A Bearish OB marker flags the last up candle before a sell-off. That is the mirror, distribution read.
The marker only appears after the push candle closes. It sits one bar behind the actual breakout.
Neither marker moves once it is drawn. A confirmed Bullish OB or Bearish OB stays fixed at that candle’s price.
Alert channels in this build: popup, push notification, email and sound, one message per closed bar.
EnableAlerts, EnablePopup, EnablePushNotify, EnableEmail and EnableSound sit in the inputs panel. The block-marking loop never calls the alert function, so no popup, push, email or sound message fires from a fresh Bullish OB or Bearish OB.
Every Mt5 Smc Smart Money Concepts Indicator input
Core settings
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
MoveAtrMultiplier |
MoveAtrMultiplier sets how large a move must be, in ATR units, to count as a push. It defaults to 1.5. | 1.5 |
AtrPeriod |
AtrPeriod sets the true-range averaging window. It defaults to 28 bars. | 28 |
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
The screenshot runs on EURUSD H1. The ATR threshold scales with any pair or timeframe you attach it to, since it reads live true range rather than a fixed pip value. Pairs with frequent sharp pushes tend to produce more markers than a slow, grinding session. A quiet pair on a low timeframe may go long stretches with no marker at all.
When the Mt5 Smc Smart Money Concepts Indicator fails
The code marks any candle before a big move. It does not check for real structure nearby, so a marker can appear mid-trend.
The average here is a plain mean, not a smoothed one. A stretch of high volatility keeps the threshold high for a while after conditions calm down.
Only two price points get marked per event: the prior candle’s high or low. There is no drawn zone, so a trader still needs to build a box by hand.
The two inputs only cover push size and its lookback window. There is no separate filter for the broader trend or for time of day.
Copy mt5-smc-smart-money-concepts-indicator-indicator-forexmt4systems.ex4 into MQL4/Indicators and mt5-smc-smart-money-concepts-indicator-indicator-forexmt4systems.ex5 into MQL5/Indicators, then restart the terminal and drag the Mt5 Smc Smart Money Concepts Indicator onto a chart. The step-by-step guide with screenshots is at how to install MT4 and MT5 indicators.
Related on forexmt4systems.com: Smart Money Concepts Strategy.
Background reading on the method behind the Mt5 Smc Smart Money Concepts Indicator: Price discovery on Wikipedia, Price Relative Relative Strength at StockCharts ChartSchool.
Download the Mt5 Smc Smart Money Concepts Indicator for MT4 and MT5
The zip mt5-smc-smart-money-concepts-indicator-indicator-forexmt4systems.zip holds mt5-smc-smart-money-concepts-indicator-indicator-forexmt4systems.ex4, mt5-smc-smart-money-concepts-indicator-indicator-forexmt4systems.ex5 and a short README, compiled files only. Enter your email below and the download link arrives in your inbox.
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Enter your email and the file is yours. You also get the full MT4 and MT5 library.
FAQ
What has to happen for the mt5 smc smart money concepts indicator to mark a Bullish OB?
A Bullish OB prints when the close-to-close move beats MoveAtrMultiplier times the AtrPeriod average true range. The candle right before that move also has to close red. The marker sits at the low of that red candle, one bar behind the push. No other filter takes part in the check.
Why does AtrPeriod default to 28 bars?
AtrPeriod sets how many bars of true range feed the move threshold. A 28-bar window smooths out single-bar noise. It still tracks the current volatility closely enough to flag real pushes. A shorter window reacts faster; a longer one filters out more small moves. Neither choice changes how the marker itself gets placed.
Does raising MoveAtrMultiplier change how often Bearish OB appears?
Yes. MoveAtrMultiplier multiplies the AtrPeriod average to set the minimum push size. A higher value than the 1.5 default demands a bigger down move. Bearish OB then marks the prior green candle’s high less often, on larger events only. A lower value has the opposite effect and flags smaller moves too.
Why is Bullish OB placed on the candle before the rally, not on the rally candle itself?
The order-block idea treats the last opposing candle as the build-up point before the push. The code checks the move on the current bar but writes the marker to the bar before it. That keeps the tan Bullish OB and slate blue Bearish OB tags aligned with that read. The push candle itself never gets its own marker.
Are results guaranteed?
No. Trading involves risk. Results are not guaranteed; past performance is not indicative of future results. Use the Mt5 Smc Smart Money Concepts Indicator as one input. Always backtest before trading live.
Category: this is part of our Smart Money collection. Browse more Smart Money for MetaTrader, or explore every MT4 indicator and MT5 indicator on the site.
External references
- For background on this concept, see Price discovery on Wikipedia.
- For broader market context, see Price Relative Relative Strength at StockCharts ChartSchool.
About the author
Written by Dominic Walsh, a Forex trader and MT4/MT5 indicator, Expert Advisor and script developer. Every tool on forexmt4systems.com is tested on live charts before release and ships with ready-to-use compiled MT4 (.ex4) and MT5 (.ex5) files. Learn more about the trader and developer behind this site.
How we build, test and correct every tool: Editorial & Testing Policy. Trading carries risk; see the disclaimer.