Indicators & Strategy

Pine Script Basics: Write Your First TradingView Indicator in 15 Minutes

Updated May 2026 · ~6 min read · For TradingView desktop 3.2.1

Pine Script is TradingView's purpose-built language for trading; the v6 engine compiles fast, and the community already has 150k+ public scripts. You don't need a programming background — every line below is explained; copy it and it runs.

Open the editor

Open the Pine Editor from the bottom panel, create a blank indicator, and replace the default with:

//@version=6
indicator("Dual EMA", overlay = true)

fast = ta.ema(close, 9)
slow = ta.ema(close, 21)

plot(fast, color = color.purple, title = "EMA 9")
plot(slow, color = color.gray,   title = "EMA 21")

crossUp = ta.crossover(fast, slow)
plotshape(crossUp, style = shape.triangleup,
          location = location.belowbar, color = color.green)

Line by line

• //@version=6: declares v6 syntax — don't omit it;
• indicator("Dual EMA", overlay = true): this is an indicator (not a strategy); overlay=true draws it on the main chart rather than a separate pane;
• ta.ema(close, 9): a 9-period EMA of close, assigned to fast;
• plot(): draws a series as a line;
• ta.crossover(fast, slow): true on the bar where fast crosses above slow; plotshape draws a green triangle below that bar.

Run and save

1. Click Add to chart — the two EMAs and cross markers appear immediately;
2. Errors show a line number, usually a typo or indentation — Pine is indentation-sensitive;
3. Save and name it; the script joins your indicator library, usable on any device you sign in on.

Next

Turning 9/21 into adjustable input.int() parameters is the natural second lesson; to test whether EMA crosses actually make money, swap indicator for strategy — see the backtesting guide.