What it does
Bollinger Bands Width measures the distance between the upper and lower Bollinger Bands, normalized by the middle band: (upper - lower) / middle. It is a pure volatility gauge: wide bands mean high volatility, narrow bands mean a quiet market. It carries no directional information by itself.
Typeoscillatorseparate pane
How to add it
Click Indicators (ƒx) in the header.
Search “Bollinger Bands Width” and click the result.
Hover its legend row and click the gear to open settings.
How traders use it
- The Squeeze: when width falls to its lowest level in roughly six months (or the bottom of its recent range), expect an expansion and a directional move soon.
- Trade the breakout after a squeeze, not during it; take the direction of the price break, and be alert for a false 'head fake' move first.
- A sharp width expansion confirms a genuine breakout; a breakout with no width expansion is suspect.
- After a strong trend, width peaking and rolling over often coincides with the move exhausting; consider taking profits.
- Compare current width against its own history for that symbol and timeframe, since absolute width levels are not comparable across instruments.
Inputs
| Input | Type | Default | Range / Options |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length | number | 20 | 1–10000 |
| Mult | number | 2 | 0.001–50 |
Plots & styling
| Plot | Style | Default color |
|---|---|---|
| Bandwidth | line | #FF6D00 |
Every plot's color, line width and visibility can be changed on the Style tab. Precision (default 2 decimals), price-scale labels and status-line values are configurable at the bottom of the Style tab.
Tips
- Resize the pane by dragging its divider; collapse it from the legend row when you need the space back.
- Use Add to favorites in the legend menu; starred studies surface at the top of the picker.
- Reference levels (where the study has them) are editable — tune them to the instrument you're trading.
Watch out for
- Width says nothing about direction; a squeeze tells you a move is coming but not which way.
- Squeezes can persist far longer than expected, and the first break out of a squeeze is frequently a fake-out.