The Basics
TopstepX comes with a growing set of custom indicators built right into the platform. They're mathematical formulas plotted on price charts — used to confirm trade ideas, track momentum, and manage risk. They don't predict. They provide context. Use them together to build a clearer picture of the day: where price has been, where it's reacting, and how much room it has to move. This article covers custom indicators rolling out this year (2026), and a few classics.
New Indicators
This first set answers the 3 questions every futures day-trader asks throughout the session: where did today's range start, what's happening right now, and where is the price stalling? Together, they're the structural skeleton of the trading day — and the foundation everything else builds from.
🙌 Check back often — New indicators will be added here as they roll out.
Sessions 🕝
Sessions 🕝
👉 Shade the Asia, London, and NY CME futures sessions and track each session's High/low with dashed lines.
What it shows
3 background-shaded windows: Asia (17:00–02:00 CT), London (02:00–08:30 CT), NY (08:30–16:00 CT). A small label pops at the first bar of each session.
😎 You asked, we delivered. Optional dashed High/Low lines — a feature you requested — now lock at session close and persist through the day.
Settings
Session times — defaults for CME equity index futures; adjust for other contracts
Show/hide High/Low — toggle dashed lines per session
Hide High/Low During Session — hides the running line; only shows locked level after close
Show Session Labels — default on; turn off to reduce clutter
Background opacity — dial down when stacking other overlays
👯♀️ Pairs well with: Opening Range, Initial Balance, VWAP
Opening Range 📐
Opening Range 📐
👉 Capture the initial range of the session and project breakout extension targets based on that range.
What it shows
High/low of the first 15 minutes from a configurable open time (default 08:30 CT). Projects ±0.5R, ±1.0R, and ±2.0R extensions using the range height as the unit. All lines extend through the day and break across sessions.
Settings
OR length (minutes) — default 15; increase to 30–60 for slower markets
Extension multipliers — default 0.5, 1.0, 2.0
Open time — default 09:30; adjust for your session
Display Mode — Stepped (builds bar-by-bar) or Straight (flat line after OR locks)
⚖️ Pairs well with: Initial Balance, Sessions, ATR-based stops
Initial Balance ⏰
Initial Balance ⏰
👉 The first hour's high/low — a Market Profile staple defining the day's value range and anchoring extension targets.
What it shows
Same math as Opening Range, but with a 60-minute default window. IB high/low shown in purple/orange (distinct from OR's teal/red), plus ±0.5R, ±1.0R, and ±2.0R extensions.
Settings
IB length (minutes) — default 60
Extension multipliers — default 0.5, 1.0, 2.0
Open time — default 09:30
Display Mode — Stepped or Straight
👯♂️ Pairs well with: Opening Range, Sessions, VWAP
Heikin-Ashi (HA) Trend 🕯️
Heikin-Ashi (HA) Trend 🕯️
👉 Recolor candle bodies using Heikin-Ashi direction to smooth noise and reveal directional flow — without replacing your real bars.
What it shows
Computes HA values and paints each candle body green (HA close > HA open) or red (HA close < HA open). Real price bars stay intact — only the body color changes, so true highs/lows and fills remain visible.
Settings
HA smoothing — default 0 (raw HA); increase to 5–10 for extra noise reduction
Up/down colors — customize to match your chart theme
🪄 Pairs well with: Trend Magic, SSL Hybrid, Wave Trend, any MA-based system
Price Info ℹ️
Price Info ℹ️
👉 Right-axis price tags for the real close, the HA close, and a round-number ladder — no chart clutter, no auto-scale distortion.
What it shows
3 independent features, all rendered as right-axis tags by default:
Close — actual bar close
HA Close — projected Heikin-Ashi close; smoothed "fair value" next to the real close
Round Numbers — price ladder snapped to a configurable increment (default 25), with up to 5 levels above and below the current price
Settings
Show Close / Show HA Close — both default on
Show Historical Line — default off; turn on to draw a chart-spanning line for Close or HA Close
Show Round Numbers — default off
Round Number Increment — default 25 (ES); set to 50 for NQ, 1 for CL, etc.
Levels Above / Levels Below — default 3 each
👯♀️ Pairs well with: Sessions, Opening Range, Initial Balance, Wave Trend, TDI
Topstep's Daily Levels Indicator
Topstep's Daily Levels Indicator
Hoag's key market levels — shared daily on TopstepTV — are built directly into TopstepX as a charting indicator. No plugins, no added cost. Available for ES, NQ, CL, and GC.
Available for: ES, NQ, CL, and GC.
Abbreviation | Level | Description |
LWH / LWL | Last Week's High / Low | Highest and lowest prices in last week's extended hours range |
YH / YL | Yesterday's High / Low | Highest and lowest prices in yesterday's extended hours range |
YVAH / YVAL | Yesterday's Value Area High / Low | Upper and lower bounds of where 70% of the previous day's volume occurred |
YPOC | Yesterday's Volume Point of Control | Price level with the highest trading volume from the previous day |
WKOH / WKOL | Weekly Kickoff High / Low | Key levels above/below market price used as potential resistance/support |
Settlement | Settlement Price | Official closing price of a futures contract for the trading day |
On Mondays, all "Yesterday's" levels will display Friday's values. Daily levels update each trading day. Weekly levels update once per week.
How to Access
Click the Indicators tab on your chart.
Search "Topstep's Daily Levels" and select it from the dropdown.
Click the star icon to favorite it for easy access.
To customize colors or labels, click the Settings gear.
The Tilt™ Indicator
The Tilt™ Indicator
The Tilt is Topstep's proprietary real-time sentiment indicator showing the long/short positioning of all Funded Traders on TopstepX. It gives you a visual breakdown of buy and sell interest for ES, NQ, CL, and GC — updated every 10 seconds using Express Funded Account data.
How to Access
The Tilt is enabled by default in the bottom panel. If you don't see it, click the "+" icon in the top-right corner and select The Tilt. If it's still missing, use Reset Layout to restore defaults — note this may remove any custom layouts you've saved.
Best Practices
Use alongside technical analysis and risk management — not as a replacement
Reflects Topstep funded trader positioning only, not the broader market
Sentiment shifts quickly; always factor in current market context like news and volatility