Adaptive ADX for ThinkOrSwim

[Sesqui]

Knowing if the trend is strong enough to support your position is important. The ADX is popular for assessing that. As a result, I made the ADX adaptive using the EhlersAutocorrelationPeriodogram so there is no question as to whether the ADX is set to the right length.

Here is a screenshot. The adaptive ADX is simply displayed here in a label on the top left corner. It also compares the "DI+" to the "DI-" to determine trend direction and color codes the label Green if ADX > 25 and "DI+" > "DI-" or Red ADX > 25 and "DI+" < "DI-". The script can easily be modified to provide a plot of the adaptive ADX values so the trend of ADX values over time can be readily seen.

# Adaptive ADX for ThinOrSwim by Sesqui 29AUG2025

#===========================================================================================================================
script GetCycle {
    # Returns the dominant market cycle for use in adaptive indicators

    #------------------------------------------
    # Charles Schwab & Co. (c) 2016-2025
    #

    def lag = 48;
    def x = EhlersRoofingFilter("cutoff length" = 8, "roof cutoff length" = 48);
    def cosinePart = fold i = 3 to 48 with cosPart do cosPart + (3 * (x * GetValue(x, i) + GetValue(x, 1) * GetValue(x, i + 1) + GetValue(x, 2) * GetValue(x, i + 2)) - (x + GetValue(x, 1) + GetValue(x, 2)) * (GetValue(x, i) + GetValue(x, i + 1) + GetValue(x, i + 2))) / Sqrt((3 * (x * x + GetValue(x, 1) * GetValue(x, 1) + GetValue(x, 2) * GetValue(x, 2)) - Sqr(x + GetValue(x, 1) + GetValue(x, 2))) * (3 * (GetValue(x, i) * GetValue(x, i) +  GetValue(x, i + 1) * GetValue(x, i + 1) + GetValue(x, i + 2) * GetValue(x, i + 2)) - Sqr(GetValue(x, i) + GetValue(x, i + 1) + GetValue(x, i + 2)))) * Cos(2 * Double.Pi * i / lag);
    def sinePart = fold j = 3 to 48 with sinPart do sinPart + (3 * (x * GetValue(x, j) + GetValue(x, 1) * GetValue(x, j + 1) + GetValue(x, 2) * GetValue(x, j + 2)) - (x + GetValue(x, 1) + GetValue(x, 2)) * (GetValue(x, j) + GetValue(x, j + 1) + GetValue(x, j + 2))) / Sqrt((3 * (x * x + GetValue(x, 1) * GetValue(x, 1) + GetValue(x, 2) * GetValue(x, 2)) - Sqr(x + GetValue(x, 1) + GetValue(x, 2))) * (3 * (GetValue(x, j) * GetValue(x, j) +  GetValue(x, j + 1) * GetValue(x, j + 1) + GetValue(x, j + 2) * GetValue(x, j + 2)) - Sqr(GetValue(x, j) + GetValue(x, j + 1) + GetValue(x, j + 2)))) * Sin(2 * Double.Pi * j / lag);
    def sqSum = Sqr(cosinePart) + Sqr(sinePart);

    plot Cycle = ExpAverage(sqSum, 9);
    #----------------------------------------------
}# end Script GetCycle{}
#------------------------------------------------
script AdaptiveEMA {
    input src = close;
    input Cycle = 10;

    def length = if IsNaN(Floor(Cycle)) then length[1] else Floor(Cycle);
    def ExpMovAvg = src*(2/(1+length))+ExpMovAvg[1]*(1-(2/(1+length)));
    plot EMA = ExpMovAvg;
    EMA.HideBubble();

}# endScript AdaptiveEMA{}

#------------------------------------------------

#==============================================================================================

def CycleLength = GetCycle().Cycle;

def Length = if IsNaN(Floor(CycleLength)) then Length[1] else Floor(CycleLength);
def hiDiff = high - high[1];
def loDiff = low[1] - low;

def plusDM = if hiDiff > loDiff and hiDiff > 0 then hiDiff else 0;
def minusDM =  if loDiff > hiDiff and loDiff > 0 then loDiff else 0;

def ATR = AdaptiveEMA(TrueRange(high, close, low), Length);
def DIp = 100 * AdaptiveEMA(plusDM, Length) / ATR;
def DIm = 100 * AdaptiveEMA(minusDM, Length) / ATR;

def DX = if (DIp + DIm > 0) then 100 * AbsValue(DIp - DIm) / (DIp + DIm) else 0;
def ADX = AdaptiveEMA(DX, Length);

AddLabel(yes, "Adaptive ADX = " + ADX, if ADX >=25 and DIP > DIm then Color.GREEN else if ADX >= 25 and DIp < DIm then Color.RED else if ADX < 25 then Color.WHITE else Color.Current);