Trend Quality Index
A reading from 0 to 1 on every bar, built from four measurements: directional efficiency, volume, where price sits in its range, and how persistent momentum has been.
NinjaTrader 8 indicator, NinjaScriptThe Supertrend that knows when the trend is not clean
A plain Supertrend flips the same way in a strong trend and in sideways chop, which is why it whipsaws. Algo Shadow Matrix measures how clean the trend is on every bar, widens or tightens its bands to match, and puts a score on every signal so you can see which flips are worth your attention. Now on NinjaTrader 8, with real contract volume feeding the score.
- Every BUY and SELL carries a confluence score from 0 to 102
- Structure stop and three targets drawn the moment a signal closes
- Signals only on closed bars: nothing repaints, nothing moves afterwards
- Signal and Trend series your NinjaScript strategies can read
$77one payment, lifetime licence
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- SELL 25A confirmed flip, scored 25 of 102 by six factors on the closed bar.
- BUY 62The strongest agreement on this chart: momentum, efficiency, volume and structure all leaning up.
- BUY 48The morning low, taken on the bar that closed, never moved afterwards.
- Entry and stopThe open signal's entry line with its price tag; the stop sits below it.
- Live dashboardRegime, trend quality and its four parts, the open signal, the tool's own record.
Why a plain Supertrend costs you trades
Supertrend has one number that matters: the ATR multiplier. It is fixed. The band is as wide in a clean trend as it is in a sideways mess, and that single fact explains most of the trouble people have with it.
Set the multiplier low and the line hugs price. You catch trends early, and then you get flipped in and out five times while the market goes nowhere. Set it high and the chop stops hurting, but every real reversal is confirmed so late that a large part of the move is already gone.
There is no right setting, because the market is not in one state. What is needed is a band that changes its own width as conditions change, and a way to tell a strong flip from a weak one before acting on it. That is what this indicator does, on MNQ, ES, CL and every other instrument NinjaTrader charts.
PlatformNinjaTrader 8.1 Desktop, tested on 8.1.8.2
TypeChart indicator, compiled NinjaScript Add-On
SignalsOn closed bars only
InstrumentsFutures, forex, stocks, indices: any NinjaTrader instrument
BarsAny interval; time-based bars recommended
Alerts5 events, Alerts Log, sound and email
SeriesSuperTrend, Signal, Trend for your strategies
LicenceLifetime, one NinjaTrader login, all your PCs
Price77 USD, one payment
The user guide is public: every parameter, the dashboard rows and the verification are in it. Read it before you pay.
What you get
Nine things it does that a plain Supertrend cannot
One indicator on the chart, in the price panel, no second window and no extra scripts to line up.
Bands that adapt
When quality is high the bands tighten and hold the trend closely. When quality drops they widen and give price room, so chop produces fewer false flips.
Character-flip detection
If trend quality collapses while the trend is still technically intact, the regime can flip before price breaks the band. It reacts to the change in behaviour, not only to the level.
Scored signals
Six independent checks, up to 17 points each, summed to a score out of 102 and printed on the signal pill. You choose the minimum score you want to see.
Structure stop and three targets
Entry, stop and TP1, TP2, TP3 are drawn with the signal. The stop sits at the last pivot minus an ATR buffer, the targets at R-multiples you set, and each level is ticked when price reaches it.
Live dashboard
Trend regime, the quality reading and its four parts, the open signal with live distance, and the tool's own rolling record on the chart you are looking at. Three sizes, six positions, drawn with Direct2D.
Five alert events
BUY, SELL, any signal, bullish shift and bearish shift. They land in the Alerts Log with a sound, and by email through NinjaTrader's Mail share service, with JSON bodies if you want them.
Presets that fit the interval
Auto reads the chart interval and picks the settings: Scalping up to 5 minutes, Default up to 240, Swing above. Crypto 24/7 and Custom are there if you prefer to choose, and every input stays editable.
Series for your strategies
SuperTrend, Signal (+1, -1, 0) and Trend are exposed to NinjaScript strategies and the Market Analyzer, so you can automate or scan on the same values the chart shows.
See it working
A closer look, on real NinjaTrader charts
Every picture below is a NinjaTrader 8 capture with numbered notes added. Nothing on the charts is drawn by hand, and the dashboard sits in the chart margin so no signal is covered. Click any image to enlarge it.
- SELL 26A flip at the top of the bounce, six factors summed to 26.
- BUY 55The low of the day, scored 55: the strongest agreement on this chart.
- SELL 11A weak flip inside the drop. The score says so before you take it.
- BUY 59Printed at the close of the bar and left where it was.
Scored signals
Not every flip deserves a trade
A Supertrend flip tells you direction changed. It does not tell you whether the change means anything. On this ES session the signals score from 8 to 59, and the difference is visible on the chart: the day's low printed BUY 55, the strongest agreement of the session, while the weak flips inside the drop scored 11 and 8.
The score is a count of how many conditions agreed and how strongly. It is not a probability of profit, and the page will not pretend it is. What it gives you is a consistent reason to skip the weak ones.
- Momentum, efficiency, volume, RSI depth, structure and break depth
- Minimum score filter in the parameters
- A layer you switch off scores neutral, so totals stay comparable
Live dashboard
Four questions answered at a glance
Which way is the regime, how clean is the trend, what is open right now, and how has this tool been doing on this exact chart. The last one matters: the performance block is the indicator keeping score of its own last 100 signals on the instrument and interval in front of you, in R.
That record is a readout of the past on that chart, with no commission or slippage in it. It is useful for deciding where the tool fits and where it does not. It is not a forecast.
- Market context: the regime, the resolved preset, and whether the market is trending, mixed or choppy
- TQI engine: the quality reading from 0 to 1 and the four measurements behind it
- Active signal: direction, bars ago, entry, stop and three targets, with live distance
- Performance: the tool's own rolling record of its last 100 signals on this chart, in R
- Six positions, three sizes, scaled with your Windows display setting, or hide it
- BUY 40The signal bar. Entry, stop and targets appear with it.
- Entry 90.01The close of the signal bar.
- Stop 89.78The last pivot minus an ATR buffer, the structure stop.
- TP1 reachedTicked on the bar where price got there; TP2 and TP3 followed.
Risk drawn for you
The plan is on the chart before you place the trade
When a signal closes, the entry, the stop and three targets appear with their prices, extended to the right while the trade is open. You can size the position from the stop distance straight away instead of measuring anything by hand.
The stop is the last pivot minus an ATR buffer, so it sits behind structure rather than at a fixed distance. Targets default to 1R, 2R and 3R and you can change each one. When price reaches a level it is ticked on the tag and in the dashboard, as all three were on this crude oil chart.
- Structure stop: the last pivot minus an ATR buffer, never closer than that to the entry
- Targets in R-multiples, your values
- Levels stay where they were drawn
Any market
The same rules on everything NinjaTrader charts
The calculations are not tied to an instrument. Twelve captures below, all taken on the same afternoon in NinjaTrader 8 on the free simulation feed: index, energy, metal, currency and rate futures, from 3-minute to 60-minute bars, with the defaults on every one.
On a futures chart the volume part of the quality reading uses real contract volume; where volume is not reliable the indicator falls back to an ATR ratio automatically, so you do not have to change anything.
Under the hood
How the Trend Quality Index is built
Four measurements, each scaled from 0 to 1, combined with weights you can change. Nothing hidden and nothing exotic.
Efficiency
Net movement divided by the total path price travelled. Close to 1 means price went somewhere. Close to 0 means it moved a lot and arrived nowhere.
Volume regime
Is participation above or below normal right now. On a futures chart this reads real contract volume, a better input than the tick volume forex feeds supply.
Structure position
Where price sits inside its recent range. Pinned to an edge is trending behaviour. Sitting in the middle is not.
Momentum persistence
How many recent bars closed in the direction of the move. Eight of ten is persistent. Alternating up and down is noise.
What it does
- Marks signals on closed bars, and leaves them where they were
- Tells you how strong each signal is, in a number you can filter on
- Draws a stop and three targets you can size a position from
- Keeps its own record on each chart, so you can see where it fits
What it does not do
- It does not place orders. It is an indicator, not a strategy or a bot
- It does not predict price, and the score is not a probability of profit
- It does not work the same on every market. Its own record shows you
- It does not replace position sizing and a risk limit of your own
Side by side
Plain Supertrend compared with Algo Shadow Matrix
| Plain Supertrend | Algo Shadow Matrix | |
|---|---|---|
| Band width | Fixed ATR multiple | Changes every bar with trend quality |
| Sideways markets | Repeated false flips | Bands widen, fewer flips |
| Signal strength | None, every flip looks the same | Score from 0 to 102 on the pill |
| Early regime change | Only when price breaks the band | Also when trend quality collapses |
| Stop and targets | You work them out | Drawn with the signal, in R |
| Feedback | None | Rolling record of its own signals on the chart |
| For your strategies | One line | SuperTrend, Signal and Trend series |
| Alerts | Direction change | Five events, with JSON bodies |
How this edition was verified
Two stages, stated separately because they measure different things. The engine that computes everything is the same C# code as the cTrader edition's engine, apart from its namespace line. That engine was replayed on 20,141 EURUSD M5 bars read from the TradingView chart model and compared with a probe copy of the original script: 55 internal series equal on every bar. The report is on the cTrader page.
The NinjaTrader host is the second stage. With its diagnostic dump switched on it writes every committed bar with the values it drew, in exactly the columns the reference harness writes; those bars are replayed through the engine outside NinjaTrader, and the two files are diffed value by value. On 4,805 MNQ 1-minute bars, with the chart left live across the historical-to-realtime transition, every one of the 19 series compared was equal on every bar.
What that proves: the host feeds the engine exactly one closed bar per chart bar with the right open, high, low, close and volume, never double-feeds or skips a bar, and draws the values the engine produced. What it does not claim: there is no comparison against the original on futures bars, because TradingView's CME feed and NinjaTrader's feed do not carry the same bars, so no such comparison exists to make. And nothing here says anything about future performance.
NinjaTrader bars compared4,805
Series compared19
Cells compared91,295
Mismatches0
Engine vs the original20,141 EURUSD M5 bars, 55 series
ConditionsMNQ 1-minute, NinjaTrader 8.1.8.2, 11 to 16 September 2026
The full method, with the columns compared, is in the user guide: User Guide (PDF) and Installation and Quick Start (PDF).
Get the licence
One payment. Lifetime licence.
No subscription and no renewal. Pay once and the indicator stays licensed to your NinjaTrader account, updates included.
Algo Shadow MatrixNinjaTrader 8 indicator
$77one payment, lifetime licence
- A lifetime licence on one NinjaTrader account login, valid on every PC you use it on
- The compiled NinjaScript Add-On package and all future updates, at no extra cost
- No machine ID and nothing to activate: log in to NinjaTrader and it runs
- The two PDFs: installation and quick start, and the full user guide with every parameter
- Direct support from me, the developer, by email
Pay by cardCard, Apple Pay or Google Pay, through Stripe
Pay with PayPalPayPal balance or card, through PayPal
The licence is issued to your NinjaTrader account through NinjaTrader's Vendor Licensing, by hand, normally within a few hours and always within 24 hours of your form arriving. You get an email with the download link when it is done.
Because a licence cannot be handed back once it is on your account, a sale is final once the licence has been issued. If you paid and the licence has not been issued yet, email me and I will refund you in full. The user guide is public, so you can read exactly what the indicator does before you pay.
The full terms of sale and the privacy notice for buyers are one page each, in plain language.
Trading carries risk of loss. This is an analysis tool, not financial advice, and no indicator can promise a profit.
Questions
Before you buy
Does Algo Shadow Matrix repaint?
No. Signals, pills, the stop and the targets are all fixed when the bar closes and they never move afterwards. Reload the chart and the same signals appear in the same places. With Calculate set to each tick the forming bar is previewed, and the signal still waits for the close.
Which NinjaTrader version do I need?
NinjaTrader 8.1 Desktop for Windows; the build is tested on 8.1.8.2. Any data connection that delivers bars works, including the free simulation connection. No Order Flow+ features, market depth or tick history are needed.
Do I need a funded broker account?
No. NinjaTrader 8 is free to download and use for charting and simulation, with free real-time futures data for the simulator. A live account with a broker of your choice is a separate step that this indicator does not need. NinjaTrader is the platform it runs inside, not a broker.
Is there a machine ID or an activation step?
No. The licence is tied to your NinjaTrader account login through NinjaTrader's Vendor Licensing, not to a PC. Log in on any installation and the indicator runs; a new PC needs no transfer.
How fast do I get the licence?
I issue it by hand in the NinjaTrader Vendor Dashboard. It is normally done within a few hours and always within 24 hours of your form arriving, including weekends.
Is this a subscription?
No. It is one payment of 77 USD for a lifetime licence on one NinjaTrader account, with future updates included.
Which instruments and intervals does it work on?
Any instrument NinjaTrader charts and any interval. Time-based bars are recommended; on tick, volume and range bars the projected part of a level line is positioned from the observed bar spacing. The Auto preset picks settings from the interval, and there are manual presets for scalping, swing trading and crypto.
Can my strategy use its signals?
Yes. The indicator exposes three series to NinjaScript strategies and the Market Analyzer: SuperTrend, Signal (+1 on a BUY bar, -1 on a SELL bar, 0 otherwise) and Trend (+1 bullish, -1 bearish). A strategy that hosts it reads the same values the chart shows.
Can I get a refund?
Once the licence has been issued the sale is final, because a licence on your account cannot be handed back. That is why the user guide is public: read it first. If you paid and the licence has not been issued yet, email me and I will refund you in full.
Can I move the licence to another NinjaTrader account?
Yes. Email me from the address you bought with and I will move the licence to your new account login.
Is there a version for MetaTrader, cTrader or TradingView?
Yes. The same indicator is on the MQL5 Market for MetaTrader 4 and 5, on the cTrader Store, and as an invite-only script on TradingView. Each platform has its own licence; this page is the NinjaTrader 8 edition.
Will it make me money?
No indicator can promise that, and this one does not. It gives you cleaner trend signals, a way to rank them, and a stop and targets to plan around. What you do with that, and how you size positions, decides the outcome.
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Put it on your chart today
77 USD once. A lifetime licence on your NinjaTrader account, updates included, and the licence issued within 24 hours.