Studies · Bands and channels
Donchian Channel
donchian · Donchian channel — the window's highest high and lowest low
Drawn over priceReads high, low
Hover the chart to read values · practice data: a seeded random walk with no overnight gaps
What it measures
The highest high and the lowest low of the last N bars, plus the halfway line between them. The lines move in steps: when a new extreme is made, or when an old one drops out of the window.
How traders use it
- Breakout trading: buy a close above the upper line (a new N-bar high), sell below the lower line. This is the basis of the famous "Turtle" trend-following system (20-day and 55-day breakouts).
- Trailing stops: exit a long when price falls to a shorter channel’s lower line.
- Range definition: a narrow channel marks a consolidation.
Parameters
| Name | Value | Default | Allowed | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| period | 20 | ≥ 1 usual 10–55 | The look-back window, in bars. |
Outputs
| Upper | Highest high of the window. |
| Lower | Lowest low of the window. |
| Middle | Halfway between the two. |
Drawn as one shaded band: the middle line with the upper and lower edges.