Strategy template · early access
MACD crossover strategy, automated
The MACD line crosses its signal line below zero in an uptrend, or above zero in a downtrend, with price on the 200 EMA's side. The bot runs it on real candles, draws each signal and posts it to your Telegram channel, built with you in early access.
What the macd crossover is
MACD, moving average convergence divergence, was designed by Gerald Appel in the late 1970s. It subtracts a 26-period exponential moving average of the close from a 12-period one to make the MACD line, then smooths that line over 9 periods to make the signal line. When the MACD line crosses above the signal line, momentum has turned up; a cross below means it has turned down.
A cross near the zero line is the weakest, and a cross far from it, after a stretched move, is the one most traders wait for. The version here takes a buy only when both lines are below zero and price is above the 200 EMA, a pullback inside an uptrend, and a sell on the mirror image. Every part is a number compared with a number.
The bot's rules
- MACD is 12/26/9, worked out on the close of 15-minute candles.
- Buy when the MACD line crosses above its signal line while both are below zero and the close is above the 200 EMA.
- Sell when it crosses below while both are above zero and the close is under the 200 EMA.
- Stop beyond the lowest low (sell: highest high) of the last 10 candles, at least 0.5 × ATR(14) from the entry. Targets at 1, 1.5, 2 times the stop distance.
Which version. MACD 12/26/9 with the 200 EMA as the trend filter, as it is usually taught for 15-minute gold: the cross must happen away from zero, the stop beyond the last ten candles, targets at 1, 1.5 and 2 times the stop.
The settings
The defaults the example was found with. Each one is a setting, not a rewrite.
| Setting | Default | What you can change |
|---|---|---|
| Market | XAUUSD | Gold or any of the seven US-dollar majors; other markets need a price feed first. |
| Candles | 15 minutes | MACD is computed on these. |
| Fast EMA | EMA 12 | 12 is the default. |
| Slow EMA | EMA 26 | 26 is the default. |
| Signal line | 9 candles | 9 is the default. |
| Trend filter | EMA 200 | Buys only above it, sells only below it. 0 turns it off. |
| Away from zero | on | A buy needs both lines under zero, a sell both over it. |
| Stop beyond the last | 10 candles | The lowest low for a buy, the highest high for a sell. |
| Smallest stop | 0.5 × ATR(14) | Used when the last candles' extreme is closer than this. |
| Targets | 1, 1.5, 2 × the stop | Or a fixed pip distance. |
The example, as the bot would post it
The signal in the chart above: found by the template's code on XAUUSD 15 min candles at . Its levels, and the message the bot would send with the chart:
- Entry4113.28
- Stop4141.29 · 28 pips
- TP14085.27 · +28 pips
- TP24071.26 · +42 pips
- TP34057.26 · +56 pips
🔴 SELL XAUUSD · MACD crossover Entry: 4113.28 (market) Stop: 4141.29 (28 pips) TP1: 4085.27 (+28 pips) TP2: 4071.26 (+42 pips) TP3: 4057.26 (+56 pips) MACD line crossed below its signal line, above zero, with price under the 200 EMA. Stop beyond the last 10 candles; targets at 1, 1.5, 2 times the stop. Not financial advice. Trade at your own risk.
The same signal in another of the bot's chart templates, Daylight, with a space for your logo:
How often it fires
Signals the template's code found with the defaults over the last twelve months of candles. A count of signals, not of wins: we publish no results for templates.
- Gold (XAUUSD)
- 29.8signals a month: 358 from 2025-10-23 to 2026-10-23
- EURUSD
- 34.3signals a month: 412 from 2025-10-23 to 2026-10-23
Automation, not an edge. A template does the work of watching the chart, finding the setup and posting it. It does not make the strategy win. Before it goes live in your channel we run it over past candles on your markets and show you every signal it would have sent, losses included, privately.
What can be changed
- The rules: every setting above, and any filter or confirmation you can write down.
- The markets: gold and the seven US-dollar majors, one or all of them.
- The chart: your logo where the placeholder is, a chart template in your colours, and the marks your method uses.
- The channels: every signal to a paid channel and a paced share to a free one, the way our own channels run.
Or bring a strategy that is not here: every template started as rules someone wrote down.
Questions
Why must both lines be below zero for a buy?
A cross below zero marks momentum turning up after a pullback. A cross above zero comes later in a move and is often taught as a weaker entry. It is a setting: turn it off to take every cross.
Is MACD 12/26/9 the right setting?
It is the default on every platform and the one the textbooks use, and we do not claim it suits any market. Faster settings cross more often. A test on past candles shows how a setting behaved on your market, losses included.
Why is the first target 1.5 times the stop?
1.5 is the multiple the popular version of this strategy uses; the bot also sends targets at 1 and 2 times the stop, and you can set your own.
Does the bot place trades?
No. It finds the setup, draws the chart, posts the signal to your Telegram channel and follows it with a reply at each target and at the stop. It does not connect to a broker or trade any account.
Can I change the rules?
Yes. Every setting in the table above is yours to change, and so is anything else that can be written down: a filter, a session, a second confirmation, a different stop. If a step is a judgement call, we work out with you how to write it as a rule.
Will it make money?
We do not say it will, for this template or any other. A template is automation, not an edge. Before it goes live we run it over past candles on your markets and show you every signal it would have sent, losses included, privately. How a strategy behaved on past candles is not what it will do.
Is it AI?
No. It follows the written rules on this page. The same candles always give the same signals.
Which markets and timeframes?
The seven US-dollar majors and gold today, on any timeframe from 5 minutes to daily. Other markets need a price feed for them first; ask us.
What does it cost?
Templates are in early access: built with you, for your channel, and priced before launch. Early-access members hear the price first. For a broker, prop firm or educator, write to us.
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