Manual Trade Log (Journal Overlay)

Manual Trade Log (Journal Overlay) – What this script does

This indicator lets you manually record trades inside TradingView and display them directly on the chart.

It provides two views at the same time:
1. A journal table overlay on the chart showing your trades
2. Chart labels placed on the candles that match your trade time

The goal is to keep a simple trading journal without leaving TradingView.

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How you enter trades

The script includes 10 manual trade slots (Trade 1 to Trade 10).

Each trade slot has these fields:
• Enabled (true/false)
Turns that trade on or off.
• Date/Time
The timestamp for the trade.
• Type
Long, Short, Buy, Sell, Entry, or Exit.
• Price (optional)
If left blank, the table and label show it as empty.
• Quantity (optional)
If left blank, the table and label show it as empty.
• Notes
Free text description.

Only trades with Enabled = true are used.

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What appears on the chart

A) Journal table overlay

When “Show journal table” is enabled, the script draws a table with columns:
• Date/Time
• Type
• Price
• Qty
• Notes

The table uses a high-contrast style (dark background, bright text) to stay readable on most chart themes.

You can control:
• Table position (top/bottom, left/right)
• Number of rows shown
• Font size and colors

B) Trade labels on candles

When “Show labels on chart” is enabled, the script plots labels on the candle that matches each trade’s timestamp.
• Labels are up for Long/Buy/Entry style trades
• Labels are down for Short/Sell/Exit style trades
• Label text includes Type and optional Price/Qty/Notes

This gives you instant visual context for when and why you took a trade.

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How trade-to-candle matching works

TradingView candles represent time ranges (for example, a 5-minute candle covers 09:35 to 09:40).
A trade is considered to “belong” to a candle if its timestamp falls within that candle’s time range.

To handle small mismatches (timezones, timeframe alignment, or rounding), the script includes:
• Use nearest-bar tolerance (on/off)
• Tolerance bars (how many bars around the time are considered acceptable)

If tolerance is enabled, the label can still appear even if the trade time is slightly off from the candle boundary.

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Known limitations (TradingView / Pine limits)
• Fixed number of trades (10):
Pine Script inputs are static. You cannot add unlimited form rows dynamically.
This script is designed for manual journaling with a fixed set of entries.
• Label limit:
TradingView scripts can plot a maximum of 500 labels.
This script is safely below that unless used in unusual ways across long histories.
• Chart history must be loaded:
Labels only appear for timestamps that exist in the loaded chart history.
If you don’t see a label, zoom out or scroll back to ensure that date is loaded.
• Timestamp uses symbol exchange timezone:
Input time is interpreted in the chart’s timezone/exchange context.
If your trades were recorded in a different timezone, you may need to adjust.

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Best use case
• Manual trade journaling for discretionary traders
• Quickly reviewing execution timing and reasoning
• Keeping a lightweight log visible on the chart without external tools