How to change candlestick color on TradingView: a complete guide

Changing the colors of candlesticks on TradingView is a breeze, and it works the same whether you're on your computer, phone, or tablet. It's one of the easiest ways to make a chart feel like your own. This guide will walk you through all the different ways to do it, from the simple click-and-change method to using a bit of code for total control, plus what to do if the colors aren't updating like you expect.

The Quickest Way

Here's how to change candlestick colors in just a few clicks:

1. Head to Chart Settings: Click the "Settings" (gear icon) at the top of your chart.
2. Navigate to the Symbol Tab: On the left-hand menu, select the "Symbol" tab.
3. Choose Your Colors: You'll see options to change the colors for the "Up" and "Down" candlesticks. You can customize the body, the border, and even the wick (the thin lines above and below) separately.
4. Save Your Style (Optional): Once you have a look you love, you can save it as a template or theme so all your future charts will match.

A handy shortcut is to simply double-click on any candlestick on the chart—this will open the Chart Settings directly. On mobile, just tap the gear icon to find the same color options.

Element	What It Is	Customization Tip
Up Body	The main body of a candle that closed higher than it opened.	Often set to a green or blue.
Down Body	The main body of a candle that closed lower than it opened.	Often set to a red or black.
Wick	The thin lines showing the high and low price range.	You can match these to the body or use a contrasting color.
Border	The outline around the candle body.	This can help define the candle shape on busy charts.

Why you should customize your candlestick chart colors

Changing the colors of your candlestick chart isn't just about making it look pretty. It's one of those small tweaks that can make a huge difference in how quickly and accurately you read the market.

Think about it: if you're staring at a screen for hours, the right colors can reduce eye strain and help you spot trends faster. Custom colors improve the chart's visibility and contrast, which is a game-changer if you prefer working in dark mode. The default colors might not pop the way you need them to on a darker background.

It also helps create a sense of consistency. If you use other indicators or drawing tools, matching your candlestick colors creates a cohesive, easy-to-follow layout. Some traders even align their chart colors with their platform's overall theme or personal branding, making their workspace feel truly their own.

And then there's accessibility. The classic red and green for down and up moves can be difficult for people with color vision deficiencies. By switching to a high-contrast combination—like blue for up candles and orange for down—you get a much clearer picture, making the up/down signals instantly understandable for everyone. It's a simple change that makes trading more inclusive and a lot less stressful.

Customizing Your Chart's Look: A Simple Guide for Desktop

Want to make those candlestick charts truly yours? Changing the colors is a quick way to do it, whether you're trying to match your trading platform's theme or just make the up and down movements clearer at a glance. Here's how you can do it right from your desktop.

• Open the Settings: Start by right‑clicking anywhere on the chart itself. From the menu that pops up, select Settings. This will open the Chart Settings panel on the side.
• Find the Color Controls: Navigate to the Symbol tab. This is where all the magic happens for customizing the chart's appearance.
• Pick Your Colors: Here, you'll see separate options to edit the Body, Border, and Wick colors for both up and down bars. Simply click on the color swatches next to "Up" and "Down" to set your preferred hues for each part. You can mix and match them completely independently.
• Adjust the Logic (Optional): If you want to get a bit more advanced, look for an option like "color based on previous close." Enabling this changes how the chart defines an "up" or "down" bar, which can be useful depending on your trading style.
• Save Your Changes: When you're happy with your new color scheme, click OK or Apply to see it take effect on your current chart.
• Save it for Later: Don't want to go through this process every time? Save your hard work! Use the chart or style menu to save this entire setup as a template or theme. This makes it super handy to apply your favorite look to any other chart with just one click.

How to Change Your Chart's Candle Colors on the Mobile App

Want to make your trading charts easier to read at a glance? Changing the candle colors to a scheme you prefer is a great way to do it. Here's a quick, step-by-step guide on how to do it right from your mobile app.

1. Open Your Chart Settings: First, pull up the chart you want to customize. Then, tap the little gear icon (that's your settings) which is usually found on the bottom toolbar or along one of the sides.

2. Find the Candle Controls: Next, tap on "More settings." From there, look for and select the option named "Candle" or "Symbol." This is where all the magic happens for customizing how your price candles look.

3. Pick Your New Colors: Now for the fun part! You'll see options to set custom colors for:

   • Up Body & Down Body (the main block of the candle)
   • Border (the outline of the candle)
   • Wick (the thin lines above and below) Simply tap on each one and choose a color that works best for you. Creating a high-contrast scheme can really help with readability.

4. Save Your Changes: Once you're happy with your new color combination, just save and exit the menu. Your chart will automatically update with the fresh new look you just created.

Quick Tricks to Navigate Your Charts Faster

Ever feel like you're clicking through too many menus to adjust your chart? Here are a few simple shortcuts that can save you a ton of time.

• Double-Click a Candle: The fastest way to get to Chart Settings? Just double-click directly on any candlestick on your chart. This takes you straight there, and you can then head to the 'Symbol' tab to make your changes.
• Use the Header Icons: Look at the top of your chart. You'll see icons for the chart style and the symbol. Clicking on these is a one-stop shortcut to adjust the visual settings on most chart types.
• Save Your Styles: If you often switch between a bright, sunny room and a darker space, keep a couple of saved style templates. You can instantly switch between a light and dark color scheme without manually changing every setting.

Action	Shortcut
Open Chart Settings	Double-click any candle
Access Visual Settings	Click style/symbol icon in chart header
Switch Color Schemes	Use saved style templates

Making the Chart Your Own: A Guide to Candle Customization

Getting your chart to look just right isn't just about aesthetics—it's about clarity. When you can instantly understand what the market is telling you, you can make better decisions. Here's a breakdown of what you can tweak to make your candlestick chart work perfectly for you.

Think of the Body as the main event. It's the rectangular part that shows the battle between the opening and closing prices during your chosen time period. You'll typically set one color for "up" candles (when the close is higher than the open) and another for "down" candles. This immediate color coding is the fastest way to gauge market sentiment at a glance.

If you're using a dark background or your color scheme is particularly vibrant, the Borders are your best friend. Adding a thin outline around the body of each candle creates a crisp separation from the background, making everything pop and preventing the colors from visually blending together.

Then you have the Wicks (sometimes called shadows). These thin lines show the absolute high and low of the period. A great trick is to set the wick color to be a slightly darker or lighter shade than the candle body. This provides a subtle contrast that makes the wicks easy to distinguish from the body without being distracting, giving you a crystal-clear picture of the full price range.

Finally, you have control over the Definition Logic. This is just a fancy way of saying: "How does the chart decide what an 'up' or 'down' candle is?" By default, most charts compare the current closing price to the previous closing price to determine the color. This setting lets you stick with that common method or choose a different one if you have a specific way you prefer to visualize the price action.

Save your color scheme as a reusable template or theme

Once you've landed on a color palette you love, the smartest thing you can do is save it as a custom theme or style within your tool. Think of it like saving a favorite recipe—it means you don't have to start from scratch every single time. Just load your saved theme, and your colors will be instantly applied to any new chart you create.

For a truly professional look, it's important to keep your colors consistent everywhere your data lives. Apply that same saved theme across the web, desktop, and mobile versions of your apps (where the feature is available). This way, your audience gets the same clean, recognizable experience no matter what device they're using.

And here's a pro tip: when you decide to adjust or tweak your colors in the future, save it as a new version of your theme. This simple habit acts like a safety net. If the new contrast isn't as readable as you'd hoped, you can easily revert to your previous, tried-and-true version without any hassle.

Where You're Working	What to Do
Web, Desktop & Mobile Apps	Apply your saved theme for a consistent look everywhere.
After Making Color Tweaks	Save it as a new version to keep your old palette safe.

Also match your volume bar colors

Here's a quick tip to make your chart look clean and put together: make your volume bars match your candlesticks.

Just pop open the settings for your volume indicator. You'll see options for the "Up" and "Down" bar colors. Go ahead and adjust those to mirror your candlestick color scheme. For example, if your up-candles are green, make your up-volume bars green too.

While you're in there, pay attention to the color of the volume moving average (MA). You want that line to stand out clearly against the bars. Choosing a distinct color makes it super easy to spot the volume trend at a glance.

Finally, once you have everything looking just right, save these indicator settings as part of your main chart template. This way, every new stock or symbol you look at will automatically have the same, consistent visual style.

Setting the Stage for Clearer Charts

Think of your chart's background like the paper you're drawing on. You want something that makes the data pop without straining your eyes. Here's how to get it just right.

Start with a subtle background. A gentle, muted gradient or a simple flat color works wonders. The main goal is to make sure those all-important candlesticks are super easy to see, without any harsh glare or distraction.

Next, soften those grid lines. Grids are helpful guides, but they shouldn't shout for attention. Tone them down by reducing their opacity or using a lighter color. They should gently guide your eye across the chart, not fight with the price action for your focus.

Finally, do a quick color check. After you've adjusted the background and grid, take a second look at your indicators. Can you still spot your moving averages and RSI lines instantly? Make any small tweaks to their colors so they stand out clearly against your new setup. This last step keeps your chart from becoming a jumbled mess and helps you process information at a glance.

Troubleshooting: When Your Candle Colors Won't Change

It's super frustrating when you've picked out the perfect colors for your chart, but your candles stubbornly refuse to change. Don't worry, this is a common hiccup, and it's almost always because something else on your chart is overruling your color settings.

Here's how to figure out what's going on and get your custom palette back.

1. The Most Likely Culprit: Conflicting Indicators

Think of your chart like a stack of transparent sheets. Your main color settings are on the bottom, but any indicator you add lays another sheet on top. If that indicator has its own coloring rules, it can "repaint" the bars, covering up your default colors.

The easiest way to find the troublemaker is to hide your indicators one by one. Simply click the 'eye' icon next to each indicator in your list. The moment your candles snap back to the colors you wanted, you've found the script that was causing the conflict.

2. Check Your Custom Scripts

If you use any custom scripts or strategies, they often have their own color commands built right in. Look for lines of code that use functions like barcolor or plot(). These functions are designed to force a specific color, and they will always have the final say.

Try temporarily removing or commenting out these scripts to test. Once you've identified the script, you can often edit its settings to disable its coloring or make it use colors that fit your theme.

3. The Simple Reset

Once you've disabled any scripts that were forcing their own colors, your chart might look a bit of a mess. The quickest way to get everything looking sharp again is to reapply your saved template. This will wash away all the leftover color overrides and restore your beautiful, custom color palette exactly as you intended.

In short: Find and disable the indicator that's repainting, then reapply your template. You'll be back in business in no time.

Getting creative with bar colors in Pine Script

Want to make your TradingView charts instantly communicate what's happening in the market? You can program your own bar coloring system using Pine Script's barcolor() function.

Here's a practical example: imagine coloring bars red when they're above a fast-moving average (showing strong momentum), orange when they're in between, and green when they're below a slow-moving average (indicating weaker momentum). This creates a visual hierarchy that lets you spot trends at a glance.

//@version=5
indicator("Dynamic Bar Colors Example", overlay=true)
fastLen = input.int(21, "Fast EMA")
slowLen = input.int(55, "Slow EMA")
fast = ta.ema(close, fastLen)
slow = ta.ema(close, slowLen)

aboveFast = close > fast
belowSlow = close < slow

c = aboveFast ? color.red : belowSlow ? color.green : color.orange
barcolor(c)

This code uses a neat conditional approach that lets you work with more than just two colors, giving you room for more detailed visual context. If you're new to Pine Script, check out our complete guide on how to run Pine Script in TradingView to get started with coding your own indicators.

If you're looking to create custom indicators like this without writing code, Pineify's visual editor makes it incredibly straightforward. You can build the exact same bar coloring system using their drag-and-drop interface - no programming required. Just select your moving averages, set your color conditions, and Pineify generates the perfect Pine Script code automatically.

One thing to keep in mind: scripts like this will take over your chart's appearance, so you'll want to make sure they play nicely with any existing chart templates you're using. If you ever need to see the original colors again, you can always toggle the script off in your indicators list.

Color Scheme Tips and Best Practices

Getting your chart's colors right can make a huge difference in how easily you can read the market. Here are a few simple ideas to make your charts work better for you.

Go for Maximum Contrast Think of it like this: you want each element to stand out clearly. A great way to do this is to pair dark wicks (those little lines above and below the candles) with a lighter-colored body. This creates a clean separation, making the chart much easier to scan at a glance, especially if you use a dark theme.

Be Kind to Your Eyes Staring at a screen all day can be tough. Instead of using harsh neon colors that can cause eye strain, try slightly softer versions of green and red. Or, you could even experiment with a different pair of colors altogether, like a calm teal for up-moves and a warm coral for down-moves. Your eyes will thank you after a long trading session.

Keep Things Consistent The goal is to build a visual language you understand instantly. Try to use a unified set of colors for your candlesticks, volume bars, and key indicators. When everything follows the same color story, your brain recognizes patterns faster, helping you make decisions without unnecessary confusion.

Customizing Your TradingView Charts: A Quick Color Guide

Got questions about changing the colors of those candlesticks on TradingView? Here's a straightforward breakdown of the most common queries.

How can I quickly change candlestick colors? It's super simple. Just head to your Chart Settings, then find the Symbol tab. From there, you can pick new colors for the 'Up' and 'Down' bodies, their borders, and even the wicks. Don't forget to hit OK or Apply to see your changes!

Is this possible on the mobile app? Absolutely! On your phone or tablet, tap the settings gear icon, go into More settings, and then look for the Candle or Symbol options. You'll find the same controls to set your preferred 'up' and 'down' colors right there.

My color changes aren't showing up. What's going on? This usually happens when an indicator or script is actively coloring the bars. To get back to your custom colors, you'll need to find and hide (or disable) that specific script on your chart.

Can I save my favorite color setup? Yes, and it's a huge time-saver! You can save your entire styling—including your color scheme—as a template or a theme. This lets you apply the same look to any chart and even sync it across your devices.

Can I use more than just red and green for my bars? Definitely! If you're using Pine Script, the barcolor() function is your best friend. It lets you color bars based on almost any condition you can code, giving you a much richer and more detailed visual. For more advanced coding techniques, explore our guide on understanding Pine Script and multi-timeframe analysis.

How do I get my volume bars to match my candle colors? For a perfectly coordinated chart, open the settings for your volume indicator. Inside, you'll find options to set the 'Up' and 'Down' bar colors, allowing you to match them exactly to your candlestick palette.

Next steps

Here are a few simple, practical ways to put this into action and make your charts truly work for you.

• Set up for any condition: Consider creating two separate chart templates—one fine-tuned for dark rooms and another for well-lit environments. The key is to map them to hotkeys or a quick-access menu so you can switch between them in a second, no matter how the lighting in your space changes.
• Keep your charts clean: It's a good habit to periodically review your indicators. Check that none are unintentionally "repainting" past bars, which can give false signals. When it comes to coloring candlesticks with your Pine scripts, always ask yourself: "Does this color add a real, useful signal, or is it just extra noise?" For cleaner code, learn about optimizing your Pine Script with comment blocks to maintain organized and efficient indicators.
• Share and refine: Talk to your trading peers about your favorite color setups. Sharing what works (and what doesn't) is a fantastic way to get new ideas. Use that feedback to continuously tweak your charts, improving clarity and reducing eye strain for those long trading sessions. Your comfort is key for long-term focus.