Multi-timeframe (MTF) Pine Script Guide [2025]

You know that feeling when you're looking at a 5-minute chart and everything looks like chaos, but then you zoom out to the daily chart and suddenly it all makes sense? That's exactly why multi-timeframe analysis is such a game-changer.
I've been playing around with Pine Script for a while now, and one of the coolest things I've discovered is how you can pull data from different timeframes into a single indicator. It's like having multiple perspectives on the same story - and trust me, it changes everything.
Why Look at Multiple Timeframes?
Think about it this way: if you're only looking at one timeframe, you're basically trying to understand a movie by watching just one scene. You might see some action, but you're missing the bigger picture.
Here's what I've noticed when I started using multiple timeframes:
- The noise on shorter timeframes becomes way more obvious when you see the bigger trend
- You stop getting fooled by those fake breakouts that happen all the time on small timeframes
- Your entries and exits become so much better because you're working with the overall flow instead of fighting it
Getting Your Hands Dirty with the Code
The magic happens with Pine Script's request.security()
function. It's basically your way of saying "hey, grab me some data from that other timeframe over there."
Here's a simple example I put together:
//@version=5
indicator("Multi-Timeframe Example")
// Pick your timeframes
tf1 = input.timeframe("5m", title="Short Term")
tf2 = input.timeframe("1h", title="Medium Term")
tf3 = input.timeframe("1D", title="Long Term")
// Get the closing prices from each timeframe
close_5m = request.security(syminfo.tickerid, tf1, close)
close_1h = request.security(syminfo.tickerid, tf2, close)
close_1d = request.security(syminfo.tickerid, tf3, close)
// Show them on your chart
plot(close_5m, color=color.red, title="5min Close")
plot(close_1h, color=color.blue, title="1hr Close")
plot(close_1d, color=color.green, title="Daily Close")
This is just scratching the surface, but you can already see how powerful this is. You're literally seeing three different perspectives of the same market on one chart.

Making Life Easier with Tools
Now, I'll be honest - writing Pine Script from scratch can be a pain sometimes. I've spent way too many hours debugging code that should have been simple. That's where tools like Pineify come in handy.

What I really like about Pineify is that it takes care of a lot of the tedious stuff. You can build multi-timeframe indicators without getting lost in the weeds of coding. Plus, you can actually run more indicators than TradingView normally allows, which is pretty sweet when you're doing serious multi-timeframe analysis.
Website: Pineify
Check out all the features here if you're curious.
Some Things I've Learned the Hard Way
After making plenty of mistakes, here are a few tips that might save you some headaches:
Watch out for repainting: This is when your indicator keeps changing its mind about past signals. It's super annoying and can make your backtesting results look way better than they actually are. Always test your indicators on historical data to make sure they're not doing this.
Pick timeframes that make sense: Don't just randomly throw together a 1-minute and 1-month timeframe. Think about your trading style. If you're day trading, maybe use 5-minute, 1-hour, and daily charts. If you're swing trading, try 1-hour, 4-hour, and weekly.
Keep it simple at first: I used to try to cram every possible timeframe into one indicator. It was a mess. Start with just two or three timeframes and build from there.
The Real Deal
Here's the thing - multi-timeframe analysis isn't some magic bullet that's going to solve all your trading problems. But it definitely gives you a much clearer picture of what's actually happening in the market.
I remember this one time I was about to go long on a stock because the 15-minute chart looked amazing. Then I checked the daily chart and realized it was hitting major resistance. Saved me from a really bad trade.
That's the power of seeing the bigger picture. You start making decisions based on what the market is actually doing, not just what it looks like it might be doing on one random timeframe.
So if you haven't tried multi-timeframe analysis yet, give it a shot. Start simple, play around with the code, and see how it changes your perspective on the markets. You might be surprised at what you discover.