DocumentationPRO

Your First Study

Open the Study Editor, compile the built-in starter study, and watch it land on a live chart — step by step.

Zero to a live study

This walks you from a fresh terminal to a working custom study on a chart, using the built-in Study Editor and the study it comes preloaded with. You will not install a compiler, create files by hand, or restart anything.

*Pro feature

The Study Editor is a Pro feature. On Free you can read this guide, but Compile & Load is gated to Pro.

1 · Open the Study Editor

From the terminal menu bar choose Custom Studies › Study Editor…. A separate editor window opens. It is a real code editor: a line-number gutter, C++ syntax highlighting, find/replace, and an OUTPUT pane along the bottom for compiler messages.

`STUDY FILE`	The study's file/name base (top-left). Defaults to my_sma. Non-identifier characters are sanitized to underscores when the file is written.
`Compile & Load`	Builds the current source with the bundled compiler and hot-loads it. Also bound to Ctrl+Enter.
`OUTPUT`	The compiler's merged output plus the load result. Green on success, red on failure.
`Ctrl+F`	Find. Ctrl+H is find/replace, F3 / Shift+F3 step matches, Esc closes the bar.

iNo banner? Good.

If the editor is missing its compiler you would see a warning strip at the very top with a Re-check button. On a healthy install there is no strip — the bundled compiler is already found.

2 · Read the starter study

The editor opens preloaded with a complete, compilable study — a simple moving average drawn on the price plane. This is the whole file:

my_sma.cpp

// A custom study — compiles to a DLL against ONLY the Sharpnel Study SDK.

// Click "Compile & Load" to build it and add it under Custom Studies > Add Study.

#include "sharpnel_study_sdk.h"

#include <new>

namespace { struct Inst { int _ = 0; }; }

extern "C" {

SHARPNEL_STUDY_API int sharpnel_study_v1_abi_version(void) {

return SHARPNEL_STUDY_ABI_VERSION;

}

SHARPNEL_STUDY_API void sharpnel_study_v1_describe(SnStudyDesc* d) {

d->type_id = "my_sma"; // unique id for this study

d->display_name = "My SMA (editor)";

d->category = "Trend";

d->target = SN_TARGET_OVERLAY; // draw on the price plane

}

SHARPNEL_STUDY_API int sharpnel_study_v1_inputs(SnInputSpec* out, int max) {

if (max < 1) return 1;

out[0].type = SN_IN_INT; out[0].key = "period"; out[0].label = "Period";

out[0].def_i = 20; out[0].min = 2; out[0].max = 400; out[0].step = 1;

return 1;

}

SHARPNEL_STUDY_API void* sharpnel_study_v1_create(void) { return new (std::nothrow) Inst(); }

SHARPNEL_STUDY_API void sharpnel_study_v1_destroy(void* p){ delete static_cast<Inst*>(p); }

SHARPNEL_STUDY_API void sharpnel_study_v1_compute(

void*, const SnSeries* s, uint64_t, const SnInput* in, int n,

SnSink* sink, const SnSinkApi* api) {

long long period = 20;

for (int i = 0; i < n; ++i)

if (in[i].key && in[i].key[0] == 'p') period = in[i].ival;

if (period < 2) period = 2;

SnBuf b = api->subgraph(sink, "SMA", SN_STYLE_LINE, 0xFF5AA9E6u, 1.4f);

if (!b.ptr) return;

const uint64_t cnt = (s->count < b.len) ? s->count : b.len;

double sum = 0.0;

for (uint64_t i = 0; i < cnt; ++i) {

sum += s->bars[i].close;

if (i >= (uint64_t)period) sum -= s->bars[i - (uint64_t)period].close;

b.ptr[i] = (i + 1 >= (uint64_t)period) ? sum / (double)period : SN_NOVALUE;

}

SHARPNEL_STUDY_API void sharpnel_study_v1_shutdown(void) {}

}

Every entry point a study needs is here: it reports the ABI version, describes itself for the Add-Study menu, declares one integer input (period), allocates one line subgraph, and fills it with a rolling mean of the close. You do not need to understand every line yet — the Worked Examples page dissects this exact study line by line.

3 · Compile & Load

Press Compile & Load (or Ctrl+Enter). The compile runs in the background, so the UI never freezes. Watch the OUTPUT pane:

Success ends with a green line like ✓ Loaded study 'my_sma' — added to Add Study.
Failure prints the compiler's errors, then a red ✗ Build failed. — fix the code and press again.

On success the terminal does three things automatically: it trusts the DLL (it built it from your own source), registers the study under Custom Studies › Add Study in the category you declared, and drops it straight onto the active chart. If no chart is open it opens one first.

+Tip

Change the period after it's on the chart from Custom Studies › Configure Study… — the settings dialog is built automatically from the inputs you declared.

4 · Where your work lives

Everything is written under the terminal's studies folder (your app-data studies directory, overridable with SHARPNEL_STUDIES_DIR):

`src/<name>/<name>.cpp`	Your source, saved verbatim on every compile so it is always editable and recoverable.
`_session/<name>__hN.dll`	The freshly built DLL, with a session-unique suffix so a re-compile never collides with a still-loaded prior build.
`<name>.dll.pending`	A staged copy the terminal promotes to <name>.dll at the next startup — so your study auto-loads on future launches.

iIt survives a restart

Because a copy is staged and promoted at startup, a study you compiled today is trusted and re-loaded automatically the next time you open the terminal. You do not have to rebuild it every session.

SDK Reference — the full API: exports, types, the drawing sink, and the safety contract.
Worked Examples — this SMA and a momentum histogram, explained line by line.
Compiling — what the build step actually runs under the hood.

← Previous

Custom Studies (C++)

SDK Reference

Futures/options trading involves substantial risk. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Content is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice. Not suitable for all investors.

Zero to a live study

*Pro feature

The Study Editor is a Pro feature. On Free you can read this guide, but Compile & Load is gated to Pro.

1 · Open the Study Editor

`STUDY FILE`	The study's file/name base (top-left). Defaults to my_sma. Non-identifier characters are sanitized to underscores when the file is written.
`Compile & Load`	Builds the current source with the bundled compiler and hot-loads it. Also bound to Ctrl+Enter.
`OUTPUT`	The compiler's merged output plus the load result. Green on success, red on failure.
`Ctrl+F`	Find. Ctrl+H is find/replace, F3 / Shift+F3 step matches, Esc closes the bar.

iNo banner? Good.

If the editor is missing its compiler you would see a warning strip at the very top with a Re-check button. On a healthy install there is no strip — the bundled compiler is already found.

2 · Read the starter study

The editor opens preloaded with a complete, compilable study — a simple moving average drawn on the price plane. This is the whole file:

my_sma.cpp

// A custom study — compiles to a DLL against ONLY the Sharpnel Study SDK.

// Click "Compile & Load" to build it and add it under Custom Studies > Add Study.

#include "sharpnel_study_sdk.h"

#include <new>

namespace { struct Inst { int _ = 0; }; }

extern "C" {

SHARPNEL_STUDY_API int sharpnel_study_v1_abi_version(void) {

return SHARPNEL_STUDY_ABI_VERSION;

}

SHARPNEL_STUDY_API void sharpnel_study_v1_describe(SnStudyDesc* d) {

d->type_id = "my_sma"; // unique id for this study

d->display_name = "My SMA (editor)";

d->category = "Trend";

d->target = SN_TARGET_OVERLAY; // draw on the price plane

}

SHARPNEL_STUDY_API int sharpnel_study_v1_inputs(SnInputSpec* out, int max) {

if (max < 1) return 1;

out[0].type = SN_IN_INT; out[0].key = "period"; out[0].label = "Period";

out[0].def_i = 20; out[0].min = 2; out[0].max = 400; out[0].step = 1;

return 1;

}

SHARPNEL_STUDY_API void* sharpnel_study_v1_create(void) { return new (std::nothrow) Inst(); }

SHARPNEL_STUDY_API void sharpnel_study_v1_destroy(void* p){ delete static_cast<Inst*>(p); }

SHARPNEL_STUDY_API void sharpnel_study_v1_compute(

void*, const SnSeries* s, uint64_t, const SnInput* in, int n,

SnSink* sink, const SnSinkApi* api) {

long long period = 20;

for (int i = 0; i < n; ++i)

if (in[i].key && in[i].key[0] == 'p') period = in[i].ival;

if (period < 2) period = 2;

SnBuf b = api->subgraph(sink, "SMA", SN_STYLE_LINE, 0xFF5AA9E6u, 1.4f);

if (!b.ptr) return;

const uint64_t cnt = (s->count < b.len) ? s->count : b.len;

double sum = 0.0;

for (uint64_t i = 0; i < cnt; ++i) {

sum += s->bars[i].close;

if (i >= (uint64_t)period) sum -= s->bars[i - (uint64_t)period].close;

b.ptr[i] = (i + 1 >= (uint64_t)period) ? sum / (double)period : SN_NOVALUE;

}

SHARPNEL_STUDY_API void sharpnel_study_v1_shutdown(void) {}

}

3 · Compile & Load

Press Compile & Load (or Ctrl+Enter). The compile runs in the background, so the UI never freezes. Watch the OUTPUT pane:

Success ends with a green line like ✓ Loaded study 'my_sma' — added to Add Study.
Failure prints the compiler's errors, then a red ✗ Build failed. — fix the code and press again.

+Tip

Change the period after it's on the chart from Custom Studies › Configure Study… — the settings dialog is built automatically from the inputs you declared.

4 · Where your work lives

Everything is written under the terminal's studies folder (your app-data studies directory, overridable with SHARPNEL_STUDIES_DIR):

`src/<name>/<name>.cpp`	Your source, saved verbatim on every compile so it is always editable and recoverable.
`_session/<name>__hN.dll`	The freshly built DLL, with a session-unique suffix so a re-compile never collides with a still-loaded prior build.
`<name>.dll.pending`	A staged copy the terminal promotes to <name>.dll at the next startup — so your study auto-loads on future launches.

iIt survives a restart

Because a copy is staged and promoted at startup, a study you compiled today is trusted and re-loaded automatically the next time you open the terminal. You do not have to rebuild it every session.

Your First Study

Zero to a live study

1 · Open the Study Editor

2 · Read the starter study

3 · Compile & Load

4 · Where your work lives

Next

Your First Study

Zero to a live study

1 · Open the Study Editor

2 · Read the starter study

3 · Compile & Load

4 · Where your work lives

Next