Chaikin Money Flow (CMF): Definition and Formula

Definitions

It summarizes whether recent closes tended toward the high or low while weighting each bar by volume.

CMF_t = sum(MFV over n bars) / sum(V over n bars), using the current-inclusive window and a declared zero-denominator state.

CMF is bounded by the close-location weighting under ordinary positive-volume inputs, but it is not a probability.

CMF_t = sum(MFV_i) / sum(V_i) over the n-bar window

LaTeX: CMF_t = \frac{\sum MFV_i}{\sum V_i}

Symbol	Meaning	Unit
`MFV_i`	window money-flow volume	volume
`V_i`	window volume	volume

Output unit: dimensionless

A reviewer computes Chaikin Money Flow from a small OHLCV fixture and checks readiness, units, and edge cases before publication.

CMF is bounded by the close-location weighting under ordinary positive-volume inputs, but it is not a probability.

Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) TradingView · official platform documentation
Supports: preferred label, short definition, technical definition, formula
Limits: Does not establish a universal threshold, causal signal, or gap-aware interpretation.
Accumulation/Distribution (A/D) Line TradingView · official platform documentation
Supports: preferred label, short definition, technical definition, formula
Limits: Does not turn the line into market breadth, identify trade initiators, or eliminate gap blind spots.
Volume indicators function group TA-Lib · first party technical publication
Supports: preferred label, short definition, technical definition, formula
Limits: Library compatibility does not by itself prove a project's seed, warm-up, or missing-data policy.
Chaikin Oscillator TradingView · official platform documentation
Supports: preferred label, short definition, technical definition, formula
Limits: The oscillator is not adopted as a causal or predictive claim for CMF or ADL.

This record is evidence-reviewed and readable, but not yet promoted to published — it is served noindex,follow and excluded from the sitemap.