Pine Script Time of Day Filter

Gates entries to an hour range on the NY clock, with an optional lunch-exclusion window for midday chop.

Copy//@version=6
strategy("Time of Day Filter", overlay=true, calc_on_every_tick=false)

// ── Inputs ──────────────────────────────────────────────
startHr      = input.int(9,  "Start Hour (ET)", minval=0, maxval=23)
startMin     = input.int(30, "Start Minute", minval=0, maxval=59)
endHr        = input.int(15, "End Hour (ET)", minval=0, maxval=23)
endMin       = input.int(30, "End Minute", minval=0, maxval=59)
skipLunch    = input.bool(false, "Exclude Lunch Window")
lunchStartHr = input.int(12, "Lunch Start Hour (ET)", minval=0, maxval=23)
lunchEndHr   = input.int(13, "Lunch End Hour (ET)", minval=0, maxval=23)

// ── NY-clock minutes of day ──────────────────────────────
nyMins    = hour(time, "America/New_York") * 60 + minute(time, "America/New_York")
startMins = startHr * 60 + startMin
endMins   = endHr * 60 + endMin
inWindow  = nyMins >= startMins and nyMins < endMins
inLunch   = skipLunch and nyMins >= lunchStartHr * 60 and nyMins < lunchEndHr * 60
tradeOK   = inWindow and not inLunch

// ── Entry logic (replace with your own conditions) ───────
longCondition  = ta.crossover(ta.ema(close, 9), ta.ema(close, 21)) and tradeOK
shortCondition = ta.crossunder(ta.ema(close, 9), ta.ema(close, 21)) and tradeOK

if longCondition
    strategy.entry("Long", strategy.long)
    strategy.exit("Long Exit", "Long", profit=20, loss=10)

if shortCondition
    strategy.entry("Short", strategy.short)
    strategy.exit("Short Exit", "Short", profit=20, loss=10)

// Visual
bgcolor(not tradeOK ? color.new(color.gray, 92) : na, title="Outside Trade Window")

Settings

• startHr / startMin — window open on the NY clock. Default 9:30.
• endHr / endMin — window close. Default 15:30.
• skipLunch — toggle the midday exclusion. Default off.
• lunchStartHr / lunchEndHr — lunch window bounds. Default 12:00-13:00.

How to use

• Paste into the Pine Editor and replace the EMA-crossover placeholder with your own entry conditions.
• All times are computed on the NY clock via hour(time, "America/New_York"), so the filter is chart-timezone independent.
• Gray shading marks bars where entries are blocked — verify the window visually before going live.
• For a single simple window, the session filter is shorter; use this version when you need minute precision or the lunch exclusion.

Frequently Asked Questions

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