The Terminal

How to Use the Wyckoff Lab

A step-by-step walkthrough of the Wyckoff Lab: build a scan list, run a scan, and read the chart markers and analysis.

6 min read

The Wyckoff Lab is a workspace for spotting quiet accumulation before it turns into a breakout. It scans a list of stocks you choose, scores how closely each one matches a Wyckoff-style base, and draws the structure right on the chart. Here's how to use it, panel by panel.

Before you start

The Wyckoff Lab is included with the Analyst plan. If you open it and see an upgrade message, your current plan doesn't include it yet. If you're curious about the ideas behind it first, read 'Accumulation & Wyckoff Structure, Demystified'.

The workspace at a glance

• Top bar — look up a single symbol, pick a scan mode and preset, and run or stop a scan.
• Scan Results — every stock from your last scan, ranked by score, with badges for the structures found.
• Chart — candles with the base drawn on: range floor and ceiling lines plus markers for each Wyckoff event.
• Watchlists — build and manage the lists of symbols the scanner works through.
• Analysis — the plain-English breakdown of why the loaded stock scored the way it did.

Step 1 — Build a scan list

In the Watchlists panel, create a list and add symbols — type a ticker in the top bar's search box and pick from the suggestions, or add them directly in the panel. The scanner runs on whichever list is active, so you can keep separate lists for different ideas (say, one for semiconductors, one for beaten-down small caps). (Operator accounts additionally have an all-companies scan source in Settings that covers the entire stock catalog and ignores watchlists for that run.)

Step 2 — Pick a scan mode

• Breakout base — finds stocks that already built a tight base near their highs and are coiling for a breakout. Use this when you want names that are almost ready.
• Early accumulation — hunts for bottoming structures much earlier: a selling climax, the first bounce, and a successful retest. Use this when you want to get in front of the crowd, accepting that these need more patience.

Presets bundle sensible threshold settings for each style. Start with a preset — you can always open Settings later to fine-tune thresholds and weights once you know what you're looking for.

Step 3 — Run the scan and read the results

Hit Run scan. Progress shows in the top bar, and results fill in as they're scored. Each row shows the stock's score and badges for the structures detected. Click a row to load it into the chart and the Analysis panel. You can also skip the scan entirely and type any symbol into the top bar to evaluate just that one stock on demand.

Step 4 — Read the chart markers

• SC (selling climax) — a heavy, panicky capitulation low. The starting point of a potential bottom.
• AR (automatic rally) — the sharp first bounce off that low. Its high marks the top of the new trading range.
• ST (secondary test) — a calmer retest of the low on lighter volume. Sellers are running out.
• Spring — a quick dip below support that snaps right back, trapping sellers. Often the final shakeout.
• SOS (sign of strength) — a decisive push up through resistance on real volume. The base is resolving upward.
• LPS (last point of support) — a quiet higher-low pullback after strength. Often the cleanest spot to plan an entry.
• SOW (sign of weakness) — the bearish mirror: a decisive break down through support. A warning, not a buy signal.

Dashed lines mark the range floor (support) and ceiling (resistance), so you can see exactly where the stock sits inside its base. The Analysis panel explains the same findings in plain English — which checks passed, which didn't, and how the score came together.

What to do with a find

The Wyckoff Lab tells you where accumulation looks likely — it deliberately doesn't hand you an entry, stop, and target. When a stock looks interesting, take it to the Trade Builder to turn the idea into an actual plan with risk-to-reward math, or check whether it already appears on The Edge.