TradingView Watchlist Guide

How to create a watchlist in TradingView

1. Open any chart and click the Watchlist icon on the right-hand toolbar to open the watchlist panel.
2. Click the name of the current watchlist at the top of the panel.
3. Choose Create a new one and give the list a name.

The same menu has Rename, Make a copy and Clear the list. On the free Basic plan you get one watchlist. Paid plans let you keep several and switch between them from this menu.

How to add and remove symbols

1. In the watchlist panel, click the + button to open symbol search.
2. Pick an asset type if you want to narrow the results, search for the symbol, and click the plus icon next to it.
3. New symbols are added at the bottom of the list. Drag them to reorder.

To remove a symbol, hover over it and click the × that appears. To empty the whole list at once, use Clear the list from the watchlist menu.

Tip: the same ticker often trades on several exchanges, e.g. NASDAQ:AAPL and BOATS:AAPL, or BINANCE:BTCUSDT and BINANCE:BTCUSDT.P. Check the exchange in search results before adding. Our symbol format guide explains the prefixes and suffixes.

How to organise a watchlist with sections

Sections split one watchlist into labelled groups, e.g. Crypto, Indices and FX, so a long list stays readable.

1. Right-click the symbol that should sit below the new section.
2. Choose Add section. The section is created above that symbol.
3. Name it. You can rename, move or delete sections at any time.

Sorting works within each section, so your groups stay intact when you sort by price change or volume. In an import file, a section is written as a line starting with three hashes, like ###Crypto.

How to use flags (coloured lists)

Flags mark symbols with a colour, and each colour works as its own quick list you can open from the watchlist menu, or filter by in the Screener.

• Flag a symbol from its right-click menu, or press Alt + Enter (Option + Enter on Mac) to flag it with the last colour you used.
• The free Basic plan has one flag colour (red). Paid plans have seven.
• A symbol can carry only one flag colour at a time.

Columns, sorting and Advanced view

• Columns: the three-dot menu at the top right of the panel lets you show or hide last price, change, % change, volume and extended-hours change, plus logos, tickers and descriptions.
• Sorting: click a column name to sort by it. Click again to reverse.
• Advanced view: opens the whole list as a full-screen table with Overview, Earnings, Dividends and News pages, summary rows (min, max, average, median), and grouping by section, currency, symbol type, sector or exchange.

How to import a watchlist (Upload list)

1. Prepare a plain .txt file. TradingView’s help centre specifies comma-separated symbols with their exchange prefix, e.g. NASDAQ:AAPL,OANDA:EURUSD,BINANCE:BTCUSDT. Sections are written as ###Name.
2. In the watchlist panel, click the watchlist name.
3. Choose Upload list… (labelled Import in some versions) and select your file.

Remember the size limit: 1,000 symbols per list on paid plans, 30 on the free plan. If your file is bigger, the Watchlist Cleaner splits it into numbered files, and can also remove duplicates and fix formatting first.

How to export a watchlist

1. Open the watchlist you want to save.
2. Click the Advanced view button.
3. Above the table of quotes, click Download list as TXT.

You get a .txt file in the same comma-separated format, ready to back up, edit, or upload to another account.

How to share a watchlist

• Open the watchlist and switch on Share list. TradingView gives you a link that anyone can open.
• People with the link see the list on its own page, and can copy it to their own account.
• Switch sharing off and the link stops working.

TradingView watchlist limits by plan

From TradingView’s pricing page, October 2026. Plans and limits change, so check the current figures before upgrading. For prices and every other limit, see our TradingView plans comparison.

Why a watchlist import fails

• Too many symbols for your plan (over 30 on free, over 1,000 on paid). Split the file.
• Missing exchange prefixes. AAPL instead of NASDAQ:AAPL makes TradingView guess, and the guess can differ between devices.
• Spreadsheet characters: smart quotes, invisible byte-order marks or stray spaces copied from Excel or Google Sheets.
• Wrong contract type, e.g. a crypto perpetual without .P imports as the spot market instead.

The Watchlist Cleaner fixes the formatting problems and flags missing prefixes automatically. For the details of every prefix and suffix, see the TradingView symbol format guide.

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