Custom Types & Enums

User-Defined Types (UDTs)

Define custom types with the type keyword. Fields must have explicit types and can have optional default values:

struct Order {
    int id,
    string symbol,
    float price = na,
    varip int updateCount = 0,
}

Fields can use:

• An explicit type (required)
• An optional default value with =
• An optional varip declaration mode (makes the field persist across intrabar updates)

Creating Instances

Use .new() to create an instance:

let myOrder: Order = Order.new(id: 1, symbol: "AAPL");

Accessing and Modifying Fields

let orderPrice = myOrder.price;
myOrder.price = 155.0;
myOrder.quantity = 200;

Copying

let clone: Order = Order.copy(myOrder);
clone.price = 160.0;

Methods on Types

struct Position {
    float entry,
    float size,
    bool isLong = true,
}

method pnl(self: Position, currentPrice: float) {
    let diff = currentPrice - self.entry;
    self.isLong ? diff * self.size : -diff * self.size
}

method isProfit(self: Position, currentPrice: float) {
    self.pnl(currentPrice) > 0
}

let pos = Position.new(entry: 100.0, size: 10.0);
if pos.isProfit(close) {
    label.new(bar_index, high, str.tostring(pos.pnl(close), "#.##"));
}

varip on Type Fields

Individual fields can use varip to persist across intrabar updates while other fields still roll back:

struct Counter {
    int bars = 0,
    varip int ticks = 0,
}

var counter: Counter = Counter.new();
counter.bars += 1; // subject to rollback on unconfirmed bars
counter.ticks += 1; // NOT subject to rollback

Generic UDTs

UDTs can declare one or more type parameters. The parameter names stand for any type when the UDT is instantiated:

struct Pair<A, B> {
    A first,
    B second,
}

let p: Pair<int, string> = Pair.new(first: 42, second: "hello");

Field types may themselves be parameterized — for example, holding a collection of T:

struct Stack<T> {
    Array<T> items,
    int count = 0,
}

method push<T>(self: Stack<T>, value: T) {
    self.items.push(value);
    self.count += 1;
}

method pop<T>(self: Stack<T>): T {
    self.count -= 1;
    self.items.pop()
}

var s: Stack<float> = Stack.new();
s.push(close);
s.push(open);

The compiler monomorphizes each instantiation — Stack<float> and Stack<int> produce separate, correctly-typed objects with proper GC tracking for reference fields.

Enums

Define enumerations with the enum keyword. Variants are simple names (no associated data):

enum Direction {
    Long,
    Short,
    Both = "Both Directions",
}

Using Enums

Access variants via the enum name:

let d: Direction = Direction.Long;

if d == Direction.Long {
    strategy.entry("L", Direction.Long);
} else if d == Direction.Short {
    strategy.entry("S", Direction.Short);
}

Import and Export

Exporting

Mark functions, types, and enums with export to make them visible to importing modules:

library("MyLib");

export struct Config {
    int length,
    float multiplier,
}

export fn calcSMA(src: series float, length: simple int) {
    ta.sma(src, length)
}

export enum Side {
    Left,
    Right,
}

Importing

indicator("My Indicator");
use MyLib as lib;

let config = lib.Config.new(length: 20, multiplier: 2.0);
let sma = lib.calcSMA(close, config.length);
plot(sma);

Access exported members via the module name:

use utils;
utils.add(1, 2);                     // call exported function
let obj: utils.MyType = na;          // use exported type
let value = utils.MyEnum.A;          // access exported enum variant

Newtype Declarations

Navi supports the type Name = underlying_type; syntax to create a distinct type backed by an existing type. This allows you to define domain-specific types without creating new structures:

type MyInt = int;
let a: MyInt = 10; // accepts the underlying type's values

Newtypes can be layered:

type MyInt = int;
type SpecialInt = MyInt;
let x: SpecialInt = 42; // OK

The standard library uses newtypes extensively to create distinct types for drawing objects and plot styles:

// prelude/draw.1.nvs
export type plot_style = int;
export type hline = int;
export type label = int;
export type line = int;
export type box = int;
export type table = int;

Compiler-Special Types

The following types are used by Navi's standard library to implement certain advanced built-in functions. You will not normally use them in your own scripts — they appear in stdlib source and are handled transparently when you call functions like input.source, request.security, or max_bars_back.

expression

Allows a function to receive an unevaluated AST node instead of a computed value. Used by input.source() to know which variable the user passed in, so the UI can display it by name.

let src = input.source(defval: close);
// `close` is captured as an expression, not evaluated to a number.
// The settings UI shows "Close" as the default source option.

instructions<T>

Allows a function to receive a compiled code block that is re-executed in a different context. Used by request.security() to run expressions on a different symbol or timeframe.

// Simple series — re-evaluated in the AAPL/1D context each bar:
let aapl_close = request.security("AAPL", "1D", close);

// Compound expression — entire expression re-executed in context:
let aapl_sma = request.security("AAPL", "1D", ta.sma(close, 14));

variableref

Allows a function to receive a compile-time reference to a variable or series. The compiler resolves the reference at compile time and passes metadata to the native function. Used by max_bars_back() to extend the history buffer for a specific series.

// Extend the history buffer for a built-in series:
max_bars_back(close, 500);

// Or for a user-defined series variable:
let myAvg: series float = ta.sma(close, 20);
max_bars_back(myAvg, 200);

Next Steps

• Functions & Methods — function definitions, static methods, operator overloading, and more
• Standard Library — explore built-in functions
• Integration — run scripts programmatically