Indicators›Momentum›Directional Movement

GET/indicator/dm

Directional Movement (+DM and −DM)

Category: Momentum · Updated November 2026

The TAAPI.IO Directional Movement API returns plus dm, minus dm values for the Directional Movement indicator as JSON, for crypto pairs and US stocks. Send an exchange, symbol and timeframe to get real-time or historical data, with no candles to download and no calculations to maintain.

Spec	Value
Endpoint	`GET https://v2.taapi.io/indicator/dm`
Outputs	`plus_dm`, `minus_dm`
Markets	Binance, Binance Futures, Bybit, Gate.io, Kraken and US stocks
Timeframes	`1m` to `1w`
Delivery	REST, bulk and WebSocket

Get Directional Movement with one API call

This request returns Directional Movement for BTCUSDT on 1-hour Binance candles. Add your API key to run it here.

curl -G https://v2.taapi.io/indicator/dm \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "exchange=binance" \
  --data-urlencode "symbol=BTCUSDT" \
  --data-urlencode "timeframe=1h"

import requests

resp = requests.get(
    'https://v2.taapi.io/indicator/dm',
    headers={'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'},
    params={'exchange': 'binance', 'symbol': 'BTCUSDT', 'timeframe': '1h'},
)
print(resp.json())

const params = new URLSearchParams({"exchange": "binance", "symbol": "BTCUSDT", "timeframe": "1h"});
const res = await fetch(`https://v2.taapi.io/indicator/dm?${params}`, {
  headers: { Authorization: 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY' },
});
console.log(await res.json());

Directional Movement API response

This response came from the live API on 9 November 2026. Long lists are shortened here.

200 OK

{
  "plus_dm": [1105.2585779563813],
  "minus_dm": [2005.6906278176143],
  "timestamp": [1794218400]
}

Field	Type	Description
`plus_dm`	number[]	Plus dm
`minus_dm`	number[]	Minus dm
`timestamp`	integer[]	Unix time of each candle, in seconds

Directional Movement API parameters

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
`exchange`	string	Yes	—	`binance`, `binancefutures`, `bybit`, `gateio`, `kraken` or `stocks`
`symbol`	string	Yes	—	Pair or ticker, e.g. `BTCUSDT` or `AAPL`
`timeframe`	string	Yes	—	`1m` `5m` `15m` `1h` `4h` `1d` `1w`
`period`	number	No	—	Period
`results`	integer	No	1	Number of values to return, or `max`
`backtrack`	integer	No	0	Candles to skip from the most recent

What is Directional Movement?

Directional Movement is Wilder's raw measure of how much today's range extended above or below yesterday's. This endpoint returns the smoothed positive and negative values together.

Directional Movement formula

Output	Calculation
+DM	High − previous high, if larger than the downward move and positive
−DM	Previous low − low, if larger than the upward move and positive

How to read Directional Movement in your code

Signal	Meaning	Condition
Upward pressure	Range expanding higher	`plus_dm` above `minus_dm`
Downward pressure	Range expanding lower	`minus_dm` above `plus_dm`

Limitations: Values are in price units and not normalised by volatility. For comparable readings use DI. Nothing on this page is financial advice.

Compare the last two closed Directional Movement values

Use backtrack=1 to skip the candle still forming, and results=2 to compare the last two closed candles. Arrays run oldest first.

curl -G https://v2.taapi.io/indicator/dm \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "exchange=binance" \
  --data-urlencode "symbol=BTCUSDT" \
  --data-urlencode "timeframe=1h" \
  --data-urlencode "results=2" \
  --data-urlencode "backtrack=1"

import requests

resp = requests.get(
    'https://v2.taapi.io/indicator/dm',
    headers={'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'},
    params={'exchange': 'binance', 'symbol': 'BTCUSDT', 'timeframe': '1h', 'results': 2, 'backtrack': 1},
)
data = resp.json()
prev, last = data['plus_dm']
print('plus_dm', prev, '->', last)
print('rising' if last > prev else 'falling or flat')

Get historical Directional Movement values

Add results to return a series for backtesting or charting. The last element is the most recent candle.

curl -G https://v2.taapi.io/indicator/dm \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "exchange=binance" \
  --data-urlencode "symbol=BTCUSDT" \
  --data-urlencode "timeframe=1h" \
  --data-urlencode "results=100"

Get Directional Movement for multiple symbols

Combine Directional Movement with other indicators in one request. Each exchange, symbol and timeframe combination is one construct: Basic allows 1 per request, Pro 3 and Expert 10.

POST/bulk

curl -X POST https://v2.taapi.io/bulk \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
  "constructs": [
    {
      "id": "btc_1h",
      "exchange": "binance",
      "symbol": "BTCUSDT",
      "timeframe": "1h",
      "indicators": [
        {
          "id": "dm",
          "indicator": "dm"
        },
        {
          "id": "rsi",
          "indicator": "rsi"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}'

Stream Directional Movement in real time

Subscribe over WebSocket to receive new values every 5 seconds while the candle is forming. Streaming supports 1m, 5m, 15m and 1h, and uses interval where REST uses timeframe.

WSSwss://v2.taapi.io/streaming

{
  "type": "subscribe",
  "id": "dm",
  "exchange": "binance",
  "symbol": "BTCUSDT",
  "interval": "1m",
  "indicator": "dm"
}

Directional Movement API FAQ

What does the Directional Movement API return?

It returns plus_dm, minus_dm, plus a timestamp for the request. Results are JSON.

Is the latest Directional Movement value final?

No. The newest value belongs to the candle still forming and can change until it closes. Add backtrack=1 to read the last closed candle.

Which Directional Movement settings can I change?

You can set period. See the parameters table above for defaults.

Can I get Directional Movement for US stocks?

Yes. Use exchange=stocks with a ticker such as AAPL. US stocks are included on the Pro plan and above.

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