What is market structure?
Market structure is the sequence of swing highs and swing lows price leaves behind. An uptrend makes higher highs and higher lows. A downtrend makes lower highs and lower lows. When neither pattern holds, price is ranging. Reading structure answers one question before any other: which side is currently in control?
What is a break of structure (BOS)?
A break of structure is when price moves beyond the last swing point in the direction of the trend. In an uptrend, that means trading above the most recent swing high; in a downtrend, below the most recent swing low. A BOS confirms the trend is continuing.
BOS vs. change of character (CHoCH)
A change of character is the first break against the trend. In an uptrend, it is price breaking below the most recent higher low. It is the earliest structural sign that control may be shifting. After a CHoCH, a break of structure in the new direction confirms the shift.
Does a wick count, or only a close?
Traders differ. A close beyond the swing point is the stricter rule and filters out many false breaks, at the cost of a slightly later confirmation. A wick-only break often turns out to be a liquidity sweep instead: price takes the stops beyond the level and then reverses.
Why the timeframe matters
Structure exists on every timeframe at once, and the timeframes often disagree. A 5-minute chart can show a clean downtrend inside a 4-hour uptrend. That is why many traders split the job:
| 4H and 1H structure | Sets the direction you are willing to trade |
| 15m structure | Shows where the current swing is and where liquidity sits |
| 1m–5m structure | Times the entry with a small, local break of structure |
More on this split in multi-timeframe bias.
Internal vs. external structure
External structure is the major swing highs and lows that define the bigger trend. Internal structure is the smaller swings inside one leg of it. Breaks of internal structure happen far more often and mean less on their own; they matter most at a level you already care about, such as just after a sweep.
How ATLAS uses break of structure
ATLAS uses structure at two scales. On the higher timeframes, it reads 4H and 1H structure to set its directional bias, and it will not print a signal against that bias. On your execution chart, its final confirmation is a MicroBOS: a small-scale break of structure in the bias direction that has to happen after a liquidity sweep and a tap into a valid zone. A zone touch alone never produces a signal; the micro structure has to turn first.
Signals print on the close of the bar that confirms the sequence, and they stay fixed on the chart after that. They do not repaint.
The features page lists the confirmation settings, including how strict the sequence must be.