> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.tradinglab.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.tradinglab.ai/indicator-strategies/smart-money-concepts/market-structure.md).

# Market Structure

Market structures are core concepts of the smart money concepts methodology. The TradingLab Smart Money Concepts toolkit automatically detects and highlights real-time market structures on the market, allowing for a wide variety of entry/exit signals.

### Types Of Market Structures <a href="#type-of-market-structures" id="type-of-market-structures"></a>

<figure><img src="/files/zbRwOqU2cvW1RyYMCjjA" alt="Market Structure Stocks"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Market structures allow you to determine trend continuations as well as trend reversals in the market through two distinct structures:

* Change of Character (CHoCH)
* Break of Structure (BOS)

These are further described in the sub-sections below.

#### Change Of Character (CHoCH) <a href="#change-of-character-choch" id="change-of-character-choch"></a>

A change of character (CHoCH), sometimes also referred to as "market structure shift" is characterized by price breaking a prior swing low during an uptrend (bullish CHoCH) or a prior swing high during a downtrend (bearish CHoCH), and thus indicates a potential market reversal.

<figure><img src="/files/AAQF4pbKURcdmoAkIj3Y" alt="Change of Character (CHoCH)"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

#### Break Of Structure (BOS) <a href="#break-of-structure-bos" id="break-of-structure-bos"></a>

A BOS is characterized by price breaking a prior swing high during an uptrend (bullish BOS) thus forming a new higher high, or a prior swing low during a downtrend (bearish BOS) thus forming a new lower low. These structures occur after a CHoCH.

BOS's do not indicate reversals but continuations of a trend, as such it is common to observe successive BOS in a trend.

<figure><img src="/files/lG9hVvfyVVAvqXcXDamT" alt="Break of Structure (BOS)"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>