How to Enable or Disable Inputs in Pine Script v6 (Conditional Inputs Using active)

Pine Script v6 lets you conditionally enable or disable an input in the settings panel based on another input (like a checkbox). This is perfect for building clean indicators where users only see (and can edit) advanced settings when they actually need them.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to use the active parameter in input.*() to toggle inputs on/off—using a simple moving average (SMA) length example.

Why disable inputs in Pine Script?

Disabling inputs improves usability and reduces user error:

Keeps your indicator settings minimal and beginner-friendly
Hides advanced options until they’re needed
Prevents confusion (“What is this setting for?”)
Makes your scripts feel more professional and polished

Common use-cases:

“Use custom length” checkbox that unlocks a length field
“Enable filters” toggles that unlock RSI/ATR thresholds
“Use higher timeframe confirmation” toggle that unlocks timeframe inputs

The idea: one input controls another input

We’ll create:

A checkbox: Custom Length
A numeric input: SMA Length, only editable when the checkbox is enabled
A fallback: if the checkbox is off, we use the default value (10)

Here’s your script:

// This Pine Script® code is subject to the terms of the Mozilla Public License 2.0 at https://mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/
// © QuantNomad

//@version=6
indicator("Disabling an input")

checkbox = input.bool(false, title = "Custom Length")
len      = input.int(10, title = "SMA Lenth", active = checkbox)

sma_len = checkbox ? len : 10

sma = ta.sma(close, sma_len)

plot(sma)

Step-by-step explanation

1) Create a checkbox input

checkbox = input.bool(false, title = "Custom Length")

input.bool() creates a true/false checkbox in the indicator settings

Default is false, meaning “custom length is off” initially

2) Conditionally enable another input with active parameter

len = input.int(10, title = "SMA Lenth", active = checkbox)

This is the key line.

input.int() creates a number input (integer)
active = checkbox means:
- when checkbox == true → the user can edit the SMA length
- when checkbox == false → the input is disabled in the UI

So the SMA Length field becomes “grayed out” until users enable Custom Length.

3) Use a conditional value in your calculations

Even when an input is disabled, it still exists as a variable. But you usually want logic like:

sma_len = checkbox ? len : 10

That way:

If custom length is enabled → use the user’s len
Otherwise → force the default 10

4) Compute and plot the SMA

sma = ta.sma(close, sma_len)
plot(sma)

You now have an SMA that uses either:

a fixed default length, or
a user-defined length when enabled

The result will look like that:

Best practices (so it scales to real indicators)

Use a constant default to avoid duplication

Right now you have 10 in two places (input default + fallback). In bigger scripts, define it once:

DEFAULT_LEN = 10

checkbox = input.bool(false, "Custom Length")
len = input.int(DEFAULT_LEN, "SMA Length", active = checkbox)

sma_len = checkbox ? len : DEFAULT_LEN

This reduces mistakes when you later change defaults.

Combine with other conditional inputs

You can chain multiple “advanced” inputs under one toggle:

useFilter = input.bool(false, "Enable Filter")
rsiLen = input.int(14, "RSI Length", active = useFilter)
rsiLevel = input.int(50, "RSI Level", active = useFilter)

Keep UI clean with groups (optional)

For a nicer settings panel:

groupMain = "SMA Settings"
checkbox = input.bool(false, "Custom Length", group = groupMain)
len = input.int(10, "SMA Length", active = checkbox, group = groupMain)

Final thoughts

Using active In Pine Script v6, one of the simplest ways to make your indicators feel more professional is to use. It’s especially useful when you publish tools to a wider audience (public scripts, client indicators, paid products) because it keeps settings intuitive.

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