Automation FAQ

Frequently asked questions for the automation platform

I want to understand what happened with a trade. Is there a way to see what the automation platform did or did not do?

Yes. Most questions can be answered with the Activity Log. Select Include Debug at the bottom of the panel to get additional details, such as which entry filters were met or not met. This can also provide more information about fills, error messages, and related events.

Note: There is an activity log on the main page, but it has fewer details than the activity log on the strategy page itself. If a user is trying to diagnose what happened with a trade, the first step is to open the strategy itself, then select Activity Log w/ Debug.

If a user wants to see log entries for a previous day’s strategy, the easiest way is to open the individual strategy and select View Activity Log. As above, selecting Include Debug provides additional context.

Activity Log (Clock Button, second from left)

Is there a way to alert me?

You can configure email alerts in Settings → Trading.

Additionally, the platform displays an error message with a yellow triangle. When you click it, it provides more details. Note that the platform alerts each minute that conditions exist during a multi-minute entry. If the user has configured one of the entry-time options to allow multiple minutes, the software may send an alert and later still enter the trade based on the user’s settings. The alert applies to that minute.

Note: Email alerts do not send emails for trade opens and closes. Those come from the broker.

Finally, users should follow the #known-issues channel on the Discord server. If you use automation on OO, this is essential.

Sample error

When does the automation platform start?

Like the backtester, the platform begins automations at 9:32.

Note: If a user has a resting GTC order at the broker, it remains open on a multi-day trade. For example, it will still be open at 9:30 or 9:31.

Are there any limits on number of trades?

Users can make up to 100 opening trades each trading day, across any number of strategies. A counter has been added to the Trade → Live dashboard to keep track of your daily trade count.

If you need more than 100 opening trades per day, you can subscribe to additional Option Omega accounts, which can connect to the same or different brokerage accounts. Please keep in mind the 390 Professional Orders Rule.

What happens to a live trade if I adjust a strategy while it's on?

The live trade will continue based on the original parameters. Note that there is an option to Edit Exit Conditions, which changes a live trade but not the strategy itself. More information here.

What if I have an existing position on and the automation tries to open a conflicting position?

The automation platform's default behavior skips the trade if a conflicting position is detected. There is an option to "Move Conflicted Strikes" for the user to enable. If this option is selected by the user, the platform will move any conflicted strikes to the nearest available strikes based upon the strike selection criteria. If the user has selected the green padlock (use exact strike offset), the offset strikes will move in tandem.

In the main automation screen, I have an active strategy with a negative percentage, but it’s green. Why?

This can happen when a strategy has partial exits. If the user has partially exited a live strategy, they will see the open-position percentage, which could be positive or negative, along with green or red to indicate overall profit and loss. It is possible to have a red strategy with a currently positive open position, or a green strategy with a currently negative open position.

I had an automation that reached an exit condition, but it didn’t exit because of my exit execution settings. The next minute, it didn’t try again. Is that why?

Correct. The platform checked the conditions in the second minute and saw that the exit conditions were no longer met.

Is there an easy way to compare a backtest and a strategy?

Yes, if you are looking at a strategy, clicking on the lightbulb will bring up the backtest that you used to create the strategy.

Note that if you change a backtest or strategy after creating a strategy from a backtest, the other item will not also change. For example, if you used a 10:01 entry time on a backtest and created a strategy from it, then later changed the strategy to 10:02, the backtest would remain at 10:01.

What happens to a backtest when I want to change a strategy?

The user can create a strategy in two ways: from scratch or from one of their saved backtests. If a strategy is created from a backtest, the backtest auto-fills conditions in the strategy. After the strategy is created, changes to the strategy affect only the strategy. Changes to the backtest affect only the backtest.

Does the automation platform support delta exits? What about underlying exit when tested? What about short leg ratios? Can I set profit actions?

Yes. These are all supported. They are checked at 1-minute intervals, just like in backtests.

In general, the choices available in backtesting are also available in automation, with the obvious exceptions of backtest-specific choices such as slippage or Punisher settings like two hits. In addition, SqueezeMetrics are not available in the automation platform.

How are calendar or diagonal spreads handled at expiration?

When trading spreads with different expirations, such as a calendar, double calendar, diagonal, or double diagonal, longer-dated options are not automatically closed when the shorter-dated options expire. This differs from the backtester, which closes the entire trade at expiration of the shortest-dated option in the spread.

To avoid this, define an early exit to close the entire spread, for example at 0 DTE and 3:49 PM. If you want to manage the longer-dated option separately, use leg groups to split it off with separate management rules.

Example: You open a calendar by selling a 2 DTE put and buying a 3 DTE put. On the third day in the trade, you will have a short 0 DTE put and a long 1 DTE put. If the puts are OTM and the trade is left to run into expiration, the short 0 DTE put will expire worthless. However, you will still be left with the long 0 DTE put and the associated risks, such as premium decay. To avoid this, define an exit condition for either the entire trade or that specific leg. See below for more information on expiration and assignment.

How does the automation platform deal with expiration and assignment?

The automation platform does not directly manage expiration or assignment. These are entirely determined by the user and their strategy. This differs from Backtesting, where a trade is closed when any leg expires.

In the live automation platform, the user’s strategy dictates what happens. For example, in multi-leg trades or time spreads, if no specific closing logic is defined, in-the-money (ITM) legs may be assigned, out-of-the-money (OTM) legs may expire worthless, and partial positions may remain open after assignment.

I received this message in the log: "One or more preflight checks failed - Account does not have sufficient buying power available for this order due to Expiration Risk." What does that mean?

Preflight check messages come directly from the broker. The automation platform simply passes them along. If you do not understand the context of the message, contact the broker directly.

I have an account with Schwab, and I received this message in the log: "Open order preview failed with error: No trades are currently allowed." What does that mean?

You need to enable thinkorswim trading for the specific account. You can do this on Schwab.com under the Trade page for the thinkorswim platform. It can take up to one full day for the account to be enabled.

I'm trading SPY (or QQQ or IWM) and I've had a variety of error messages near the end of the day. The broker tells me that strikes can't be closed, or I will be oversold. Why?

Near the end of the day, brokers can run into a variety of issues with 0DTE SPY, QQQ, or IWM options, often with errors like “strikes can’t be closed” or “you will be oversold.” They may enforce strict internal cutoffs, typically between 3:30 PM and 4:00 PM ET, to process trades, prevent unwanted assignment on American-style contracts, avoid pin risk and margin violations, and protect against the extreme illiquidity and wide spreads that appear in the final minutes before 4:15 PM ET expiration. Groupings viewed by the broker are often not the same as the groupings viewed by the trader, or the order in which the spreads may have been opened. Remember, a single SPY contract represents more than $60,000 in notional value.

I received this message in the log: "Insufficient buying power to open trade." Why?

The strategy must pass both the funds and allocation checks in OO automation and the broker’s buying power requirements. Either the automation platform or the broker can trigger a buying power message. Review your strategy and allocation in OO first. If that checks out, reach out to your broker to clarify margin requirements. Margin requirements vary by broker and can change based on account type and other factors.

I want to switch from annual to monthly, cancel, or move from backtesting to automation. How do I do that?

Users can change subscription tiers or billing timeframes at any time in Settings → Billings → Manage Subscription on the main OO website. If you need additional help, email [e-mail]. Here’s a video detailing the process.

If a user wants to cancel automation, it is best to do one of the following while the subscription is still active: pause all live trading, pause all new trades, deactivate strategies, or remove account linkages. Once a user has canceled their automation plan, the OO platform will no longer automate their strategies or manage existing ones.

Will OO Automation select AM-settled SPX expirations?

No. Automated SPX strategies will only select PM-settled SPX expirations, consistent with backtesting.

How does OO handle partial fills for multi-lot trades?

It is possible for a multi-lot trade to be partially filled. When this happens, OO continues incrementing price and attempting to complete the fill within the minute of the execution progression. Depending on increment size and timing, this will usually lead to filling the remaining lots.

However, once the end of the minute is reached, the platform will not recalculate strikes or continue attempting entry the next minute, or for the remainder of the entry window. This behavior is intended to avoid chasing an unfavorable fill price or a position that may be significantly different from the original entry conditions. It also avoids creating a new trade at different strikes.

Once a trade has been partially filled and the entry sequence has concluded, management for the respective contracts (including OTO orders, stops, and profit targets) will begin immediately.

OO closed a position after 4 PM, but I thought it only traded between 9:32 AM – 3:59 PM ET. Why did this happen?

While the OO automation platform actively trades from 9:32 AM to 3:59 PM ET, there are a couple of scenarios where trades may occur after regular trading hours, especially for ETF options that continue trading until 4:15 PM ET, such as SPY, QQQ, IWM, TLT, and GLD:

1. Broker resting orders may be filled after regular hours. This depends on the specific broker. See Profit Target order being filled out of RTH.

2. For assignable ETF options that settle at 4:15 PM ET, such as SPY, QQQ, IWM, TLT, and GLD, OO will continue checking every minute between 3:59 PM and 4:14 PM ET for trades that are expiring that same day, and attempt to exit any options expiring ITM by following the defined exit execution progression until 4:15 PM ET. This is intended to reduce exercise and assignment risk.