Automation FAQ

Frequently asked questions for the automation platform

I want to tell what happened with a trade. Is there a way for me to see what the automation platform did or did not do? How can I get more information?

Yes, users can answer most questions with the Activity Log. Select the "Include Debug" at the bottom of the panel and get additional information, such as entry filters that were met or not met. This can also provide more information about fills, error messages, etc.

Note: There is an activity log on the main page, but this 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 navigate to the strategy itself, then select Activity Log W/Debug.

If a user wants to see the log entries for a previous day's strategy, the easy way to do this is view the individual strategy's activity log, which can be accessed by selecting the webpage for the individual strategy, and "View Activity Log". As above, selecting "Include Debug" will give 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 will display an error message (yellow triangle). When you click on it, it will give more details. Note, the platform will alert each minute that conditions exist during a multiple minute entry. If the user has configured one of the entry time choices to allow for multiple minutes, it is possible for the software to send an alert, and then later enter the trade per the user's parameter. The alert is designed to alert for that minute.

Note: Email alerts do NOT send emails for opening & closing of trades (those come from the broker).

Finally, users should be following the #known-issues channel on the Discord server. If you are automation on OO, this is a must!

Sample error

When does the automation platform start?

Like the backtester, the platform will begin automations at 9:32.

Note: if a user has a resting GTC order at the broker, on a multi-day trade these will remain open (i.e. at 9:30/9:31 these will be open).

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 there is an option to "Edit Exit Conditions", which is a choice to change a live trade, but not a strategy. More information here.

What if I have an existing position on and the automation tries to put on 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 that has a negative in front of the percentage, but it's green, why?

This can happen when a strategy has partial exits. If the user has partially exited a live strategy, the user will see the open position percentage (which could be positive or negative), along with green or red (indicating overall profit and loss). It's totally 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 due to my exit execution settings, it didn't exit. The next minute, it didn't try to exit. I noticed the condition (S/L ratio exit) was triggered in the first minute, but then was not triggered. Is that why the platform didn't exit.

Correct, the platform checked the conditions in the "second" minute, and saw that the conditions for an exit were not 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. I.E., if you used a 10:01 entry time on a backtest and created a strategy with it, then changed to 10:02 at a later date on the strategy, the backtest will remain at 10:01.

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

The user can create a strategy two ways: from scratch, or using one of their own saved backtests. If a strategy is created from a backtest, the backtest will auto-fill conditions in the strategy. After the strategy is created, a change to the strategy will only impact the strategy. A change to the backtest after that will only impact 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 all supported. They are checked at 1-minute intervals, like in the backtests.

In general, the choices for the backtest are available in the automation, with the obvious exceptions of backtest-specific choices (i.e. slippage, Punisher settings such as two hits, etc.) Additionally, SqueezeMetrics are not in the automation platform.

How does the automation platform deal with expiration and/or assignment?

The automation platform does not directly manage expiration or assignment—these are entirely determined by the user and their strategy. In the backtester, 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, etc., etc.

I received a 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" message. What does that mean?

Preflight check messages are from the broker directly— the automation platform simply passes them along. If you don't understand the context of the message, please contact the broker directly.

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

You have to enable the thinkorswim trading for specific accounts. You can do this on Schwab.com on the Trade page - thinkorswim platform. It can take up to 1 entire 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 have a variety of issues with 0DTE SPY/QQQ/IWM options (often with errors like “strikes can’t be closed” or “you will be oversold”). They may enforce strict internal cutoffs (typically 3:30–4:00 p.m. 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 p.m. ET expiration. Groupings viewed by the broker are often not the groupings viewed by the trader (or the order in which the spreads may have gone on, in the event of multiple positions). Remember, a single SPY contract is over $60,000 of notional.

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

The strategy must pass both the correct funds & allocation in the OO automation, as well as the broker buying power requirements. Either the automation platform or the broker can cause a buying power message. Please review your strategy and allocation in OO, and if that checks out, reach out to your broker and clarify margin requirements. Margin requirements vary by broker, and can change based on a variety of factors, including account type and other factors.

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

Users can change subscription tiers or timeframes at any time in settings⇒ billings⇒ manage subscription in the main OO website. If you need additional help, you can email [email protected]. Here's a video detailing the process.

If a user wants to cancel automation, it is advised to do one of the following while the subscription is 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.