Automating TradingView Strategies for Options & Futures Options in Interactive Brokers (IB)

1. Introduction #

This guide provides a step-by-step process for automating your options trading with Interactive Brokers (IB) using our platform. It explains key options trading concepts, order configurations, and how to set up trading automation efficiently.

2. Understanding Options Trading Basics #

Before setting up automated trading, it’s crucial to understand key terms:

Term	Explanation
Call Option	Gives the buyer the right (but not the obligation) to buy an asset at a specified price before expiration. Ideal when expecting the asset price to rise.
Put Option	Gives the buyer the right (but not the obligation) to sell an asset at a specified price before expiration. Ideal when expecting the asset price to drop.
In-The-Money (ITM)	A Call option is ITM if the stock price is above the strike price. A Put option is ITM if the stock price is below the strike price.
Out-Of-The-Money (OTM)	A Call option is OTM if the stock price is below the strike price. A Put option is OTM if the stock price is above the strike price.
Strike Price	The price at which the option can be exercised.
Expiration Date	The date by which the option contract expires.
Premium	The cost to purchase an option contract.
Lot Size	The number of shares per contract (typically 100 per contract).

3. Broker Selection #

Available Brokers #

Steps #

Select Interactive Brokers (IB) from the available options.

4. Alert Configuration #

Alert Type Options #

Alert Type	Description
INDICATOR	Alerts based on technical indicators (e.g., RSI, Moving Averages).
STRATEGY	Alerts based on predefined trading strategies in TradingView.

We have selected STRATEGY as our preferred alert type.

5. Instrument Type #

Choose Options from the available choices: Futures, Futures Options, Options, Stocks.

6. Option Type #

Setting	Explanation	Example
Call	Expecting the stock price to rise.	Buying an AAPL Call when the stock price is at $150, expecting it to go higher.
Put	Expecting the stock price to fall.	Buying a TSLA Put when the stock price is at $700, expecting it to drop.

7. Order Strike Away #

SETTING	EXPLANATION	EXAMPLE
Strike Away	Defines how far the strike price is from the market price.	Market price of AAPL: $237.30, Strike Away: 2 → Call strike: $239.30, Put strike: $235.30
At-the-Money (ATM)	Strike price is equal to the market price.	Market price of AAPL: $237.30, Call strike: $237.30, Put strike: $237.30
In-the-Money (ITM) Calls	Strike price is below the market price, making the option immediately valuable.	Market price of AAPL: $237.30, ITM Call strike: $235.30
In-the-Money (ITM) Puts	Strike price is above the market price, making the option immediately valuable.	Market price of AAPL: $237.30, ITM Put strike: $239.30
Out-of-the-Money (OTM) Calls	Strike price is above the market price, meaning the option has no intrinsic value.	Market price of AAPL: $237.30, OTM Call strike: $242.30
Out-of-the-Money (OTM) Puts	Strike price is below the market price, meaning the option has no intrinsic value.	Market price of AAPL: $237.30, OTM Put strike: $232.30

Refer to the attached IB screenshot below this table for a visual representation of the option chain and strike prices.

8. TradingView Symbol #

Optional (Only required if Stop Loss type is set to ticks or total loss)

Enter Options Symbol:
This is where you tell PickMyTrade which options contract you want to trade (e.g., AAPL 150C, SPY 400P, etc.). Filling this in is optional but required if you want PickMyTrade to calculate stop loss and take profit based on tick size or total loss.

If the symbol doesn’t exist or isn’t mapped correctly: You’ll need to set it up first in PickMyTrade. Only after this setup will trades occur on that options contract.

Want to send an alert for one options symbol and trade a different one?
You can! For example:

You’re using AAPL 150C on your TradingView chart for the alert.
But you want the actual trade to happen on AAPL 155C.
In this case, just enter AAPL 155C in the PickMyTrade options symbol field.

What if you don’t enter an options symbol here?
No worries — PickMyTrade will simply take the trade based on whatever options chart you’ve set up in TradingView for the alert.

9. Strategy Type #

Confirm Exit Handling

Determine how exits will be managed for your strategy:

Multiple Exits (e.g., TP1, TP2): #

Yes: If your strategy has multiple exit levels (e.g., TP1, TP2), IB will not prompt for additional Stop Loss (SL) or Take Profit (TP) settings.

Automated Exits: Exits can be fully automated within the TradingView strategy.
Attaching SL/TP to Entry Orders: If you opt to attach Stop Loss and Take Profit to entry orders in IB, only one TP and one SL per order are supported. Multiple exit levels (e.g., TP1, TP2) are not accommodated in this configuration.

No: If your strategy does not handle exits, you must manually configure Stop Loss (SL) and Take Profit (TP) settings in IB.

Would your strategy have multiple exits like TP1, TP2, etc.?
No

→ Would you like to place Stop Loss and Take Profit orders in IB with each order from your strategy?
Yes

→ Stop Loss / Take Profit / BreakEven Type:
(Refer to the table in the “Select TradingView Indicator” section for a detailed explanation of each option.) Click here.

10. Account Selection:
#

Would you like to add multiple accounts or select a specific account for trade execution?
Answer:YES (Upon selecting YES, additional configuration options become available.)

or trade execution?

Yes – You can configure multiple accounts or execute trades from a specific account in Interactive Brokers (IB).

A. Add an IB Subaccount Under an Existing PickMyTrade Login #

If you have multiple IB accounts linked under a single IB login, you can allocate trades to them using quantity multipliers.

PickMyTrade Connection Name: Choose the IB account where you want to execute trades.
Quantity Multiplier: Adjusts the number of contracts proportionally for each account.

Example: #

If you have two IB subaccounts:

IB_Account_1 (Primary) → Multiplier: 1.5 (Executes 1.5 times the default contract size)
IB_Account_2 (Secondary) → Multiplier: 1.0 (Executes the standard contract size)

This setup ensures proportional trade execution across multiple subaccounts.

B. Add a Separate IB Account Under Another PickMyTrade Login #

For traders managing multiple IB accounts under different PickMyTrade logins, you can link each account individually using a unique authentication token.

PickMyTrade Token: Enter the token associated with the IB account you want to add.
PickMyTrade Connection Name: Enter the exact connection name as displayed in your PickMyTrade account.
Quantity Multiplier: Defines how much the contract size should be adjusted for this account.

Example: #

If you have two separate IB accounts under different PickMyTrade logins:

IB_Account_3 (Second IB Account) → Multiplier: 2.0
IB_Account_4 (Primary IB Account) → Multiplier: 1.5

In this scenario, trades in the second IB account execute at 2x the default size, while the primary account follows a 1.5x multip

Once these values are entered, click “Generate Alert” to proceed.

11. JSON Parameter Explanation: #

The alert will be generated in JSON format like this:

Parameter Breakdown #

{
  "symbol": "AAPL",
  "date": "{{timenow}}",
  "data": "buy",
  "quantity": 10,
  "risk_percentage": 0,
  "price": "{{close}}",

  "tp": 0,
  "percentage_tp": 100,
  "dollar_tp": 100,

  "sl": 0,
  "percentage_sl": 50,
  "dollar_sl": 50,

  "entry_offset": 0,
  "lmt_to_market_wait": 0,
  "order_type": "MKT",
  "update_tp": false,
  "update_sl": false,
  "token": "<YOUR_API_TOKEN>",
  "duplicate_position_allow": false,

  "platform": "IB",
  "inst_type": "OPT",
  "place_order_at": "away_strike",
  "reverse_order_close": false,

  "multiple_accounts": [
    {
      "token": "<YOUR_ACCOUNT_API_TOKEN>",
      "account_id": "sdfghjkknx",
      "connection_name": "qwecfghvxs",
      "risk_percentage": 0,
      "quantity_multiplier": 10
    }
  ],

  "option_type": "call",
  "expiry_date": "T1",
  "order_strike": 237.30
}

Symbol

Trading instrument (e.g., 'AAPL' for Apple stock options).

Date

Automatically inserts the current timestamp.

Data

Defines the trade action: 'buy', 'sell', or 'close'.

Quantity

Number of contracts/shares to trade (e.g., 10 contracts).

Risk Percentage

0 = manual quantity entry.
Greater than 0 = trade size calculated based on account balance and stop loss.

Price

Uses the latest closing price if not specified.

Take Profit (TP) Settings #

Fixed take profit price (not used).

Percentage TP

Sets take profit at 100% above entry price.

Dollar TP

Sets take profit at a $100 gain.

Stop Loss (SL) Settings #

Fixed stop loss price (not used).

Percentage SL

Sets stop loss at 50% below entry price.

Dollar SL

Sets stop loss at a $50 loss.

Order Settings #

Entry Offset

Adjusts order execution by an offset (not used).

LMT to Market Wait

Time delay before converting a limit order to a market order (not used).

Order Type

'MKT' for immediate market order execution.

Update TP/SL

False = new TP/SL orders are created instead of modifying existing ones.

Token

API token for secure communication.

Duplicate Position Allow

False = prevents multiple open positions on the same symbol.

Platform & Account Details #

Platform

'IB' for Interactive Brokers.

Inst Type

'OPT' indicates options trading.

Place Order At

Places order at a specified strike price offset.

Reverse Order Close

False = prevents closing opposite positions before placing new orders.

Multiple Accounts #

Each entry under multiple_accounts manages additional accounts with specific settings.

Quantity Multiplier

Multiplies the base quantity (e.g., 10x base order size).

Options Contract Details #

Option Type

Specifies a 'call' option contract.

Expiry Date

'T1' sets options expiry to ‘Next Day’.

Order Strike

Sets the strike price for the order.

16. Troubleshooting #

Connection Issues? Ensure your IB account is active and reconnects.
Need Help? Contact PickMyTrade support.

Interactive Brokers

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