Trading options from a TradingView alert: contract symbols, auto-picked strikes and the rules that change

There are two ways to trade options from an alert. You can send the exact contract, or you can send the stock's ticker and let the subscription choose the contract. Either way, a few order rules change compared with stocks. This guide covers both ways and every rule that differs.

Way 1: send the exact contract

If your alert runs on an option's own chart, TradingView fills in {{ticker}} with the contract. We accept the common formats and convert them all to the standard OCC symbol:

Each format reads as underlying, expiration (YYMMDD), C or P, and strike. A badly formed contract is refused at the webhook with:

Invalid Options ticker symbol format. The correct format is: [UNDERLYING] [YYMMDD][C|P][STRIKE]. Example: SPY 241004C571

If you also send optionType, it must match the C or P in the symbol. A mismatch is refused rather than letting one of them win.

Way 2: send the ticker and let the subscription pick

Send the underlying instead, and the subscription's Options Settings choose the contract at the moment the signal arrives. This is the section on our demo account's "SPY Weekly Calls" subscription:

1. Call or put

   Option type is Both, Calls or Puts. Calls is the default, and then a sell signal sells a call. With Both, buy buys a call and sell buys a put.

2. Expiration

   Expiration type (any, 0DTE, daily, weekly, monthly, end of month, quarterly or LEAPS) plus an optional target such as +7 days. We take the first expiration on or after the target.

3. Strike

   We find the at-the-money strike, the one nearest the stock's current price, and keep Strike count strikes around it (an even number from 2 to 20, 12 by default). We then apply In the money or Out of the money and take the strike Strikes away from the money. With the settings above, that's the second out-of-the-money weekly call.

4. Send

   The result is an ordinary contract symbol, and the rest of the order works exactly as if you had sent that contract yourself.

{"ticker": "SPY", "action": "buy", "optionType": "call", "expirationType": "weekly", "intrinsicValue": "otm", "strikesAway": 2}

When the subscription allows contract overrides (the default), fields like these in the signal replace the subscription's settings for that one trade.

The rules that only apply to options

When the market is closed

An options signal that arrives on the webhook outside the session is queued and sent at the next open. The Fire Panel works differently: a manual options order is refused while the market is closed, so you never leave a hand-placed order waiting overnight. See how the market-hours queue works.

Options on paper

The built-in EZPZ Trader Paper account trades stock and index options long only: you can buy calls and puts and sell them back. Contracts that expire are settled after the close. It's a good place to check that your symbols, strikes and sizes come out the way you expect before any real premium is at stake.

Frequently asked questions