Scanner & Universe
8 settings on this page.
Auto-Screener IV Rank Floor
What it does
Sets the minimum IV rank a symbol needs to enter the daily automatic scan universe, the auto-screener list on the Universe tab. This is the main quality dial for the scan. The source watchlists only decide which names are candidates. This threshold decides which of those candidates actually qualify as high enough IV rank to be worth trading.
When to change it
Raise it when the scan universe fills with names whose premium is too thin to justify the risk. Lower it in quiet volatility regimes when almost nothing clears the bar and the bot sits idle. Note this is the scanner floor, which is separate from the per-engine IV rank floors such as mechanical_min_iv_rank. A name must clear both.
Safe range
20 to 50. Below 20 the universe fills with low-premium names. Above 50 the universe can empty out entirely in calm markets.
Example
Set to 40 and only names with IV rank 40 or above from the source watchlists make it into the daily auto-screener list.
Auto-Screener Universe Cap
What it does
Caps how many symbols the daily automatic screener keeps after the IV rank and liquidity filters have run, ranked highest IV rank first. This bounds scan cost no matter how many source watchlists you union together.
When to change it
Raise it if you union many watchlists and want deeper coverage of the qualifying names. Lower it to cut scan time and API load. Because the cut is ranked by IV rank, lowering it keeps the highest IV rank names and drops the marginal ones.
Safe range
100 to 500. Below 100 you may cut off qualifying names in an active volatility regime. Above 500 scan time grows with little practical gain.
Example
Set to 250 and even if 800 names pass the IV rank and liquidity filters, only the top 250 by IV rank are kept.
Auto-Screener Liquidity Floor
What it does
Sets the minimum tastytrade liquidity rating, on a 1 to 5 scale, for a symbol to qualify for the daily automatic scan universe. It filters thinly traded names out before they ever reach the entry logic, which matters for defined-risk spreads where a wide bid-ask spread quietly eats the credit.
When to change it
Raise it to 4 if you are seeing poor fills or wide spreads on entries. Lowering it below 3 widens the universe but pulls in names where the spread cost can exceed the edge.
Safe range
3 to 5. Below 3 is not recommended for premium selling, since fill quality degrades faster than the added candidate count helps.
Example
Set to 3 and only reasonably liquid names, rating 3 and above, are considered.
Auto-Screener Refresh Interval
What it does
Controls how often, in minutes, the automatic screener re-scans the source watchlists and rebuilds the auto-screener list. It runs from the trading loop, so it also determines how current that list stays without pressing the refresh now button on the Universe tab.
When to change it
Leave it daily for a normal premium-selling cadence, since IV rank moves slowly. Shorten it during fast-moving volatility regimes when you want the universe to track the market intraday. Each refresh costs API calls against the source watchlists, so shorter intervals are not free.
Safe range
60 to 1440. Below 60 adds API load with little benefit, because IV rank rarely shifts enough within an hour to change the universe.
Example
Set to 1440 and it refreshes once per day. Set to 60 and it refreshes hourly.
Auto-Screener Source Watchlists
What it does
Selects which tastytrade public watchlists are unioned together as candidates for the daily automatic screener, before the IV rank and liquidity filters are applied. Widening this adds more candidates to filter, not more high IV names directly. The IV rank floor is what actually controls quality. At least one watchlist must stay selected.
When to change it
Add watchlists when the universe is too small to produce entries and you have already lowered the IV rank floor as far as you want. Remove them to concentrate the scan on a narrower, better understood set of names. Adding a broad watchlist does not lower quality on its own, because the IV rank and liquidity filters still apply to everything in the union.
Safe range
At least one watchlist. The eight defaults already cover roughly 1,000 names before deduplication, which is ample for most accounts.
Example
Enable tasty IVR, S&P 500, and tasty Fast Movers and the screener pulls from all three lists, then filters the union by IV rank and liquidity.
Minimum Liquidity Rating
What it does
Floor on tastytrade's own 1-to-5 option liquidity rating for a symbol, applied to every engine. This is a direct measure of option market quality rather than a proxy like share volume. A thin option market costs you on the way in and again on the way out, regardless of how good the setup looks.
When to change it
Raise to 4 to trade only the deepest option markets. Lowering to 2 widens the universe but accepts wider spreads and worse fills.
Safe range
2 (permissive) to 4 (deep markets only).
Example
A symbol rated 2 is skipped even at an attractive IV Rank. If tastytrade has not published a rating for a symbol, the check passes and the entry-time bid/ask check on the actual proposed legs becomes the backstop.
Volatility Risk Premium Gate
What it does
Requires that implied volatility actually exceeds recent realised volatility before any premium-selling engine enters. This is the edge a premium seller is being paid for: the market pricing more movement than has been happening. IV Rank alone cannot see it, because a high IV Rank can coexist with no premium at all if the underlying is genuinely moving that much. The directional engine is exempt, since it buys premium rather than selling it.
When to change it
Leave it on. Turning it off allows entries where implied and realised volatility have converged, which is exactly the condition under which selling premium stops paying.
Safe range
ON or OFF. ON is recommended.
Example
A symbol shows IV Rank 78, which looks attractive. But 30-day implied volatility is 44 and realised volatility is 47: the market is moving more than the options are pricing. The gate declines the entry. If the measurement is unavailable the check passes rather than blocking.
Volatility Risk Premium Minimum
What it does
Minimum cushion, in volatility points, that 30-day implied volatility must hold over 30-day realised volatility before a premium-selling engine enters. The Volatility Risk Premium Gate used to require only that the cushion be positive; this sets how large it must be. Selling options pays when the market prices more movement than happens, and the size of that gap is the edge. Missing data still passes. The directional engine is exempt.
When to change it
Raise it to demand a larger premium over realised movement. Lower it toward 0 to trade more often at a thinner cushion. Only consulted when the gate is ON.
Safe range
0 (any positive cushion) to 6 (rich cushions only). Above 6 the premium engines will sit idle through most calm markets.
Example
Set to 3.0. A symbol shows 30-day implied volatility of 26 against realised of 24. The cushion is 2 points, so the entry is declined with reason vrp_below_min. At implied 28 the cushion is 4 and the check passes.