find_iron_condors -- Live Chain Scan

Scans the live options chain for tradeable Iron Condor candidates. Returns concrete 4-leg trades with real strikes, real credits, and real expiration dates from the current market. These candidates can be passed directly to trade(action=propose_entry).

Requires the strategy hub to be opened first (call the strategy hub tool).

Two Calling Modes

Mode 1: With saved_strategy_id (recommended)

Pass a saved_strategy_id from a previously saved optimizer run. The tool automatically loads the ticker, DTE range, IV rank settings, and other parameters from the linked optimizer run.

{
  "saved_strategy_id": "e5f6g7h8-..."
}

This is the recommended flow because it maintains the full audit chain from optimizer through execution. The ticker parameter is not required when saved_strategy_id is set.

Mode 2: With explicit parameters

Pass the ticker and any desired overrides directly. Useful for quick scans without an optimizer run, or when exploring different tickers.

{
  "ticker": "SPY",
  "preset": "balanced",
  "dte_min": 21,
  "dte_max": 45
}

Parameters

Parameter Type Required Default Tier Description
ticker string Conditional -- All Underlying symbol. Required unless saved_strategy_id is set
preset string No "balanced" All Risk preset (ignored when saved_strategy_id is set). One of: conservative, balanced, aggressive, stress_test
dte_min int No preset Premium Minimum days-to-expiration
dte_max int No preset Premium Maximum days-to-expiration
min_pop float No preset Premium Minimum probability of profit (0.0-1.0)
min_open_interest int No preset Premium Minimum open interest per leg
max_capital_per_trade float No preset Premium Max capital per single IC trade
iv_rank_gate_mode string No "soft" Premium "soft" (warn if IV low) or "hard" (block if IV low)
iv_rank_threshold float No 0.20 Premium Minimum IV Rank (0.0-1.0)
saved_strategy_id string No null All UUID from save_strategy -- auto-loads search params

Free tier: Only ticker, preset, and saved_strategy_id are honored. Other parameters are locked to preset values. Passing premium parameters returns a TIER_BLOCKED error.

Response: SearchResult

{
  "ticker": "SPY",
  "candidates": [
    {
      "ticker": "SPY",
      "expiry": "2026-06-20",
      "short_put": 520.0,
      "long_put": 515.0,
      "short_call": 560.0,
      "long_call": 565.0,
      "net_credit": 1.42,
      "max_loss": 3.58,
      "ror": 0.397,
      "pop": 0.74,
      "dte": 39,
      "ev_score": 0.52
    }
  ],
  "total": 15,
  "metadata": {
    "ticker": "SPY",
    "spot_price": 540.25,
    "pop_model": "lognormal",
    "vol_estimator": "yang_zhang",
    "vol_surface_model": "svi",
    "option_pricer": "crr",
    "iv_rank": 0.28,
    "iv_rank_gate": {
      "enabled": true,
      "mode": "soft",
      "threshold": 0.20,
      "triggered": false
    },
    "delta_range": {
      "short_delta_min": 0.10,
      "short_delta_max": 0.25
    },
    "min_pop": 0.65
  },
  "warnings": []
}

Candidate fields

Field Type Description
ticker string Underlying symbol
expiry string Expiration date (ISO 8601)
short_put float Short put strike (lower breakeven)
long_put float Long put strike (downside wing)
short_call float Short call strike (upper breakeven)
long_call float Long call strike (upside wing)
net_credit float Credit received per spread (USD). This is max profit
max_loss float Maximum loss per spread (USD). Wing width minus credit
ror float Return on risk (net_credit / max_loss)
pop float Probability of profit (0.0-1.0) from the vol model
dte int Days to expiration
ev_score float Expected value score combining PoP, RoR, and credit

Metadata fields

The metadata object reports all parameters used in the scan, including: spot price, IV rank, vol model, PoP model, delta ranges, and IV rank gate status. This is useful for audit and for understanding why certain candidates were included or excluded.

Warnings

The warnings array may contain:

  • IV_RANK_LOW -- IV rank is below the threshold. In soft mode, candidates are still returned. In hard mode, no candidates are returned.
  • Dividend yield missing, vol surface calibration issues, etc.

IV Rank Gate

The scan includes an IV Rank go/no-go gate based on TastyTrade's methodology. IV rank measures where current implied volatility sits relative to the past year's range.

Preset Gate mode Threshold
Conservative Hard block 30%
Balanced Soft warning 20%
Aggressive Disabled --
Stress test Hard block 25%

Hard mode: Returns empty candidates with a diagnostic reason. Soft mode: Returns candidates but attaches an IV_RANK_LOW warning.

Filter Pipeline

Candidates are filtered by:

  1. Delta range (primary structural filter) -- short strikes between |delta| 0.05-0.25. Industry standard for IC construction.
  2. Probability of Profit (quality gate) -- combined IC PoP must exceed the preset minimum (60-80% depending on preset).

Sigma distance is NOT used for entry filtering (it is mathematically redundant with delta). Sigma distance is used for monitoring open positions only.

Next Step

Pass any candidate to trade(action=propose_entry):

{
  "action": "propose_entry",
  "ticker": "SPY",
  "candidate": {
    "expiry": "2026-06-20",
    "short_put": 520.0,
    "long_put": 515.0,
    "short_call": 560.0,
    "long_call": 565.0,
    "net_credit": 1.42
  },
  "qty": 2,
  "saved_strategy_id": "e5f6g7h8-..."
}

Cross-references