Custom Alerts System
Create powerful, personalized alerts that notify you when options activity matches your specific criteria. Never miss the trades that matter to your strategy.
Availability: Gamma, Theta, and Vega plans only
What Are Custom Alerts?
Custom alerts allow you to define specific criteria for unusual options activity. When options trades match your criteria, you’ll receive instant notifications through your chosen channels.
Key Benefits:
- Focus on opportunities that match your trading strategy
- Monitor specific stocks without constant watching
- Get notified of institutional activity patterns
- Filter by premium size, expiry, sentiment, and more
- Prevent notification fatigue with customizable cooldowns
Creating Custom Alerts
Access Points
From Options Alerts Page:
- Navigate to Options Alerts
- Click the “+ Create Alert” button (bell icon)
- Define your criteria
- Set notification preferences
- Activate your alert
From Dashboard:
- Click the bell icon in the header
- Select “Create New Alert”
- Configure your alert criteria
Alert Criteria
Define any combination of the following:
Stock Filters
- Specific Symbol: Monitor a single stock (e.g., AAPL, TSLA)
- Multiple Symbols: Track up to 10 stocks simultaneously
- Any Stock: Leave blank to monitor all stocks
Example: AAPL or AAPL, TSLA, NVDA
Option Type
- Calls: Bullish bets or covered call selling
- Puts: Bearish bets or protective puts
- Both: Monitor all options activity
Premium Range
- Minimum Premium: Only trades above this dollar amount
- Maximum Premium: Filter out very large trades if needed
Example: Minimum $100,000 to catch institutional trades
Unusual Score
- Range: 0-100 (higher = more unusual)
- High Scores (80-100): Very rare, significant activity
- Medium Scores (60-79): Moderately unusual
- Low Scores (40-59): Slightly unusual
Recommendation: Use 70+ for high-quality alerts
Order Side (Aggressiveness)
Indicates how aggressively the order was executed:
- Above Ask (AA): Extremely aggressive buying (most bullish/bearish)
- At Ask (A): Aggressive buying
- Mid (M): Neutral execution
- At Bid (P): Aggressive selling
- Below Bid (PP): Extremely aggressive selling
Most Useful: Select AA and A to catch urgent institutional orders
Days to Expiry (DTE)
- Short-term: 0-30 days (event plays, quick moves)
- Medium-term: 30-90 days (swing trades)
- Long-term: 90+ days (LEAPS, long-term positions)
Example: Maximum 30 DTE for earnings plays
Volume/OI Ratio
- Minimum ratio of Volume to Open Interest
- High Ratios (>2.0): Fresh positioning, new trades
- Low Ratios (<1.0): Position closing or rolling
Use Case: Ratio > 3.0 indicates strong new interest
Alert Types
Select specific detection patterns:
- Aggressive Call/Put Buying: Urgent large orders above ask
- Consistent Call/Put Buying: Multiple trades building positions
- Large Call/Put Purchase: Single massive premium trades
- Whale Trade: Institutional-sized orders ($500K+)
- Sweep Orders: Multi-exchange aggressive fills
- Block Trades: Large negotiated single prints
- Volume Spike: Unusual volume relative to historical norms
- IV Spike: Volatility surge indicating event anticipation
Strike Price Range
- Minimum Strike: Filter out very low strikes
- Maximum Strike: Filter out very high strikes
Use Case: Focus on specific price ranges
Alert Templates
Pre-configured templates for common strategies:
Whale Trades
Premium: $500,000+
Unusual Score: 85+
Side: Above Ask, At Ask
Earnings Plays
DTE: 7-30 days
Premium: $100,000+
Unusual Score: 75+
Volume/OI Ratio: 2.0+
Tech Stock Sweeps
Symbols: AAPL, MSFT, GOOGL, AMZN, META, NVDA, TSLA
Alert Types: Sweep
Premium: $200,000+
Side: Above Ask
Short-term Calls
Option Type: Call
DTE: 0-14 days
Premium: $50,000+
Unusual Score: 70+
Notification Settings
Cooldown Period
Prevents notification spam by setting minimum time between alerts:
- 1 minute: High-frequency monitoring (gets many notifications)
- 5 minutes: Balanced frequency
- 15 minutes: Reduced notifications
- 30 minutes: Conservative (recommended)
- 1 hour: Very selective
- 1 day: Daily summaries only
Recommendation: Start with 30 minutes and adjust based on volume
Notification Channels
Choose how you want to be notified:
- Email: Receive detailed alert emails
- SMS: Text message notifications (requires phone number)
- Slack: Integrate with your Slack workspace
- Discord: Send to Discord channels
- Push: Mobile app notifications (iOS/Android)
- Webhook: Custom integrations for your tools
Note: SMS and some integrations may require additional setup
Managing Alerts
Viewing All Alerts
Access your alerts dashboard:
- Click the bell icon in the header
- View all active and inactive alerts
- See trigger counts and last triggered times
Alert Actions
Activate/Deactivate:
- Toggle alerts on/off without deleting
- Preserve criteria for future use
- Quick enable for specific market conditions
Edit Alert:
- Update criteria as your strategy evolves
- Adjust cooldown periods
- Change notification channels
Delete Alert:
- Permanently remove alerts you no longer need
- Trigger history is retained for 90 days
Copy Template:
- Duplicate existing alerts
- Modify copies for similar strategies
- Share templates with team members (Team plans)
Alert History
Track your alert performance:
Triggers Tab
- View all past alert triggers
- See the trade that triggered each alert
- Analyze patterns in your alerts
- Export trigger history (CSV)
Statistics
- Total triggers per alert
- Average triggers per day
- Most active alerts
- Success rate tracking (manual marking)
Best Practices
Start Narrow, Expand Later
Begin with specific criteria (e.g., one stock, high premium threshold) and broaden as you understand the volume.
Use Realistic Thresholds
- Too Loose: Overwhelmed with notifications
- Too Tight: Miss important trades
- Just Right: 3-10 alerts per day per alert
Monitor Different Timeframes
Create separate alerts for:
- Short-term (0-30 DTE)
- Medium-term (30-90 DTE)
- Long-term (90+ DTE)
Combine Multiple Criteria
Don’t rely on single filters. Example:
Premium: $250K+ AND
Score: 80+ AND
Side: Above Ask AND
DTE: <30 days
Set Appropriate Cooldowns
- High Activity Stocks (SPY, QQQ): 30-60 minutes
- Individual Stocks: 15-30 minutes
- Sector ETFs: 60 minutes
- Broad Market: 15 minutes
Review and Refine
Weekly, review your alerts:
- Which alerts trigger most?
- Which produce actionable signals?
- Which are too noisy?
- Adjust criteria accordingly
Use Cases
Day Traders
Alert: "Large SPY Calls"
Symbol: SPY
Option Type: Call
Premium: $500K+
DTE: 0-7 days
Side: Above Ask, At Ask
Cooldown: 15 minutes
Swing Traders
Alert: "Tech Stock Positioning"
Symbols: AAPL, MSFT, NVDA
Premium: $200K+
DTE: 14-45 days
Score: 75+
Cooldown: 30 minutes
Earnings Players
Alert: "Pre-Earnings Activity"
Premium: $150K+
DTE: 7-21 days
Volume/OI Ratio: 3.0+
Score: 80+
Cooldown: 60 minutes
Institutional Tracking
Alert: "Whale Trades"
Premium: $1M+
Score: 90+
Side: Above Ask, At Ask
Alert Types: Whale Trade, Block Trade
Cooldown: 30 minutes
Troubleshooting
Not Receiving Alerts
Check Alert Status: Ensure alert is activated (green toggle)
Verify Criteria: Criteria might be too narrow
- Review recent alerts manually
- Temporarily loosen criteria
- Check if your stocks have activity
Check Cooldown: Alert might be in cooldown period
- View last triggered time
- Wait for cooldown to expire
- Reduce cooldown if needed
Notification Settings: Verify channels are configured
- Check email/phone settings
- Confirm integrations are connected
- Test with a broad alert first
Too Many Alerts
Tighten Criteria:
- Increase minimum premium
- Raise unusual score threshold
- Add more specific filters
- Increase cooldown period
Focus on Quality:
- Use score 80+ for very unusual only
- Require multiple criteria matches
- Focus on specific stocks
- Filter by alert types
Missing Important Trades
Broaden Criteria:
- Lower score threshold slightly
- Reduce premium minimum
- Include more alert types
- Add more stock symbols
Check Filters:
- Remove overly restrictive filters
- Test with broader criteria
- Review what’s been filtering out trades
Limitations
Alert Limits
- Maximum Alerts: 50 alerts per user
- Maximum Criteria: 15 criteria keys per alert
- Maximum Symbols: 10 stocks per alert
- Cooldown Range: 1 minute to 7 days
Processing Time
- Alerts process in real-time as trades occur
- Evaluation happens within seconds of trade execution
- Notifications sent immediately upon trigger
- SMS may have carrier delays (10-30 seconds)
Data Availability
- Alerts only trigger on new unusual activity
- Historical data doesn’t trigger alerts
- Pre-market and after-hours supported
- Weekend and holiday trades not monitored
Privacy & Security
Data Handling
- Your alert criteria are private and encrypted
- Trigger history stored for 90 days
- No sharing of alert criteria with other users
- Notification channels are secure
Access Control
- Only you can view/edit your alerts
- Team plans allow sharing (optional)
- Webhook URLs are encrypted
- API tokens never exposed
Getting Help
Support Resources
- Documentation: Complete Alert Guide
- Email Support: support@optionomics.ai
- Platform Support: Contact us through the feedback form in your account
Ready to create your first alert? Navigate to Options Alerts and click “Create Alert” to get started.
Disclaimer: Custom alerts are tools for monitoring market activity. They do not constitute financial advice or trading recommendations. Always conduct your own research, apply proper risk management, and consult with qualified financial professionals before making trading decisions. Alerts may trigger false signals, miss important trades, or experience technical delays.
