Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions and answers for Claxton Dashboard users.

Getting Started

Why isn’t the bot trading?

There are several reasons the bot might not be opening trades:

The bot isn’t running — Check the Status Ribbon. Is it showing “BOT: RUNNING”? If not, click START.
No strategies are enabled — Check the Strategies section. Are any strategies toggled on?
Market is closed — Options only trade during market hours (9:30 AM - 4:00 PM ET). Check “MKT: OPEN” in the Status Ribbon.
Kill switch is active — If “KILL: ACTIVE” is showing, unlock it first.
Conditions aren’t right — Check the MCP Engine tab. If signals have low scores or no opportunities are found, the market doesn’t match your strategy’s entry criteria.
Daily loss limit reached — If Risk Left is $0, the bot won’t open new positions today.
Max positions reached — If you already have the maximum number of positions open, no new ones will be opened.
Entries halted — Check the Positions Panel for an “ENTRIES HALTED” banner. A structural integrity issue is blocking new trades.

💡 Quick diagnosis: Check the Activity Log tab for messages like “no opportunities” or “scan cycle completed” — this tells you the bot is working but not finding trades.

I just opened the dashboard and everything is gray/disconnected

Give it 10-15 seconds. The dashboard needs to connect to the trading API and load data. You’ll see a loading spinner while it connects. If it stays disconnected:

Check your internet connection
Try refreshing the page
Check if the Status Ribbon shows “API: DISCONNECTED”

What does “Paper” mode mean?

Paper mode (ENV: PAPER) means the bot is trading with simulated money. No real trades are placed, but everything else works the same — strategies evaluate, positions open and close, P&L is tracked. It’s perfect for learning and testing.

Strategies

What’s the difference between a 0DTE and a weekly strategy?

0DTE (Zero Days to Expiration) — Trades options that expire today. Higher gamma, faster time decay, more volatile. The position is usually opened and closed within the same day.
Weekly — Trades options expiring in 5-14 days. More time for the trade to work, slower theta decay, less gamma risk.

Can I run multiple strategies at the same time?

Yes! You can have as many strategies as you want. They operate independently — each has its own entry rules, exit rules, and position limits. Just be mindful of your overall risk exposure across all strategies.

Why does my strategy show “SKIP”?

“SKIP” means the bot looked at the market for this strategy but conditions didn’t pass all the filters. Common skip reasons:

IV rank too low (below your minimum)
Bid-ask spreads too wide
Not enough premium to meet your minimum
Market hours restriction (outside your entry window)
Moving average filter not satisfied

Should I use Fixed or Risk-Based position sizing?

Fixed — Best for beginners. You know exactly how many contracts you’ll trade every time.
Risk-Based — Better for scaling. The bot automatically sizes positions based on your risk-per-trade setting. As you get more comfortable, risk-based sizing lets you deploy capital more efficiently.

Positions & P&L

What does “mark” mean next to P&L values?

“Mark” means the P&L is calculated using current market prices (the midpoint of bid-ask). This is theoretical — you’d need to actually close the position to realize this P&L. In fast markets, your actual fill may differ.

Why does my unrealized P&L keep bouncing around?

Options prices change constantly based on the underlying price, implied volatility, and time decay. A position that’s up $100 at 11 AM might be flat by 2 PM. This is completely normal, especially for 0DTE trades.

What does “BROKEN” in the health column mean?

A broken structure means one or more legs of a multi-leg strategy are missing. For example, an iron condor should have 4 legs — if only 3 are present, it’s “broken.” This can happen if:

A leg was closed individually
An order partially filled
A mapping issue occurred

⚠️ Broken structures can have undefined risk. Consider closing the remaining legs promptly.

Should I be worried about negative theta?

Usually not — but it depends on your strategy:

For premium sellers (iron condors, credit spreads): Theta should be positive. If it’s negative, something unusual is happening — maybe you have more long positions than short.
For debit strategies (butterflies): Negative theta is normal until the position gets near expiration and your target price.

Risk & Controls

When should I use the Kill Switch vs Emergency Close?

Kill Switch: Stops all new trading. Use it when you want to pause and think. Existing positions stay open.
Emergency Close: Closes ALL positions immediately at market price. Use only in true emergencies.

In 99% of situations, the Kill Switch is enough. See Emergency Controls for details.

What happens if the API disconnects?

The dashboard shows “API: DISCONNECTED” in red on the Status Ribbon. The bot automatically retries the connection. During disconnection:

No new trades are opened
Existing positions aren’t monitored (temporarily)
A “Retry Now” button appears for manual reconnection

Once reconnected, the bot resumes normal operation and checks all positions.

What does “Risk Left: $0” mean?

Your daily P&L has hit your maximum loss limit. The bot will:

Stop opening new positions for the rest of the day
Continue monitoring existing positions (including closing them if exit rules trigger)
Reset the next trading day

Market & Timing

When does the bot trade?

The bot trades during US stock market hours: 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. Within that window, your strategy’s entry time window further restricts when trades can be opened (default: 9:45 AM - 3:30 PM ET).

What happens to 0DTE positions at end of day?

The bot has a 0DTE Close Buffer safeguard (default: 30 minutes before close). This means 0DTE positions are automatically closed before the market closes — you won’t be left holding expiring options into the close.

Why does the dashboard show “MKT: CLOSED” in red?

The US stock market is closed. This happens:

Before 9:30 AM ET
After 4:00 PM ET
On weekends
On market holidays

The bot won’t trade during these times.

Troubleshooting

The dashboard is slow or not updating

Try these steps:

Refresh the page
Check your internet connection
Look at the Status Ribbon — is the API connected?
Check the TICK timestamp — is it recent?

I see “no signals found” — what does that mean?

The MCP Engine didn’t find any market conditions matching your strategy criteria. This is normal — not every market condition is suitable for trading. Common reasons:

IV is too low for your strategy’s minimum
Market is trending too strongly for neutral strategies
Time window restrictions are active

A position won’t close — what do I do?

Check the Recovery tab for any stuck orders
Try closing the group using the “Close Group” button
If that fails, check for wide bid-ask spreads — you may need to “Force Close Anyway”
Check the Close Debug section for error details
As a last resort, use Emergency Close (but this closes ALL positions)

💡 Tip: If you’re ever truly stuck, the safest action is the Kill Switch (to prevent further damage) while you investigate.

Roadmap