Options Trading

Load this skill before using options as part of a trading decision. The user does not need to have requested options explicitly. If options become relevant while you are pursuing a broader mandate, load this skill before selecting contracts or submitting an option order.

Core workflow

An instruction to open or close a bounded position when stated checks pass is authorization to act once those checks pass. Do not require a second instruction or add an unstated history length, signal, risk percentage, or sizing condition. Use a permitted contract count within the user's stated cap. Preserve discretion when the user delegates whether to trade, and preserve all actual account, broker, approval, liquidity and risk limits.

1. Call account_portfolio, account_positions, and orders_open_orders in the current agent run before any option order. For options, the injected account snapshot does not replace these calls: an option package needs the exact signed contract positions, pending packages, and cash at the moment you order.
2. Read the underlying's current price. Never select or order an option without current underlying-price evidence in the same run.
3. If an option position or pending package already exists, manage that exposure before considering another package.
4. Call options_get_chain in the current agent run before using expiration, strike, Greek, or quote helpers. Use only expirations and strikes returned by tools. Apply only the expiration, delta, width, and liquidity limits that the user or active rules state. Do not add your own days-to-expiration minimum or strike-count threshold; when the user names no expiration window, choose from the listed expirations. A short strike list is not by itself a reason to decline. Never judge a delta target unreachable from strike distance alone: measure it with options_find_strike_for_delta or options_get_greeks on the listed strikes, and decline only when the measured deltas or quotes show that no listed contract fits. Missing Greeks or quotes for one listed expiration do not establish that all expirations lack data. Check other listed expirations that satisfy the user's constraints before declining for unavailable data. Re-select and verify every leg for the chosen structure. Keep one expiration when the structure requires it. Calendar legs may use distinct listed expirations only when the user or active rules allow them. Never relax the user's limits to find a trade. When no expiration is specified, choosing an eligible listed expiration is part of contract selection; unusable nearer contracts do not disqualify a fully verified later candidate. If a chosen wing has the wrong ordering, correct it from the listed contracts and verify its exact Greeks and quotes before repricing. A recoverable selection error is not proof that valid market evidence is unavailable. Build a bounded candidate comparison from listed strikes and exact Greeks. Choose short strikes by the requested signed or absolute delta. A strike near the underlying does not automatically match the delta target. When a checked candidate misses the target, use candidate helpers or other eligible listed strikes to search toward the target. Candidate helpers can narrow larger chains; compare relevant candidates directly for a small strike list. Compare verified deltas before selecting the closest eligible candidate.
5. Separate short-strike selection from protective-wing selection. For an iron condor with specified wing widths, calculate long_put = short_put - put_width and long_call = short_call + call_width from the requested widths. Check those exact wing strikes against the complete returned put and call lists. A contract previously considered as a wing can become a short when its verified delta is the appropriate match; rebuild both outer wings for the selected short pair. Unchecked outer strikes do not establish that protective wings are absent. Keep the complete listed-strike evidence separate from the subset whose Greeks or quotes you have inspected. If an exact wing is listed but has not been inspected yet, query that contract next. Before reporting a missing wing, reconcile its exact symbol, expiration, right and strike against the returned list; absence from your evaluated-candidate subset is not absence from the market. Verify every selected contract individually. Candidate-selection helpers narrow the search but do not prove the exact contract's Greeks or quote quality. Changing any leg's symbol, expiration, right or strike invalidates that leg's earlier checks. Re-read both Greeks and quote quality for its final identity before package pricing or submission; verifying a replaced candidate does not count.
6. Before constructing an opening multi-leg payload, read references/common-option-structures.md and verify each buy/sell side, strike ordering and ratio against the intended structure. For credit verticals, sell the higher-strike put and buy the lower-strike put, or sell the lower-strike call and buy the higher-strike call. Reversing one spread changes the structure. Closing sides instead come from current signed positions as described below. Evaluate every exact leg, then explicitly call options_calculate_multileg_price before submission, even when the submit tool can calculate a price automatically. An unexpected near-zero price or wrong debit/credit sign is a reason to recheck leg topology and returned quotes before concluding that market evidence is unavailable. Preserve the requested structure and constraints; never force a trade.
7. Submit related legs as one atomic multi-leg order. Never submit related legs independently, including entry, exit, adjustment, or cleanup. If atomic package submission is unavailable, make a no-trade decision and report that broker capability as the blocker. If checks pass for an already-authorized execution, continue from preview to orders_submit_multileg with the verified legs and signed limit, then complete the status and position checks below before your final answer. A successful price preview or an intention to submit is not completed execution. If a real condition remains unmet, state that condition and leave the position unchanged. For one authorized option contract, use orders_submit_order with the exact verified identity, quantity, side, limit price and required private purpose and order reason. Complete that call before claiming submission.
8. Capture the returned identifier, inspect that exact order, and reread positions. Submission is not proof of a fill, and a fill response alone is not proof that the account has the intended final exposure. In backtests, a short bounded orders_wait_for_terminal is appropriate immediately after your own package submission because it lets the simulator process the pending fill. Do not use an unbounded wait. Do not cancel, replace, or modify your own pending package to make it fill sooner or to restart the decision unless the user's rules explicitly ask for that. A pending package owns the intended position change until it reaches a terminal state. Verify every returned child identifier for a multi-leg package and reconcile every intended leg against fresh signed positions. One child's terminal fill does not prove the complete package filled. Report unresolved legs explicitly.

Position truth

Treat current signed quantities as authoritative. Positive is long, negative is short, zero is flat.

To close held option contracts, always pass action='close' to options_calculate_multileg_price and orders_submit_multileg. List only symbol, expiration, strike, and right for each held leg. LumiBot derives each closing side from the current signed position (long becomes sell_to_close, short becomes buy_to_close) and defaults the quantity to the full held amount. Never write closing sides yourself. Pass quantity only for a per-unit price check or an intended partial close.

Keep that contract-only shape for the final submission too. Do not copy side or closing_side fields from position reads, pricing results, or an opening-order payload into closing legs_json. For example, a closing leg is {"symbol":"XYZ","expiration":"2027-01-15","strike":100,"right":"put"}; the position determines its closing action.

• Never multiply a cleanup quantity or repeat a close without rereading positions.
• Do not report flatness until every relevant signed quantity is zero.

If a close does not produce flat positions, inspect its exact status and open orders. Do not switch tools, change quantities, or submit another close until the prior order's terminal state and the current signed positions prove what remains.

Pricing truth

• Evaluate each exact leg before calculating a package price.
• Use one contract per leg when calculating a per-unit package debit or credit.
• Use the intended package quantity only when submitting the order.
• A positive signed package price is a debit. A negative signed package price is a credit.
• Reconcile package arithmetic using the returned per-leg signed prices and quantities. Do not invent a conflicting credit from mental arithmetic. If a discrepancy appears, recheck the exact sides, ratios and price style with the pricing tool before deciding the evidence is inconsistent.
• Reject prices that contradict the structure's economic bounds.
• For a standard same-expiration credit iron condor with one contract per leg, compute put_width = short_put - long_put, call_width = long_call - short_call, and short_gap = short_call - short_put separately from the verified strikes. The short-strike gap is not a wing width. Check the complete strike ordering and each protective width against the intended structure. Reconcile credit = -net_limit_price with the returned signed leg prices. Independently compute max_loss = max(put_width, call_width) - credit in those same price units, then scale by the verified contract multiplier and matched package quantity to obtain monetary maximum loss. Compare that loss and the package cash impact against the actual strategy, account and broker limits. Other structures or ratios require their own verified payoff bounds.
• Choose the price style for the authorized execution goal before submitting. A midpoint is a valuation estimate, not an immediately executable quote; best and mid limits can remain pending. For an authorized entry or exit intended to execute now, calculate price_style='fastest' from current exact-leg quotes unless the user specifies a different price preference. Closing held positions also requires action='close'. Pass the returned signed price as net_limit_price so the order records the price you verified. This buys at the quoted asks and sells at the quoted bids, while retaining a limit. Preserve every user debit cap, minimum credit, risk bound and execution preference; if the executable price violates one, leave the position unchanged and explain the conflict. Quote movement can still prevent a fill, so verify actual status and positions.

References

Load only the smallest relevant reference:

• references/contracts-greeks-liquidity.md: expiration, strike, Greek, and quote selection.
• references/multileg-orders.md: signed package pricing and atomic order submission.
• references/position-management.md: reconstructing, managing, and closing exposure.
• references/common-option-structures.md: standard leg topology for verticals, iron condors, butterflies, straddles, strangles, and calendars.

The user's active strategy rules decide whether a trade should happen. This skill explains options mechanics and safe evidence use. It must not invent a strategy, override user rules, or force a trade.

Explain consequential order actions

Supply an explicit reason before every submission, modification or cancellation. Use at least 200 characters; aim for 600–2,500 when the decision needs it. Explain the thesis, dated evidence, sizing, material risks and what would invalidate it. State missing evidence honestly. This is a decision summary, not hidden internal reasoning, and must contain no credentials or account identifiers. The order service commits it before execution. Report only observed order status and fills; reconcile an uncertain outcome before trying again.