Frequently asked questions

Strikeline makes options indicators for TradingView. They turn what the options market is pricing — the expected move, implied volatility, straddle prices — into levels and dashboards on your chart, so you can see where a move is normal and where it is stretched.

Start with the free Learn section: the 45-second video “What is an option?”, then the article “Options terms, made simple” for the basic words, then “What is the expected move?”, which explains the idea every options trader uses, with real charts. Then add a free indicator to your chart and follow its step-by-step guide on a live SPY chart — learning on a real chart sticks better than theory. A structured options course is being prepared; join the waitlist to hear when it opens. And trade small while you learn: options can lose value fast.

IV Sigma Levels Lite answers “how far can price move today, this week or this month?” — the simplest place to start, especially for day trading. Expected Move Bands answers “how far before my options expire?” for 0DTE, weekly or monthly expirations. ATM Straddle Implied Move reads the stock’s own option prices to show the exact move being priced, and whether options are expensive or cheap. Options Strike Probability Map shows the odds of touching and closing beyond each strike: which strikes are realistic targets and which are lottery tickets. Options Gamma Levels Lite marks the two strikes on SPY and QQQ where dealer hedging is most likely to slow price today. Many traders use IV Sigma for the day and Expected Move Bands for their expiration.

Both show how far price can move, but from different sources. IV Sigma turns a volatility index (VIX1D, VIX, VXN, RVX) or the stock’s historical volatility into standard-deviation levels: ±1σ is a normal day (about 68%), ±2σ about 95%, ±3σ the outer edge. It gives you a full map of probabilities, but it does not know about events specific to one stock, like earnings. Straddle Move reads the stock’s real option prices: the at-the-money call plus put for the expiration you pick. That price is exactly the move the market is paying for, so if earnings land before the expiry, they are already priced in, and the dashboard warns you. It draws one band (plus an optional 2×). Use IV Sigma on normal days and on SPX/SPY. Use Straddle Move around earnings or any stock-specific event. Use both together: if the straddle band is much wider than ±1σ, the market expects a bigger move than usual. As a rule of thumb, the straddle band is about 0.8 of ±1σ, because a straddle prices the average move, not one standard deviation.

Yes. Options IV Sigma Levels Lite, Options Expected Move Bands, Options ATM Straddle Implied Move and Options Strike Probability Map are free and open-source, and Options Gamma Levels Lite is free with protected code. The paid Options Radar Suite (one subscription) comes later; people on the waitlist get founder pricing on the first 100 seats.

The free indicators are in final testing and will be published on TradingView from early November 2026. Each indicator page on this site will show an “Add to TradingView” button as soon as it is live. Join the waitlist to get one email when that happens.

Once it is published: open the indicator’s page here and click “Add to TradingView”, or in TradingView open Indicators, search for its name (for example “Options IV Sigma Levels Lite”) and click it. It appears on your chart right away; add it to Favorites (the star) to find it quickly next time. Each guide has a step-by-step section.

Check a few things: scroll the chart to the latest bars (levels start at the beginning of each day, week or cycle); make sure the indicator isn’t hidden (the eye icon next to its name); on a daily chart with the Daily horizon each level covers just one bar, so use an intraday timeframe; and right-click the price scale and enable auto-scale if the lines are off-screen. If it still shows nothing, email [email protected] with the symbol and timeframe.

No. The free indicators work on TradingView’s free plan. Free plans limit how many indicators you can keep on one chart at a time, so you may need to remove another indicator to add ours.

No. IV Sigma Levels and Expected Move Bands use the VIX family of indices (VIX1D, VIX9D, VIX, VXN, RVX) or historical volatility, which are free. The ATM Straddle indicator reads option prices from OPRA, which TradingView shows about 15 minutes delayed for free; its levels use the previous close, so the delay does not change them.

They are built for US stocks, ETFs and indices — SPX, SPY, QQQ, NDX, IWM and large single stocks. IV Sigma Levels and Expected Move Bands also run on any other symbol using historical volatility. The ATM Straddle indicator needs US-listed options.

For daily levels, 5- or 15-minute charts. For weekly, 30-minute to 1-hour. For monthly, 4-hour to daily. For 0DTE straddles, 1- to 5-minute. Every indicator page has a “Best timeframe” table.

No. Levels are calculated once at the start of each period (day, week, month or expiration cycle) from the previous close and stay fixed for that period. Only the dashboard values and the live cone update as price moves.

±1σ (one standard deviation) is the range the options market expects. In theory about 68% of periods finish inside it, about 95% inside ±2σ. Real markets have more extreme days than the math assumes, so treat these as a map, not a guarantee. The Learn article “What is the expected move?” explains it with a real chart.

The levels are not buy or sell signals, so there is no win rate. They show the range the options market is pricing. In theory about two periods in three finish inside ±1σ; real markets have more extreme days than the math assumes. Keep “previous periods” switched on to see how your own stock has behaved against its levels — the guides include real SPY examples.

In TradingView click Alert (the clock icon), choose the Strikeline indicator under Condition, then pick the event — for example “Touched +1σ” or “Touched −1σ” in IV Sigma Levels, or “Above cycle +1σ” / “Below cycle −1σ” in Expected Move Bands — and click Create. TradingView then notifies you in the app, by email or push.

The indicator could not find the at-the-money option. Open its settings and try another Strike step (for example 1, 2.5 or 5), or use a more liquid stock or ETF. Thinly traded options may have no recent price, and non-US symbols have no OPRA options.

Prices will be announced at launch. People on the waitlist get founder pricing on the first 100 seats — join on the Pricing page and you’ll get one email when it opens.

No. Strikeline makes educational tools. We do not tell anyone what to buy or sell, and nothing on this site or in our indicators is financial advice. Options trading is risky.

Yes. Indicators added to your chart on desktop also appear in the TradingView mobile app, with the same levels and dashboard. You can also add them directly from the app’s Indicators menu.

Email [email protected]. You can also follow @Strikelinetrade on X for the daily SPX and SPY levels.