Setup Guide | IBKR Options Income

📖 This guide documents exactly how Prof Dr Tan built this system. Every step is reproducible by any working professional with zero prior trading or coding experience. Estimated total setup time: under 2 hours.

Phase 1 — Brokerage Account Setup

Step 1 — Open an IBKR Account

Go to interactivebrokers.com and open an individual account ✅ Done

Choose Individual account type. Fund with minimum USD 10,000 for meaningful income. Prof Dr Tan's account: U10500387 with Net Liquidation ~USD 471K.

Request Options Trading Level 3 ✅ Done

Go to Client Portal → Settings → Trading Permissions → Options → Request Level 3. Level 3 unlocks spreads (bull put spreads, iron condors). This is what we use. Approval typically takes 1-2 business days.

Enable TWS API ✅ Done

Open Trader Workstation (TWS) → Edit → Global Configuration → API → Settings. Check: Enable ActiveX and Socket Clients. Uncheck: Read-Only API. Socket port: 7496. Click Apply → OK. This allows the algorithm to place orders automatically.

TWS → Edit → Global Configuration → API → Settings ☑ Enable ActiveX and Socket Clients ☐ Read-Only API (must be UNCHECKED) Socket port: 7496 → Apply → OK

Phase 2 — Telegram Alert Bot

Step 2 — Create Your Trading Alert Bot

Open Telegram and find @BotFather ✅ Done

Search for @BotFather (blue verified checkmark). Tap it and send /newbot. Give your bot a name and username ending in _bot.

Search: @BotFather (verified ✓) Send: /newbot Name: IBKR Options Income Username: ibkr_options_yourname_bot → Copy the token BotFather gives you

Get your Chat ID ✅ Done

Search for your new bot in Telegram and send it any message (e.g. "hello"). Then open this URL in your browser — replacing TOKEN with your bot token:

https://api.telegram.org/botTOKEN/getUpdates → Find chat id: YOUR_CHAT_ID → Copy that number

Add secrets to GitHub ✅ Done

Go to your GitHub repo → Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions → New repository secret.

Name: TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN Value: your_bot_token Name: TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID Value: your_chat_id

Phase 3 — GitHub Repository & Website

Step 3 — Deploy the System

Fork or clone this repository ✅ Done

Go to github.com/ProfDrTan/ibkr-options-income and fork it to your own GitHub account. This gives you all the algorithm code, GitHub Actions schedules, and website files.

github.com/ProfDrTan/ibkr-options-income → Fork → your-username/ibkr-options-income

Enable GitHub Pages ✅ Done

Go to your forked repo → Settings → Pages → Deploy from branch → main / (root) → Save. Your website will be live at: your-username.github.io/ibkr-options-income

Repo → Settings → Pages Source: Deploy from branch Branch: main / (root) → Save

Update config.py with your IBKR account number

Edit config.py in your repo and replace U10500387 with your own IBKR account number. Also set your preferred number of spreads and risk parameters.

IBKR_ACCOUNT = "YOUR_ACCOUNT_NUMBER" NUM_SPREADS = 5 # start conservative MAX_TOTAL_RISK = 5000 # USD

Phase 4 — First Trade

Step 4 — Paper Trade First, Then Go Live

Paper trade for 2 weeks first

Change IBKR_PORT to 7497 in config.py to connect to the paper trading account. Run the exact same algorithm. Watch the recommendations and outcomes for 2 weeks before switching to live trading. This builds confidence and catches any issues.

config.py → IBKR_PORT = 7497 # paper trading After 2 weeks → IBKR_PORT = 7496 # live trading

Monday morning — approve your first trade

Every Monday at 09:35 ET, you receive a Telegram alert with the week's SPX Bull Put Spread recommendation. Open your website dashboard, review the trade details and intel scores, then tap APPROVE. The algorithm executes on IBKR and sends a confirmation when filled.

Income target — moderate profile

10 spreads × ~$175 credit = ~$1,750 gross per week. That is approximately $7,000/month on roughly $10,000 capital at risk. The system closes at 50% profit mid-week whenever possible, freeing capital for the following week. All positions are closed by Thursday to avoid weekend risk.

Weekly target: ~$875 (50% profit capture) Monthly target: ~$3,500 Annual target: ~$42,000 Capital at risk: ~$10,000/week (10 × $1,000)

Setup Checklist

Your Progress

✓

IBKR account opened and funded ✅

✓

Options Level 3 approved ✅

✓

TWS API enabled, Read-Only unchecked, port 7496 ✅

✓

Telegram bot created and Chat ID confirmed ✅

✓

GitHub repo live with all algorithm files ✅

✓

GitHub Secrets added (TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN + TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID) ✅

✓

Website live at profdrtan.github.io/ibkr-options-income ✅

First Monday alert received and trade approved MONDAY

First trade executed on IBKR MONDAY