Recipes

Each recipe below is a complete request body. They all run as written: the table shows what each returned for 1 May to 31 October 2026, the window used throughout these docs. Change start and end to suit your lookback.

Recipe	Return	Sharpe	Max drawdown	Positions	Main warning
Covered call with disciplined exits	-0.1%	0.02	-8.8%	14	only 14 positions
Delta-hedged short straddle	-0.2%	-0.13	-1.7%	7	only 7 positions
Put spread with a profit target	-3.0%	-0.67	-10.6%	8	only 8 positions
Weekend iron condor	+0.9%	2.23	-0.3%	27	40 marks carried forward
At-the-money call calendar	-0.7%	-2.12	-0.9%	7	only 7 positions

Six months of results are shown to prove the recipes run, not to recommend them. Every one of these carries a small-sample warning over this window: judge a strategy over the longest window your plan allows.

Covered call with disciplined exits

Sell a 20-delta call against one BTC each month. Take profit at 75% decay, stop out if the call’s delta reaches 0.45, roll two days before expiry.

covered-call.json

{
  "name": "BTC 20-delta covered call",
  "asset": "DER.BTC_USD",
  "start": "2026-05-01",
  "end": "2026-10-31",
  "capital": {
    "initial_equity": 1,
    "sizing": {
      "mode": "contracts",
      "value": 1
    }
  },
  "structure": {
    "expiry": {
      "by": "monthly",
      "min_dte": 20
    },
    "legs": [
      {
        "id": "call",
        "type": "call",
        "direction": "short",
        "strike": {
          "by": "delta",
          "value": 0.2
        }
      }
    ]
  },
  "lifecycle": {
    "rules": [
      {
        "name": "take_profit_75",
        "when": {
          "predicate": {
            "subject": "structure",
            "metric": "premium",
            "op": "below",
            "value": -0.75,
            "unit": "percent",
            "reference": "entry"
          }
        },
        "do": {
          "action": "close_all"
        }
      },
      {
        "name": "delta_stop",
        "when": {
          "predicate": {
            "subject": "leg:call",
            "metric": "contract_delta",
            "op": "above",
            "value": 0.45
          }
        },
        "do": {
          "action": "close_all"
        }
      },
      {
        "name": "roll_before_expiry",
        "when": {
          "predicate": {
            "subject": "structure",
            "metric": "dte",
            "op": "below",
            "value": 2
          }
        },
        "do": {
          "action": "close_all"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Delta-hedged short straddle

Sell the at-the-money straddle on the front monthly, both legs on one strike via shared_strike, and delta-hedge with dated futures whenever net delta drifts past 0.5. Isolates the volatility premium from direction.

hedged-straddle.json

{
  "name": "BTC delta-hedged short straddle",
  "asset": "DER.BTC_USD",
  "start": "2026-05-01",
  "end": "2026-10-31",
  "capital": {
    "initial_equity": 100,
    "sizing": {
      "mode": "percent_of_equity",
      "value": 0.2
    }
  },
  "structure": {
    "expiry": {
      "by": "monthly",
      "min_dte": 20
    },
    "shared_strike": "call",
    "legs": [
      {
        "id": "call",
        "type": "call",
        "direction": "short",
        "strike": {
          "by": "moneyness",
          "value": 1.0
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "put",
        "type": "put",
        "direction": "short",
        "strike": {
          "by": "moneyness",
          "value": 1.0
        }
      }
    ],
    "hedge": {
      "enabled": true,
      "greek": "delta",
      "band": 0.5,
      "match_expiry": true
    }
  },
  "lifecycle": {
    "rules": [
      {
        "name": "roll_week_before",
        "when": {
          "predicate": {
            "subject": "structure",
            "metric": "dte",
            "op": "below",
            "value": 7
          }
        },
        "do": {
          "action": "close_all"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Put spread with a profit target

Buy the 25-delta put and sell the 10-delta put, spending 2% of equity on premium. Close when the spread has doubled or a week before expiry.

put-spread-take-profit.json

{
  "name": "BTC 25/10-delta put spread, take profit",
  "asset": "DER.BTC_USD",
  "start": "2026-05-01",
  "end": "2026-10-31",
  "capital": {
    "initial_equity": 100,
    "sizing": {
      "mode": "premium_budget",
      "value": 0.02
    }
  },
  "structure": {
    "expiry": {
      "by": "monthly",
      "min_dte": 20
    },
    "legs": [
      {
        "id": "long_put",
        "type": "put",
        "direction": "long",
        "strike": {
          "by": "delta",
          "value": 0.25
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "short_put",
        "type": "put",
        "direction": "short",
        "strike": {
          "by": "delta",
          "value": 0.1
        }
      }
    ]
  },
  "lifecycle": {
    "rules": [
      {
        "name": "take_profit_100",
        "when": {
          "predicate": {
            "subject": "structure",
            "metric": "premium",
            "op": "above",
            "value": 1.0,
            "unit": "percent",
            "reference": "entry"
          }
        },
        "do": {
          "action": "close_all"
        }
      },
      {
        "name": "roll_before_expiry",
        "when": {
          "predicate": {
            "subject": "structure",
            "metric": "dte",
            "op": "below",
            "value": 7
          }
        },
        "do": {
          "action": "close_all"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Weekend iron condor

Open a 3%/6% iron condor on the nearest listed expiry every Friday at 08:00 UTC and close it on Monday. Uses weekday gating and moneyness strikes.

weekend-iron-condor.json

{
  "name": "BTC weekend iron condor",
  "asset": "DER.BTC_USD",
  "start": "2026-05-01",
  "end": "2026-10-31",
  "clock": {
    "decision_hour_utc": 8
  },
  "capital": {
    "initial_equity": 100,
    "sizing": {
      "mode": "percent_of_equity",
      "value": 0.25
    }
  },
  "structure": {
    "expiry": {
      "by": "listed",
      "min_dte": 2
    },
    "legs": [
      {
        "id": "short_put",
        "type": "put",
        "direction": "short",
        "strike": {
          "by": "moneyness",
          "value": 0.97
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "long_put",
        "type": "put",
        "direction": "long",
        "strike": {
          "by": "moneyness",
          "value": 0.94
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "short_call",
        "type": "call",
        "direction": "short",
        "strike": {
          "by": "moneyness",
          "value": 1.03
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "long_call",
        "type": "call",
        "direction": "long",
        "strike": {
          "by": "moneyness",
          "value": 1.06
        }
      }
    ]
  },
  "lifecycle": {
    "entry_weekdays": [
      "friday"
    ],
    "exit_weekdays": [
      "monday"
    ]
  }
}

At-the-money call calendar

Sell the front monthly at-the-money call and buy the same strike one month further out, using a per-leg expiry and shared_strike. Close three days before the front leg expires.

calendar-spread.json

{
  "name": "BTC ATM call calendar",
  "asset": "DER.BTC_USD",
  "start": "2026-05-01",
  "end": "2026-10-31",
  "capital": {
    "initial_equity": 100,
    "sizing": {
      "mode": "percent_of_equity",
      "value": 0.2
    }
  },
  "structure": {
    "expiry": {
      "by": "monthly",
      "min_dte": 20
    },
    "shared_strike": "front",
    "legs": [
      {
        "id": "front",
        "type": "call",
        "direction": "short",
        "strike": {
          "by": "moneyness",
          "value": 1.0
        }
      },
      {
        "id": "back",
        "type": "call",
        "direction": "long",
        "strike": {
          "by": "moneyness",
          "value": 1.0
        },
        "expiry": {
          "by": "monthly",
          "nth": 2,
          "min_dte": 20
        }
      }
    ]
  },
  "lifecycle": {
    "rules": [
      {
        "name": "close_before_front_expiry",
        "when": {
          "predicate": {
            "subject": "leg:front",
            "metric": "dte",
            "op": "below",
            "value": 3
          }
        },
        "do": {
          "action": "close_all"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Building your own

Start from the closest recipe and change one thing at a time. Check the strategy block of each result to confirm the engine read your change the way you meant it. See Strategy specification for every field.

Backtesting

Reference

Covered call with disciplined exits

Delta-hedged short straddle

Put spread with a profit target

Weekend iron condor

At-the-money call calendar

Building your own

​Covered call with disciplined exits

​Delta-hedged short straddle

​Put spread with a profit target

​Weekend iron condor

​At-the-money call calendar

​Building your own

Covered call with disciplined exits

Delta-hedged short straddle

Put spread with a profit target

Weekend iron condor

At-the-money call calendar

Building your own