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🌉 IBKR Live Bridge

Real-time Greeks, IV and bid/ask in straderz.com

In this Chapter

1 What is the IBKR Live Bridge? 2 How it works 3 Requirements 4 Installation 5 Pair with straderz.com 6 Multi-Account: Personal, Business, Foundation in parallel 7 Market data subscription & delayed quotes 8 Operation 9 Troubleshooting

1. What is the IBKR Live Bridge?

With the IBKR Live Bridge, you see your open options and portfolio data with real-time Greeks, Implied Volatility, Bid/Ask and P&L directly in straderz.com — as a complement to the daily Flex Query synchronization.

What you see in the Live Cockpit:
  • Live Greeks (Δ, Γ, Θ, V) for every open option position
  • Implied Volatility and Bid/Ask in real time
  • Portfolio Δ and Θ aggregated across all positions — instantly visible when the book gets too long or too short
  • Account balance and margin live
  • Option chains on demand for what-if analysis
Complements — does not replace.
The Bridge runs in parallel with the nightly Flex Query sync. Flex remains the source of truth for the official trade history (taxes, strategy detection, campaigns). The Bridge provides the real-time path for active options management.
✨

How it works

The Live Bridge is a small local app on your PC that talks to your running TWS or IB Gateway via the IBKR API and pushes encrypted snapshots to straderz.com. Your IBKR login stays entirely on your machine — we receive neither your password nor your 2FA codes.

[Your PC]                                       [straderz.com]                                  [You in browser]
TWS / IB Gateway
    ↓ ib_insync TCP
[Live Bridge] ──── HTTPS POST ────►  [Server] ◄──── HTTPS GET ──── [Live Cockpit]
    │                                    │
    └─ reads positions,                   └─ stores snapshots,
       Greeks, IV, Bid/Ask                   delivers them to your browser
Data flow at a glance:
  • Read-only, not trading — the Bridge places no orders. It only sends positions, Greeks, IV, Bid/Ask, account balance.
  • Per-user isolated — each snapshot is bound to your account via OAuth token; other users never see it.
  • Latency ~2 seconds from the IBKR tick to display in the cockpit.
  • HTTPS push with bearer token, ETag-based browser polling for minimal data load.

3. Requirements

  • Windows 10 or 11 — Mac in preparation (see note below)
  • IBKR account with running TWS (Trader Workstation) or IB Gateway
  • IBKR API enabled — in TWS under Configuration → API → Settings, enable "Enable ActiveX and Socket Clients"
  • sTraderZ.com account (free or Premium)
  • Optional: IBKR market data subscription for live data — see "Market data subscription & delayed quotes"
⏳ Mac version
The Bridge currently runs on Windows only. A Mac version is in preparation — until then, Mac users continue to use the Flex Query sync as their main data path.

Step-by-Step Guide

1

Installation

1. Download the Bridge:
Download the Bridge from the download page or directly from the Live Bridge settings.

2. Start the Bridge:
Double-click straderz-bridge.exe. No window opens — the Bridge runs in the background. The Bridge icon appears in the system tray (bottom right next to the clock).

3. Run TWS or IB Gateway in parallel:
Start your usual IBKR software and sign in. The Bridge automatically detects the running gateway and connects to it.
2

Pair with straderz.com

1. Start pairing in straderz.com:
Go to Accounts → Live Bridge and click "Connect to straderz.com".

2. Browser authorize dialog:
A confirmation page opens with your account name. Click "Connect" — the OAuth flow runs with PKCE, so the Bridge never sees your password.

3. Check tray status:
Click the Bridge tray icon. Status should show ✅ connected.

4. First data in the cockpit:
Switch to Live Cockpit. Within a few seconds your open positions appear with live Greeks and IV.

6. Multi-Account: Personal, Business, Foundation in parallel

If you run multiple IBKR accounts — e.g. personal account + business depot + foundation vehicle — you can bring them all into the cockpit live at the same time.

Setup:
Start multiple IB Gateway instances in parallel, each on its own port (e.g. :7497 for personal, :7498 for business, :7499 for foundation). The Bridge automatically detects all gateways and tags each position with its corresponding account.

In the cockpit you can then switch between accounts or view an aggregated view across all accounts.

💡 Tip: The official IBKR documentation describes the parallel gateway setup under "IB Gateway User Guide → Running Multiple Instances". Use a separate IBKR login (subaccount) for each instance.
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Market data subscription & delayed quotes

The Bridge uses your existing IBKR market data subscription — no second subscription at straderz.com required. If you pay for "US Securities Snapshot and Futures Value Bundle" or similar at IBKR, those live data flow into the cockpit automatically.

Without IBKR subscription: The Bridge only delivers 15-minute delayed quotes. Important to know: this also applies to your TWS display. Without a subscription, IBKR fundamentally only delivers delayed quotes, regardless of frontend (TWS, Bridge, mobile app, other trading apps). The Bridge does not change this.

With IBKR subscription: Live data in TWS AND straderz.com simultaneously. You see the same real-time values you have in TWS.

Recommendation for active options trading:
At least the "US Securities Snapshot and Futures Value Bundle" or a specific options data package. Details and current prices in the IBKR Client Portal under Settings → User Settings → Market Data Subscriptions.

8. Operation

  • Run the Bridge in the background — tray icon, low RAM usage, no UI needed.
  • Auto-updates — the Bridge checks for new versions on startup. If an update is available, a notice appears in the tray menu.
  • Stop the Bridge — right-click the tray icon → "Quit". The cockpit then shows the last known state with marker "stale".
  • Revoke connection — in Accounts → Live Bridge, click "Disconnect". The token is immediately revoked server-side and can no longer be used for snapshots.
  • 2FA note (important): Enable IBKR "Extended Session", otherwise you have to sign in again to TWS every ~24 hours — and the Bridge runs idle in the meantime. Instructions in IBKR Account Management under Settings → Account Settings → Secure Login System.

⚠️ Troubleshooting

Tray shows "Offline" or "No connection":
TWS or IB Gateway is not running, or the API socket is not enabled. Check the requirements from section 3.

"Pairing failed":
The token was revoked or has expired. Solution: in Live Bridge settings, click "Connect to straderz.com" and pair again.

Cockpit shows only delayed quotes:
No IBKR market data subscription (see "Market data subscription & delayed quotes"). With a subscription, live data is automatically passed through.

"Updates not coming through":
Check the Bridge tray status. If "connected" is shown but no updates arrive: restart TWS or IB Gateway — the TCP connection may hang due to network changes (e.g. WiFi/LAN).

Bridge crashes or hangs:
Quit the Bridge in the tray, restart it. With repeated crashes: is the latest version installed? Download the latest version from the download page.

No IBKR account set up yet?
The Live Bridge requires that you have already connected the IBKR account via Flex Query (for the trade history). → Chapter 2.1 — Set up IBKR Flex Query
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