From install to first paper run.

Download and install Options Wheelhouse

Download Options Wheelhouse

Choose the installer for your operating system and follow its prompts. Keep the application in a private folder on a computer you control. Do not publish your .env, vault, database, or license files.

Start Options Wheelhouse

Launch Options Wheelhouse from your Start menu, Applications folder, or app launcher. The installer starts the local service and opens http://localhost:3080 in your browser. Do not expose this local server to the public internet unless you independently add appropriate authentication, transport security, firewall rules, and operational controls.

Create and unlock your vault

Choose a unique vault passphrase of at least 10 characters. It encrypts broker secrets on disk with AES-256-GCM and is not stored by Options Wheelhouse. If you lose it, Options Wheelhouse cannot recover it. Use a password manager and keep a secure backup.

Create an Alpaca Paper account

Create or sign in to an Alpaca account and generate paper-trading API credentials. Confirm that the credentials are for the paper environment—not a live brokerage account. Options Wheelhouse’s current executable adapter rejects live execution.

Connect Alpaca Paper

Open Accounts, choose Alpaca Paper, enter a display name and your paper API key and secret, then select Verify & save. Leave Require approval enabled while learning. Set a conservative maximum contract count.

Learn the strategy first

Use the in-app Learn area to review structure, parameters, monitoring needs, and trade-offs. Confirm option approval assumptions, assignment behavior, maximum possible loss, and capital requirements. Short strangles have undefined risk; paper results do not make them safe for live use.

Run manually

Choose a strategy, a single symbol or reusable list, and strategy-specific risk settings. Review the proposal, market data, legs, limit price, and buying-power effect. Approve only if you understand every field. A successful target scan only creates a list; it does not run a trade.

Add a schedule carefully

Choose weekdays and either one time or a repeating interval during market hours. Scheduled runs pause when the server stops or the vault locks. Alpaca’s market clock gates runs for market hours and holidays, but you remain responsible for supervision.

Review and iterate

Use Run History and performance summaries to inspect outcomes by account, strategy, and symbol. Treat net premium as one incomplete metric: it may not reflect open risk, unrealized losses, assignment, fees, taxes, or realistic live fills.