Every scan panel runs over one list: the IBKR scanner's, built from Interactive Brokers' own market scanner on your TWS connection. IBKR scanner is off means it is switched off: tick Enabled next to IBKR scanner in Settings > Connection. Waiting for TWS means it is on but has no results yet: check the IBKR pill. No matches means nothing passes its filters right now: lower Min change % or widen the price band.
Scalpel has no separate scanner service and no paid scanner subscription: it asks IBKR's own scanner for top gainers, 3-minute volume spikes, halts, hot-by-volume names and gappers, merges them into one list, then ranks that list live. When the list is empty, every scan panel is empty, and the panel says why.
IBKR scanner v0LIVE
IBKR scanner is offEvery scan runs over its list. Enable it in Settings under ConnectionOpen settings
IBKR scanner v0LIVE
Waiting for TWS
IBKR scanner v0LIVE
No matchesNothing passes the IBKR scanner's filters right now. They are in Settings under ConnectionOpen settings
The three empty states of an IBKR scanner panel. Demo data.
IBKR scanner is off
"Every scan runs over its list. Enable it in Settings under Connection."
The IBKR scanner is switched off, so no scan has any symbols to work with.
01
Open the Connection tab
Click Open settings on the panel, or press Ctrl+, and pick Connection.
02
Enable the IBKR scanner
Tick Enabled next to IBKR scanner (market scans over TWS) and click Apply. It applies live: no restart.
Scalpel starts on 7497 for TWS and 4001 for IB Gateway. Host/port changes reconnect on Apply (no restart). Disabling parks the connection so it stops retrying when nothing is running. While the link is down, a banner under the header says which program is up (TWS on 7497 or 7496, IB Gateway on 4001 or 4002) and offers to switch to it or start one.
IBKR scanner (market scans over TWS)Enabled
Price min0.1Price max100
Min change %10Min volumeNo limit
List size30Max shares out (M)No limit
Stocks only (no ETFs)
Data recording (sessions saved to disk)Enabled
CancelApply
Settings > Connection: the IBKR scanner block and its filters, outlined, with the defaults. Demo data.
Waiting for TWS
The scanner is on and waiting for its first results. Usually one of:
TWS or IB Gateway is not connected. The IBKR pill in the status bar must read Connected. If not, see guide 13.1.
It has just connected. IBKR answers within seconds and refreshes its scans about every 30 seconds. Give it a moment.
IBKR is refusing the scans. A scan IBKR turns down is tried again every 30 seconds. If the panel never fills while the pill is green, open TWS's own scanner: if that shows nothing either, ask Interactive Brokers about your market data and scanner access.
No matches
"Nothing passes the IBKR scanner's filters right now. They are in Settings under Connection."
The scanner is working, but no stock passes its filters. Early in the pre-market few names are up 10% yet, so this is common soon after 04:00 ET.
Filter
Default
Widen it by
Price min / Price max
0.1 / 100
Raising Price max, lowering Price min
Min change %
10
Lowering it, for example to 5
Min volume
No limit
Clearing it
Max shares out (M)
No limit
Clearing it: names IBKR has no share count for are dropped when it is set
Stocks only (no ETFs)
On
Leave on unless you trade ETFs
Filters apply live. List size (30) is how many names the list holds; each one uses one of your IBKR market data lines, so keep it within your account's allowance. Every filter is explained in guide 8.1.
No matches on other scan panels
High of day momentum, Running up and Setups panels show a plain "No matches" when the list has names but none passes that scan's own rules right now. That is the scan doing its job on a quiet tape. Their rules are in each panel's cog (guide 8.2). In LOG view, "No alerts yet" means nothing has alerted since the panel opened.
Clicking a row loads nothing
Clicking a scanner row loads the stock onto a free trader desk. If none is free, an amber toast says why:
"No trader desk open: click SCAN on a desk to switch it to TRADER": every desk is a scan desk. Click SCAN in a desk's header to turn it back into a trader desk (guide 2.2).
"No free desk: every trader desk holds a position": each trader desk is in a trade. Close one, or switch a flat scan desk to TRADER.
A desk that is the only one showing a position cannot be switched to SCAN: the position would be on no desk, with its stop unwatched. Scalpel refuses with "D1 holds a position: close it before switching it to SCAN".
Questions
Why does the Scalpel scanner say IBKR scanner is off?
The IBKR scanner is switched off in Settings > Connection. Every scan runs over its list, so tick Enabled next to IBKR scanner and click Apply.
Why does the scanner say Waiting for TWS?
It is on but has no results yet: TWS or IB Gateway is not connected, it has only just connected, or IBKR is refusing the scans. Check the IBKR pill in the status bar.
Why is the scanner empty in the pre-market?
Few stocks are up 10% or more early in the pre-market. Lower Min change % in Settings > Connection to see more names.
Do I need a scanner subscription?
No separate service. Scalpel uses Interactive Brokers' own scanner through your TWS or IB Gateway connection.