Guide 8.2
Intermediate, 8 min read. Checked with Scalpel 1.12.8 on .
In short
Every Scalpel scan watches the IBKR scanner's list. High of day momentum shows any listed stock breaking its high of day, pre-market included, for a minute after each break. Running up shows stocks in a sharp burst (up 2% inside the last minute on 5 times their recent volume) and is the only scan with filters of its own. Setups shows stocks with a live entry pattern, such as gap and go or a micro pullback, marked with a coloured letter chip.
Scalpel has four scan panels, and they are not four separate searches of the market. The IBKR scanner builds one list of movers (guide 8.1); the other three watch every name on that list, second by second, and call out the moments that matter for a long entry: a new high, a sudden burst, a pattern completing. This guide explains what each one looks for, Running up's filters, the six setup letters, and exactly when each scan alerts.
Before you start
| Scan | Shows a stock when | Its own filters | Bell by default | Toast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBKR scanner | It is on IBKR's merged list | In Settings > Connection | On | New on IBKR scanner |
| High of day momentum | It breaks its high of day, for 60 seconds after the last break | None | On | New momo |
| Running up | It is up 2% in about a minute on a volume burst, and passes the filters | Yes, in the cog | Off | New runner |
| Setups | It has a live entry setup | None | On | The setup's name |
High of day momentum and Setups have no filters because the IBKR scanner's list has already done the filtering: if a name is on the list and it triggers, you see it.
This is the "it's breaking out" panel. A stock shows up the moment it trades above its high of day, in any session, pre-market included, and stays on the panel for 60 seconds after its latest new high. A stock grinding to a new high every few seconds is one entry, not a stream. Once it goes a full minute without a new high it drops off, and the next break adds it back and alerts again.
The high it measures against is real. When a name joins the list, Scalpel reads today's high (pre-market included) from IBKR's 1-minute history, so a stock added at 10:15 does not "break" a high it was already above at 09:40.
This is the "something is happening right now" panel: a sudden burst of buying, whether or not it is at a new high. A stock shows when, at the same moment:
Open the cog on the Running up panel to set them. Changes apply as you type: there is no Apply button.
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Alert on new entry | Off | The bell for this scan, also on the panel title |
| Price min ($), Price max ($) | 2, 20 | The price band |
| Min gap (%) | 10 | Up at least this much on the day, against yesterday's close |
| Min rel volume (x) | 5 | The burst: this second's volume against its recent average. Not the daily RVOL column |
| Max shares out | 10M | Shares outstanding must be under this |
| Min volume | 100K | Shares traded today |
| Min market cap ($) | 0 | No floor |
| Max market cap ($) | Empty | No ceiling |
The share, volume and market cap boxes take short numbers: 500K, 10M, 1.5B. A stock whose shares out or market cap is not known yet passes those two filters, so a missing number never hides a mover.
Require news catalyst, in the Global block, makes Running up show only stocks with a headline in the last 24 hours from the news providers on your IBKR account. It applies to Running up only.
High of day momentum and Running up both rank their rows the same way: stocks on a green 1-second bar first, then those with fresher news, then the bigger current volume burst, then the bigger percent change. Each shows its top 25.
Setups shows any listed stock with a live entry setup, marked by a coloured letter beside the symbol. The pattern names will be familiar if you have studied the momentum style Ross Cameron teaches at Warrior Trading; Scalpel is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by either.
| Chip | Setup | What triggers it |
|---|---|---|
| G (green) | Gap and go | The first cross above the pre-market high after the 09:30 open. Once per stock per day |
| M (blue) | Micro pullback | A shallow pullback during a fast move, then a reclaim of the recent high on volume |
| H (yellow) | HOD break | A new high of day in regular hours, when nothing stronger is live |
| F (light green) | Bull flag | A strong push (the pole), a tight, shallow pullback, then a break over the flag's high |
| T (lilac) | Flat top | A shelf of near-equal highs, then a break above it |
| R (orange) | Consecutive run | Five or more green 1-minute candles in a row, then the first new high after the run |
When two setups fire at once, gap and go wins, then the candle patterns (bull flag, flat top, micro pullback, consecutive run), then a bare HOD break. A setup stays on the panel for about 25 seconds and refreshes while it keeps confirming.
A few honest details:
A scan alerts with a toast, the bell sound and a voice callout only when its bell is on and a panel of that scan is open on a scan desk. A scan with no open panel stays silent however busy it is.
The voice callout says the scan or setup name. To change sounds, see guide 10.1; for toasts, guide 10.2.