Guide 8.1
Beginner, 10 min read. Checked with Scalpel 1.12.8 on .
In short
Scalpel's scanner is Interactive Brokers' own market scanner, run over your TWS connection, so there is no separate scanner service or data feed to pay for. Click TRADER in a desk's header to turn it into a scan desk, then set the filters in Settings > Connection > IBKR scanner. Out of the box it lists up to 30 US stocks between $0.10 and $100 that are up at least 10% on the day, pre-market included, and each listed name uses one IBKR market data line.
Scalpel is built for one job: long-only momentum scalping of US small caps, pre-market first. The scanner is where that starts, and it uses only what you already have through Interactive Brokers, plus free public data from the SEC and FINRA for share counts and short interest.
Every scan panel in Scalpel works from one list: the IBKR scanner's. High of day momentum, Running up and Setups all watch the names on it, so once this list is right, the other scans fill in on their own. This guide turns a desk into a scan desk, walks through every filter, explains how the list is built, maps it to the classic momentum checklist, and covers the two limits worth knowing before the open: market data lines and the 40-symbol intel cap.
Before you start
Five IBKR scans run side by side, all with the same filters:
| Scan | What it catches |
|---|---|
| Top gainers | The biggest percent gain against yesterday's close, pre-market included |
| 3 minute volume spikes | Volume running far above its usual pace. A name starting to move often shows here first |
| Halted | Movers in a trading pause, such as a volatility halt |
| Hot by volume | The heaviest trading |
| Gappers | The biggest gap from yesterday's close to today's open. Empty until 09:30 ET |
Scalpel merges them into one list: every scan's number one first, then every scan's number two, and so on, so the top name of any scan gets in at once, whichever scan found it. A stock on two scans keeps its better place. A name that drops off every scan keeps its slot for 3 minutes while there is room, so a stock flickering at the edge of a scan does not churn in and out.
IBKR reruns its scans about every 30 seconds and sends back symbols only. Everything else on the panel (price, change, relative volume, the ranking) comes from live IBKR quotes, tick by tick, so the panel keeps moving between IBKR's refreshes. Only major US exchanges are scanned: no OTC stocks.
In the header of the desk you want to scan with, click TRADER 1. It changes to SCAN 2 and the desk fills with three scan panels: IBKR scanner on top, then High of day momentum and Running up.
Switching to SCAN unloads that desk's symbol and frees its market data line. A desk holding a position cannot switch: you get D1 holds a position: close it before switching it to SCAN, because a position on no desk would have its stop unwatched. Use a desk with no position, or close the trade first. Click SCAN to switch back: the desk reloads the symbol it had. Scalpel remembers each desk's mode, so the scan desk is still there tomorrow.
Open Settings (Ctrl+,) and stay on the Connection tab. Under IBKR scanner (market scans over TWS), Enabled is ticked by default.
Price min and Price max are in dollars: 0.1 and 100 by default, so sub-dollar runners count. If you only trade $2 to $20 stocks, set 2 and 20. The list then spends its slots on names you would actually trade instead of on $0.40 tickers you would never touch.
Min change % is the percent the stock must be up on the day, against yesterday's close, pre-market included. The default is 10. The scans are long only: they look for gainers, never for stocks falling. On a slow day, 5 widens the net; on a hot day, 20 keeps the list to the real runners.
List size is how many names the merged list holds: 30 by default, from 1 to 100. Each name takes one IBKR market data line for as long as it is listed, so size the list to your lines (more on that below).
These are off by default:
Click Apply. The filters apply live, with no restart: the scans resubscribe and the list rebuilds within seconds. The IBKR scanner panel shows the list ranked by change, biggest first.
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| RANK | The name's place by change. A green +2 means it climbed two places since the last update; a red -1 means it slipped one |
| SYM | The symbol, a red HALT tag while it is halted, and a pulsing red dot for 30 seconds after it first appears |
| PRICE, CHG% | Last price and percent change against yesterday's close, pre-market included |
| VWAP | A yellow dot while the price is above the session VWAP. Blank below it |
| INTEL | Up to three chips: dilution, the news catalyst and borrow (guide 9.5) |
| SQZ | The squeeze score, 0 to 100, on a violet cell that glows brighter as it rises (guide 8.4) |
| RVOL | Relative volume: today's volume against IBKR's 90-day average daily volume |
| SHS OUT | Shares outstanding, from SEC filings |
| SHORT | FINRA short interest as a percent of shares out, then days to cover, for example 18% 3.4d |
| MKT CAP | Price x shares outstanding |
| VOL | Shares traded today |
| DESK | One small square per open trader desk, in the desk's colour |
A dash means Scalpel does not know the value yet. SHS OUT, MKT CAP and the SHORT percent need the SEC contact email (guide 9.1).
Click a row to load the stock onto a trader desk: an empty one first, otherwise one with no open position. If the stock is already on a desk, that desk takes focus instead. To pick the desk yourself, click its square on the row. Click a column header to sort by it, biggest first; click again to flip the order. Guide 8.5 covers the rest of the panel's controls.
When a new name joins the list, the panel's bell rings and a toast reads, for example, New on IBKR scanner: TUVW +41%. Names already on the list when the scanner starts, or reconnects, stay quiet, so opening Scalpel at 09:45 does not set off thirty alerts.
Scalpel's scanning is inspired by the small-cap momentum style taught by Ross Cameron of Warrior Trading. His publicly known stock selection criteria are five: a price of roughly $2 to $20, up 10% or more on the day, at least 5 times normal volume, a news catalyst, and a low float. Here is where each one lives in Scalpel:
| Criterion | Where Scalpel checks it |
|---|---|
| Price roughly $2 to $20 | Price min and Price max on the IBKR scanner (set 2 and 20), or Running up's own $2 to $20 default |
| Up 10% or more | Min change %, 10 by default, and the CHG% column |
| 5x relative volume | The RVOL column, and Running up's Min rel volume (x) of 5 |
| A news catalyst | The catalyst chip in the INTEL column (guide 9.4), and Require news catalyst on Running up |
| Low float | The SHS OUT column, the float's stand-in, and Max shares out (M) (guide 8.4) |
The scanner's defaults are deliberately wider than the checklist (from $0.10, any volume, any share count), so it surfaces everything that is moving and you narrow it down with your eyes and the columns. Guide 14.6 covers the method as a whole. Scalpel is independent software, not affiliated with or endorsed by Ross Cameron or Warrior Trading.
Lines. Every listed name holds one IBKR market data line, and your trader desks need their own. Most IBKR accounts start with 100 lines. A list of 30 plus four trader desks fits comfortably; a list of 100 leaves no room for anything else. The scanner runs whenever it is enabled, even with no scan desk open, because intel and the other scans read its list. If you never scan, untick Enabled to give the lines back.
Intel. Scalpel's intel (dilution, catalysts, borrow, shares out and short interest) follows at most 40 symbols at once: the stocks you hold first, then the symbols on your desks, then the IBKR scanner's list in IBKR's own order. With a list of 30 and four desks, everything is covered. With a list of 60, the bottom of the list gets no chips, no share count and a thinner squeeze score.
Every scan panel says why it is empty: