# Settings: Intel

> Scalpel's Intel tab: source status, the SEC contact email, the optional OpenAI key, catalyst alerts, the dilution entry guard and news history days.

Source: https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/settings-intel
Guide 11.9, Settings reference. Intermediate, 6 min read.
Checked with Scalpel 1.12.8 on 2026-10-15. By Scalpel Team.

**In short:**

The Intel tab switches on Scalpel's borrow, dilution and catalyst reads, shows whether each free source is working, and holds the one thing you must set: an **SEC contact email**, without which filings, dilution and shares outstanding stay off. An OpenAI key is optional. Strong catalyst alerts and the dilution entry guard (30 minutes) are on by default, and 3 days of news history load at start.

Intel answers three questions the tape cannot: can shorts still add (borrow), is the company about to sell stock into your move (dilution), and why is it moving (catalysts). It follows your positions, your desks and the IBKR scanner's list, up to 40 symbols. Open **Settings** (`Ctrl`+`,`) and pick **Intel**.

*Screenshot: The Intel tab as it opens: the switch, the live status of each source, and the SEC contact email.*

## Intel and its sources

| Option | What it does for your trading | Default | Allowed values | When to change it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Enabled** | Runs the intel service: the INTEL chips on scan panels, the intel strip under a desk's header, the SQZ dilution cut, the chart's warrant and offering lines, the alerts and the entry guard. | On | On or off | Leave it on. Off removes every read and the guard. |

Under the switch, five status lines say what is working right now:

| Line | What you might see | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| SEC filings | **live**, **waiting for sec.gov**, or **off until a contact email is set below** | Dilution reads, shares outstanding and filing alerts need this one live. |
| News | The provider codes on your IBKR account, or **waiting for IBKR** | Catalysts come from these. They are the providers your account already has. |
| IBKR borrow file | **loaded** with the file's date and time, or **loading** | The borrow fee comes from IBKR's stock-loan file, fetched every 15 minutes. |
| OpenAI | **no key, keyword grading only**, **on**, or **key rejected, keyword grading until it changes** | Whether headlines are graded by OpenAI or by the built-in keyword grader. |
| Watching N symbols | A count, at most 40 | Held symbols come first, then your desks, then the scanner's list. |

The note reads: "Borrow comes from IBKR's shortable ticks and stock-loan file, the Reg SHO list and FINRA short volume; dilution from SEC EDGAR; catalysts from the news providers on your IBKR account. All free."

## SEC EDGAR

| Option | What it does for your trading | Default | Allowed values | When to change it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Contact email** | The contact the SEC requires in every request. Without it: no filings, no dilution read, no shares outstanding (so no **SHS OUT**, market cap or **SHORT** percent on scan panels), and no warrant or offering lines. Borrow and catalysts still work. | Empty | A real email address | Set it once, on day one. |

The note reads: "The SEC requires a real contact in every request and refuses anonymous ones. It is sent only to sec.gov, in the User-Agent header." It goes nowhere else, not to scalpeltrade.com and not to OpenAI.

## OpenAI (optional)

*Screenshot: Scrolled down: the optional OpenAI key, then the alerts and the entry guard.*

| Option | What it does for your trading | Default | Allowed values | When to change it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **API key** | Your own OpenAI key. With it, headlines are graded by OpenAI and financing filings are read for their prices. The `OPENAI_API_KEY` environment variable also works. | Empty | An OpenAI API key | Add one if you want sharper catalyst grades and the chart's warrant and offering lines. |
| **Grade headlines** | Grades each headline's kind and strength with OpenAI ("billed on input only, a few cents a day"). Without a key, or with this off, the keyword grader runs. | On | On or off | Off to stop the per-headline cost and keep keyword grading. |
| **Extract filing terms** | Reads each financing filing once for its warrant, offering and conversion prices, and caches them. These draw the orange dashed lines on the chart where new sellers can appear. | On | On or off | Off if you do not want the lines or the cost. |

Without a key, intel still works: the keyword grader runs and no warrant or offering lines are drawn. The lines also have their own switch in each chart's cog. See [guide 9.6](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/warrant-and-offering-lines).

## Alerts and guard

| Option | What it does for your trading | Default | Allowed values | When to change it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Strong catalyst alerts** | A toast and a chime when a watched symbol gets new news graded strong or explosive. | On | On or off | Off if it is too chatty on a busy morning. Financing alerts on a symbol you hold always fire, whatever this says. |
| **Dilution entry guard** | Holds back the first buy press on a symbol with a financing filing or offering headline in the last **Guard minutes**, with a warning toast. Press the same buy again within 4 seconds to send it. | On | On or off | Leave it on: it is one extra key press between you and buying into an offering. |
| **Guard minutes** | How long after the filing or headline the guard stays armed. | `30` | 1 to 1440 | Longer (120) if you want a full morning of caution after an overnight offering. |
| **News history days** | How many days of headlines load for a symbol when it is first watched. Applies on the next start. | `3` | 1 to 30 | Raise it to see older news on a stock that ran last week. |

The guard note reads: "The guard holds back a buy on a symbol with a financing filing or offering headline in the last N minutes; press the same buy again within 4 seconds to send it. Financing filings on a symbol you hold always alert." The guard is explained in [guide 9.7](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/dilution-entry-guard).

Every change here except **News history days** applies when you click **Apply**, with no restart. The first-time setup is [guide 9.1](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/set-up-intel).

## What can go wrong

- **SEC filings: off until a contact email is set.** Type your email in **Contact email** and click **Apply**. See [Intel shows nothing or SEC filings are off](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/fix-intel-off).
- **OpenAI: key rejected.** The key is wrong, revoked or out of credit. Scalpel keeps using the keyword grader until you change it.
- **News: waiting for IBKR.** TWS is not connected yet, or your account has no news providers through the API.

## Questions

**Why does Scalpel need my email for SEC filings?**

The SEC requires a real contact in the User-Agent of every request to EDGAR and refuses anonymous ones. Scalpel sends it only to sec.gov.

**Do I need an OpenAI key?**

No. Without one, a keyword grader rates headlines and everything else works. A key adds sharper headline grading and the warrant and offering price lines on the chart.

**What does the dilution entry guard do?**

For 30 minutes after a financing filing or offering headline on a symbol, the first press of a buy key is held back with a warning. Press the same buy again within 4 seconds to send it.

**Does intel cost anything?**

The data is free: IBKR's own borrow and news, SEC EDGAR, Nasdaq and FINRA. The only cost is optional: an OpenAI key is billed by OpenAI, a few cents a day.

**How many symbols does intel follow?**

Up to 40: the ones you hold first, then the symbols on your desks, then the IBKR scanner's list.