Troubleshooting & FAQ
Most problems in VolNinja announce themselves — a banner across the top of the app, a takeover screen, or a row in System Status. This page starts with how to read those, then works through what each one means and what to do about it.
Start here: read the indicators
Three places tell you almost everything.
System Status, behind the health pill in the header, is the first thing to open. It lists every part of VolNinja and whether it's connected: Trading Workers and the Monitoring Worker (each with its live and paper connection), the Market Data Service with the count of option quotes it's streaming against your line budget, and the Cloud Tunnel that carries remote access. When something is down, a Reconnect button appears at the bottom — that alone fixes many transient problems.
The banner strip at the top of the app is the second. VolNinja tells you there when trading is paused, when the connection to your account has dropped, or when an update is waiting — each with a distinct wording that maps to a distinct fix, below.
The VolNinja window (menu bar or system tray) is the third, on the desktop app. Engine green means VolNinja itself is running; the IBKR rows show your broker connection at a glance. With a Docker install, volninja status answers the same question.
"Can't reach your machine"
A full-screen message saying Can't reach your machine means the cloud can't currently talk to your VolNinja install. It shows when it was last connected, and it reconnects on its own the moment your machine is back — you don't need to do anything but fix the cause:
- The machine is asleep, off, or offline. This is the usual one. VolNinja only runs while the computer it's installed on is awake and online.
- VolNinja isn't running. Check that Engine is green in the VolNinja window, or start it from there. Quitting VolNinja stops it; closing the window doesn't.
- The device was un-paired. If you revoked it from your account, pair the machine again — see Pairing a device.
A related but narrower message, Tunnel disconnected — reconnecting…, appears as a banner while your app is open. Order actions are disabled until it clears, which is deliberate: VolNinja won't let you fire an order it can't confirm.
Trading is paused
These banners all mean VolNinja has stopped acting on your behalf, and each names its own cause.
| What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Connect your install to activate trading | This machine isn't linked to your account | Pair it |
| Connecting to your account… | Normal, just after starting | Wait a moment |
| Your subscription is inactive | Trial or subscription lapsed | Renew from Billing |
| Can't reach your account | The link to the cloud is down | Check your internet; it retries on its own |
| Update required | Your version is below the supported minimum | Update |
Important
A required update pauses only the opening of new positions — you can still close and manage everything you hold. The other three are broader: while trading is paused, VolNinja can't act on your positions at all, so manage anything urgent directly at your broker until it clears.
IBKR won't connect
Connecting IBKR has the checklist — Gateway or TWS running and logged in, the API enabled, the right ports in Settings → Connections. Two things it doesn't cover:
A disconnect at the same time every day is expected. IBKR restarts its Gateway on a daily schedule, which drops every connection to it, including VolNinja's. VolNinja reconnects itself afterwards. If your disconnects cluster around one time of day, that's what you're seeing — you can change the restart time in Gateway's own settings.
A red banner naming positions it can't manage — "N positions can't be managed — the gateway for that mode isn't connected" — means you hold positions in an account whose Gateway or TWS isn't running. VolNinja can't see or act on them until it is. Start the Gateway for that mode (live or paper), or correct its port in Settings → Connections.
Quotes look stale or missing
- Everything shows dashes outside market hours. Expected. Live quotes stop when the market is closed; the layout stays put and figures return at the open.
- "Options not subscribed" in the market strip means VolNinja isn't currently streaming that contract — usually because coverage is aimed elsewhere. Widen it in Settings → Market data, or check your usage in System Status.
- Near or over your line budget. The Market Data Service row shows how many quotes you're streaming against the budget you set. Going over is flagged, never blocked — VolNinja keeps trading. To carry more, widen coverage or buy more lines from IBKR; see Market data & subscriptions.
VolNinja is using a lot of CPU
Two settings sections own nearly all of VolNinja's continuous work, and both are safe to turn down. Full detail in Settings.
Settings → Market data — every strike VolNinja keeps live is a quote stream it re-prices continuously. Lower Snapshot strikes / side, Trade-range half-width, and OTM hot calls / puts to narrow coverage.
Settings → Simulation — the background risk calculation. Start with Only run while viewing: with it on, the loop runs only while a page showing risk figures is open, so it costs nothing when you're not looking. Beyond that, raise Target cadence (s) so it runs less often, lower Target paths and Maximum paths, switch off Background simulation for the mode you aren't trading, and turn off Run outside market hours if you don't need risk figures overnight.
The cost is honest and small: risk numbers refresh a little less often and are slightly coarser, and fewer strikes carry live quotes.
Tip
Closing the browser tab won't help — the work happens in VolNinja on your machine, not in the page. On the desktop app, it's the VolNinja engine you'll see in Activity Monitor or Task Manager.
Something traded and I didn't expect it
Open the position and read its Activity tab. It lists every episode in order with the reason attached: which rule or strategy fired, the exact condition that matched, the orders that went out, and how they filled. That answers "why did this happen?" better than any log. See Position details.
A position is stuck as pending
A position that stays PENDING OPEN is one whose entry order never resolved. If it's still sitting there and you don't want it, the ⋯ menu offers Cancel Position. Beyond that, don't force it — open the Activity tab to see how far the entry got, and send support what it shows rather than correcting the record by hand.
The desktop app
- Engine never turns green. The very first start is the slowest, because VolNinja sets up its own private database — give it a minute. After that, use Restart Engine in the VolNinja window, and Open Logs if support asks.
- Check for Updates… is greyed out and reads (pair first). Updates come through your subscription, so the machine has to be paired first.
- An update didn't go through. Updating VolNinja covers each case.
FAQ
Does VolNinja trade while my computer is asleep? No. It runs on your machine, so it only works while that machine is awake and online. For hands-off trading around the clock, run it on a small cloud server — see Installing & starting VolNinja.
Does closing the VolNinja window stop it? No, closing only hides it. Quit genuinely stops the engine, and nothing is monitored until you start it again.
Can you see my positions? No. Your trades, orders, and IBKR connection stay on your machine. The cloud holds your account and billing details and carries requests back and forth so you can reach the app remotely — see How VolNinja works.
What happens if my subscription lapses? Trading pauses and you'll see the Your subscription is inactive banner. Your data is untouched on your machine, and renewing restores everything.
What happens if my internet drops mid-trade? Management rules run inside VolNinja and need it connected to your broker, so they stop until it's back. Standing orders live at Interactive Brokers and keep working regardless — that's exactly what they're for.
Contacting support
If none of the above fits, email support@volninja.com.
Because your trading data lives only on your machine, support can't look anything up — everything they have to work with is what you send. So the more of this you include, the faster it goes:
- What you saw, in the app's own words, and roughly when.
- A screenshot of the screen in question — the position's Activity tab is the most useful one when a trade is involved.
- Your VolNinja version, shown in the footer at the bottom of the trading app.
Support may also ask for your logs; Open Logs in the VolNinja window shows you where they are.