How a cycle works

Every cycle follows the same path, and every step is written to the decision log whether or not a trade comes out of it.

1. Read the regime. Pull the VIX from FRED (VIXCLS) and place today on a one-year percentile. This is a regime read, not a signal — it scales position size and, at the extremes, blocks new premium entirely.
2. Scan the DTE ladder. Measure the volatility risk premium on each tenor in the ladder (7 / 14 / 21 / 30 / 45 days by default). Trade only the tenor whose premium clears its threshold.
3. Check the gates. Term-structure backwardation blocks new short premium. A known macro event inside the candidate's expiry blocks it too.
4. Build the spread. Pick strikes by delta, size the position against account equity and the aggregate-risk cap, and price the multi-leg order to fill.
5. Risk check. One explicit pass/fail against every rule. A rejection is logged in full and shown in the dashboard.
6. Submit — or don't. If nothing cleared, the cycle ends with a written reason. An agent that stays still is working correctly.