⚙️ Global Settings in TOM

Global settings define how your entire strategy behaves — from capital and date range to roll logic, structure closing, and premium exits.
Think of these as the “environment settings” that apply to all legs inside your TOM object.

These parameters appear at the top level of every TOM file (outside the legs array).

🧭 Overview

Global settings control:

• Equity — how much equity you start with and how profits are handled

• Date range — when your backtest begins and ends

• Option universe rules — which expiries to use

• Lifecycle behavior — how and when positions roll or close

• Premium-based exits — automated take-profit and stop-loss triggers

Example: Global Section of a TOM

Here’s a simplified TOM excerpt showing only the global settings portion:

{
  "strategy_id": "Custom Structure",
  "initial_equity": 1000000,
  "equity_type": "compounding",
  "from_date": "2010-01-01",
  "to_date": "2025-10-01",
  "option_expiry_type": "Standard + Serial",
  "dte_roll": "yes",
  "inherit_first_leg_rolls": "no",
  "close_structure_on_dte_min": "no",
  "close_entire_structure_on_every_min_dte": "no",
  "close_entire_structure_on_every_min_dte_value": 0,
  "premium_exit": {
    "use_premium_exit": "yes",
    "lower": 0.5,
    "upper": 2
  }
}

🧱 Core Strategy Information

strategy_id

What it is: A friendly name or label for your TOM.
Example: "Short Put Spread"
Note: This field is for identification only — it doesn’t affect calculations

💰 Equity & Accounting

initial_equity

What it is: Starting capital for your backtest.
Example: 1000000
Units: Base currency of your underlying instrument (e.g., USD).

equity_type

Values: "compounding" or "static"

• "compounding" → profits/losses adjust available capital for future trades.

• "static" → Each trade uses the same fixed notional regardless of results. 

📅 Date Range

from_date and to_date

Define the inclusive backtesting window.

"from_date": "2010-01-01",
"to_date": "2025-10-01"

The engine automatically skips non-trading days and weekends.

📆 Option Universe Selection

option_expiry_type

Specifies which expiries to consider when selecting contracts.
Values:

• "Standard" → standard expiries only

• "Standard + Serial" → standard and serial expiries

🔄 Rolling & Structure Closure

These settings control how and when your strategy rolls or exits existing positions.

dte_roll

Values: "yes" or "no"
Purpose: Enables rolling when a leg’s Days to Expiry (DTE) threshold is reached. When enabled, it will maintain the structure in position for all specified periods with signals by rolling to the next available contract. 

inherit_first_leg_rolls

Values: "yes" or "no"
If "yes", all other legs follow the first leg’s roll schedule and logic.
Useful for spreads and cross-asset structures that must roll together.

close_structure_on_dte_min

Values: "yes" or "no"
If "yes", closes legs of the structure on their corresponding min_dte's. 

close_entire_structure_on_every_min_dte

Values: "yes" or "no"
If "yes", closes the entire structure whenever we approach any underlying expiry by min_dte_value. 

close_entire_structure_on_every_min_dte_value

Specifies the DTE threshold used when the above setting is "yes".
Example: "close_entire_structure_on_every_min_dte_value": 3 → closes all legs when we reach 3 days to expiry of the next option.

max_days_in_trade

Specifies how many days a trade can be in position. After a specified number of business days, the entire structure will be closed.

💎 Premium Exit Rules

The premium_exit block defines automatic exits based on premium movement relative to the entry price.

"premium_exit": {
  "use_premium_exit": "yes",
  "lower": 0.5,
  "upper": 2
}

If use_premium_exit = "no", these values are ignored.

⚙️ Summary

🧠 Best Practices

• Use inherit_first_leg_rolls When testing spreads or condors, it keeps legs synchronized.

• Start with equity_type: "compounding" a realistic performance, then test static for controlled comparisons.

• Enable premium_exit to define profit-taking or stop-loss logic without separate signals.

• Always confirm your from_date/to_date range includes the instrument’s historical data.