Multi-leg structures
A multi-leg structure is several option or future contracts on one underlying, opened and closed as a group. The group is the unit that matters. Its legs are not independent positions.
Naming a structure
Say the structure's name and the builder builds it:
build a long straddle on NIFTY, monthly expiry, ATM
short a BANKNIFTY strangle, weekly, 2 strikes out either side
iron condor on NIFTY, monthly, short strikes at ATM±3, long at ATM±5
bull call spread on RELIANCE, monthly, long ATM short ATM+2
When you name a structure, or say "multi-leg", the builder treats it as a multi-leg options strategy and will not offer you single-leg buy/sell alternatives instead.
If you say "multi-leg options" without naming a structure, it clarifies by offering multi-leg options (long straddle, short strangle, iron condor, bull call spread) not single-leg ones.
The structures the platform names
| Structure | Legs | Shape |
|---|---|---|
long_future / short_future | 1 | Directional futures |
long_perpetual / short_perpetual | 1 | Crypto perpetual |
long_call / short_call | 1 | Single call |
long_put / short_put | 1 | Single put |
bull_call_spread | 2 | Long lower-strike call, short higher-strike call |
bear_call_spread | 2 | Short lower call, long higher call |
bull_put_spread | 2 | Short higher put, long lower put |
bear_put_spread | 2 | Long higher put, short lower put |
long_straddle / short_straddle | 2 | Call and put at the same strike |
long_strangle / short_strangle | 2 | Call and put at different strikes |
iron_condor | 4 | Short strangle inside a long strangle |
iron_butterfly | 4 | Short straddle inside a long strangle |
custom | any | A shape the classifier will not name |
Why custom exists
A ratio spread, a calendar spread, or a mixed-kind basket is labelled custom.
The structure label is used as a filter, so a wrong label silently puts a position in the wrong
bucket. Naming something "almost right" would be worse than admitting the shape is not one the
classifier recognises. custom means "unknown shape", not "invalid".
Leg limits
| Default legs per group | 10 |
| Platform ceiling | 20 |
| Configurable | Per tenant, within the ceiling |
A structure exceeding the resolved cap is rejected. Ten legs covers every named structure with room for laddered variants.
Group semantics
The property that makes a structure a structure rather than several positions.
Coordinated close
A group closes as a group. The paper engine models coordinated close, and the group-exit planner computes the closing set and its costs together rather than treating each leg as a separate exit decision.
Why this matters: closing three legs of a four-leg iron condor leaves you with a naked short option, a position with a completely different risk profile from what you opened, arrived at by accident. Coordinated close is what prevents that.
Group exit evaluation
Exit conditions are evaluated against the group, and its P&L is the sum across legs net of each leg's costs. A structure's payoff is a property of the combination.
Payoff
The engine computes the structure's payoff profile, which is the only sensible way to reason about a multi-leg position, the individual legs' marks say very little on their own.
Directional bias
The engine derives the group's directional bias from its legs, so a structure can be reasoned about directionally even when no single leg carries the direction.
Strike and expiry per leg
Each leg carries its own strike rule and expiry rule, both resolved at entry time:
| Rule type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Strike | ATM, ATM+2, ATM-3, OTM+1, ITM+2, ABS:25000 |
| Expiry | nearest, weekly, next_weekly, monthly, next_monthly, or a date |
Ladder offsets are oriented by right. For a call, OTM is above ATM and ITM below; for a put, the
reverse. That orientation is what makes OTM+2 mean the same economic thing on both legs of a
strangle even though the strikes move in opposite directions.
Resolution is fail-closed. An unsupported rule, a missing spot, an empty strike ladder, or an offset that runs off the end of the listed ladder produces an error. Nothing substitutes a nearest available strike silently, because a straddle whose legs landed on different strikes is a strangle, and you would not have been told.
Expiry handling
Options expire, and an unmanaged position at expiry settles or lapses on the exchange's terms.
The platform has expiry handling and a dedicated expiry worker, plus roll support with roll modes and intents.
Every other risk in a derivatives position can be managed by trading out of it. Expiry arrives on a schedule regardless of what you do. A short option held to expiry can be assigned, creating an obligation in the underlying.
Build the expiry decision into the strategy (a time exit, an expiry-day flag condition, or a roll) rather than relying on being present. See Derivatives risk disclosure
The engine exposes an expiry session flag that a strategy's exit conditions can read, alongside
friday_exit and holiday_exit. The knowledge base also carries an avoid_expiry_day signal usable
as an entry filter.
Backtesting a structure
The backtester prices each leg from its own contract series, applies the options or futures charge family per leg, and reports the group's result.
Two things to know:
Contract series are stitched across expiries so a continuous history exists. Roll effects at the seams are a real characteristic of any continuous futures or options series, not an artefact.
The flat ₹20 per order is per order, and a four-leg structure is four orders: eight for a round trip. On a small position that is the dominant cost term. See Fees & charges
Margin
Currently per leg, gross, with no spread or hedge benefit. A bull call spread reserves margin as if the two legs were unrelated, which materially overstates the requirement for a genuinely hedged structure.
Conservative, and a real limitation on what a given allocation can hold. See Margin, leverage & lot size.
Limitations
| Limitation | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Live entry refused | Build, backtest and paper only |
| No spread margin benefit | Hedged structures reserve gross margin |
| Lot-size granularity | The smallest structure may exceed your intended risk |
custom structures are not classified | Filters and structure-specific handling do not apply |
| Roll effects at series seams | Inherent to stitched continuous series |
| Leg cap | 10 by default, 20 ceiling |