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Getting Started with Rolltop

Rolltop helps you run an options-selling strategy (cash-secured puts, covered calls, and rolling them) in your own brokerage account. It connects to your broker through your own free developer app, registered with your broker. This guide covers what you need and how to connect.

What you need

  • A brokerage account at the broker whose developer portal is developer.schwab.com. Rolltop connects only through that broker’s Trader API. It doesn’t support other brokers.
  • Options approval on that account for the trades you plan to place. Your broker sets your options level; Rolltop can’t change it.
  • Your own developer app. Your broker lets its clients connect software to their own accounts through its Trader API. You register an app once, and Rolltop signs in with its App Key and Secret. Your broker reviews new apps, which can take several business days, so start this first.
  • An iPhone or iPad with iOS 18 or later, or a Mac with macOS 15 or later.

Want to look around first? In Settings › Brokerage, tap Preview with sample data. It shows made-up accounts and positions, and orders are turned off.

Step 1: Create a developer account

  1. Go to developer.schwab.com and register. The developer account has its own login, separate from the one you use for your brokerage account.
  2. Request access to the Trader API – Individual product. It’s for clients connecting software to their own accounts.

Step 2: Create your app

  1. In the Developer Portal dashboard, create a new app. Any name works, such as “My Rolltop”.
  2. Add the Accounts and Trading Production and Market Data Production API products.
  3. Set the callback URL to https://127.0.0.1. You’ll enter the same address in Rolltop, and the two must match exactly.
  4. Submit the app. Your broker reviews it; once its status reads Ready For Use, continue to Step 3.

Step 3: Connect Rolltop

  1. In the Developer Portal, open your app’s details and copy its App Key and Secret.
  2. In Rolltop, open Settings › Brokerage and enter the App Key, the Secret, and the callback URL from Step 2. Tap Save.
  3. Tap Connect Account, then sign in with your brokerage login (the one you use for your brokerage account, not the developer account).
  4. Accept your broker’s terms and select the accounts Rolltop may use. Rolltop sees only the accounts you select.

On iPhone and iPad, your broker’s sign-in opens inside Rolltop and finishes by itself.

On the Mac, sign-in opens in your web browser. After you approve, the browser goes to a page that won’t load. That’s expected: copy the full address from the browser’s address bar, paste it into Rolltop, and click Finish sign-in. If your developer app’s callback URL is http://127.0.0.1:8182 instead, the Mac catches the sign-in itself and there’s nothing to paste.

Staying connected

  • Sign in again every 7 days. Your broker requires it. Rolltop shows a reminder a day ahead; tap Sign in again in Settings › Brokerage.
  • Set up once for all your devices. Your App Key, Secret and sign-in are kept in your Keychain. With iCloud Keychain turned on, they sync to your other Apple devices that use the same Apple Account.
  • One sign-in per App Key. Your broker keeps one active sign-in for each App Key, so signing in on another device signs the first one out. For a device that doesn’t share your iCloud Keychain, use Export sign-in on a connected device and Import sign-in on the other instead of signing in again. Other tools that use the same App Key can sign Rolltop out the same way.

Using Rolltop

  • Positions lists your stock and option positions, grouped by stock. Each short option is labeled from your settings: Roll now, Watch, Let expire or Allow assignment.
  • Roll picks a new contract based on your roll ladder settings. You can change it, and you review the whole order before anything is sent.
  • Every order is confirmed by you. Rolltop shows each order’s details, prices and checks first, and sends it to your broker only when you confirm. Check your orders in your broker’s own apps.
  • Alerts cover options expiring today, contracts at risk of assignment, covered calls below your recovery strike, and a summary after the close. Market times are Eastern Time.
  • Settings holds your trading rules (minimum premium, debits), your roll ladder, and your alert choices. Tap ? next to a section for details.

On iPhone and iPad, Rolltop checks for alerts while it’s open, and in the background when iOS allows. A Mac running Rolltop checks all day, and alerts it raises reach your other devices through iCloud.

Good to know

  • Rolltop is an independent app from StackRef Inc. It isn’t affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any broker, and your broker’s own terms govern your use of its API.
  • Questions about your account, an order, or a transaction go to your broker. StackRef can help with the app, but can’t answer questions about your brokerage account or resolve problems with it.
  • StackRef never sees your brokerage credentials, account data or orders. See the Privacy Policy.
  • Rolltop doesn’t give investment advice. You decide on and are responsible for every trade. See the Risk & No-Advice Disclosure.

Questions about the app? Email rolltop@stackref.com.