Thinkscript Get Expiration Month

5 min read Oct 01, 2024

ThinkScript: How to Get the Expiration Month of an Option Contract

ThinkScript is a powerful language used for creating trading strategies and indicators within the TradingView platform. One common task when working with options is determining the expiration month of a contract. This article will guide you through the process of extracting the expiration month from an option contract using ThinkScript.

Understanding the Basics

Before we delve into the code, it's essential to understand the structure of option symbols and how they represent expiration dates. Typically, option symbols include a date code that indicates the month and year of expiration.

For example:

AAPL230120C0170: This symbol represents a call option on Apple (AAPL) expiring on January 20th, 2023, with a strike price of $170.

Extracting the Expiration Month with ThinkScript

Here's how you can extract the expiration month from an option symbol using ThinkScript:

// Get the option symbol
var string optionSymbol = "AAPL230120C0170";

// Extract the expiration month code
var string monthCode = optionSymbol.substring(4, 6);

// Convert the month code to an integer
var int month = tonumber(monthCode);

// Print the extracted month
plot("Expiration Month: " + month);

Explanation:

optionSymbol: This variable stores the option symbol you want to analyze.
monthCode: The substring() function extracts the month code (the 5th and 6th characters) from the optionSymbol.
month: The tonumber() function converts the extracted monthCode from a string to an integer.
plot(): This function displays the extracted month on the chart.

Using the Extracted Month in Your Strategy

Once you have the expiration month, you can use it in various ways within your ThinkScript strategy:

Filter Options: You can filter options based on the expiration month, allowing you to focus on contracts expiring within a specific timeframe.
Calculate Time Decay: Knowing the expiration month is crucial for calculating the time decay of options, which can be used to determine the rate at which an option loses value.
Develop Conditional Logic: You can use the extracted month to create conditional statements within your strategy. For example, you might want to buy an option only if it expires within the next three months.

ThinkScript for Expiration Date Analysis

While the above example focuses on extracting the month, ThinkScript offers further capabilities for analyzing option expiration dates:

expirationDate() Function: This function can directly retrieve the expiration date of an option contract.
timeToExpiration() Function: This function calculates the time remaining until the option expires.
daysToExpiration() Function: This function calculates the number of days remaining until expiration.

Additional Considerations

Symbol Format: Be mindful of the symbol format used by your broker or platform. Some platforms use different conventions for representing expiration dates.
Data Availability: Ensure that the symbol you are using contains the necessary information for extracting the expiration month.

Conclusion

By using the ThinkScript code provided in this article, you can easily extract the expiration month of an option contract. This information is valuable for various tasks, including filtering contracts, calculating time decay, and developing complex trading strategies. Understanding how to work with expiration dates in ThinkScript empowers you to create powerful and informative trading strategies.