> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.skylit.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Talon field guide
> Ask about the chart or map you have open and get a short, sourced read of the options structure, flow and news. Find the levels that matter faster. The call stays yours.
Educational material, not financial advice. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Options involve significant risk and are not suitable for every investor. Past behavior of any reading or setup does not guarantee future results.
Why it matters
Reading an options map takes time, and the question you have is usually simple: where does this stall, and what has to break for it to run? Talon is the AI analyst built into Skylit. You ask in plain English, or with a slash command, from any page. It answers from live Skylit data and the Skylit Academy. That data covers the Heatseeker gamma (GEX) and vanna (VEX) map, options flow, dark pool prints (large trades done off the public exchanges), company events and news.
**In plain English.** The GEX/VEX map shows where options positions sit, strike by strike. Gamma exposure is about how those positions react when price moves. Vanna exposure is about how they react when implied volatility changes. Talon reads the map for you and tells you where the big strikes are.
How it differs from a general chatbot:
* **It sees your page.** The page you are on and the ticker in focus go with every message. On an NVDA chart, "what are the levels?" is a complete question.
* **Numbers come from Skylit data, not from memory.** Levels, strikes, expiries, dates and prices are meant to come from a live read. Still check any level before you act on it (see [Good to know](#what-to-trust-today)).
* **It does not make the call.** Talon lays out the structure: the levels it points to, the price that would prove the idea wrong, and the risk-to-reward between them. It will not tell you to buy, hold, exit or how much to size, even if you ask for those fields in a template.
**Two things called Talon.** This guide covers the **Talon chat**, the analyst inside the app. A separate product shares the name: the **Talon scans** that Glitch, Skylit's founder, posts on his Substack.
Where to find it
Talon is the same everywhere: one conversation, one history, one set of settings. Move between these places mid-thought and nothing is lost.
| You want | Go to |
| ---------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Talon beside any page | Press `Cmd` + `\` (Mac) or `Ctrl` + `\` (Windows). Or tap the round **Aegis** button (a robot icon) to open the side panel, then the **Talon** tab. |
| Talon full screen, with a live chart and market tape | **TALON** in the sidebar (or the phone module picker), or go to `/talon`. Pro plan. |
| Past conversations | **History** in the Talon toolbar. On a phone, the History control on the full page. |
| Timeframe, effort, watchlist | The row under the message box (the composer). |
| Prose or Concise answers, follow-up chips | The settings button in that same row, **Answers** tab. Or type `/concise` and `/suggest`. |
| Learn Talon step by step | Academy: **Talon Prompt Guide**, then The Core Reads, Trading the Index and Futures, Trading Single Names, Finding Setups, Building the Trade, and **Talon: The Full Page**. |
| Report a bad answer | Thumbs-down on the answer. Include the exact question, the page, the timeframe and what you expected. |
On desktop the Aegis button sits bottom right, above the Support button. On a phone it sits on the right edge, around the middle. You can drag it somewhere else.
Which plans include Talon
| Plan | What you get |
| ------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Pro | The **Talon** tab in the Aegis panel, every slash command, page reads, scans, flow, company and research answers, plus the full page at `/talon` and the **TALON** entry in the sidebar and phone module picker. |
| Community, Initiate and free accounts | The Talon tab does not appear. |
The first time you open Talon, you accept a short disclaimer. It says Talon is educational and not financial advice, it can be wrong, and every trading decision is yours. It shows again whenever that text changes. If you decline, Talon closes and asks again next time.
Read it in 30 seconds
1. **Open it.** Press `Cmd` + `\` (Mac) or `Ctrl` + `\` (Windows), or tap the round Aegis button and pick **Talon**.
2. **Set the timeframe.** Pick **Scalp**, **Day**, **Swing** or **Position** under the composer. It decides which expirations Talon reads, so a scalp read and a position read of the same ticker can rightly disagree.
3. **Ask a pointed question.** "Where does this turn?" or "what has to break for this to run?" gets more than "give me the levels".
4. **Name the expiry on any strike question.** Ask whether the trade was bought or sold, not how big it was: "Is 600 being bought or sold for the Oct 17 expiry?"
5. **Push back.** If a number looks wrong, say so. Talon fetches the data again and shows its source instead of defending its last answer.
**In plain English.** Options that expire this week and options that expire in three months are different books. A scalp read looks at the near ones, a position read at the far ones. Same stock, two maps, much like tomorrow's forecast and the season outlook can point different ways.
How to use it
Set the timeframe and effort
**Why:** the same ticker has a different map for a 0DTE scalp (options that expire today) than for a three-month hold. Matching Talon to your holding period keeps the read relevant.
**Where:** the row under the composer.
1. Tap the timeframe control and pick **Scalp**, **Day**, **Swing** or **Position**. The menu shows the days-to-expiry range each one reads. You can set one as your default; it is marked in the menu.
2. Tap the effort control and pick **Fast**, **Balanced** or **Deep**.
3. If you scan watchlists, tap the watchlist chip and pick the Atlas list a plain `/watchlist` should use.
| Effort | What the app says | When to use it |
| ------------ | ----------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Fast** | "Quickest replies, lighter reasoning" | Quick lookups. |
| **Balanced** | "Default. Full depth at chat speed" | Most questions. |
| **Deep** | "Hardest reads. Slower, more headroom" (marked `$$$`) | Questions that chain several reads: confluence (several levels lining up), a full trade map, a rotation scan. The Academy suggests Deep for these. |
Choose how answers look
**Why:** sometimes you want the reasoning, sometimes you want to compare ten names at a glance.
**Where:** the settings button in the composer row, **Answers** tab.
1. Under **Mode**, pick **Prose** (the default) to get the read in a few tight sentences, or **Concise** for the same read in short field blocks. Concise is better for comparing names and worse when you want the reasoning. `/concise` switches it from the composer.
2. Under **Follow-ups**, turn the three suggested next questions under each answer on or off. They are on by default. `/suggest` switches them.
You can type your next question while Talon is still answering. Up to three questions wait in a queue and go out in order as each answer finishes.
Slash commands
**Why:** a command gets you exactly one read, with no guessing about what you meant.
**Where:** type `/` in the composer to open the menu.
1. Type `/` and start typing the command name. The closest matches come first.
2. Pick the command, then add a ticker or scope if it takes one.
3. Press Enter. Picking the last option in a command runs it straight away.
Most commands behave like ordinary questions, so "what's the flow in NVDA?" gets the same answer as `/flow NVDA`. `/watchlist`, `/trinity` and `/talon TICKER` always run the same fixed read, so type those when you want exactly that read.
| Command | What you get |
| ----------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `/levels [TICKER]` | The key GEX/VEX levels, each labeled with its instrument. A ticker you type beats the page. |
| `/talon [TICKER]` (Talon Read) | A structure read on one name: the trade map with its reference levels, invalidation and risk-to-reward. |
| `/talon sector NAME` · `theme NAME` · `market` · `universe` | The same scan across a group of names. The lists are below the table. |
| `/watchlist [LIST]` | Scans one of your Atlas watchlists. With no name it uses Favorites, or your first saved list. |
| `/trinity` | SPXW, SPY and QQQ read together, and whether they agree. |
| `/breadth` | Advancers vs decliners across the S\&P 500 and Nasdaq 100. |
| `/flow [TICKER]` | Today's single-leg flow (one contract traded on its own, not part of a spread), how today compares with the week, and the premium leaders with their buy/sell split. |
| `/darkpool [TICKER]` | Off-exchange block prints over the last five sessions. |
| `/metrics [TICKER]` | Put/call ratio and max pain (the strike where the most option value would expire worthless). |
| `/earnings [TICKER]` | Next and most recent earnings dates. |
| `/market` | Market-wide tape and top tickers. |
| `/news TOPIC` | Up to five recent articles, each with publisher and time. Takes free text, not a ticker. |
| `/clear` · `/help` · `/concise` · `/suggest` | Start fresh, list commands, switch Concise, switch follow-up chips. |
What you can scan with `/talon`:
* **Sectors:** semiconductors ("semis" works), energy, financials, healthcare, consumer, industrials, cybersecurity, crypto.
* **Themes:** mag7, ai, china, memory, ev, datacenters, neoclouds, hyperscalers, defense, nuclear, quantum, robotics, space.
* **`market`:** the index, ETF and volatility group.
* **`universe`:** the whole market. You can narrow it to stocks or ETFs.
Ask about the page you are on
**Why:** you do not have to retype the ticker or describe the chart. Talon already knows what you are looking at.
**Where:** open Talon on any of the pages below. Its first line says what it can see.
1. Open the page, then open Talon.
2. Ask one of the questions in the **Try** column, or your own.
3. To ask about another ticker, just name it. A ticker you name always wins over the page.
| Page | Talon starts from | Try |
| ---------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| Heatseeker | The GEX/VEX map, a structured read, velocity | "What's the read?" · "What changed in 5m?" |
| Atlas | The chart's structure, levels and velocity | "Where is the king node?" · "What is on my chart?" |
| Trinity | SPXW, SPY and QQQ side by side | "Is the system aligned?" · "Which index is the laggard?" |
| Live feed · Scanner | Your active filters and what printed through them | "What am I filtering for?" · "Any repeat names?" |
| Contract lookup · a contract chart | One ticker's busiest contracts; the contract on screen | "Bought or sold?" · "Is open interest building?" |
| Compass | The panes on the board | "Which industries are bid?" |
| Company events | Earnings, dividends, splits, insider and Congress filings | "When is the next report?" |
| Tracker · Alerts | Saved positions; your alert rules and last fires | "Which are still open?" · "Why did this not fire?" |
| Academy | The course you are reading | "Summarize this lesson" |
On the **Heatseeker** and **Trinity map** pages Talon uses a lighter set of tools so it answers faster. Raw prints, the rotation scan, and chart patterns and indicators are not available there. Ask for those from Atlas or another page.
Tap a ticker, read the cards
**Why:** every ticker in an answer is a shortcut, and cards put a whole structure read on one screen.
**Where:** inside any Talon answer.
1. **Tap a ticker** in an answer to open its menu. From there you can:
* ask Talon about it: Talon Read, Levels, Flow, Dark pool, Metrics, Earnings, or Mention in composer
* open it in Heatmap, Atlas or Trinity
* favorite it, or add it to your selected watchlist
2. **Read the card.** A trade map, a scan report or a Trinity ladder shows as a card in place of text. Its numbers come from the same data as the answer. Scan cards line up the structural invalidation, the entry reference and the levels the structure points to. Each level shows its expiry and risk-to-reward. Each name shows its price and day change as of the moment the result loaded.
3. **Change the view.** On scan results and trade maps, use **Detail** (Compact, Normal or Detailed) and **Layout** (Fit, Scrollable or Cards). These only change how the result looks; nothing is read again.
When a single name reports earnings within seven days either side of the data's date, Talon adds a line saying so.
**In plain English.** A trade map is a route plan drawn from the options structure. It has a reference price, a few places price could travel to, and the price that would prove the idea wrong (the structural invalidation). Risk-to-reward weighs those levels against that invalidation. It describes the structure; it does not say whether to take the trip.
History and feedback
**Why:** pick up yesterday's thread without starting over, and tell Skylit when an answer misses.
**Where:** **History** in the Talon toolbar; the thumbs under each answer.
1. Open **History** to search, pin, rename or delete conversations.
2. Tap **Continue** on a past thread to pick it up with its context. Old threads show how old they are. Continue one to keep the conversation, but ask again when you need fresh numbers.
3. Rate any answer with a thumbs up or down. A thumbs-down offers reasons (Inaccurate, Wrong levels, Too slow, Not what I asked, Other) and goes straight to the people who tune Talon.
The full page (`/talon`)
**Why:** a bigger workspace, with a live chart of whatever you are discussing next to the conversation.
**Where:** **TALON** in the sidebar, or `/talon`. Pro plan.
1. **Read the tape** across the top: SPX, SPY, QQQ and CVIX (the VX-futures continuous index, not spot VIX). Switch the sparklines between **1H**, **4H**, **Today** and **2D**.
2. **Ask about a ticker.** On desktop, the **canvas** on the right shows a live chart of that symbol, plus the trade map, scan report, Trinity ladder or market overview. It holds up to six cards. A new ticker clears the board, and a seventh card pushes out the oldest. A question that names no ticker clears nothing.
3. **Use the chart.** It follows your Atlas chart preferences but never changes them. It is always live, even in an old conversation; the caption then reads "live · from a conversation" and how long ago. Tap **Open in Atlas** to take the symbol to your charts. When an answer has levels that can be drawn accurately, a chip offers to mark them on the chart.
4. **Arrange the panes.** The **Canvas** button in the header opens and closes the canvas, and the swap button beside it flips the panes. Drag the divider to resize; double-click it to reset. A narrow window shows one pane.
On a phone the full page has its own Back, History and New controls, and you can zoom the transcript with two fingers.
Common routines
These are habits for using the tool, not tested trading signals. Pick the one closest to how you trade.
#### Index scalps (0DTE SPX, SPY, QQQ)
Set **Scalp**. Open with `/trinity` to see whether the three indexes agree, then `/levels SPXW`. Before leaning on a level, ask "is that level still fresh, or tested today?". That answer is sometimes unavailable. The Academy teaches that levels weaken with each tap; treat that as a rule of thumb, not a tested signal. For flow at a wall (a big strike on the map), name the expiry and ask whether it was bought or sold.
#### Day trades
Set **Day**. From a Heatseeker or Atlas page, ask "what's the read?" then "where does this turn?". Follow `/flow NVDA` with "is that unusual for this name?" to see volume against its average and open interest, not just raw premium.
#### Swings
Set **Swing**. Run `/watchlist` or `/talon sector semis` to see which names have structure, then `/talon NVDA` for the trade map. Round it out with "how does the sector look behind this name?", "when do they report?" and, for the invalidation, "what would change your mind?".
#### Positions and single-name research
Set **Position**. Ask what the company does, who its peers are, what trades with it, whether insiders have been buying, and whether anyone in Congress traded it. Research answers are written in words and cite their sources. Take your numbers from the reads, not from research answers.
Use it with other Skylit tools
| Tool | How Talon helps |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Heatseeker** | Ask on the heatmap page: "What's the read?", "Where is the king node?", "What changed in 5m?". Check any level against the map itself. |
| **Atlas** | Talon reads the chart you have open: structure, levels and velocity. On the full page, mark its levels on the canvas chart or open the symbol in Atlas. |
| **Trinity** | `/trinity` gives the three-index ladder as a card. Ask "which index is the laggard?" |
| **Flowseeker** | `/flow`, strike flow and `/darkpool` answer from flow data. On the Live feed or Scanner, Talon reads your filters and results. |
| **Academy** | Product questions are answered from the Academy with sources. The Talon series starts with the **Talon Prompt Guide** course. |
Ask Talon
Talon answers questions about itself and the rest of Skylit from the published Academy and docs, and cites them. If the docs do not cover something, it says so instead of guessing.
| You want | Ask Talon |
| ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| The command list | `/help` · "What commands do you have?" |
| How a control works | "What does the timeframe setting change?" · "When should I use Deep?" |
| A term | "What is a king node?" · "What is structural invalidation?" · "What is acceptance?" |
| How to use a tool | "How do I use Atlas?" · "How do chart layouts work?" |
| Where the line is | "Why won't you tell me whether to sell?" (it explains why it won't) |
Good to know
* **Check a level before you act on it.** Talon takes its numbers from live Skylit data, but not every kind of answer is checked against that data yet. Compare any level with the Heatseeker map or the Atlas chart it came from.
* **Talon describes; it does not decide.** It will not give buy, hold, exit, size or pick answers. If an answer ever reads like a call, report it with a thumbs-down.
* **An empty scan is a real answer.** Scans are strict, so "nothing qualifies" means nothing met the bar. The risk-to-reward on a trade map is a reference from the structure, not a win rate.
* **Market-wide scans tell you how much they read.** Look at the **Scanned** line instead of assuming the scan saw every name.
* **Flow totals are single-leg only.** They will not match the all-legs figures on the contract chart. Read direction from the buy/sell split, never from how big the premium is.
* **Dark pool, earnings and news have fixed limits.** Dark pool covers the last five sessions. Earnings gives dates, not whether the report is before or after the bell. News covers about the last week, and each headline names its publisher.
* **Research answers are words, not numbers to trade.** They cite their sources. How to read Skylit data comes only from Skylit's own docs, never the open web.
* **Timeframe changes the answer.** Talon's king node comes from the expirations your timeframe selects, so it can differ from a map showing other expirations.
* **Limits.** If you hit Talon's usage limit you will see "You've reached Talon's usage limit for now. Try again a little later." If Talon is off for your account you will see "Talon isn't available on your account. Contact support if you think this is a mistake."
What's new
**September 2026**
* **Queue a question while Talon answers.** You can send your next question while Talon is still answering. Up to three wait in a queue, so you never wait to type. See [Choose how answers look](#choose-how-answers-look).
* **Steadier Talon on phones.** On a phone, the composer and slash menu stay above the keyboard, and the conversation no longer jumps while you scroll. See [How to use it](#section-by-section).
* **Detail and Layout on scan results.** Scan results and trade maps have separate Detail and Layout controls, so you can make a result denser or roomier without a new read. See [Tap a ticker, read the cards](#tap-a-ticker-read-the-cards).
* **Clearer scan cards.** Scan cards show the invalidation, entry reference and the levels the structure points to on one line, with each level's expiry and risk-to-reward, so the structure reads at a glance. See [Tap a ticker, read the cards](#tap-a-ticker-read-the-cards).
* **Market breadth with /breadth.** /breadth shows how many S\&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 names are advancing versus declining, so you can see whether a move is broad or narrow. See [Slash commands](#slash-commands).
* **Live chart on the full page.** The /talon canvas shows a live chart of the symbol you are discussing, in your Atlas chart style, so price sits beside the answer. See [The full page (`/talon`)](#the-full-page-talon).
* **Insider and Congress filings.** You can ask whether insiders have traded a stock, or whether members of Congress traded it, including on Company events. See [Ask about the page you are on](#ask-about-the-page-you-are-on).
* **Flow beyond today's session.** You can ask about a ticker's busiest contracts over the past week or month, with the strikes carrying the activity and which side the trades were on. See [Slash commands](#slash-commands).
* **Talon's levels on the canvas chart.** Talon can mark its answer's levels on the canvas chart, from the same gamma or vanna map it read, so the picture matches the words. See [The full page (`/talon`)](#the-full-page-talon).
* **/watchlist reads your whole list.** /watchlist now reads every name on your list, not just the first 30, and ranks the names whose structure qualifies, so nothing gets skipped. See [Slash commands](#slash-commands).
* **Quicker slash-command menu.** The / menu puts the closest matches first and shows more rows, and picking a command's last option runs it without an extra keystroke. See [Slash commands](#slash-commands).
* **Market tape and Swap on the full page.** The /talon page shows SPX, SPY, QQQ and CVIX with switchable sparklines across the top, and Swap flips the chat and canvas panes. See [The full page (`/talon`)](#the-full-page-talon).
* **Whole-market scans.** /talon universe now scans the whole market, and its Scanned line shows how many names it covered. You can narrow it to stocks or ETFs. See [Slash commands](#slash-commands).
* **More sectors and themes to scan.** You can now scan cybersecurity as a sector, plus seven new themes: neoclouds, hyperscalers, defense, nuclear, quantum, robotics and space. See [Slash commands](#slash-commands).
* **Earnings dates nearby.** When a single name reports within seven days of the data's date, Talon adds a line saying so, so a report does not surprise you. See [Tap a ticker, read the cards](#tap-a-ticker-read-the-cards).
Glossary
| Term | Meaning |
| -------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **0DTE** | Options that expire today (zero days to expiry). |
| **Aegis** | The Companion panel on the right of the app. Talon is one of its tabs. |
| **Canvas** | The right pane of the full page, where the live chart and cards land. |
| **Card** | A trade map, scan report or Trinity ladder shown as a block instead of text. Its numbers come from the same data as the answer. |
| **Composer** | The message box where you type to Talon, with the timeframe, effort and watchlist controls under it. |
| **Concise** | An answer format of short field blocks instead of prose. Switch it with `/concise`. |
| **Continue** | Pick up a past conversation from History with its context. |
| **Deep / Balanced / Fast** | Effort levels: how much reasoning Talon spends on an answer. Balanced is the default. |
| **Scan report** | The card for a sector, theme, market or watchlist scan. |
| **Fresh / tested / delivered / spent** | Where a level sits in its life, as the Academy teaches it: levels weaken with each tap (a Skylit rule of thumb, not a tested signal). |
| **King node** | The biggest node (a strike with a large exposure) on the board by absolute size. Talon reads the expirations your timeframe selects, so its King can differ from the one on a map showing other expirations. |
| **Scanned line** | The line in a scan result saying how many names were actually read. |
| **Structural invalidation** | The price that would prove the structural idea wrong, used as the reference for risk-to-reward. It is not a stop order. |
| **Talon Read** | The `/talon` command: a structure read on one ticker or a scan across a scope. |
| **Timeframe** | Scalp, Day, Swing or Position: which expirations Talon reads structure from. |
| **Trade map** | One ticker's structure laid out with an entry reference, the levels the structure points to, the invalidation and risk-to-reward. A reference, not a recommendation. |
| **Trinity** | SPXW, SPY and QQQ read together. |
| **Wall** | A big strike on the map. Traders watch walls as places where price may stall. |
