Chapter 5
Night Hawk
Evening playbook and pre-market confirmation — tomorrow's SPX setups, GEX context, and invalidation levels published after the close.
Overview
Night Hawk publishes the Evening Edition: market recap, catalyst scan, GEX positioning, ranked play ideas, and hard invalidation levels for the next session.
Route `/nighthawk` hosts two products side-by-side: PlaybookBoard (left) for the edition and 0DTE Command (right) for the always-on intraday scanner. This chapter covers the playbook; 0DTE Command has its own guide.
It is asynchronous preparation — not a live execution desk. SPX Slayer takes over at the open. Morning confirm cron updates CONFIRMED / DEGRADED / INVALIDATED badges on each play.
Desk layout
Two-column layout: PlaybookBoard on the left (~40%), ZeroDteBoard (0DTE Command) on the right (~60%). PlayDetailModal overlays when you select a ranked play.
Edition data refreshes on a slower cadence than Slayer — expect 120s SWR on edition, 60s on play-status, 300s on track record.
If tonight's board is not published yet, stale/prior edition copy appears with explicit notice — read the freshness badges before trading old levels.
Panel reference
Every region below maps to a live UI panel on the desk. Read purpose first, then cadence, then how to consume — that order mirrors how you should scan the tool during RTH.
PlaybookBoard header
Top of left column
Edition metadata, freshness state, and session context for tonight's playbook.
What it shows
- Edition date and recap headline
- Freshness badges: Edition live / Recap live / Prior edition / Awaiting close
- Pre-market summary counts (confirmed/degraded/invalidated)
- Stale, degraded, or carry-forward notices
How to consume
Read badges first. Prior edition means you are looking at yesterday's board — validate every level at the open. Awaiting close means today's edition is still being forged. Pre-market counts tell you how many plays survived morning confirm.
HawkRecordStrip
Below playbook header
Rolling track record for resolved Night Hawk plays.
What it shows
- 30-day (configurable) resolved count
- Target hit %, profitable %, avg return
- Building track record or pending count when sample is small
How to consume
Use for calibration, not prediction. Low sample sizes show building copy — do not over-weight percentages early in a window. Pair with your own journal.
MarketContextBar
Below record strip
End-of-day market snapshot carried into the edition: tide, indices, sector leaders/laggards.
What it shows
- Tide bias chip
- SPX and VIX snapshot
- Sector leaders and laggards
How to consume
Sets the macro tone for the recap. Sector leaders hint where flow may concentrate next session — cross-check against live sector performance at the open if rotation looks extreme.
Market recap (collapsible)
Mid left column
Narrative end-of-day summary supporting the ranked plays.
What it shows
- Collapsible recap prose from the edition builder
What you can do
- Show / Hide market recap toggle
How to consume
Expand once per evening read. The recap explains why plays ranked — not just where. Hide after reading to preserve vertical space for play rows.
PlaybookPlayRow (×5 slots)
Main left column — ranked list
Up to five ranked setups for the next session with conviction, levels, and morning status.
What it shows
- Rank #1–5, ticker, direction, conviction
- Morning badge: Confirmed / Degraded / Invalidated
- Score, flow streak, IV, premium cap
- Thesis, entry / target / stop, options contract, risk note
- Hawk Intel → hint when populated
- Empty slot: being forged copy
What you can do
- Click / Enter / Space on populated row → PlayDetailModal
How to consume
Work top-down by rank. Note invalidation before entry. Morning badges override yesterday's optimism — INVALIDATED means do not trade the setup without fresh Slayer confirmation. Empty slots are normal before publish time (~after cash close cron).
TipPlays can carry until close next session — read carry notices in the header.
PlayDetailModal (Hawk Intel)
Center overlay — on play select
Deep AI briefing for one ranked play: context, reasoning, and expanded intel.
What it shows
- Rank, ticker, direction, conviction, score, streak, IV
- Entry / target / stop / contract
- Hawk Intel explanation (fetched once per open)
What you can do
- Close modal
How to consume
Open for your #1–2 ranked ideas after reading the row. Intel is supplementary to invalidation levels — hard levels on the row still rule. Close and re-open if edition refreshed mid-read.
How it works
After cash close, cron builds the edition from end-of-day chain, flow, and catalyst context. Pre-market morning confirm cron re-evaluates each play against overnight structure.
Edition blocks
Structured document: recap, context bar, five ranked rows, record strip.
Morning confirm
CONFIRMED / DEGRADED / INVALIDATED badges reflect pre-open revalidation.
Carry logic
Plays may persist across sessions until close or invalidation.
Shared route
/nighthawk also hosts 0DTE Command — playbook left, always-on scanner right.
Step-by-step workflow
Read after 4:30 PM ET. Validate at the open on Slayer — markets change overnight.
- 1
Read after close
Bookmark edition cadence; expand recap once.
- 2
Note invalidation
Carry hard levels into the pre-market open.
- 3
Check morning badges
Before 9:30, refresh for CONFIRMED vs INVALIDATED.
- 4
Validate at open
Slayer flip and walls may disagree — Slayer wins for execution.
- 5
Check 0DTE Command
See today's always-on scanner finds on the same page.
Best practices
Do
- Use as bias, not autopilot.
- Re-read invalidation at the open.
- Respect INVALIDATED morning badges.
- Read Hawk Intel for context, not permission.
Don't
- Don't enter solely on yesterday's edition without open validation.
- Don't ignore stale/prior edition notices.
- Don't confuse Night Hawk with the play engine — different clocks and gates.
Connected tools
BlackOut is one pipeline. These desks share the same GEX, flow, and intelligence layers.
FAQ
Night Hawk vs SPX Slayer?
Night Hawk = evening publication + morning confirm; Slayer = live RTH engine with 3s play poll.
When is the edition published?
After cash close via cron; empty slots show until complete (~evening ET).
Why is 0DTE Command on the same page?
Single workflow: read the evening playbook and the always-on scanner without route changes.
Open Night Hawk
Launch the live Night Hawk desk and apply this chapter in real time.