> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.driven.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Unusual Volume Monitor

> How to set up an unusual volume monitor in Driven to catch names trading on abnormal volume, often an early sign that something is happening before the news is obvious.

This guide covers monitoring for unusual volume — abnormal trading activity that often precedes or accompanies a meaningful move. Volume spikes are one of the earliest signs that something is happening in a name, sometimes before the reason is widely known.

A volume monitor is a specialized watchlist monitor focused on a single dimension. For the general mechanics — thresholds, cadence, delivery channel, and making alerts actionable — follow [Set up watchlist monitoring](/guides/scheduled/set-up-watchlist-monitoring). This guide covers only what is specific to volume. The underlying concept is [Scheduled Tasks](/concepts/scheduled-tasks).

## When to use this

* You want early warning when a name starts trading abnormally
* You track names where a volume spike would prompt you to dig in
* You want to catch developing situations before they hit the headlines

## Define "unusual" against a baseline

Volume only means something relative to a name's normal. Frame the trigger as a multiple of average, not a raw number:

```text theme={null}
Monitor my watchlist for unusual volume. Alert me when a name trades significantly above its average volume — for example, more than 2x — and tell me what's likely driving it.
```

This is the one setting that makes a volume monitor work. A fixed share count fires constantly on liquid names and never on thin ones; a multiple of average normalizes across the whole list.

## Read volume together with price and flow

Raw volume is only half the signal. A spike is a question — pair it with the cause and the direction:

```text theme={null}
When you flag unusual volume, check for news, filings, or events that might explain it, and tell me whether it looks like accumulation or distribution — buying or selling pressure.
```

Across markets, this can draw on Driven's flow data — institutional-versus-retail flow — to characterize who is behind the move, whether the name trades in the US or Hong Kong. For A-share names, Dragon & Tiger lists add an extra, market-specific view of the players involved. [Smart Money](/skills/smart-money) goes deeper on the same question.

## Example variations

A watchlist volume monitor:

```text theme={null}
During market hours, watch [tickers] for volume more than 2x their average. Flag each with the likely cause and whether it's buying or selling pressure. Deliver to Telegram.
```

A broader scan:

```text theme={null}
Each day after market close, tell me which names in [sector or universe] had the most unusual volume today and what drove it.
```

For cadence, delivery, and quiet-by-default alerting, reuse the patterns in [Set up watchlist monitoring](/guides/scheduled/set-up-watchlist-monitoring).

## Common mistakes

* **No baseline.** "High volume" means nothing without an average to compare against. Frame it as a multiple of normal.
* **Spikes without explanation.** Always have the monitor look for the cause; raw volume is only half the signal.
* **Acting on the spike alone.** Volume tells you to look; it does not tell you to buy or sell.

## Related

* [Set up watchlist monitoring](/guides/scheduled/set-up-watchlist-monitoring) — the general monitoring mechanics this guide builds on
* [Smart Money](/skills/smart-money) — characterize who's behind the volume
* [Scheduled task prompts](/prompts/scheduled-task-prompts) — more templates