Problem with MICRO SILVER futures and Interative Brokers.

Here is a detailed guide and example code for troubleshooting and correctly setting up trading Micro Silver (MICRO SILVER) futures with QuantConnect and Interactive Brokers (IB):

1. Contract Symbol & Market Mapping

• Standard Silver futures use the symbol SI (5,000 oz contract).
• Micro Silver futures use the symbol SIL (1,000 oz contract).

In QuantConnect, you must use:

• Futures.Metals.MICRO_SILVER for Micro Silver, not just SILVER or SI.
• Confirm the market is Market.COMEX.
• The correct IB/QuantConnect symbol for the Dec-2025 Micro Silver future should look like SILZ25 (not SIL29Z25).

Example for adding the Micro Silver future with correct mapping:

chain = self.add_future(
    Futures.Metals.MICRO_SILVER,
    market=Market.COMEX,
    resolution=Resolution.MINUTE,
    data_normalization_mode=DataNormalizationMode.BACKWARDS_RATIO,
)
chain.set_filter(timedelta(0), timedelta(182))  # filter for front 6 months
self._root = chain.symbol

2. IB Account Permissions

• You must have explicit trading permissions for COMEX Micro Silver in your IB account.
• Go to IB Client Portal > Settings > Trading Permissions > “Futures” (toggle “Metals: COMEX”).
• Lack of permissions triggers the “No security definition has been found for the request” message.

3. Add Detailed Brokerage Error Logging

You should actively log all brokerage events to understand exactly what gets sent and rejected. Use a custom brokerage message handler:

class LoggingIBMessageHandler(DefaultBrokerageMessageHandler):
    def __init__(self, algorithm: QCAlgorithm) -> None:
        super().__init__(algorithm)
        self._algorithm = algorithm

    def handle_message(self, message: BrokerageMessageEvent) -> None:
        self._algorithm.log(
            f"{self._algorithm.time} | BROKERAGE {message.type.name} | "
            f"Code: {message.code} | {message.message}"
        )
        super().handle_message(message)

Register it in initialize() with:

self.set_brokerage_message_handler(LoggingIBMessageHandler(self))

4. Next Steps If It Still Fails

• Double-check that your contract exists in the IB platform using the TWS Contract Search.
• Try placing this contract manually in IB TWS.
• If manual trading fails, IB did not grant you proper permissions (contact IB support).
• If the above all checks out, open a QuantConnect support ticket with your logs and the contract details.

Example Full Algorithm Snippet for Debugging

class MicroSilverFuturesDebugAlgorithm(QCAlgorithm):
    def initialize(self):
        self.set_start_date(2021, 1, 1)
        self.set_end_date(2021, 1, 31)
        self.set_cash(100_000)
        self.set_brokerage_model(BrokerageName.INTERACTIVE_BROKERS_BROKERAGE, AccountType.MARGIN)
        self.set_brokerage_message_handler(LoggingIBMessageHandler(self))
        chain = self.add_future(
            Futures.Metals.MICRO_SILVER,
            market=Market.COMEX,
            resolution=Resolution.MINUTE,
            data_normalization_mode=DataNormalizationMode.BACKWARDS_RATIO,
        )
        chain.set_filter(timedelta(0), timedelta(182))
        self._root = chain.symbol
        self._contract = None

    def on_data(self, slice: Slice):
        if self._contract is None:
            chain = slice.future_chains.get(self._root)
            if not chain:
                return
            live = [c for c in chain if c.expiry.date() > self.time.date()]
            if not live:
                return
            live.sort(key=lambda c: c.expiry)
            self._contract = live[0].symbol
            self.log(f"Selected Micro Silver contract: {self._contract.value}")
            qty = self.calculate_order_quantity(self._contract, 0.01)
            if qty != 0:
                self.market_order(self._contract, qty)

Checklist Recap:

1. Use Futures.Metals.MICRO_SILVER, market=Market.COMEX
2. Ensure your IB account has permissions to trade COMEX Micro Silver futures.
3. Register a custom brokerage message handler to log every warning/error.
4. Verify contract details with TWS if problems persist.

If you follow these steps, your Micro Silver futures order should be accepted in live IB trading!

Sources: US Future Universe - QuantConnect.com, US Futures - QuantConnect.com, Interactive Brokers - QuantConnect.com, docs writing algorithms key concepts security identifiers, docs writing algorithms securities asset classes futures handling data

I tried placing manually an order in TWS for MICRO SILVER and the symbols is like SI29Z25, not SIL29Z25 how QC says.