How to read the Kite order book

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The order book on Zerodha Kite is the primary interface for tracking the status and execution details of every order you have placed in the current trading session. Understanding each column and status code is essential for verifying fills, troubleshooting rejected orders and reconciling your intended trades with actual executed trades. This guide explains every element of the Kite order book and what it tells you about the lifecycle of your orders.

Accessing the order book

On Kite web: Click Orders in the left navigation panel. The order book opens as the main content area, replacing the chart.

On the Kite mobile app: Tap the Orders tab in the bottom navigation bar.

The order book shows all orders placed from the start of the current market session (9:00 AM IST onwards, including AMO orders placed overnight). Orders from previous sessions are not visible in Kite; access those through Zerodha Console at console.zerodha.com.

Columns in the order book

Each row in the Kite order book represents one order (or one leg of a complex order). The columns are:

Instrument: The name of the scrip, usually shown as the NSE or BSE symbol (for example, RELIANCE, INFY, NIFTY23MAY18000CE). For equity, the exchange is shown alongside the symbol.

Type (B/S): Buy or Sell. A blue B indicates a buy order; a red S indicates a sell order.

Product: The product code used for the order, CNC (delivery), MIS (intraday), or NRML (overnight F&O).

Order type: LIMIT, MARKET, SL or SL-M.

Qty / Filled qty: Two related figures. Qty is the total order quantity. Filled qty is the portion that has been executed. For a Complete order, both are equal. For an Open (partially filled) order, filled qty is less than total qty.

Price / Avg. price: Price is the limit price (or 0 for a market order). Avg. price is the volume-weighted average price at which the filled quantity was executed. For a single-fill order, average price equals the executed price. For orders with multiple partial fills, the average price is the weighted mean.

Status: The current state of the order. See the status section below.

Time: The time at which the order was placed, last modified or executed.

Order status codes

Open: The order is resting in the exchange’s order book. For a limit order, this means it is visible in the market depth at the specified price, waiting for a counter-order. For a market order, Open status is transient (market orders fill within milliseconds in liquid stocks) and may only appear briefly.

Trigger pending: The order is a conditional order (SL, SL-M, or AMO with a trigger) and the trigger condition has not yet been met. The order is held in Zerodha’s order management system and is not yet visible in the exchange order book. SL and SL-M orders placed during the session have this status until the LTP touches the trigger price.

Complete: The order has been fully executed. The filled quantity equals the total order quantity. The average price shows the execution price.

Rejected: The exchange or Zerodha’s risk management system did not accept the order. A rejection message appears in the expanded order row. Common rejection reasons include:

  • Insufficient margin or funds.
  • Price outside circuit limits.
  • Duplicate order.
  • Order placed outside permitted hours for the instrument type.

Cancelled: The order was cancelled, either by you (manually), by the exchange at day end (for DAY validity orders that remain unfilled), or by the system (for example, if a GTT’s associated order is cancelled when the other OCO leg triggers).

AMO: An after-market order queued for the next session. This status changes to Open, Complete or Rejected when the market opens and the AMO is forwarded to the exchange. See How to place an AMO on Kite.

Expanding an order row

Click any order row in the order book to expand it and see additional details:

  • Order ID: Kite’s internal order identifier, used for support queries.
  • Exchange order ID: The order ID assigned by NSE or BSE. This is the authoritative reference for exchange settlement and dispute resolution.
  • Filled qty / Remaining qty: For partial fills, both figures are shown, how much has been filled and how much is still open.
  • Average executed price: For the filled portion.
  • Order placement time: The exact timestamp when the order was sent to the exchange.
  • Last activity time: The time of the most recent status change (fill, modification, cancellation).
  • Trigger price: Visible for SL and SL-M orders.
  • Validity: DAY or IOC.

The expanded view also shows action buttons: Modify (to change price or quantity of an open order) and Cancel (to withdraw the order). These are covered in How to modify a pending order on Kite and How to cancel a pending order on Kite.

Partially filled orders

An order is partially filled when the exchange executes part of the quantity but not all of it. This occurs when:

  • There is insufficient quantity at the limit price at the time of matching.
  • An IOC order fills part of its quantity and cancels the rest.

A partially filled order remains in Open status (for the unfilled portion) in the order book. In the expanded view, the filled quantity and remaining quantity are shown separately. The filled portion creates a trade entry in the Trade book.

Sorting and filtering the order book

On Kite web, you can click column headers to sort the order book. For example, sort by Time to see the most recent orders first, or sort by Status to group all Open orders together.

On the Kite mobile app, the order book can be filtered to show only orders in a specific status (for example, show only Open orders).

Historical orders via Console

The Kite order book shows only the current session’s orders. To access orders from previous sessions, log in to Zerodha Console at console.zerodha.com. Navigate to Reports > Orders. Console provides:

  • Historical order book by date.
  • Trade book by date.
  • P&L report.
  • Tax statements.

What can go wrong

  • Order showing as Rejected with no clear reason. Click the order row to expand it. The rejection reason is shown in the expanded view. Common reasons include insufficient funds, price outside circuit, or instrument not available for the selected product type.
  • Order showing as Open but not filling. For a limit order, the market may not have reached your price. For a trigger-pending order, the trigger price has not been touched. Monitor the LTP and consider modifying the order if needed.
  • Order not visible in the order book. If you placed an order and it does not appear, check that you are looking at the current session’s orders (not a historical filter). AMO orders placed the previous night appear in today’s order book once the session opens.

References

  1. Zerodha Support, Understanding the Kite order book, support.zerodha.com.
  2. NSE India, Order book and trade confirmation, investor guide, nseindia.com.
  3. SEBI, Investor awareness: order confirmation and settlement, sebi.gov.in.

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