Filter the Live Options Tape

Use the tape for execution detail

Options Flow → Live tape lists classified option prints. A row identifies an observed execution with contract, price, size, premium, time and available exchange/condition detail. It is the place to inspect what traded, while aggregate tools answer how selected activity adds up. Start with a manageable symbol set and broad filters so you can establish that eligible prints are arriving before narrowing the question.

Build a reproducible filter

The tape supports up to ten selected symbols. A family selection and an exact provider root are not always the same scope.

1. Open Live tape and choose the underlying symbols.
2. Confirm RTH, GTH or Combined and the displayed trading date.
3. Choose call/put, aggressor side and trade-type filters as needed.
4. Add minimum size or premium only after inspecting ordinary rows.
5. Read a row's full root, expiration, strike and right.
6. Record filters before comparing with Contract Statistics or Consolidated Flow.

Read the fields before sorting by importance

Size counts contracts; premium measures executed option value. A premium threshold can favor expensive contracts rather than unusually large contract counts. The execution timestamp is different from when your browser painted the row. A group label can identify classified structure, while an exact identity still determines which option traded. Examine source/quality status when the newest row is old rather than assuming a quiet filtered tape proves the whole options market stopped trading.

Worked example: an empty filtered tape

Suppose a liquid underlying shows no rows after you apply a high premium threshold, Calls only and a sweep-only selection. Clear trade type first, then lower the threshold, then include both rights. If rows return, the original result was a narrow admitted selection. If the entire broad tape remains stale, inspect connection and session status. Comparing it with a current underlying quote cannot prove option prints are healthy because those inputs use different market observations.

Troubleshoot reconnects without losing context

Keep the exact selection stable while checking the stream status. A reconnect can restore current intake while an earlier session prefix remains partial. Refreshing another page does not certify that missing prefix. When reporting a row, include its exact contract and timestamp instead of merely its position in the list, which changes as new prints arrive. Remove credentials and unrelated account details from screenshots; support does not need your developer key to inspect terminal tape behavior.

Classification does not reveal a complete position

The inferred aggressor side compares an execution with eligible quote evidence. Above ask, at ask, midpoint, at bid, below bid and unknown describe classification, not verified participant identity. Midpoint and unknown prints do not receive a guessed buyer or seller just to complete a chart. A call transacted near the ask has a different conventional directional interpretation from a put transacted near the ask, but either can be one leg of a larger position.

A print can close a position, open one, roll an expiration, hedge something else or belong to a multi-leg trade whose other legs are outside the current filter. Public tape alone does not establish which explanation applies. A sweep or block label organizes execution evidence; it does not prove informed intent. Use exact contract, price, size, time, exchange and available constituent detail to investigate. Keep unknown classification visible in your interpretation, and avoid describing signed premium as actual net dealer buying without the additional positioning evidence that would require.

Use exact rows to distinguish feed and filter problems

Choose a bounded test interval and note one complete row identity. Keep the raw root, expiration, strike, right, execution time, size and price together. New rows will move that row down the screen, so its current row number is not a durable reference. If you compare with Consolidated Flow, reconcile quantities and constituent detail rather than expecting identical row counts. A grouped row can represent several receipts, whereas the raw tape is the better place to audit an individual print.

Current tape publication and complete-session history are separate. The terminal uses a shared options stream with explicit snapshot/status/resynchronization behavior and a supported fallback; it does not need a separate upstream feed for every widget. An initial snapshot can restore useful context without proving every older print was retained in the visible list. If you see repeated-looking rows, compare their exact timestamps and identities before deciding they are duplicates. Include the stream state and any resync/partial notice when reporting the problem, since a screenshot of only the newest row cannot establish the missing interval.