See options activity trade by trade
Contract Tape
Contract Tape is a contract-level options activity tool that helps traders monitor live market activity with more detail.
Rather than looking only at aggregated flow, traders can use it to follow individual contracts as they are traded and review how execution develops in real time.
By organizing live trade activity around key contract details such as strike, expiration, premium, size, and execution side, the tool provides a clearer view of how options activity is unfolding throughout the session.
Contract Tape helps traders move beyond summary-level flow and focus on how options activity is actually being executed in real time.
By following individual contracts as they trade, traders can review execution behavior more closely, monitor how participation develops, and identify activity that may carry more significance than broad flow alone.
This makes it easier to add detail to trade analysis, follow contract-level behavior as it unfolds, and study live market activity with greater precision.
Contract Tape gives traders a more detailed view of live options activity by showing contracts as they are traded throughout the session.
Users can follow individual trades and review contract details such as strike, expiration, premium, size, and execution behavior in real time. As activity builds, this makes it easier to monitor how specific contracts are being traded and where participation may be becoming more concentrated.
By turning live trade activity into a clearer contract-level view, the tool helps traders stay closer to how options flow is actually developing in the market.
For traders who want a deeper explanation of how Contract Tape works and how to read options flow at the execution level, read our full guide on how Contract Tape helps traders read options flow.
Contract Tape gives traders a more detailed way to monitor live options activity by organizing the contract-level data points that matter most during execution analysis.
✅ Strike: Review which strike price each trade is connected to and identify where contract activity is becoming more concentrated.
✅ Expiration: Compare how activity is distributed across different expirations and see where interest is building across the options chain.
✅ Premium: Track the premium tied to each trade to better understand the scale of activity appearing in the market.
✅ Contract Size: Monitor trade size more closely and identify where larger contracts may stand out from surrounding activity.
✅ Execution Side: See whether trades are occurring closer to the bid or ask and study how contracts are being executed as participation develops.
✅ Trade Timing: Follow when trades appear during the session and observe whether activity looks isolated, repeated, or more sustained over time.
Used together, these data points help traders move beyond broad flow summaries and study contract-level behavior with more clarity.
Instead of relying only on broader summaries, traders can follow individual contracts as they trade and monitor where activity is becoming more concentrated.
By watching how trades appear at the contract level, traders can better understand how activity is being executed and whether participation looks more active, repeated, or isolated.
When certain contracts begin to show larger size, repeated prints, or more aggressive execution, the tool helps bring that behavior into clearer view for further analysis.
Contract Tape can also be used alongside other tools to add more detail to a setup. After identifying notable activity, traders can continue evaluating it with broader flow context, price action, or historical behavior.
Contract Tape is designed for traders who want to move beyond summary-level flow and study live options activity with more execution detail.
Other Flowtopia features can then help add broader context, improve setup evaluation, and connect contract-level behavior to the larger market picture.
Real-Time Options Flow: Use live flow data to view broader market activity and compare it with the contract-level detail you are following more closely.
Top Flow Leaderboard: Identify which tickers are attracting stronger options activity overall and use that information to decide where deeper contract-level review may be most useful.
Historical Dashboard: Compare current contract behavior with past options activity to see whether similar patterns have appeared before and how they developed over time.
Option Surfer: Narrow the options chain more efficiently across strikes and expirations before using contract-level data to study how specific trades are being executed.
WAVE Indicator: Add a broader market perspective by comparing live contract activity with wider market conditions and flow-based positioning.
Join traders using real-time options flow, institutional data, and advanced tools to make faster, more informed decisions.