--- title: "Option Trades: Options Flow Scanner Tape, UOA & Block Trades" description: "Live options flow tracker in TradingFlow: real-time tape, unusual options activity filters, sentiment, DEX, blocks, and premium flow after Rank shortlists." date: 2026-03-09 url: https://tradingflow.com/blogs/option-trades/ language: en authors: ["John Hu"] tags: ["option flow","options flow","options flow scanner","option trades","unusual options activity","real-time"] --- # Option Trades: Options Flow Scanner Tape, UOA & Block Trades **Option Trades** in TradingFlow is the real-time [option flow](https://tradingflow.com/docs/glossary/option-flow/) / [options flow](https://tradingflow.com/docs/glossary/option-flow/) tracker: it answers *what options are trading right now, and where is the flow concentrated?* Pair it with [Rank Symbols](https://tradingflow.com/blogs/market-rank/) as your scanner shortlist for [unusual options activity](https://tradingflow.com/docs/glossary/unusual-options-activity/). You get 6 live market KPI cards, aggregated or raw trade data, filters across 13 numeric dimensions (including **DTE** for [0DTE](https://tradingflow.com/docs/glossary/zero-dte/) work), symbol search, watchlist, and columns for premium, sentiment, [DEX](https://tradingflow.com/docs/glossary/delta-exposure/), and [DEI](https://tradingflow.com/docs/glossary/delta-impact/). Learn the loop: [Option Trades tutorial](https://tradingflow.com/docs/option-trades/), [flow concepts](https://tradingflow.com/docs/options-and-flow-concepts/), [best options flow scanners](https://tradingflow.com/compare/best-options-flow-tools/). ![Option Trades app at /app/option-trades](https://tradingflow.com/blogs/option-trades/images/option-trades-ui.png) **Flow table** (cropped to the tape grid): ![Option Trades — flow table](https://tradingflow.com/blogs/option-trades/images/option-trades-table-ui.png) **Filters** modal (13-dimension controls; labels may reflect your tier): ![Option Trades — filters modal](https://tradingflow.com/blogs/option-trades/images/option-trades-filters-ui.png) --- ## Market KPI cards Six summary cards sit above the table and update with every data fetch — they give you the market-level picture before you touch any filters. | Card | What it shows | |------|--------------| | **Call Flow %** | Call premium as a share of total premium for the visible dataset | | **Put Flow %** | Put premium share | | **Bullish Flow %** | Premium from bullish trades (Call Buys + Put Sells) | | **Bearish Flow %** | Premium from bearish trades (Put Buys + Call Sells) | | **Smart Money %** | Share from aggregated (simultaneous block) trades — often institutional | | **OTM Moneyness %** | Out-of-the-money premium share, indicating speculative positioning | Each card shows both the percentage and the dollar amount so you always have absolute size for context. Same surface with the six KPI cards directly above the tape: ![Option Trades — KPI strip above the flow table](https://tradingflow.com/blogs/option-trades/images/option-trades-ui.png) --- ## What Option Trades shows The app uses **real-time** (or near real-time) trade data. Choose between aggregated and raw mode to either scan for block-sized flow or drill into exact Time & Sales. - **Aggregated mode** — Trades for the same option symbol in the same second are rolled into one row. Ideal for spotting block trades and unusual flow; columns include size, premium, sentiment, DEX, DEI. - **Raw mode** — Unaggregated Time & Sales for exact trade-level detail when you need it. - **Symbol filters and watchlist** — Focus on specific underlyings or use your watchlist to track a set of names. - **Sortable columns** — Reorder by premium, size, sentiment, DEX, DEI, or time. **Changing sort** (outside Live Mode) is a **premium-gated** interaction on the live app. --- ## Filters and filter modal Click **Filters** in the toolbar to open a comprehensive filter panel. Every filter type is organized into sections: ### Date and time - **Date range** — Pick any day, month, quarter, or year range from a flexible date selector (operators: is, before, after, between). Only trading dates with available data are selectable. - **Time range** — Narrow to a specific time window within the trading day. ### Asset type, side, and trade attributes - **Asset type** — Stock, ETF, or Index. - **Type (Call/Put)** — Show only calls, only puts, or both. - **Side** — Above Ask / Ask / Mid / Bid / Below Bid — filter by where the trade printed relative to the spread. - **Moneyness** — ITM, ATM, or OTM. - **Sentiment** — Bullish, Bearish, Neutral. - **Trade type** — Block (single trade) or Sweep (two or more simultaneous exchange prints). ### Numeric ranges All 13 dimensions support both min and max bounds: | Filter | What it limits | |--------|---------------| | Days to Expiry | Filter by DTE range | | Strike Price | | | Underlying Price | Spot price at trade time | | Premium | Total premium paid | | Option Price | Per-contract price | | Size | Number of contracts | | Open Interest | OI at the time of the trade | | Delta | Option delta | | Implied Volatility | IV at the trade | | DEI | Delta Impact (per-share delta × size) | | DEX | Delta Exposure (dollar delta) | | Abs DEI | Absolute value of DEI | | Abs DEX | Absolute value of DEX | ### Boolean toggles - **Recent Earnings only** — Show only trades occurring near a recent earnings event. - **Opening Position only** — Filter to trades that appear to be opening new positions (size > OI proxy). - **Watchlist only** — Restrict the table to your saved watchlist symbols. ### Applied filter summary Active filters are shown as inline chips below the toolbar so you always know what's applied without reopening the panel. --- ## Persistent preferences For **paid** subscribers, Option Trades behaves like a professional desktop workstation: one **Option Trades Preference** document holds your saved view (**filter state** plus **column layout**). That view **hydrates before the first server fetch** where applicable, with a local backup path if preferences are slow to arrive. **Guests and signed-in unpaid users** do **not** load that premium saved view by default. They start from the **canonical public preview** unless the URL carries allowed overrides—so you are not silently running someone else’s saved screener on a free account. When you have unsaved changes, a **Save** button appears in the toolbar. Leaving the page with unsaved changes can trigger a browser confirmation (paid flows). --- ## Live Flow mode Activate **Live Flow** to stream incoming option trades in real time via WebSocket. The table updates continuously as new trades arrive. Rules governing Live Flow to keep the feed coherent: - **Sort by Time (Descending) required** — Before enabling, the table must be sorted by time descending. New trades appear at the top without random jumps. If sorted differently, the app offers a one-click fix to apply the correct sort and start streaming. - **Controls lock while live** — Filters, pagination, and sort controls are disabled during streaming to prevent UI drift. - **Market hours** — Live Flow is only active during US market hours. Attempting to start outside market hours shows an informational guard. - **Exit to adjust** — Pause the stream any time to update filters or sorting, then re-enable. Live Flow is a subscription feature. The flow grid is the surface Live Flow appends into—while streaming, sort stays locked to **time descending**: ![Option Trades — flow table (context for Live Flow)](https://tradingflow.com/blogs/option-trades/images/option-trades-table-ui.png) --- ## Shareable filter links You can share a URL that encodes your current symbol and filter state. When a recipient opens the link, the app tries to initialize with those filters—**tier rules still apply**: unpaid users may **fall back to preview** when the link encodes non-preview control state, per the access contract in the product. --- ## Browser notifications Enable the **notifications toggle** in the Settings menu (⚙️ icon in the toolbar) to receive browser push notifications when trades matching your current filters arrive during Live Flow. Requires browser notification permission. --- ## Where to find it In TradingFlow, open **Option Trades** in the main nav or go directly to **`/app/option-trades`**. Use aggregated mode for flow scanning and blocks; switch to raw when you need tick-level detail. Combine with **[Symbol-level analysis](https://tradingflow.com/blogs/market-rank/)** on **`/app/rank/symbols`** for flow-ranked symbols and integrated GEX/vol/OI context, and **[Contract-level analysis](https://tradingflow.com/blogs/contract-rank/)** on **`/app/rank/contracts`** when you need ranked contracts with an exact-contract handoff back into Option Trades. --- Research and education, not investment advice.