Options X-Ray: Flow shows below the ES chart how much S&P 500 options exposure was repositioned during each bar and who did it. Each chart bar has one histogram column: the height shows the total repositioned exposure, and the colored segments show the contribution of retail traders, professionals, firms, and brokers.
It is similar to volume, but for the options market and separated by participant group.
Why Use It
Regular volume shows that activity increased, but it does not show who created that activity. CBOE data for S&P 500 options identifies the participant group behind each trade. Retail traders, professional clients, firms, and brokers often have different goals, so knowing who is active helps build a market hypothesis.
Flow helps answer questions such as:
- Was a morning activity spike created by retail traders or by firms?
- Who became active after a news release?
- Whose money came into options during the last hour of trading?
- Is current activity normal or unusually high?
Flow does not show direction. A high column means a lot of exposure was repositioned, but it does not say whether positions shifted bullish or bearish. To see direction, use Options X-Ray: Flow Delta. Flow is not a trading signal; confirm entries with tape, clusters, delta, and price reaction.
What You Should Know Before You Start
| Chart | Use an ES futures chart. The data comes from S&P 500 index options on CBOE. The indicator is drawn in a separate panel below the chart. |
| Other markets | The indicator does not work on NQ, oil, gold, stocks, or crypto. These markets either do not have the same data or the data is incomplete. |
| Update frequency | The data updates once per minute. A chart bar combines all minute-level changes that fall inside that bar. |
| Units | Values are shown in ES contracts, not in option contracts. For example, repositioned 150 means the position changed by risk equivalent to 150 ES futures contracts. |
| Access | Options X-Ray indicators are part of a separate package. If the indicator is not in the list, check whether the package is enabled in your account. |
Flow shows activity that left a trace in minute-level data. If a position was opened and closed inside the same minute, the indicator may not see it. Real activity can be higher than shown, but not lower.
How to Read the Columns
| Element | Meaning |
| Column height | How much exposure was repositioned during the bar, counting movement in both directions. This is turnover. |
| Colored segments | How much of that turnover came from each participant group: Retail, Pros, Firms, and Brokers. |
| Spike | A bar where much more exposure was repositioned than usual. The spike color shows which participant group created it. |
Market makers are hidden by default. They are the other side of trades made by the other participant groups. If you add them to the same column, each change would effectively be counted twice. The four default groups show the market from the side of participants trading for their own goals.
Tooltip Card
Hover over a column to open a card with a breakdown by participant group.
For each group, the card shows two values.
| Value | Meaning |
| net | The final result of the bar: how much the group's position increased or decreased. It can be positive or negative, similar to delta on a regular bar. |
| repositioned | How much the group moved during the bar in both directions together. It is always at least as large as the absolute net value, similar to volume on a regular bar. |
Next to the values, a small horizontal bar works like a sideways candle. The thick part goes from zero to the bar's final net value. The thin part shows the extreme values reached inside the bar.
If net is close to repositioned, the group moved decisively in one direction. If net is much smaller than repositioned, the group moved exposure back and forth and ended with little final change.
Participant Groups
| Group | Who they are |
| Retail | Private traders. This is the largest group by number of participants. |
| Pros | Professional clients: active traders and smaller funds whose activity is too high to be classified as retail. They are often on the opposite side of retail traders. |
| Firms | Funds, proprietary trading firms, and institutional clients. This group often includes large blocks, portfolio hedges, and event-related positions. |
| Brokers | Broker-dealers that are not acting as market makers. |
| Market makers | The other side of trades made by the other groups. Hidden by default. |
How to Add the Indicator
- Open an ES chart.
- Click Indicators on the top panel.
- Select the Options Analytics group or type Options in search.
- Select Options X-Ray: Flow.
- Click Add to chart.
To change settings later, open Indicators again, select the indicator in the Added section, and click Apply.
Settings
| Setting | What it does |
| Expirations | Selects which option expirations are included. The default is 0DTE, options expiring today. You can also select the nearest next expirations, the full week, or the monthly series. |
| Flow basis | Defines how position changes are calculated. The default is Adjusted. If you compare several charts or several Options X-Ray indicators, use the same value everywhere. |
| Retail, Pros, Firms, Brokers | Shows or hides each participant group in the columns. The color on the right controls the group color. All four are enabled by default. |
| Market makers | Shows market-maker activity. It is disabled by default because market makers are the other side of other participants' trades. |
| Hover tooltip | Enables or disables the tooltip card. It is enabled by default. |
| Show status | Shows the indicator status line. It is disabled by default. |
| Show description | Shows a short indicator description on the panel. It is disabled by default. |
To focus on one group, leave only that group enabled. For example, enable only Firms to see when funds and institutional clients become active.
How to Work With the Indicator
Flow is the first of three indicators that show participant activity. Together, they answer questions from general to specific.
| Indicator | Question |
| Options X-Ray: Flow | How much exposure was repositioned during the bar and by whom? |
| Options X-Ray: Flow Delta | In which direction did positions shift? |
| Options X-Ray: Big Trades | Who acted, at which strike, and by how much? |
- Find spikes: bars where the column is much higher than nearby columns.
- Use the color to identify which group created the spike.
- Hover over the column and compare net with repositioned.
- Check Flow Delta to see direction, and Big Trades to see the strike level.
- Check how ES price reacted.
Troubleshooting
| What happens | What to do |
| The indicator is not in the list | Check whether the Options X-Ray package is enabled in your account. |
| The panel is empty | Make sure an ES chart is open and at least one participant group is enabled. During weekends and holidays there is no new data, but previous sessions should still be displayed. |
| Columns are almost one color | This can happen because retail traders often create much of the activity in 0DTE options. Try hiding Retail to see the other groups more clearly. |
| A large column has almost zero net in the card | This is expected. Column height shows repositioned exposure, not final net exposure. |
| The picture changed sharply on Friday morning | If it is the third Friday of the month, the monthly series may have expired and the indicator switched to the weekly series. This is expected. |
| Values differ from another chart | Compare Expirations, Flow basis, and enabled groups. They should match. |
| Values differ from option tape volume | Flow counts ES-equivalent position changes, not the number of option contracts, so it should not match tape volume. |
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