Learn · Confluence Tape · #tape

How to read Confluence Tape

Confluence Tape is live, classified SPY 0DTE options flow — posted to Discord #tape and available via API. It answers “is the tape agreeing?” when price is already at a rail. It is context only, never a standalone buy/sell signal.

One-sentence rule

Use Tape to confirm or contradict a setup you already see on structure (level + candle). If there is no rail and no confirmed candle, ignore the tape — even if it looks loud.

Graded alerts live in #alerts-a / #alerts-b. See how graded alerts work.

What a #tape card looks like

Each post is a Discord embed. Title color is a quick bias read:

• 🟢 Green — 5-min slope lean bullish (net hedging pressure up)
• 🔴 Red — 5-min slope lean bearish
• ⚪ Gray / neutral — flat or mixed · or feed offline / stale

Field-by-field

5-min slope

The acute read — net signed hedging premium over roughly the last five minutes. Positive = dealers/customers leaning buy-side hedges lately; negative = sell-side. This is the timing dial: rising into a put-wall reclaim strengthens a call idea; falling into a call-wall rejection strengthens a put idea.

Very near the open the 5-min window can whip around zero. Demand cleaner structure early (same reason graded alerts start hard at 9:45).

Session

The cumulative line since the collector started for the day — buy-side, sell-side, or balanced. Use it for the day’s bias, not the exact entry second. Session vs 5-min disagreement is useful: e.g. session still sell-side but 5-min turning up at a low = flow may be flipping.

Order Flow Imbalance (OFI)

Aggressor balance on the options tape over ~5 minutes, roughly from −1 to +1. Near 0 = two-sided / quiet. Magitudes around ±0.30+ = one-sided aggression. OFI can disagree with the dollar slope (big premium prints vs volume balance) — that mismatch is information, not an error.

Premium tone (quadrant)

Call premium and put premium are tracked separately so “net” doesn’t hide both-sided days:

• Bullish — calls bought / puts sold (clean upside lean)
• Bearish — puts bought / calls sold (clean downside lean / real fear)
• Both sold — premium harvesting / hedging → low conviction, pin/fade-friendly
• Both bought — vol / straddle demand → expect movement; don’t blindly fade a wall

Hot strikes

Where the money is clustering — usually a short list of strikes with the largest net premium, often split into session leaders and last ~5 minutes. Tags like buy-side / sell-side lean and “above / below / near spot” help you see if flow is defending a wall or pressing through it. Still confirmation only.

How to use it with graded alerts

1. Wait for a structure alert (or your own level + closed candle).
2. Glance at Tape: does 5-min slope + premium tone agree with the idea?
3. If Tape is flat, both-sold, or clearly against — stand down or size smaller.
4. If the feed shows offline / stale — ignore Tape until it recovers; trade only off structure or wait.

What Tape is not

• Not a buy arrow by itself
• Not a guarantee the graded alert will win
• Not equity Level 2 — it is options print classification on SPY 0DTE
• Not affiliated with SpotGamma HIRO or other third-party flow brands — our own product name

Where to get it

• Discord #tape — included with the Confluence Tape plan (and higher bundles that include Tape)
• REST — GET /v1/tape/spy · see API docs
• Pro MCP — tape tools inside Robinhood Pro MCP

Tape & developer plans Graded alerts guide

Educational product documentation only. Not investment advice. Options involve substantial risk of loss.