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Open Interest Scan

A screen for where open interest is building or unwinding fastest across the chain, used to spot new positioning as it happens.

Options Analytics

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What is an open interest scan?

Open interest is how many option contracts are still open on a ticker. On EZPZ, Open Interest Scan is two charts for one name: OI per Strike and OI per Expiration. Type e.g. SPY, then Go. View starts on OI. Switch to OI Changes when you want the move versus the prior report. It is not a buy or sell.

On EZPZ, the live page title is OpenInterest Changes. The eyebrow is Options Analytics. The ticker line starts on SPY plus last price. The screenshot uses SPY at $761.69. The subline is Open Interest & OI Changes by Strike and Expiration. Ticker placeholder is e.g. SPY. Go loads the name. Enter in that box also loads it. The first card is OI per Strike. View starts on OI. OI Changes is the other choice. Strike Range is Min and Max. The chart title is SPY OI per Strike. The legend is Call and Put. A yellow Price line marks last price. The second card is OI per Expiration. View starts on OI there too. Filter is ITM / OTM. Both start on. The chart title is SPY OI per Expiration. The x-axis label is Expiry Dates. The y-axis label on both cards is OI. None of those bars is a buy or sell.

On EZPZ, this page is the strike and expiration open-interest charts for any ticker you search. Volume Scan is the Volume by Strike and Volume by Expiration chart pair, not these Call and Put OI bars. Spot Gamma and Delta is the ($) Open Interest versus ($) Volume bar pair with a Spot line. Put to Call Ratio is the Intraday Put/Call Ratio chart of Traded PCR, OI PCR, and Sentiment PCR. Max Pain is Intraday Max Pain with O-Max Pain, P-Max Pain, and V-Max Pain. Expected Move is the DEM and VEM band chart by expiration. Gamma Exposure is the searchable strike table with Call Wall and Put Wall. GEX and DEX is the Intraday GEX and DEX chart pair with Gamma Flip. GEX Heatmap is the strike-by-expiration GEX grid with a GEX Details table. Greeks Heatmap is the strike-by-expiration grid with Gravity Magnet Score. Option Depth Flow is the searchable strike-by-time Bubble or Gradient chart. Market Maker Exposure is the SPX Flip Level chart with Call Wall, Put Wall, and Expected Move(VEM) and DEM. Market Cross Flow is the SPY, SPXW, and QQQ GEX grid next to candles. Ticker Explorer is the one-symbol dashboard after you already picked a name. Largest Premium By Tickers is the Bullish Flow / Bearish Flow premium leaderboard when you do not have a ticker yet. Index Trader is the index dashboard with Premium Traffic Lights. Top 20 Optionable ranks listed-option names by Vol. * Price. Market Wave is the Current Day chart of Net Call Premium versus Net Put Premium. Net Flow Graph is one ticker you search with Filter ticker, plus Cumulative Volume Delta. Historical Net Premium is the 15D Cumulative lookback with a daily table. 0DTE Graph is the same-day premium chart with Filter ticker. The 0DTE dropdown is the lock. Weekly-DTE Graph is the WTE chart of premium that expires by Friday. 7-DTE Graph is the 7DTE chart of premium in the next 7 days. Supply and Demand X-ray is the ITM Call and Put chart of Price, Supply, and Demand. Money Sentiment is Bought Ratio, Net Sentiment, and Netflow Graph for one ticker. Net Premium Heatmap is the strike-by-expiration grid of Net Premium for one ticker. Movers and Shakers Tide is that same chart job for about 18 mega-cap names. Option Chain is the listed book, where OI is a column on a contract. Live Flow is the tape of prints. Unusual Activity keeps only large, sweep, and block prints. Unusual Activity Intraday is the session scan with a date range. $1M Plus Flow keeps only million-dollar premium. 0DTE Flow keeps only prints that expire today. SPX and SPY Flow locks the tape to SPX, SPXW, and SPY. Volatility Analysis is Volatility By Open Interest, Open Interest, and Implied Volatility Smile for one ticker. IV Rank Explorer is Current IV (30D), IV Rank (1Y), period IV Rank, and IV Percentile (1Y) plus the IV Rank chart. Historical Volatility is 10D through 90D Volatility versus Price. Volatility Surface 3D is Raw Contracts and Smoothed Mesh for one ticker.

How Open Interest Scan works on EZPZ

Search a ticker, leave View on OI, then read Call and Put around the yellow Price line. It is not a score. Most people start on OI per Strike. If a strike looks loud, switch View to OI Changes on that same card. Then scroll to OI per Expiration. Leave Filter on ITM / OTM unless you want one side of the money. Narrow Strike Range only if the chain is too wide. Do not treat SPY as a default thesis.

EZPZ Open Interest Scan for SPY with OI per Strike Call and Put bars and a yellow Price line
OI per Strike on SPY. View on OI, Call and Put bars, yellow Price line. AiPe in the corner.

How this differs from Spot Gamma and Delta

Spot Gamma and Delta stacks ($) Open Interest versus ($) Volume under a Spot line. This page is Call versus Put open interest, first by strike, then by expiration. There is no Volume series and no dollar gamma axis. Use Spot Gamma and Delta when you want exposure in dollars around last price. Use this page when you want OI or OI Changes as Call and Put bars. Use Volume Scan when you want Call and Put volume by strike. Use Put to Call Ratio when you want OI PCR through the session. Use Max Pain when you want O-Max Pain. Use Expected Move when you want DEM versus VEM by expiration. Use Gamma Exposure when you want Call Wall and Put Wall. Use GEX and DEX when you want Gamma Flip. Use GEX Heatmap when you want pinning versus volatility cells. Use Greeks Heatmap when you want Gravity Magnet Score. Use Option Depth Flow when you want strike by time. Use Market Maker Exposure when you want SPX Flip Level. Use Market Cross Flow when you want SPY, SPXW, and QQQ side by side. Use Ticker Explorer when you want quote, GEX, and unusual activity on one scroll. Use Largest Premium By Tickers when you still need a name from Bullish Flow or Bearish Flow. Use Index Trader when you want traffic lights. Use Top 20 Optionable when you want Vol. * Price rank. Use Market Wave when you want Current Day Net Call Premium versus Net Put Premium. Use Net Flow Graph when you want Filter ticker plus Cumulative Volume Delta. Use Historical Net Premium when you want the 15D table. Use 0DTE Graph when you want same-day premium. Use Weekly-DTE Graph when you want Friday. Use 7-DTE Graph when you want the next 7 days. Use Supply and Demand X-ray when you want Price, Supply, and Demand. Use Money Sentiment when you want Bought Ratio and Net Sentiment. Use Net Premium Heatmap when you want the strike-by-expiration grid. Use Movers and Shakers Tide when you want the 18-name basket. Use Option Chain when you want OI as a column. Use Live Flow when you want the prints.

Anatomy of the two OI charts

You do not need every control on every session. Use the tabs if you want a map of the fields.

The first card label is OI per Strike. View and Strike Range sit on the right of that bar.

On the pageWhat you are looking at
OIThe default View. Call and Put bars are standing open interest at each strike.
OI ChangesThe other View. Call and Put bars are the move versus the prior open-interest report.
Strike RangeMin and Max. Narrow the x-axis labeled Strikes.
Call PutThe legend. Green is Call. Red is Put.
PriceThe yellow line on the strike nearest last price. The label is Price, then the dollar figure.

The second card label is OI per Expiration. View and Filter sit on the right of that bar.

On the chartWhat you are looking at
OIThe default View. Call and Put bars are standing open interest on each expiry date.
OI ChangesThe other View. Call and Put bars are the move versus the prior report on that date.
ITM OTMFilter starts with both on. Uncheck one if you want only in the money or only out of the money.
Call PutThe same legend as the strike chart. The x-axis label is Expiry Dates.
EZPZ OI per Expiration chart for SPY with View on OI Changes and Filter on ITM / OTM
OI per Expiration. View on OI Changes, Filter on ITM / OTM, Call and Put bars.

Header and search

  • Ticker / Go: Type a ticker. Placeholder is e.g. SPY. Go loads the name. Enter also loads it.
  • Options Analytics: The eyebrow above the ticker line.
  • Open Interest & OI Changes by Strike and Expiration: The subline under last price.

Controls on this page

The header has Ticker and Go. Each card has its own View. Strike Range sits on OI per Strike. Filter sits on OI per Expiration. Use those controls to change the clock. Do not treat them as a score.

  • Ticker / Go: Load another name. Placeholder is e.g. SPY.
  • View: OI or OI Changes on each card.
  • Strike Range: Min and Max on OI per Strike.
  • Filter: ITM and OTM on OI per Expiration. Both start on.
OI OI Changes ITM OTM

How people actually use it

Read Call and Put around Price

Check the ticker line. Leave View on OI. Then find the yellow Price line on OI per Strike and read the nearest Call and Put bars.

Switch to OI Changes if you want the move

OI Changes is the other View on the same card. A bar can go below zero when open interest fell versus the prior report.

Compare strike with expiration

If one strike is loud while OI per Expiration is quiet on the near dates, you are looking at two clocks. Do not force them to agree.

Use it next to the book and the tape

This page is the OI map. Open Option Chain if you want OI on a contract. Open Live Flow if a change makes you want the prints.

Frequently asked questions

What is an open interest scan?
An open interest scan is two charts of standing contracts for one ticker. On EZPZ, Open Interest Scan is OI per Strike and OI per Expiration. Type e.g. SPY, then Go. View starts on OI. Switch to OI Changes when you want the move versus the prior report. A reading on Call or Put is not a trade.
How do you read OI per Strike on EZPZ?
Leave View on OI. Find the yellow Price line, then read the nearest Call and Put bars. Switch View to OI Changes if you want the move versus the prior report on that same card. Narrow Strike Range only if the chain is too wide. Then scroll to OI per Expiration.
How is Open Interest Scan different from Spot Gamma and Delta?
Spot Gamma and Delta stacks ($) Open Interest versus ($) Volume under a Spot line. This page is Call versus Put open interest, first by strike, then by expiration. There is no Volume series here. Use Spot Gamma and Delta for dollar exposure. Use this page for OI or OI Changes.
Does a loud Call bar mean new buyers came in?
No. A large Call bar on OI is standing contracts. OI Changes is the move versus the prior report. New open interest can be buying or selling. Treat the charts as context, not an order.
Who can access Open Interest Scan?
You need Pro or higher for the live page. Delayed and public Open Interest Scan still work without a paid plan.
How can AiPe help?
AiPe on this page is labeled Open Interest Analyst. Ask it about this ticker's open interest by strike or expiration, or how to use this page.