Options Flow API

Quick start

Generate your API key at Settings. One plan, Personal, includes the full API: 60 requests/min, 4,000 requests/day. Full reference in the API docs and the OpenAPI spec.

One subscription is bound to one named person: use the output for your own professional or business decisions, but do not share keys, connector URLs, data or output with anyone - not even colleagues; every person needs their own subscription. No redistribution or embedding in products, bots, dashboards, reports or channels for others. See the API license.

Endpoint reference

MCP server

OptionsBell ships a first-party MCP (Model Context Protocol) server with 13 tools mirroring the REST surface. Use OptionsBell inside Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Continue, or any MCP-capable client — no API key handling in your client config if you use a personal connector URL.

• Endpoint: https://optionsbell.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, stateless)
• Auth: X-API-Key header, Bearer token, or personal connector URL
• Tools: 13 tools — get_unusual_activity, get_symbol_flow, get_top_prints, get_flow_history, get_flow_streaks, get_expiry_concentration, get_flow_sentiment, get_iv_rank, get_oi_changes, get_sector_flow, get_market_regime, get_dataset_stats, ping
• Rate limits: Tool calls count 1:1 against your API rate limits

Full setup guide at /docs/mcp.

Data model & coverage

• Coverage: 7,000+ US-listed stocks and ETFs
• Refresh cadence: Full options tape scan every 5 minutes during US market hours (9:30 AM – 4:00 PM ET)
• History: Past days are immutable and queryable by date on every endpoint; the /history/{symbol} endpoint returns the end-of-day series behind backtests (local copies must be deleted within 30 days, per the Terms)
• Premium values: Estimated as last_price × volume × 100; may differ from actual transaction values
• Sentiment scoring: 0-9 strength with a bullish/bearish side, based on call/put volume, premium, net delta and screener confirmations

An unusual options activity API, not another dashboard

As an options data api it is deliberately narrow: unusual activity, per-symbol flow, IV rank, OI changes and sector aggregates, rather than a general options data api trying to cover every chain in the market. If you need a broad options data api with full chains and greeks on every strike, this is the wrong tool.

Most platforms bolt an API onto a terminal. Here the unusual options activity API is part of the same plan rather than a separate tier: 22 endpoints and 4,000 requests/day, included at $24.99/month alongside the options flow product itself.

If you are evaluating an unusual options activity API to feed your own models or alerting stack, it returns the same sweep and block trade data you can see in the live feed, without paying for a dashboard seat you will not use.

Pair the unusual options activity API with the MCP integration to query flow data from your own tools rather than scraping a dashboard.

Common use cases

• Trading bot signals: Poll /unusual endpoint every 5 minutes, filter for your watchlist, forward high-conviction prints to your execution engine.
• Webhooks, no polling: Register your tickers and filters once via POST /webhooks and receive a signed JSON event whenever new unusual contracts appear - included in the plan, no extra tier.
• Personal dashboard: Surface top prints, sector flow, and sentiment data in your own research dashboard.
• Backtesting: Use the /history/{symbol} endpoint to test whether unusual flow streaks predict short-term price movements for your target universe - re-query any time, keep local copies no longer than 30 days.
• AI-assisted analysis: Pipe OptionsBell data into Claude via the MCP server for natural-language querying of options flow data.
• Daily briefing for yourself: Pull top prints and sector data programmatically into your own morning notes.