> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.backquant.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Tape imbalance

> Time-bucketed aggressor imbalance (premium or HIRO-style delta). Server-side rollup of the options tape into time buckets.

Server-side time-bucketed rollup of the options tape. One row per
bucket so long windows stay small.

| `weight`         | Meaning                                                                      |
| ---------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `flow` (default) | Multi-venue aggressive premium by call/put × buy/sell, plus passive          |
| `delta`          | Customer BS delta notional (HIRO-style). Deribit-quality prints for IV/units |

Each point includes `net` and `cumulative_net` so you can plot a
running line without another pass.

Coins: BTC, ETH.

## See also

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Delta flow" href="/api/v2/gex/delta-flow" icon="chart-line" />

  <Card title="Strike heat" href="/api/v2/tape/strike-heat" icon="fire" />

  <Card title="Whale prints" href="/api/v2/tape/whale" icon="fish" />

  <Card title="Tape overview" href="/api/v2/tape/overview" icon="circle-info" />
</CardGroup>


## OpenAPI

````yaml GET /tape/imbalance
openapi: 3.1.0
info:
  title: BackQuant API v2
  description: >-

    # BackQuant API v2


    Options + gamma-exposure focused public API. Built on the same data the

    BackQuant Pro Terminal renders - pre-computed every 30s, served from cache.


    ## What's in v2


    * **Discovery**: `/v2/symbols` (universe + per-symbol freshness + supported
      endpoint list), `/v2/expiries` (active expiry tokens with DTE), `/v2/status`
      (per-symbol-per-category health with thresholds + overall classification).
    * **GEX**: composable levels (HVL / call wall / put support / max-pain /
      expected move / gamma-flip zones), strike profile with typed expiry
      filter, expiry profile, strike × expiry heatmap with downsampling,
      greek time-heatmap with DTE/OI/IV filters, history (cursor-paginated),
      Postgres-backed stress history, **per-expiry max-pain with pain curve**.
    * **Options**: filtered options chain with two-layer projection (top-level
      `?fields=` and per-contract `?include=oi,iv,greeks,bid_ask,volume,gex`)
      plus moneyness filter (`?moneyness_min=0.9&moneyness_max=1.1`), expiry
      summary table, full IV suite (surface / term structure / 25Δ-10Δ skew /
      curves / **single-expiry smile** / IV-RV history / VRP), expected move,
      **Breeden-Litzenberger probability density and surface**, typed greek
      profiles (delta / theta / vanna / charm / vega), strike × time charm/vega
      surfaces, strike × expiry 3D greek surface, OI by expiry + history,
      put/call ratio (intraday or daily), 0DTE & weekly premium tide,
      dated-futures term structure.
    * **Liquidation**: heatmap + leverage-tiered distribution.

    * **Multi**: `/v2/multi/gex/levels` - bundled multi-symbol read across the
      universe in one round-trip, with the same `?include=` model as the
      single-symbol endpoint.

    ## Authentication


    Every v2 route (except `/v2/openapi.json`, `/v2/docs`, `/v2/redoc`, and

    `/v2/health`) requires the `X-API-Key` header.


    ```

    X-API-Key: bq_live_your_api_key_here

    ```


    **Get your API key at
    [backquant.com/api-access](https://backquant.com/api-access).**


    The same key works across v1 and v2 - if you already have a v1 key, no

    re-issuance is needed.


    ## Rate limits


    Two budgets, both derived from your subscription tier: a **monthly request

    allowance** per account, and a **per-minute burst** per key. Size your

    integration against the monthly figure - sustained polling at the burst rate

    exhausts the month early.


    | Plan                      | Monthly allowance | Burst    | Sustained   |

    |---------------------------|-------------------|----------|-------------|

    | Starter (Terminal Yearly) | 10,000 req/month  | 10/min   | ~333/day    |

    | Standard (Crypto API)     | 250,000 req/month | 60/min   | ~8,300/day  |

    | Pro (Terminal + API)      | 1,000,000/month   | 120/min  | ~33,000/day |

    | Enterprise                | custom            | 600/min  | custom      |


    Headers `X-RateLimit-Limit / -Remaining / -Reset` (burst) and

    `X-Quota-Limit / -Used / -Remaining / -Period` (monthly) are included in

    every response; the rate-limit triple is echoed inside `meta.rate_limit`

    when populated by middleware. Exceeding either budget returns `429`.


    The live ladder is served at `GET /v2/meta` under `rate_limits`.


    ## Response envelope


    ```json

    {
      "success": true,
      "data": { ... },
      "meta": {
        "version": "2.0",
        "timestamp": "2026-04-29T12:00:00.000Z",
        "request_id": "req_…",
        "symbol": "BTCUSDT",
        "spot_price": 67213.5,
        "computed_at": "2026-04-29T11:59:48.000Z",
        "freshness_seconds": 12.0,
        "source": ["deribit","bybit","okx","binance","derive","thalex","delta_india","delta"],
        "exchanges_filtered": ["deribit","bybit"]
      }
    }

    ```


    ## Errors


    ```json

    {
      "success": false,
      "error": {
        "code": "NOT_FOUND",
        "message": "No data for BTCUSDT"
      },
      "meta": { "version": "2.0", "timestamp": "..." }
    }

    ```


    | Code                  | When |

    |-----------------------|------|

    | `UNAUTHORIZED`        | Missing or invalid API key |

    | `FORBIDDEN`           | Subscription doesn't allow API access |

    | `NOT_FOUND`           | Symbol/expiry/etc. not present in cache |

    | `VALIDATION_ERROR`    | Bad query parameters |

    | `RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED` | Per-tier limit hit |

    | `UPSTREAM_ERROR`      | Cache or DB temporarily unreachable |

    | `INTERNAL_ERROR`      | Anything else |
        
  version: '2.6'
servers: []
security: []
tags:
  - name: Meta
    description: Unauthenticated metadata + endpoint catalog (planning your integration)
  - name: Discovery
    description: Symbol catalog, active expiries, and service status
  - name: GEX
    description: Gamma exposure analytics
  - name: Options
    description: Options chain, IV, greeks, probability, premium tide
  - name: Liquidation
    description: Liquidation heatmap and distribution
  - name: Multi
    description: Bundled multi-symbol endpoints (single round-trip across the universe)
paths:
  /tape/imbalance:
    get:
      tags:
        - Tape
      summary: Time-bucketed aggressor imbalance (premium or HIRO-style delta)
      description: >-
        Server-side rollup of the options tape into time buckets. `weight=flow`
        (default) returns multi-venue premium quadrants (call/put × buy/sell) +
        passive. `weight=delta` returns customer BS delta-notional (HIRO-style;
        Deribit-quality prints). Client can running-sum `net` for a cumulative
        line.
      operationId: get_tape_imbalance_tape_imbalance_get
      parameters:
        - name: symbol
          in: query
          required: false
          schema:
            enum:
              - BTCUSDT
              - ETHUSDT
              - SOLUSDT
              - HYPEUSDT
            type: string
            description: 'Trading symbol: BTCUSDT, ETHUSDT, SOLUSDT, or HYPEUSDT.'
            default: BTCUSDT
            title: Symbol
          description: 'Trading symbol: BTCUSDT, ETHUSDT, SOLUSDT, or HYPEUSDT.'
        - name: hours
          in: query
          required: false
          schema:
            type: integer
            maximum: 720
            minimum: 1
            default: 24
            title: Hours
        - name: bucket_minutes
          in: query
          required: false
          schema:
            type: integer
            maximum: 1440
            minimum: 1
            default: 5
            title: Bucket Minutes
        - name: min_size
          in: query
          required: false
          schema:
            type: number
            minimum: 0
            description: Min premium_usd
            default: 0
            title: Min Size
          description: Min premium_usd
        - name: weight
          in: query
          required: false
          schema:
            enum:
              - flow
              - delta
              - prem
            type: string
            description: flow/prem = premium quadrants; delta = BS delta notional
            default: flow
            title: Weight
          description: flow/prem = premium quadrants; delta = BS delta notional
        - name: venues
          in: query
          required: false
          schema:
            anyOf:
              - type: string
              - type: 'null'
            description: CSV venues (flow only)
            title: Venues
          description: CSV venues (flow only)
        - name: X-API-Key
          in: header
          required: false
          schema:
            anyOf:
              - type: string
              - type: 'null'
            title: X-Api-Key
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Successful Response
          content:
            application/json:
              schema: {}
        '401':
          description: Invalid or missing API key
          content:
            application/json:
              example:
                success: false
                error:
                  code: UNAUTHORIZED
                  message: Invalid API key
                meta:
                  version: '2.0'
                  timestamp: '2026-04-29T12:00:00Z'
        '404':
          description: No data available for the requested resource
          content:
            application/json:
              example:
                success: false
                error:
                  code: NOT_FOUND
                  message: No data for BTCUSDT
                meta:
                  version: '2.0'
                  timestamp: '2026-04-29T12:00:00Z'
        '422':
          description: Validation error on query parameters
          content:
            application/json:
              example:
                success: false
                error:
                  code: VALIDATION_ERROR
                  message: Invalid request parameters
                  details:
                    errors: []
                meta:
                  version: '2.0'
                  timestamp: '2026-04-29T12:00:00Z'
        '429':
          description: Rate limit exceeded
          content:
            application/json:
              example:
                success: false
                error:
                  code: RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED
                  message: Rate limit exceeded. Try again later.
                meta:
                  version: '2.0'
                  timestamp: '2026-04-29T12:00:00Z'
      security:
        - ApiKeyAuth: []
components:
  securitySchemes:
    ApiKeyAuth:
      type: apiKey
      in: header
      name: X-API-Key
      description: Your BackQuant API key (same key as v1)

````