Thirty seconds. The yellow cell with one gold glow is the King Node, the strike with the largest total gamma across every expiration. The tile says All-exp King and that strike. When 0DTE, This week, or a picked date is on, it names both, for example 0DTE King 28 (10-16) · All-exp King 30. If the next strike is within about 10%, it adds contested. Blue to purple cells are negative and green to lime cells are positive; the deeper the color, the bigger the value. Dark gray is zero. The blue strike is the price. A badge on a GEX cell is the percent change since the open. The daily expected move was set at the prior close and stays fixed through the session. The book is this regular session only.
A plain-English tour of every part of the site. It estimates how options dealers are positioned, so you can see which prices may act like magnets, walls or accelerators.
Getting started
Search bar
Type any optionable ticker (SPY, QQQ, NVDA…) and press Load or Enter. “SPXW” is the PM-settled SPX weeklies and “NDXP” is the PM-settled NDX weeklies, each priced off that index. IBIT is the Bitcoin ETF.
Watchlist chips
One-tap shortcuts for popular tickers. The one you're viewing is outlined.
Price & change
The regular-session price and the change vs. yesterday's close, green if up, red if down. Outside the cash session a smaller line under it shows the pre-market print (sun, 4:00–9:30 AM ET) or the after-hours print (moon, 4:00–8:00 PM ET) and that print's change versus the regular close. The time under the price is when the book was taken.
The four exposures
Each number is an estimate in dollars, built from open interest and implied volatility of every contract, using the Black-Scholes model. Calls count as positive and puts as negative (the usual “dealers are short puts, long calls” convention).
GEX: gamma exposure
How much hedging dealers must do per 1% move in the stock. Positive gamma, in green, means dealers buy dips and sell rips, which tends to calm price and pin it near big strikes. Negative gamma, in blue to purple, means dealers chase the move, which can make price swing harder. Dark gray is zero. Traders use big GEX strikes as support, resistance, and magnets.
VEX: vanna exposure
How that hedge changes when implied volatility moves 1 point. Positive vanna can push buying when volatility drops, and selling when volatility spikes. Negative vanna can do the reverse: a volatility spike can push buying, and a drop can push selling. On the heatmap VEX uses the same colors as GEX: blue to purple is negative, green to lime is positive, and dark gray is zero. On the Discord /vex card the VEX colors are cyan for positive vanna and magenta for negative vanna. The gold outline is still the King.
DEX: delta exposure
The share-equivalent dollar delta sitting at each strike (delta × open interest × 100 × price). Calls add positive delta, puts negative. Large values show where most directional positioning lives.
Charm
How much that delta changes per day just from time passing, with no price move. It matters most near expiration and late in the day, when hedges unwind and price often drifts toward or away from big strikes. On the Discord /cex card the charm colors are lime for positive charm and rose for negative charm, per day. The gold outline is still the King.
Grid & 3D view
Charts
Candles live on Antaeus, with daily SMA 5 (white), EMA 21 (teal) and SMA 55 (orange) drawn as levels, and SMA 34 on 5-minute closes (green above price, red below) over gamma and vanna bubbles. The old /charts link opens Antaeus.
Gamma dots on charts
Through the session, every data refresh records each ticker's biggest positive (yellow) and negative (purple) gamma strikes. They're drawn as dots at that time and strike, so bands form where gamma sits all day. Bigger, brighter dots mean more gamma; the largest dot in each column is the King node. History starts fresh each trading day; until the first refresh it says “Building today's gamma history…”.
Quad view
Tap Quad in the header (or open /quad) for SPY, QQQ, SPXW, and IWM side by side. Each column lists strikes near the price with that strike's exposure, summed over the chosen expirations. Colors run purple (most negative) through teal (near zero) to yellow (most positive), with dark text on the bright end. Only the King glows: that row is the all-expirations King, the yellow cell with one gold highlight. The label says All-exp King. With 0DTE, This week, or a picked date it names both, for example 0DTE King 28 (10-16) · All-exp King 30, and adds contested when the next strike is within about 10%. On GEX, each strike shows the percent change since the open. The blue strike is the price. Outside the cash session the header price stays the regular close, and SPY, QQQ, and IWM show a sun or moon line under it for the extended print versus that close. SPXW has no extended session. GEX, VEX, DEX, Charm, and All exp, This week, and 0DTE apply to every panel; each panel's menu can override with a specific date. Columns open centered on the price and stay put when the book refreshes. Tap Heatmap to go back.
Grid layout
Rows are strike prices (high at top), columns are expiration dates. Each cell is the selected exposure for that strike and date. Tap a cell to see strike, date and value. The date header and strike column stay put while you scroll.
Colors
On the heatmap the color shows the sign. Blue to purple is negative and green to lime is positive; the deeper the color, the bigger the value against the largest cell on screen, and even the smallest value keeps its sign color. Dark gray is zero. Text is dark on the bright lime end and light elsewhere. Only the King glows. The King cell keeps one gold glow. A badge in the corner is the percent change since the open, on a near-black chip, green when the cell is up and red when it is down. “–” means near zero.
Spot strike
The blue strike on the left is the strike closest to the current price. The grid opens centered on it.
King node
The King is the strike with the largest total gamma across every expiration. That strike is the one gold glow, on the heatmap and on Quad, whichever expiration filter is on. The tile says All-exp King and the strike. With 0DTE, This week, or a picked date it names both, for example 0DTE King 28 (10-16) · All-exp King 30. It never says only KING. When the next strike is within about 10%, the tile adds contested. Only the King glows. The % badge on that cell, and on the other GEX cells near the price, is the percent change since the open.
3D Surface
The same data as a landscape: strike × expiration × size. Drag to rotate, pinch to zoom, tap a point for strike, full expiration date and value. Hot colors (yellow→red) are large positive, deep blue/purple is negative.
Every strike and expiration
Every strike and expiration is included. The book is not cut down to a strike window or a short list of dates. All exp shows every expiration. This week shows the nearest expiration through this week's Friday (for tickers with daily expirations, every daily in between). 0DTE shows only the nearest one: today's, or the next session's after today's close. A picked date shows that column. The totals follow the filter. The King glow stays on the all-expirations King, and the tile names the filtered King beside it. In 3D the filter becomes a bar chart by strike with a dotted spot line. Key levels still use all expirations.
Value / Δ since open
Δ since open recolors the grid by how much each cell changed since the first snapshot TerraShade took today. Until a second snapshot arrives it says “collecting”.
Key levels
Computed from GEX across all expirations.
Call wall
The strike at or above price with the most call gamma (calls only, all expirations). Often acts as resistance / a ceiling.
Put wall
The strike at or below price with the most put gamma (puts only, all expirations). Often acts as support / a floor; breaks below it can speed up.
Zero γ (gamma flip)
The price where total dealer gamma would flip from positive to negative. Found by re-pricing every contract at hypothetical prices ±15% around spot and finding where total GEX crosses zero (closest crossing to spot). “No flip” means none was found in that range.
Gamma regime badge
Positive gamma · expect chop: net GEX above zero, so moves tend to be dampened and mean-revert. Negative gamma · expect bigger moves: net GEX below zero, so moves tend to extend and volatility runs higher.
Wall-to-wall range bar
Shows where price sits between the put wall and call wall, with the zero γ tick if it's inside. Near a wall = testing that level; outside both = beyond the usual dealer range.
Intraday levels chart
Lines for spot (white), call wall (cyan), put wall (pink) and zero γ (grey dashed), one point per data refresh today. Shows if the walls are shifting with price. It says “collecting” until there are two points.
Alerts
Lists events TerraShade detected between refreshes: price crossing zero γ, or the call/put wall moving to a new strike. When enabled, the same alerts post to the Trim Trading Discord.
Glossary
The same plain-English definitions as the Discord /help command.
GEX
Gamma exposure. An estimate of how much options dealers hedge when price moves about 1%. Positive gamma tends to calm price, because dealers buy dips and sell rips. Negative gamma tends to make a move run, because dealers chase it.
VEX / vanna
Vanna exposure. How that hedge changes when implied volatility moves. A drop in volatility can push buying when vanna is positive, and a volatility spike can do the reverse. /vex is the same heatmap as /gex, colored by vanna instead of gamma.
CEX / charm
Charm exposure. How much the dealer delta hedge changes per day just from time passing, with no price move. It matters most near expiration and late in the day, when hedges unwind. /cex is the same heatmap as /gex, colored by charm per day: lime is positive, rose is negative.
King Node
The strike with the largest total gamma exposure across every expiration. That all-expirations King is the one gold glow, even when a filter is on. With 0DTE, This week, or a picked date the tile names both, for example 0DTE King 28 (10-16) · All-exp King 30. When the next strike is within about 10% of that total, the King is contested. On the heatmap the King cell is yellow, with one gold glow.
Call wall
The strike at or above the price with the most call gamma, using every expiration. It often acts as a ceiling.
Put wall
The strike at or below the price with the most put gamma, using every expiration. It often acts as a floor. A break under it can speed up.
Zero gamma / flip
The price where total dealer gamma would change sign. TerraShade re-prices the book around the current price and takes the zero crossing closest to the price.
Positive vs negative gamma
Positive gamma when price is above the flip: moves tend to be calmer and pinned. Negative gamma when price is below the flip: moves tend to run.
Node %
That strike's share of the gamma in the book. On the heatmap a larger share sits further toward yellow or purple.
Expirations
Columns on the heatmap. The nearest date is on the left. All exp is the full book. This week runs through Friday. Key levels use every expiration.
0DTE
The nearest expiration that is still open: today's, or the next session's after today's close. After the close and on weekends it is labeled Next exp, for example Next exp King 765 (10-19).
Heatmap colors
Purple is the most negative, teal is near zero, and yellow is the most positive. Text is dark on the bright cells and light on the dark ones. The yellow cell with one gold glow is the King. White is the price, dashed cyan is the call wall, dashed pink is the put wall, and the dotted orange line is zero gamma.
Expected moves
How far the options market is pricing a move: 0.85 × (at-the-money call + put price) for that expiration, shown as a ± range from the current price.
Daily (D, white)
Daily expected move, the at-the-money straddle at the current price. Before 9:30am ET and after 4pm ET it is the next session.
Weekly (W, yellow)
The last expiration of the current Monday–Friday week (normally Friday).
Monthly (M, orange)
The last expiration in the current calendar month.
Annual (A, red)
Fixed 2026 high/low levels set at the start of the year, for SPX, SPY and QQQ only.
Chips & grid lines
The colored chips under the price show each range and its expiration. In the grid, a line of the same color marks the strike nearest each upper (↑) and lower (↓) bound, with a small D/W/M/A tag. They're kept off the 3D view to keep it clean.
King Node Scanner
Tap Scanner in the header (or open /scanner). Every trading day, at 9:35 AM ET and again at 3:50 PM ET, the site checks the quick-pick names and ranks them by how strongly the King node looks set to pull on price. The newest scan shows first; use the time buttons to look back at the other scan from the same day; tap any card to open that ticker's heatmap.
King
The all-expirations King: the strike with the largest total GEX (every expiration added together, positive or negative). Contested means the next strike is within about 10% of that total. Each row shows the book time. King moved means a newer book changed that King and the row was rescored, or flagged when it could not be rescored.
Distance
King minus price, in % and in points. + means the King is above the price.
vs EM
That distance divided by today's expected move. 1.0× means the King sits right at the edge of the move the options market is pricing for the day.
Gamma regime
Negative γ when price is below zero gamma (moves tend to run), Positive γ when above (moves tend to be calmer and pinned).
King strength (0–100)
Half from how far the King leads the next-biggest strike (1 − next ÷ King), half from the King's share of all gamma in range (25% or more counts as full). The bar shows this number.
Pull score (0–100)
Pull = 100 × (0.55 × strength ÷ 100 + 0.45 × distance fit), then × 0.85 in positive gamma. Distance fit is 1 when the King is 0.5×–2× the daily EM away, fades to 0 as it gets closer to the price (0.1× or less), and fades to 0 between 2× and 4×. So a strong, dominant King that is a realistic day's move away in negative gamma ranks highest. It's a ranking, not a prediction — price can ignore the King, and levels change through the day.
IBIT
IBIT is the Bitcoin ETF. It is on the quick-pick board.
Antaeus
Tap Antaeus in the header (or open /antaeus). Charts now live here; the old /charts link opens this page. Candles for one regular session, with gamma and vanna drawn as rows of bubbles at each node strike. A bubble's size follows that strike's net exposure in today's book. Every strike with meaningful exposure gets a row; the gold bubble at each candle is that candle's King. Each node strike is a row of bubbles, one per 5-minute candle. Cyan is positive gamma and purple is negative gamma. Vanna is amber when positive and violet when negative. The King is the glowing gold row. Bubbles are today's book, not a stored history of earlier books, and not a forecast.
King beam
The gold line is the all-expirations King through the session. Its label is the strike and that strike's share of absolute exposure. An expiry filter adds a second, labeled King for that filter. The all-expirations King stays on the chart either way. Contested means the next strike is within about 10%.
Exposure center
The white line is the exposure-weighted center of the book at each candle.
GEX, VEX, and combined
GEX draws the gamma bubbles. VEX draws the vanna bubbles. Combined draws both. Switching views does not reload the book.
Expiry filter
All exp, 0DTE, This week, or one date. 0DTE is the nearest expiration; after the close and on weekends, when that expiration is not today, the button and labels read Next exp (for example Next exp King 765 (10-19)). This week runs from that expiration through Friday. The filtered King is labeled beside the all-expirations King.
Session replay
The scrubber walks the session from the open to the last candle. The per-bar history loads after the first numbers, when the chart is ready. A phone draws slightly smaller bubbles, with larger labels.
Range Outlook
The cone sits in the open space to the right of the session, anchored at the prior close. ±1σ is the inner band and ±2σ is the outer band. It does not cover the candles, and it does not update as price moves. Pin zones, where gamma is positive, and fast-move zones, where gamma is negative, are shaded only inside the cone. Probabilistic range from options pricing. Not a forecast. Not financial advice.
Tools
Share to X
One tap posts the heatmap. On a phone the share sheet includes the image and the King, call wall, and put wall. On a computer it opens X with that text and a link whose card is the heatmap.
Add to home screen
iPhone: Safari → Share → “Add to Home Screen”. Android: Chrome menu → “Install app” / “Add to Home screen”. It opens full-screen like an app.
Discord & Index Cheat Codes
Links at the top to the Trim Trading community and the Index Cheat Codes program. Add the Discord bot uses the bot invite. The setup guide covers the channel, the member commands, and the admin commands.
Discord commands
Anyone in the server can run the member commands. Admin commands need the Manage Server permission. /help is role-aware: a member sees the member list, and someone with Manage Server also sees the admin setup.
Members
/gex SPY key levels and the gamma heatmap. /vex SPY the same picture for vanna. /cex SPY the same picture for charm, per day. /surface SPY the 3D gamma surface. /levels SPY call wall, put wall, flip, and King. /flip SPY the flip and the regime. /compare SPY QQQ two books side by side. /expiry SPY 0dte one expiration. /watch list what this server is watching. /help the guide, or /help king-node for one topic.
Admins
These need Manage Server. /watch-admin add SPY alerts when price crosses a key level, and /watch-admin add SPY 580 watches one price. /watch-admin remove SPY and /watch-admin clear stop watches. /autopost add SPY, /autopost remove SPY, /autopost list, and /autopost clear post levels cards after the open and after the close, from the scanner board. /closeread on and /closeread off opt the server into the daily close read. /terrashade-channel set limits commands to one channel, and /terrashade-channel clear allows every channel.
Data & timing
Market status badge
Under the logo: Pre-market (4–9:30am ET), Market Open (9:30am–4pm ET), After hours (4–8pm ET) or Closed (overnight, weekends, NYSE holidays), with a live countdown to the next open or close.
Building today's book
The first look at a ticker that is not ready yet says Building today's book…. The page fills in when that book is ready. Charts say “Building today’s session…” the same way.
This session only
The heatmap, quad, and levels are the current regular session only, 9:30am–4:00pm ET. Once today's session has a book, an earlier session is not what you see. Pre-market and after-hours prices stay on the sun or moon line and do not rewrite the gamma book.
Expired dates
After the close, an expiration that has finished leaves the book and the filters. Every other expiration stays, and the strike count stays the same.
Extended hours
Outside the cash session the line under the price is the extended print versus the regular close. Pre-market uses a sun. After hours uses a moon. After 8:00 PM the line keeps that session's 8:00 PM print. NDXP hides the line. SPXW has no extended session.
Live updates
The data is live. Pages update by themselves, so there is no need to reload.
Why SPX can look empty after hours
After the close, open interest and quotes for index options are often blank (SPXW, NDXP). The grid, levels and expected moves fill back in once the market opens. SPY is a good stand-in after hours.