Glossary

What Is an Option Chain API? Full Chains with Greeks & OI

An option chain API is a programmatic interface that returns the matrix of listed option contracts for an underlying — strikes and expirations — with market and analytics fields attached.

Unique context: OptionData’s option-chain REST API returns a full U.S. equity chain in one POST, including bid/ask, last, open interest, volume, IV, and Greeks for the latest session or a historical trading day.

Open option chain API Start free trial

What a chain API is used for

Chains power symbol pages, IV surfaces, strike selection UIs, and context around live flow alerts.

Request by underlying

Send a symbol (and optional session date) to receive the listed contract grid for that underlier.

Read market fields

Bid, ask, last price, volume, and open interest describe liquidity and positioning at each strike.

Read analytics fields

Implied volatility and Greeks (Delta, Gamma, Theta, Vega, Rho) support risk and strategy views.

Combine with the tape

Join chain snapshots to real-time prints (~10M/day on OptionData) so alerts show IV/OI context, not bare trades.

Typical option chain API fields

Underlying symbol and contract identifiers
Expiration dates and strike prices
Call/put side
Bid, ask, and last price
Volume and open interest
Implied volatility and Greeks when available

Example: fetch AAPL chain via REST

curl -X POST https://www.optiondata.io/api/option-chain \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"symbol":"AAPL"}'

Related definitions and APIs

Chain data pairs with flow definitions and product docs.

Option chain API FAQ