Flowdepth is a free, open-source order-flow terminal for Windows, built for crypto traders and market observers who want to read exchange activity in a native desktop application. It focuses on what happens inside the order book and the trade tape: aggressive buying and selling, liquidity that appears and disappears, and options positioning on major assets.
The project is licensed under GPLv3 and its source code is public on GitHub, so anyone can inspect how it works or build it from source. Its roadmap centers on richer execution and liquidity visualization, more resilient market-data handling, and crypto-options analytics. Current features read public market data directly from exchange REST APIs and WebSockets, so you can explore charts without connecting a trading account.
Who Flowdepth Is For and When It Fits
Flowdepth suits people who study how trades unfold rather than only where price closed. Intraday traders often watch whether aggressive buying or selling is confirmed by volume and delta before they act on a level. Market observers and researchers use the historical heatmaps to review how liquidity clustered before a move.
A typical scenario looks like this: you watch Bitcoin test a resistance zone, open the footprint view, and check whether buyers are consistently lifting offers or whether the move is driven by a few large prints. Another user may simply want to see how options positioning on ETH looks alongside spot activity, without running separate tools in different browser tabs.
The program is a desktop application, which suits people who prefer a dedicated workspace with persistent layouts. If you mainly want quick charts in a web browser on a phone, a lighter web tool will likely feel more convenient. Because current features use public market data, the program is well suited to observation and analysis. It does not place orders on your behalf.
Order Flow Explained: Why Trades Matter More Than Candles
A candlestick compresses a period of time into four prices: open, high, low and close. It does not show how much was traded at each price, who was the aggressor, or whether the buying was sustained. Order-flow analysis looks at the trades themselves to answer those questions.
An aggressive buyer crosses the spread and takes the offer, while a passive buyer sits on the bid and waits. When aggressive buying repeatedly meets resistance without the price advancing, traders call that absorption. Cumulative volume delta tracks the running difference between aggressive buys and sells, which helps show whether pressure is building or fading.
These ideas are old, but they became harder to read as exchanges produced more data. Desktop terminals that aggregate trades, depth and clustering into one view make the patterns easier to spot. Remember that order flow describes what happened in the market, and it does not guarantee what will happen next.
What Gamma Exposure Means for Options Watchers
Options dealers hedge their positions as prices move, and that hedging can add to or dampen price swings. Gamma exposure, usually shortened to GEX, is a rough measure of how much dealer hedging could change as the underlying asset moves. Traders often look at where large positive or negative exposure is concentrated.
GEX profiles are a lens, not a forecast. Two traders can read the same chart and draw opposite conclusions, and the profile is only one input among price structure, volume and news. Models also depend on assumptions about who holds which contracts, which is why it helps to know the data source.
Flowdepth draws its BTC, ETH and SOL GEX profiles from Deribit and shows Derive observed maker flow separately, matched to Deribit contracts. Keeping the sources apart makes it easier to judge how much each one contributes. Use the profiles to frame questions about the market rather than as signals to act on.
Key features
Order-Flow Charts
Adaptive Volume Bubbles
News Tracker
Crypto Options Analytics
Local Market-Data Cache
Connection Recovery
Technical Studies and TPO Overlay
Workspace Tools
Supported coins
The documentation mentions Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and USDC. Options analytics currently cover BTC, ETH and SOL, with GEX profiles drawn from Deribit and Derive maker flow matched to Deribit contracts. Because market data comes from exchange APIs, the instruments you can view depend on what those exchanges publish.
How to install Flowdepth on Windows
- 1
Find the Windows Package
Go to the project's GitHub Releases page or the official website and locate the current Windows x64 package. Choose the Windows build rather than the Linux or macOS packages. Download only from the official website or GitHub, and avoid mirror sites that offer repacked installers.
- 2
Verify the Download
Compare the file's SHA-256 checksum with the value published alongside the release. If a signature is provided, check it as well. A mismatch means the file may be incomplete or altered, and it should not be run.
- 3
Run the Executable
Extract the package if it arrives compressed, then run flowsurface.exe. The Windows executable carries that filename, so look for it after extraction rather than searching for a file named after the program.
-
Allow the First Data Load
On first launch, let the program load market data from the exchange feeds. Loading and coverage indicators show progress. Current features do not require exchange trading credentials, so you can begin exploring charts right away.
System requirements
- A 64-bit Windows system, since the published Windows package is x64
- A working internet connection, because market data is received live from exchange REST APIs and WebSockets
- No exchange trading credentials are required for current features
How to use Flowdepth
Flowdepth works best when you set up a workspace once and then reuse it. The steps below walk through a typical first session focused on order flow.
- Open the program and choose a layout, or start with the default workspace.
- Select an instrument such as BTC or ETH and open a footprint or candlestick view.
- Enable cumulative volume delta to see whether aggressive buying or selling is building over the session.
- Turn on adaptive volume bubbles and adjust the clustering settings until large executions stand out without cluttering the chart.
- Open the DOM ladder or a historical L2 heatmap to compare resting liquidity with the trades you are seeing.
- Add a study such as RSI or ATR if you want momentum or volatility context alongside the flow.
- Save the layout so your setup persists the next time you open the program.
Review each view for a few minutes before drawing conclusions. Compare two or three timeframes to confirm that a pattern holds up, and use the debug terminal only if you need to investigate unusual behavior.
Pros & cons
- Combines footprint charts, L2 heatmaps and volume bubbles in one native desktop workspace
- Options GEX analytics for BTC, ETH and SOL, with Deribit and Derive data kept visibly separate
- Current features need no exchange trading credentials
- Connection recovery and a local cache help keep charts complete and responsive
- Open source under GPLv3, with public source code on GitHub
- Options analytics are limited to BTC, ETH and SOL
- Depends on exchange feeds, so the instruments and history you can view are shaped by those exchanges
- The interface is dense, which can overwhelm people new to order-flow analysis
- Desktop-only, so it does not replace a browser-based charting tool for quick checks on the go
Is Flowdepth safe?
Flowdepth does not handle wallets or private keys, and current features do not require exchange trading credentials. Still, treat any downloaded program with care. Get the installer from the official GitHub Releases page or the official website, and compare its SHA-256 checksum with the published value before running it. If a signature is available, verify it too.
Never enter exchange API keys, wallet seed phrases or passwords on third-party websites that claim to offer add-ons or updates for the program. Legitimate market-data viewing does not require that information. Antivirus software should be left running; if it flags a file, investigate the file's source rather than disabling protection. Because development is ongoing, check the latest version on the official website before you install.
- Official source only. Download from github.com/Niketion/flowdepth. Ignore ads and lookalike domains.
- Check the SHA-256. Compare the installer hash with the value the developer publishes before running it.
- Never share your seed phrase. No developer, support agent or website — including CryptApps — will ever ask for it.
Alternatives
Flowdepth sits in the market-data corner of the crypto tooling landscape, which differs from the other programs in this catalog. Cshtop is a terminal visualizer for blocks, while BX is a command-line tool for Bitcoin tasks. Neither is built to show footprint charts or exchange order flow. Chainhook and Bitcoin Database Generator work with blockchain data, indexing transactions or exporting them to a database, which answers different questions from exchange trade flow.
If you want to see how traders and market makers behaved in a live venue, Flowdepth is the closer match. If you want to analyze on-chain history, indexing or database exports, the blockchain-focused programs are better suited. Many users may run both, one for exchange behavior and one for chain data.
Specifications
- Price
- Free
- Type
- Open source
- License
- GPLv3
- Latest version
- —
- Last update
- 19 Oct 2026
- Windows support
- Yes (Windows build or installer)
- Source code
- github.com/Niketion/flowdepth
Frequently asked questions
Yes, Flowdepth is free and released as open-source software under the GPLv3 license. Its source code is publicly available on GitHub, so you can read it, build it yourself or follow its development. Current features use public market data, and there is no paid tier mentioned in the program's listing that you need to unlock core functions.
Flowdepth is safe to install when you get it from the official GitHub Releases page or the official website and verify the SHA-256 checksum before running it. The program does not need exchange trading credentials for its current features. Keep your antivirus active and check the file source if a warning appears.
No, current features do not require exchange trading credentials. The program receives public market data directly from exchange REST APIs and WebSockets, so you can view charts and analytics without linking an account. You should still never share exchange passwords or API keys with third-party sites.
The documentation mentions Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and USDC. Options GEX analytics cover BTC, ETH and SOL. The instruments you can view depend on the exchange data available, so check the market you need after installing the program.
Gamma exposure, or GEX, estimates how dealer hedging may change as an asset moves. Flowdepth shows GEX profiles for BTC, ETH and SOL using Deribit data. Derive observed maker flow appears separately and is matched to Deribit contracts, so you can compare the two without combining them.
Yes, the project lists Windows, macOS and Linux as supported platforms. On Linux and macOS, the program is launched from a flowsurface binary rather than the Windows executable. The workspace and features are designed to work across these systems, though the install steps differ.
Open a footprint view on an instrument you already understand and watch how volume is distributed within each candle. Look at where aggressive buying or selling concentrates and whether it continues. Comparing several sessions helps you judge whether a pattern repeats or was a one-off event.
Verdict
Flowdepth is a strong fit for Windows users who want a free, open-source desktop terminal for order-flow analysis, liquidity heatmaps and options GEX profiles for BTC, ETH and SOL. It suits intraday observers, researchers and anyone who wants to understand trade flow rather than only candles. It is less suitable for people who need many assets, mobile access or a simple chart for occasional checks. Try it on a quiet market first to learn the interface before relying on any view.