# GEO guide

> Read what the world published around a session, from public records, each against its own normal.

Source: https://firmtape.com/docs/geo

Free to read, no account. Geo alerts, the API and Team are Geo's own plans: [Geo plans](https://firmtape.com/geo/pricing).

## Why it matters

A move on the tape often has a story told somewhere else first: a travel notice, a maritime warning, an airport ground stop, a tornado warning. Those records are public, but scattered over many sites and formats.

Geo answers one question: **what was published around this minute, and was any of it unusual?** It reads public sources by sector, keeps each record's own publication time and its link, and marks a record notable when it stands out against that source's normal for the country.

It is context. Nothing in Geo is a forecast, a cause or a trade, and it does not beat the news.

## Where to find it

The list opens beside the chart from the globe on the toolbar. The full pages are at [/geo](https://firmtape.com/geo): the map and the feed, one page a sector and a country, every past week, and the sources.

| You want | Go to |
| --- | --- |
| What was published in the last day, beside the chart | The globe on the toolbar (or **W**) |
| The world map and the week's records | [/geo](https://firmtape.com/geo) |
| One sector or one country | The sector chips on /geo, or [/geo/countries](https://firmtape.com/geo/countries) |
| Which sources answered | [/geo/sources](https://firmtape.com/geo/sources) |
| Alerts on the records you care about | Account, Geo alerts, on a [Geo plan](https://firmtape.com/geo/pricing) |

## Read it in 30 seconds

1. Notable only is the default: the rows you see are the ones that stood out against their own normal.
2. The time on a row is the time in ET, next to the session's own clock.
3. The sector label (SEA, AIR, GROUND, GPS) says what kind of record it is.
4. On the map, a bigger marker is more records this week; colour is how many were notable, red the critical ones.
5. The source count at the top says how many sources are fresh; a quiet list with every source fresh is a quiet day, not a gap.

## How to use it

**Look it up**

### The GEO list beside the chart

**Why:** what was published in the last day, next to the chart and on its clock, without leaving the terminal. **Where:** the globe on the toolbar, or **W**. **Plan:** Free to read.

1. Press the globe on the toolbar, or **W**.
2. Read the last 24 hours: time ET, country, the record, its sector, and a link to its source.
3. Keep **notable only** on, or switch it off for every row.
4. **Alert settings** at the foot of the list opens the Geo alerts pane.

![The GEO list beside the chart: the last 24 hours, notable only, five records with their time in ET, country and sector](https://archive.firmtape.com/press/features/geo/strip.9d7dec31.webp)

How to read it:

- The header counts notable and routine records and how many sources are fresh.
- A dimmed row is routine; a dot marks a notable one.
- A record is context for the session. It does not say what the market will do.

**Limits:** The list holds the last 24 hours; older records are on the week pages at /geo.

**Related:** [GEO: The map and the feed](https://firmtape.com/docs/geo#records-map) · [GEO: Notable only](https://firmtape.com/docs/geo#notable-only) · [REPLAY: Market calendar and pulse](https://firmtape.com/docs/replay#market-calendar)

### The map and the feed

**Why:** the week's public records on one map and one list, each linked to the record it came from. **Where:** [/geo](https://firmtape.com/geo). **Plan:** Free to read, no account.

1. Open [/geo](https://firmtape.com/geo): the map is this week, the feed under it is newest first.
2. Read the legend: red critical, amber three or more notable, cyan one or two, grey routine only; size is all records.
3. Click a country for its own page.

![The Geo world map for one week: countries marked by how many notable records they published, the sector chips and Notable only above it](https://archive.firmtape.com/press/features/geo/map.137ae90c.webp)

How to read it:

- A marker sits at the country's centre, not at the event.
- The count beside a country is its records this week.

**Limits:** One week a page, so no page pulls the whole history at once.

**Related:** [GEO: Sectors and countries](https://firmtape.com/docs/geo#sectors-and-countries) · [GEO: Weeks](https://firmtape.com/docs/geo#weeks)

### Sectors and countries

**Why:** follow only the records that matter to you: a sector across the world, or every sector in one country. **Where:** the chips on [/geo](https://firmtape.com/geo); [/geo/countries](https://firmtape.com/geo/countries) for every country. **Plan:** Free to read, no account.

1. Pick a chip: **Government**, **Air**, **GPS**, **Sea**, **Internet**, **Ground** or **Attention**.
2. Open a country from the map or from [/geo/countries](https://firmtape.com/geo/countries).
3. Each sector and country page has its own weeks, like the world page.

![The Geo map with its sector chips, from Government to Attention](https://archive.firmtape.com/press/features/geo/map.137ae90c.webp)

| Control | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| Government | Travel notices and embassy alerts |
| Air | Airspace and airport status |
| GPS | GPS interference |
| Sea | Maritime warnings and ship traffic |
| Internet | Internet outages |
| Ground | Weather warnings, earthquakes and disasters |
| Attention | Reading attention to a place, against its normal |

**Limits:** A country page lists only the countries seen in the served history.

**Related:** [GEO: The map and the feed](https://firmtape.com/docs/geo#records-map) · [GEO: Notable only](https://firmtape.com/docs/geo#notable-only)

### Notable only

**Why:** one unusual record should not drown in a hundred routine ones. **Where:** **notable only** in the GEO list; **Notable only** on every /geo page. **Plan:** Free to read.

1. Leave **notable only** on, the default.
2. Switch it off to see every row, routine ones dimmed.

![The GEO list with notable only on, its header counting notable and routine records](https://archive.firmtape.com/press/features/geo/strip.9d7dec31.webp)

> **What it measures:** A record is notable when it stands out against its own source's normal for that country. Sources that need a normal learn it first and publish only after.

How to read it:

- A quiet list with every source fresh is a quiet day, not a gap.

**Limits:** Notable is a measure against the source's own history, not a judgement of importance.

**Related:** [GEO: The GEO list beside the chart](https://firmtape.com/docs/geo#geo-list) · [GEO: Sources](https://firmtape.com/docs/geo#sources)

### Weeks

**Why:** a finished session can be read next to what was published that week. **Where:** the week line under the map; the **Last 30 days** tiles on [/geo](https://firmtape.com/geo). **Plan:** Free to read, no account.

1. Use the arrow on the week line for the previous week.
2. Or pick a tile under **Last 30 days**: each shows its records and how many were notable.
3. Every week, world and per sector, keeps its own address.

![The Last 30 days tiles: this week and the four before it, each with its record count and notable count](https://archive.firmtape.com/press/features/geo/weeks.c29a9faa.webp)

How to read it:

- The bar under a count is the share that was notable.

**Limits:** Weeks run Monday to Monday on the New York calendar.

**Related:** [GEO: The map and the feed](https://firmtape.com/docs/geo#records-map) · [REPLAY: The session archive and session pages](https://firmtape.com/docs/replay#session-archive)

### Sources

**Why:** know what Geo read before trusting a quiet list. **Where:** [/geo/sources](https://firmtape.com/geo/sources); the source count at the top of the GEO list. **Plan:** Free to read, no account.

1. Open [/geo/sources](https://firmtape.com/geo/sources).
2. Read each source with its sector and when it last answered.

How to read it:

- Every record names its source and links to it.

**Limits:** Geo reads its own list of public sources; a record published elsewhere may not be in it.

**Related:** [GEO: Notable only](https://firmtape.com/docs/geo#notable-only)

**Get told**

### Geo alerts

**Why:** hear about the records you follow without keeping the list open. **Where:** Account, Geo alerts; **Alert settings** in the GEO list. **Plan:** Geo alerts plan; more rules on API and Team. [Geo plans](https://firmtape.com/geo/pricing).

1. Open Account, Geo alerts.
2. Write a rule: countries, sectors, sources, notable or all. The preview shows how many records matched in the last seven days.
3. Choose email, Telegram or both, and send yourself a test alert.

![Geo alert rules written as sentences: notable records about Norway in Sea, about Saudi Arabia in GPS and Air, and one rule paused](https://archive.firmtape.com/press/features/geo/alerts.e5970a8d.webp)

How to read it:

- An alert is sent when the record is written, not on a schedule.

**Limits:** A plan sends nothing until it has a rule; Telegram must be connected for a rule that sends there.

**Related:** [GEO: The GEO list beside the chart](https://firmtape.com/docs/geo#geo-list) · [LIVE: Telegram: @FirmTapeBot and the channel](https://firmtape.com/docs/live#telegram)

**Build on it**

### The API, webhooks and MCP

**Why:** the records as data, with every field, coordinates and source credit. **Where:** Account, Geo developer, on the API and Team plans; reference at [/geo/docs](https://firmtape.com/geo/docs). **Plan:** Geo API and Team plans. The open JSON is free.

1. **REST API**: the records over HTTP with a key; [/geo/docs](https://firmtape.com/geo/docs).
2. **Webhooks**: a signed POST when a record matches your rules; [/geo/docs](https://firmtape.com/geo/docs).
3. **MCP server**: an AI assistant reads the records with the same key; [/geo/docs](https://firmtape.com/geo/docs).

![The Geo developer pane: API keys, webhooks and the MCP server come with the API and Team plans](https://archive.firmtape.com/press/features/geo/developer.69266dae.webp)

**Limits:** Reading the pages and the open JSON needs no key.

**Developer reference:** [/docs/developers/geo](https://firmtape.com/docs/developers/geo)

**Related:** [GEO: Geo alerts](https://firmtape.com/docs/geo#geo-alerts) · [REPLAY: MCP server](https://firmtape.com/docs/replay#mcp-server)

## Add to GEO

| Add-on | What it adds |
| --- | --- |
| [Geo API](https://firmtape.com/geo/pricing) | The records over REST, MCP and signed webhooks |
| [Geo Team](https://firmtape.com/geo/pricing) | Seats and a larger call budget for a team |

## Use it with other tools

| Tool | How it pairs |
| --- | --- |
| [REPLAY: Market calendar and pulse](https://firmtape.com/docs/replay#market-calendar) | The calendar holds the scheduled releases; Geo holds what was published without a schedule. |
| [REPLAY: The playback bar](https://firmtape.com/docs/replay#playback) | Scrub a finished session and read that week's records on its week page. |
| [LIVE: Telegram: @FirmTapeBot and the channel](https://firmtape.com/docs/live#telegram) | Level alerts and Geo alerts can arrive in the same Telegram chat. |
| [LIVE](https://firmtape.com/docs/live) | Ask about the levels on screen while the GEO list shows what was published. |

## Good to know

- A marker sits at the country's centre, not at the place of the event.
- Rows marked backfill came from a source's own history, not from live collection, and never count toward how fast a record was seen.
- A record is notable against its own source's normal for that country, not against the world.
- Geo plans are separate from LIVE, LAB and DATA; cancelling one never touches another.

### If something looks wrong

| You see | Do this |
| --- | --- |
| The list is empty | Switch notable only off to see the routine rows; check the source count at the top. |
| A record I read elsewhere is missing | Geo reads its own list of public sources; [/geo/sources](https://firmtape.com/geo/sources) shows which and how fresh each is. |
| No Geo alert arrives | A plan sends nothing until it has an alert rule; for Telegram, connect the chat on the same pane. |

## Glossary

| Term | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| record | One published item from a public source: its time, country, sector, text and link. |
| notable | A record that stands out against its source's own normal for that country. |
| routine | A record within its source's normal; hidden by default. |
| sector | The kind of record: government, air, GPS, sea, internet, ground, attention. |
| backfill | A row from a source's own history rather than live collection. |