OpenBB-finance/OpenBB · error · ValueError

Agency ID not found for dataflow '{dataflow_id}'.

Error message

Agency ID not found for dataflow '{dataflow_id}'.

What it means

Raised in the constraints fetcher after the dataflow ID was found in the catalog but its entry has no 'agencyID' field, which is required to build the SDMX availability URL (.../availability/dataflow/{agency_id}/{dataflow_id}/...). This indicates malformed or incomplete catalog metadata rather than bad user input — the dataflow record exists but is missing a mandatory attribute.

Source

Thrown at openbb_platform/providers/imf/openbb_imf/utils/metadata.py:712

        if dataflow_id not in self.dataflows:
            raise ValueError(f"Dataflow '{dataflow_id}' not found.")

        kwargs_sorted = sorted(kwargs.items())
        kwargs_tuple = tuple(kwargs_sorted)

        cache_key = (
            f"{dataflow_id}:{key}:{component_id}:{mode}:{references}:{kwargs_tuple}"
        )

        with self._constraints_lock:
            if cached_constraints := self._constraints_cache.get(cache_key):
                return cached_constraints

        df = self.dataflows[dataflow_id]
        agency_id = df.get("agencyID")

        if not agency_id:
            raise ValueError(f"Agency ID not found for dataflow '{dataflow_id}'.")

        # Note: URL length is now primarily managed by table_builder.py which limits
        # constraint keys to depth 0-1 codes when there are many indicators.
        # This fallback is kept as a safety net for edge cases.
        processed_key = key

        base_url = (
            f"https://api.imf.org/external/sdmx/3.0/availability/dataflow/"
            f"{agency_id}/{dataflow_id}/%2B/{processed_key}/{component_id or 'all'}"
        )
        query_params = {
            "mode": mode,
            "references": references,
        }
        c_params = {f"c[{k}]": v for k, v in kwargs.items() if v}
        query_params.update(c_params)

        query_params = {k: v for k, v in query_params.items() if v is not None}

View on GitHub (pinned to 3e071fcc2c)

Solutions

  1. Rebuild the metadata object so the catalog reloads fully from the IMF registry.
  2. Update the provider package (pip install -U openbb-imf) in case the attribute name changed upstream.
  3. If using custom/mocked catalogs, ensure every dataflow entry includes agencyID (e.g. 'IMF').

Example fix

# before (malformed catalog entry)
meta.dataflows['IMTS'] = {'id': 'IMTS', 'name': 'Trade'}  # no agencyID
meta.fetch_dataflow_constraints('IMTS')

# after
meta.dataflows['IMTS'] = {'id': 'IMTS', 'name': 'Trade', 'agencyID': 'IMF', 'structureRef': {'id': 'IMTS_DSD'}}
meta.fetch_dataflow_constraints('IMTS')
Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

entry = meta.dataflows.get(df_id)
if not entry or not entry.get('agencyID'):
    raise ValueError(f'Dataflow {df_id!r} metadata incomplete; rebuild the catalog.')
constraints = meta.fetch_dataflow_constraints(df_id, **kwargs)

Type guard

def is_complete_dataflow_entry(entry: dict | None) -> bool:
    return bool(entry) and isinstance(entry.get('agencyID'), str) and bool(entry['agencyID'])

Try / catch

try:
    c = meta.fetch_dataflow_constraints(df_id, **kwargs)
except ValueError as e:
    if 'Agency ID not found' in str(e):
        meta = rebuild_metadata()  # re-run the catalog load
        c = meta.fetch_dataflow_constraints(df_id, **kwargs)
    else:
        raise

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: A catalog entry loaded from a truncated/failed metadata fetch where agencyID was never populated; custom or mock dataflows injected without agencyID; a schema change in the IMF SDMX registry that renamed the attribute.

Common situations: Intermittent metadata initialization leaving partial records; pinning the provider to an old version against a changed upstream registry; test fixtures with hand-built dataflow dicts.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of OpenBB-finance/OpenBB@3e071fcc2c (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/86182f6f02dcdca8. Report an issue: GitHub.