OpenBB-finance/OpenBB · warning · RuntimeError

Another build process is running and has locked {self._lock_

Error message

Another build process is running and has locked {self._lock_path}

What it means

PackageBuilder._run raises this RuntimeError when acquiring its exclusive file lock raises BlockingIOError, meaning another openbb-build process already holds the lock at self._lock_path. The lock serializes static-asset builds so two concurrent builds cannot corrupt the generated package tree.

Source

Thrown at openbb_platform/core/openbb_core/app/static/package_builder.py:224

                    if self.lint:
                        self._run_linters()
                except BaseException as e:
                    if not isinstance(e, (KeyboardInterrupt, SystemExit)):
                        self.console.error("\nBuild failed!")  # type: ignore  # pylint: disable=E1101
                        self.console.error(f"Error: {e}")  # type: ignore  # pylint: disable=E1101
                        self.console.error(traceback.format_exc())  # type: ignore  # pylint: disable=E1101
                        self.console.error("\nInstruction:")  # type: ignore  # pylint: disable=E1101
                        self.console.error(  # type: ignore  # pylint: disable=E1101
                            "Set OPENBB_DEBUG_MODE='true' environment variable and run "
                            "'openbb-build' again to see verbose output."
                        )
                    self._clean(modules)
                    raise
                finally:
                    if hasattr(signal, "SIGTERM"):
                        signal.signal(signal.SIGTERM, original_sigterm)
            except BlockingIOError:
                raise RuntimeError(  # noqa # pylint: disable=W0707
                    f"Another build process is running and has locked {self._lock_path}"
                )
            finally:
                # Release the file lock, suppressing any exceptions during cleanup
                with contextlib.suppress(Exception):
                    file_lock.release()

    def _clean(self, modules: str | list[str] | None = None) -> None:
        """Delete the assets and package folder or modules before building."""
        shutil.rmtree(self.directory / "assets", ignore_errors=True)
        if modules:
            for module in modules:
                module_path = self.directory / "package" / f"{module}.py"
                if module_path.exists():
                    module_path.unlink()
        else:
            shutil.rmtree(self.directory / "package", ignore_errors=True)

View on GitHub (pinned to 3e071fcc2c)

Solutions

1. Wait for the running build to finish, then re-run openbb-build
2. Find and stop the other process: ps aux | grep openbb-build / lsof <lock_path>, then kill it
3. If no other process exists (stale holder died), remove the stale lock file and retry
4. In CI, serialize build steps so only one job builds at a time

import os

LOCK = os.path.expanduser('~/.openbb_platform/lock')
def lock_free(path: str = LOCK) -> bool:
    try:
        f = open(path, 'a+')
        import fcntl
        fcntl.flock(f, fcntl.LOCK_EX | fcntl.LOCK_NB)
        fcntl.flock(f, fcntl.LOCK_UN)
        f.close()
        return True
    except (BlockingIOError, OSError):
        return False

import time
for attempt in range(3):
    try:
        from openbb import obb  # may trigger build
        break
    except RuntimeError as e:
        if 'locked' not in str(e):
            raise
        time.sleep(30 * (attempt + 1))  # wait for the other build
else:
    raise RuntimeError('openbb build stayed locked')

When it happens

Trigger: Running 'openbb-build' (or openbb.build()) twice concurrently: a previous build still running in another terminal, a build left behind by an IDE task, or a stale lock file held by a zombie process. Also happens when a build is triggered on import while another interpreter session is mid-build.

Common situations: Two terminal windows both running openbb-build; CI jobs sharing a container workspace hitting the same lock file; a crashed build whose process still holds the flock; Docker builds where a long build in one layer overlaps the next.

Related errors

• Failed to build the OpenBB platform static assets. {e} -> {
• Unsupported file format. Please use .json or .env files.
• Failed to get Jupyter URL
• Invalid extension type(s): {', '.join(invalid)}. Valid choic
• At least one extension type must be selected.

AI-assisted analysis of OpenBB-finance/OpenBB@3e071fcc2c (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9a884a0a1759b300. Report an issue: GitHub.