OpenBB-finance/OpenBB · error · EmptyDataError

Category {category} is not a supported choice. Choose from {

Error message

Category {category} is not a supported choice. Choose from {list(SURVEY_CATEGORY_MAP)}

What it means

Raised by download_category_series_ids (a BLS maintenance helper used to refresh the static asset files) when the requested category key is not in SURVEY_CATEGORY_MAP. The function is only needed when regenerating openbb_bls assets, and the error is a guard against typos in the category argument. It is an EmptyDataError raised before any download starts.

Source

Thrown at openbb_platform/providers/bls/openbb_bls/utils/helpers.py:257

    df = df.apply(lambda x: x.str.strip() if x.dtype == "object" else x)

    return df.replace({"''": None, '""': None, NA: None, "nan": None, nan: None})


async def download_category_series_ids(category) -> tuple[list, dict]:
    """Download all series ids for a category of survey, along with the code maps.
    This should only be required for updating static files.
    """
    # pylint: disable=import-outside-toplevel
    from numpy import nan  # noqa
    from openbb_core.provider.utils.errors import EmptyDataError
    from openbb_bls.utils.constants import SURVEY_CATEGORY_MAP, SURVEY_NAMES

    series_ids: list = []
    series_codes: dict = {}

    if category not in SURVEY_CATEGORY_MAP:
        raise EmptyDataError(
            f"Category {category} is not a supported choice. Choose from {list(SURVEY_CATEGORY_MAP)}"
        )

    async def get_all_series_ids(survey):
        """Get an asset in the FTP download folder of the two-letter survey code."""
        if survey in ["ch", "cs", "fw", "is", "nw", "oe", "yy"]:
            return
        data = await get_survey_asset(survey, "series")
        for col in ["series_title", "survey_name"]:
            if col not in data.columns:  # type: ignore
                data.loc[:, col] = None  # type: ignore
        codes = [d for d in data.columns if "code" in d and "periodicity" not in d]  # type: ignore
        ids = data.get(["series_id", "series_title"] + codes).copy()  # type: ignore

        if ids is None or ids.empty:
            return

        ids = ids.rename(columns={"footnote_codes": "footnote_code"})

View on GitHub (pinned to 3e071fcc2c)

Solutions

1. Inspect list(SURVEY_CATEGORY_MAP) in openbb_bls/utils/constants.py and pass an exact key
2. Use the same casing as the map keys (usually lowercase)
3. If you intended a display-name lookup, use the function keyed on SURVEY_CATEGORY_NAMES instead
4. Update constants.py first if you added a new category

Example fix

# before
ids, codes = await download_category_series_ids('Employment Situation')  # EmptyDataError

# after
from openbb_bls.utils.constants import SURVEY_CATEGORY_MAP
key = next(k for k in SURVEY_CATEGORY_MAP if 'employment' in k)
ids, codes = await download_category_series_ids(key)

from openbb_bls.utils.constants import SURVEY_CATEGORY_MAP

def assert_valid_category(category: str) -> None:
    assert category in SURVEY_CATEGORY_MAP, (
        f'use one of {list(SURVEY_CATEGORY_MAP)}')

from openbb_bls.utils.constants import SURVEY_CATEGORY_MAP

def is_valid_bls_category(cat: str) -> bool:
    return cat in SURVEY_CATEGORY_MAP

When it happens

Trigger: Calling download_category_series_ids(category='CPI') when the map keys are lowercase slugs like 'cpi'; passing a category name from SURVEY_CATEGORY_NAMES instead of the map key; running the asset-update script with a stale constant file after categories were renamed.

Common situations: Contributors regenerating static assets after editing openbb_bls/utils/constants.py; confusion between the two constants (SURVEY_CATEGORY_NAMES vs SURVEY_CATEGORY_MAP).

Related errors

• Category '{category}' not found. Choose from {list(SURVEY_CA
• No results found for the provided query.
• Asset '{asset}' not supported. Expected .json or .xz file.
• Failed to download {category} -> {e}
• At least one extension type must be selected.

AI-assisted analysis of OpenBB-finance/OpenBB@3e071fcc2c (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9d0e5a2750319130. Report an issue: GitHub.