OpenBB-finance/OpenBB · error · ValueError

Country value cannot be empty.

Error message

Country value cannot be empty.

What it means

Raised at the top of the country-resolution helper in dot_helpers.py when the incoming value is falsy (empty string, None after strip, empty list item). The function maps user-friendly country input to IMF SDMX area codes, and an empty input cannot map to anything, so it fails fast instead of sending an invalid query to the IMF API.

Source

Thrown at openbb_platform/providers/imf/openbb_imf/utils/dot_helpers.py:84

    (e.g., 'united_states'). Returns the ISO code.

    Parameters
    ----------
    value : str
        Country code or name to resolve.

    Returns
    -------
    str
        The resolved ISO country code.

    Raises
    ------
    ValueError
        If the input cannot be resolved to a valid country code.
    """
    if not value:
        raise ValueError("Country value cannot be empty.")

    # Handle wildcards
    if value.lower() in ["all", "*"]:
        return "*"

    # Common aliases for frequently used regions
    common_aliases = {
        "world": "G001",
        "euro_area": "G163",
        "eurozone": "G163",
        "eu": "G998",
        "european_union": "G998",
        "europe": "GX170",
    }

    v_lower = value.lower().replace(" ", "_")

    # Check common aliases first

View on GitHub (pinned to 3e071fcc2c)

Solutions

1. Supply a non-empty country: ISO3 code ('USA') or snake_case name ('united_states').
2. Filter empty entries out of lists before calling: [c for c in countries if c and c.strip()].
3. Use '*' or 'all' when the intent is 'every country' — the helper maps those to the wildcard.

Example fix

# before
countries = ['USA', '', 'DEU']
res = imts_query(country=countries, counterpart='all', indicator='TXG_FOB_USD')

# after
countries = [c for c in ['USA', '', 'DEU'] if c]
res = imts_query(country=countries, counterpart='all', indicator='TXG_FOB_USD')

countries = [c.strip() for c in (countries or []) if c and c.strip()]
if not countries:
    raise ValueError('At least one country is required.')
res = imts_query(country=countries, counterpart='*', indicator='TXG_FOB_USD')

def is_non_empty_country(value: str | list[str] | None) -> bool:
    if value is None:
        return False
    items = [value] if isinstance(value, str) else value
    return any(isinstance(i, str) and i.strip() for i in items)

try:
    code = transform_country(raw)
except ValueError as e:
    if 'cannot be empty' in str(e):
        raise ValueError(f'Country field is required, got: {raw!r}') from e
    raise

When it happens

Trigger: Calling a DOT/IMTS helper with country='' or None; a list of countries containing an empty entry (['USA', '']); stripping user input to '' before passing it in.

Common situations: Form fields left blank; CSV/config rows with missing country columns; loops that pass variables which are conditionally set and sometimes remain None.

Related errors

• Country '{value}' is not a valid IMF country code or country
• Country and counterpart parameters cannot be empty.
• Frequency must be one of 'A', 'Q', or 'M'.
• Invalid {name}(s): {', '.join(invalid)}
• No valid port_code provided.

AI-assisted analysis of OpenBB-finance/OpenBB@3e071fcc2c (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/114166419ff2056d. Report an issue: GitHub.