OpenBB-finance/OpenBB · error · KeyError

Dimension ' ' not valid for this dataflow. Valid dimensions

Error message

Dimension '{dimension[0]}' not valid for this dataflow. Valid dimensions: {list(self._selections.keys())}

What it means

set_dimension raises KeyError when the tuple's dimension ID is not in this dataflow's _dimensions list. Selections are keyed strictly by known dimensions, and downstream selections are cleared on each set, so an unknown key is rejected up front.

Solutions

  1. Validate the dimension ID against builder._dimensions before calling set_dimension.
  2. Use the IDs returned by get_dimension_options / the dataflow's DSD (e.g. FREQUENCY not FREQ).
  3. In generic front-ends, present only valid dimension IDs and reject others client-side.

Example fix

# before
builder.set_dimension(('FREQ', 'A'))  # KeyError

# after
if 'FREQ' in builder._dimensions:
    builder.set_dimension(('FREQ', 'A'))
else:
    builder.set_dimension(('FREQUENCY', 'A'))
Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

def safe_set_dimension(builder, dim: str, value):
    if dim not in builder._dimensions:
        raise ValueError(f'Unknown dimension {dim!r}; valid: {builder._dimensions}')
    return builder.set_dimension((dim, value))

Type guard

def is_valid_dimension(builder, dim: str) -> bool:
    return dim in builder._dimensions

Try / catch

try:
    builder.set_dimension((dim, value))
except KeyError as e:
    if 'not valid for this dataflow' in str(e):
        closest = difflib.get_close_matches(dim, builder._dimensions, n=1)
        if closest:
            builder.set_dimension((closest[0], value))
        else:
            raise
    else:
        raise

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Calling builder.set_dimension(('FREQ', 'A')) when the dataflow uses 'FREQUENCY'; mixing dimension IDs from another dataflow; typos in interactive tooling that feed arbitrary keys into set_dimension.

Common situations: Porting parameter dictionaries between dataflows, hardcoded scripts written against an older DSD, or building generic UIs that pass user input straight through.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of OpenBB-finance/OpenBB@3e071fcc2c (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/33495b2b1e683a89. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at openbb_platform/providers/imf/openbb_imf/utils/progressive_helper.py:168

                codelist_id, agency_id, self.dataflow_id
            )
        return {}

    def set_dimension(self, dimension: tuple[str, str]) -> dict:
        """Set a value for a dimension and clear downstream selections.

        Parameters
        ----------
        dimension : tuple
            A tuple of (dimension_id, value) to set.

        Returns
        -------
        dict
            The updated selections after setting the dimension.
        """
        if dimension[0] not in self._dimensions:
            raise KeyError(
                f"Dimension '{dimension[0]}' not valid for this dataflow."
                f" Valid dimensions: {list(self._selections.keys())}"
            )
        self._selections[dimension[0]] = dimension[1]
        # When a selection is made, we clear selections for downstream dimensions
        # as they might now be invalid.
        found_dim = False
        for dim in self._dimensions:
            if found_dim:
                self._selections[dim] = None
            if dim == dimension[0]:
                found_dim = True

        self.current_dimension = self.get_next_dimension_to_select()

        return self._selections.copy()

    def get_dimensions(self) -> dict[str, str | None]:

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