OpenBB-finance/OpenBB · error · ValueError

Dimension '{dimension_id}' not found for dataflow '{self.dat

Error message

Dimension '{dimension_id}' not found for dataflow '{self.dataflow_id}'.

What it means

get_dimension_options raises ValueError when the dimension_id argument (or the auto-derived next dimension) is not among the dataflow's ordered dimensions in ImfParamsBuilder. The key built for the constraints request is dimension-ordered, so an unknown dimension cannot be queried.

Source

Thrown at openbb_platform/providers/imf/openbb_imf/utils/progressive_helper.py:93

    ) -> list[dict[str, str]]:
        """Get the available options for a given dimension, based on the current selections.

        Parameters
        ----------
        dimension_id : str
            The ID of the dimension to get options for.

        Returns
        -------
        list[dict]
            A list of available options, where each option is a dictionary with
            'label' and 'value' keys.
        """
        dimension_id = dimension_id or self.get_next_dimension_to_select()
        if not dimension_id:
            return []
        if dimension_id not in self._dimensions:
            raise ValueError(
                f"Dimension '{dimension_id}' not found for dataflow '{self.dataflow_id}'."
            )

        key_parts: list = []
        for dim in self._dimensions:
            if self._selections[dim] is not None:
                key_parts.append(self._selections[dim])
            else:
                # Use wildcard '*' for unselected dimensions instead of empty string
                # Empty string creates malformed URLs like '../'
                key_parts.append("*")
        key = ".".join(key_parts)

        constraints = self._builder.metadata.get_available_constraints(
            dataflow_id=self.dataflow_id,
            key=key,
            component_id=dimension_id,
        )

View on GitHub (pinned to 3e071fcc2c)

Solutions

Inspect builder._dimensions (or the DSD) for the dataflow and use the exact dimension ID.
Call get_dimension_options() with no argument to let the builder pick the next dimension automatically.
Use set_dimension((dim, value)) only with IDs from _dimensions.

Example fix

# before
opts = builder.get_dimension_options(dimension_id='COUNTRY')  # ValueError on REF_AREA dataflows

# after
opts = builder.get_dimension_options(dimension_id='REF_AREA')
# or: opts = builder.get_dimension_options()  # auto-advances

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

def safe_dimension_options(builder, dim_id: str | None):
    if dim_id is not None and dim_id not in builder._dimensions:
        raise ValueError(f'{dim_id!r} not in {builder._dimensions}')
    return builder.get_dimension_options(dim_id)

Type guard

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

Try / catch

try:
    options = builder.get_dimension_options(dim_id)
except ValueError as e:
    if 'not found for dataflow' in str(e):
        dim_id = builder._dimensions[0]
        options = builder.get_dimension_options(dim_id)
    else:
        raise

Prevention

Always source dimension IDs from builder._dimensions or the DSD, never from another dataflow's examples.
Let get_dimension_options() auto-pick the next dimension when possible.
Remember IMF SDMX 3.0 renamed several dimensions (COUNTRY -> REF_AREA).

When it happens

Trigger: Calling get_dimension_options('COUNTRY') on a dataflow whose dimensions use different IDs (e.g. 'REF_AREA'), or passing an empty result from get_next_dimension_to_select plus a stale hardcoded dimension name.

Common situations: Copy-pasting dimension names between dataflows (IMF renamed COUNTRY to REF_AREA in several SDMX 3.0 dataflows), or assuming dimension IDs without inspecting the dataflow's DSD.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of OpenBB-finance/OpenBB@3e071fcc2c (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/20491df088017d3a. Report an issue: GitHub.