OpenBB-finance/OpenBB · critical · RuntimeError

Failed to build the OpenBB platform static assets. {e} -> {

Error message

Failed to build the OpenBB platform static assets. 
{e} -> {e.__traceback__.tb_frame.f_code.co_filename}:{e.__traceback__.tb_lineno}

What it means

RuntimeError from openbb_core/build.py: on first import, if no pre-built static assets were found, OpenBB triggers openbb.build() and this wrapper converts any build failure into a RuntimeError that embeds the underlying exception message plus the file:line of its raise site. It tells you the auto-generated command tree could not be created.

Source

Thrown at openbb_platform/core/openbb_core/build.py:63

                stderr=result.stderr,
            )

    except (ModuleNotFoundError, subprocess.CalledProcessError) as exc:
        logger.info(
            "The OpenBB build package"
            "may have been uninstalled or corrupted. "
            "Try `pip uninstall openbb` and reinstalling `openbb-core` in the environment.\n"
        )
        raise exc from None

    if not building_found:
        logger.info("Did not build on import, triggering rebuild...\n")
        try:
            import openbb  # noqa

            openbb.build()
        except Exception as e:  # pylint: disable=broad-except
            raise RuntimeError(  # noqa
                "Failed to build the OpenBB platform static assets. \n"
                f"{e} -> {e.__traceback__.tb_frame.f_code.co_filename}:"  # type:ignore  # pylint: disable=E1101
                f"{e.__traceback__.tb_lineno}"  # type:ignore
                if hasattr(e, "__traceback__")
                and hasattr(e.__traceback__, "tb_frame")  # type:ignore
                and hasattr(
                    e.__traceback__.tb_frame,  # type:ignore
                    "f_code",
                )
                and hasattr(
                    e.__traceback__.tb_frame.f_code,  # type:ignore  # pylint: disable=E1101
                    "co_filename",
                )
                and hasattr(
                    e.__traceback__,  # type:ignore
                    "tb_lineno",
                )
                else f"Failed to build the OpenBB platform static assets. \n{e}"

View on GitHub (pinned to 3e071fcc2c)

Solutions

Do a clean reinstall: pip uninstall openbb openbb-core -y && pip install openbb
Read the embedded '{e} -> file:line' to find which module failed; uninstall or upgrade that extension
Run python -m openbb_core.build --debug (or set OPENBB_DEBUG_MODE=true) manually to see the full build traceback
Verify write permissions for site-packages/openbb in containerized environments

Example fix

# before
pip install openbb  # then 'import openbb' fails at build step

# after
pip uninstall -y openbb openbb-core openbb-providers...
pip install openbb
OPENBB_DEBUG_MODE=true python -m openbb_core.build  # inspect if it fails again

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

import importlib.util

def openbb_importable() -> bool:
    return importlib.util.find_spec('openbb') is not None and importlib.util.find_spec('openbb_core') is not None

Try / catch

try:
    import openbb as obb
except RuntimeError as e:
    if 'Failed to build' in str(e):
        raise SystemExit(
            'OpenBB static assets failed to build - run: '
            'pip uninstall -y openbb openbb-core && pip install openbb'
        ) from e
    raise

Prevention

Pin openbb and extension versions in requirements to avoid incompatible sets
Verify installs in CI with 'python -c "import openbb"' before running suites
Avoid partial uninstalls; clean site-packages/openbb leftovers when reinstalling

When it happens

Trigger: Importing openbb (import openbb as obb) in a fresh environment where the static package was never built and the build fails - e.g. a provider extension errors during build, a broken entry point, permissions on the assets directory, or a corrupted install after partial uninstall.

Common situations: Broken/partial uninstall-reinstall cycles (openbb uninstalled but openbb-core cache left behind); installing a provider package with import errors; read-only or non-writable site-packages (containers, locked-down environments); version incompatibility between extensions and openbb-core after upgrades.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of OpenBB-finance/OpenBB@3e071fcc2c (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a1203e2e6f231b17. Report an issue: GitHub.