OpenBB-finance/OpenBB · error · OpenBBError

Invalid indicator code(s) for dataflow '{dataflow}': {'; '.j

Error message

Invalid indicator code(s) for dataflow '{dataflow}': {'; '.join(error_parts)}. Use `obb.economy.available_indicators(provider='imf', dataflows='{dataflow}')` to see all valid codes.

What it means

Raised in helpers.py when building an SDMX dimension filter: one or more indicator codes could not be matched against the dataflow's expected dimension structure. The message dissects each failing code per-segment (which dimension a segment was expected in, with a 5-value sample of valid codes) and points to obb.economy.available_indicators(provider='imf', dataflows=...) to list valid codes. A broad except keeps a fallback (dumping all codes into the INDICATOR dimension) for non-validation failures, so this error means validation ran and positively failed.

Source

Thrown at openbb_platform/providers/imf/openbb_imf/utils/helpers.py:313

                            else:
                                expected_pos = idx

                            if 0 <= expected_pos < len(effective_dim_order):
                                expected_dim = effective_dim_order[expected_pos]
                                sample = sorted(
                                    codes_by_dimension.get(expected_dim, set())
                                )[:5]
                                segment_errors.append(
                                    f"'{seg}' is invalid for {expected_dim} (valid: {', '.join(sample)})"
                                )
                            else:
                                segment_errors.append(f"'{seg}' is unrecognized")

                    error_parts.append(f"'{code}': {'; '.join(segment_errors)}")
                else:
                    error_parts.append(f"'{code}'")

            raise OpenBBError(
                f"Invalid indicator code(s) for dataflow '{dataflow}': "
                f"{'; '.join(error_parts)}. "
                f"Use `obb.economy.available_indicators(provider='imf', dataflows='{dataflow}')` to see all valid codes."
            )

    except OpenBBError:
        raise
    except Exception:
        # Fallback: put all codes in INDICATOR dimension (can't validate)
        dimension_codes["INDICATOR"] = indicator_codes

    return dict(dimension_codes)


def detect_transform_dimension(
    dataflow: str,
) -> tuple[str | None, str | None, dict[str, str], dict[str, str]]:
    """

View on GitHub (pinned to 3e071fcc2c)

Solutions

Run obb.economy.available_indicators(provider='imf', dataflows='<your dataflow>') and copy exact codes.
Read the per-segment detail in the message — it names the expected dimension and 5 valid example values for each bad segment.
Update the provider package (openbb-imf) if codes were valid before an IMF metadata change: pip install -U openbb-imf.

Example fix

# before
res = await obb.economy.gdp(component='nominal', provider='imf')  # or direct fetcher with indicator='TXG_FOB_US'

# after
valid = await obb.economy.available_indicators(provider='imf', dataflows='IMTS')
# pick exact code from valid, e.g. 'TXG_FOB_USD'
res = imts_query(country='USA', counterpart='*', indicator='TXG_FOB_USD')

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

indicators = await obb.economy.available_indicators(provider='imf', dataflows='IMTS').to_df()
valid_codes = set(indicators['indicator'].astype(str)) if 'indicator' in indicators else set(indicators.iloc[:, 0])
missing = [c for c in my_codes if c not in valid_codes]
if missing:
    raise ValueError(f'Unknown indicator codes: {missing}')

Try / catch

try:
    res = imts_query(country=c, counterpart=cp, indicator=codes)
except OpenBBError as e:
    if 'Invalid indicator code' in str(e):
        raise ValueError('Check codes via obb.economy.available_indicators(provider="imf").') from e
    raise

Prevention

Fetch and cache the available_indicators list per dataflow at startup.
Never share indicator literals between dataflows.
Update openbb-imf after IMF metadata revisions.

When it happens

Trigger: Passing indicator codes from a different dataflow (e.g. an IFS code like 'IR3TIB01A' to the DOT/IMTS dataflow); typo'd codes ('TXG_FOB_US' missing 'D'); structural codes whose dimension order/ prefixes changed after an IMF metadata revision.

Common situations: Copy-pasting indicator examples across dataflows; metadata refreshes that rename codes; mixing provider indicator vocabularies (intrinio/fred tickers passed to imf).

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of OpenBB-finance/OpenBB@3e071fcc2c (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/03cd535b69c0bafe. Report an issue: GitHub.