OpenBB-finance/OpenBB · error · UnauthorizedError

Missing credentials: congress_gov_api_key

Error message

Missing credentials: congress_gov_api_key

What it means

check_api_key reads congress_gov_api_key from the active OpenBB UserSettings credentials and raises UnauthorizedError when it is empty or unset. Every congress_gov helper calls this before building a request URL, so it is the gatekeeper error for the entire provider. The key is free but must be obtained from api.congress.gov and stored in OpenBB's user settings.

Source

Thrown at openbb_platform/providers/congress_gov/openbb_congress_gov/utils/helpers.py:55

    return congress_number


def check_api_key() -> str:
    """Check if the Congress.gov API key is set in user settings.

    Raises UnauthorizedError if the API key is not set.
    """
    # pylint: disable=import-outside-toplevel
    from openbb_core.app.service.user_service import UserSettings
    from pydantic import SecretStr

    credentials = UserSettings().credentials
    api_key = getattr(
        credentials, "congress_gov_api_key", SecretStr("")
    ).get_secret_value()

    if not api_key:
        raise UnauthorizedError("Missing credentials: congress_gov_api_key")

    return api_key


def download_bills(urls: list[str]) -> list:
    """Download a bill's text in PDF format.

    This helper is not intended to be used directly.

    OpenBB Workspace uses this, as a POST endpoint, to download
    the selected bill(s) in PDF format. Results are returned as base64-encoded PDF content.

    Parameters
    ----------
    urls: list[str]
        A list of URLs to download. Each URL must be a valid Congress.gov URL.

    Returns

View on GitHub (pinned to 3e071fcc2c)

Solutions

1. Get a free key at https://api.congress.gov/sign-up/ and store it: openbb.credentials.congress_gov_api_key = '...'
2. Verify with `openbb.credentials` (or obb.account.get) that the key is present in the active profile
3. In CI, inject the key via environment/secret and configure it in the job's bootstrap step

Example fix

# before
bills = obb.congress.bills(provider='congress_gov')  # raises UnauthorizedError

# after
obb.credentials.congress_gov_api_key = os.environ['CONGRESS_GOV_API_KEY']
bills = obb.congress.bills(provider='congress_gov')

import os

def has_congress_key() -> bool:
    return bool(os.getenv('CONGRESS_GOV_API_KEY'))  # if provisioning via env

# Configure once at startup:
# obb.credentials.congress_gov_api_key = os.environ['CONGRESS_GOV_API_KEY']

from openbb_core.provider.standard_models.errors import UnauthorizedError  # path per version
try:
    data = await helper_call()
except UnauthorizedError:
    raise SystemExit('Configure congress_gov_api_key first: obb.credentials.congress_gov_api_key = KEY')

When it happens

Trigger: Any congress_gov endpoint call (bills, laws, amendments, committee documents) before the key has been configured; a fresh OpenBB installation; a runtime where a different profile/hub account is active and lacks the credential.

Common situations: New users who never ran the credential setup; CI containers without persisted settings; key stored under the wrong credential name; switching OpenBB accounts loses locally stored credentials.

Related errors

• Provider fallback failed. [Providers] {msg}
• Missing credential '{c}'.{extra_msg} Refer to the documentat
• Invalid username or password.
• {error.get('code', '')} -> {error.get('message', '')}
• {error.get('code', '')} -> {error.get('message', '')}

AI-assisted analysis of OpenBB-finance/OpenBB@3e071fcc2c (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/03e924dd958e20fc. Report an issue: GitHub.