OpenBB-finance/OpenBB · error · ValueError

No tables/hierarchies found for dataflow '{dataflow}'

Error message

No tables/hierarchies found for dataflow '{dataflow}'

What it means

When table_id is omitted, get_table auto-selects only if the dataflow exposes exactly one table hierarchy; zero hierarchies triggers ValueError. It means IMF metadata contains no presentation tables/hierarchies for this dataflow, so table-mode fetching is impossible.

Source

Thrown at openbb_platform/providers/imf/openbb_imf/utils/table_builder.py:190

        if dataflow is None:
            raise ValueError(
                "dataflow is required. Either provide it directly or use "
                "table_id in 'dataflow_id::table_id' format."
            )

        # Validate parameter combinations using progressive helper
        if kwargs or start_date or end_date:
            self._validate_dimension_constraints(
                dataflow, start_date=start_date, end_date=end_date, **kwargs
            )

        # If table_id not provided, auto-select if only one table available
        if table_id is None:
            available_tables = self.metadata.get_dataflow_hierarchies(dataflow)
            if len(available_tables) == 1:
                table_id = available_tables[0]["id"]
            elif len(available_tables) == 0:
                raise ValueError(
                    f"No tables/hierarchies found for dataflow '{dataflow}'"
                )

        table_structure = self.metadata.get_dataflow_table_structure(dataflow, table_id)
        table_metadata = {
            "hierarchy_id": table_structure["hierarchy_id"],
            "hierarchy_name": table_structure["hierarchy_name"],
            "hierarchy_description": table_structure["hierarchy_description"],
            "dataflow_id": table_structure["dataflow_id"],
            "codelist_id": table_structure["codelist_id"],
            "agency_id": table_structure["agency_id"],
            "version": table_structure["version"],
            "total_groups": table_structure["total_groups"],
            "type": table_structure["type"],
        }
        filtered_hierarchy_entries = table_structure["indicators"]

        if indicators is not None:

View on GitHub (pinned to 3e071fcc2c)

Solutions

1. Check metadata.get_dataflow_hierarchies(dataflow): if empty, this dataflow has no tables — use ImfQueryBuilder.build_url/fetch_data with dimensions instead.
2. Refresh cached metadata in case hierarchies exist upstream but not in cache.
3. Pass an explicit table_id if you know one exists from the IMF portal.

Example fix

# before
result = tb.get_table(dataflow='FLAT_DATAFLOW')  # no hierarchies -> ValueError

# after
from openbb_imf.utils.query_builder import ImfQueryBuilder
if ImfQueryBuilder().metadata.get_dataflow_hierarchies('FLAT_DATAFLOW'):
    result = tb.get_table(dataflow='FLAT_DATAFLOW')
else:
    df = ImfQueryBuilder().fetch_data(ImfQueryBuilder().build_url('FLAT_DATAFLOW'))

from openbb_imf.utils.query_builder import ImfQueryBuilder

def dataflow_has_tables(dataflow: str) -> bool:
    return len(ImfQueryBuilder().metadata.get_dataflow_hierarchies(dataflow)) > 0

if not dataflow_has_tables('DF'):
    raise ValueError('no table presentation; query by dimensions instead')

def has_table_presentation(metadata, dataflow: str) -> bool:
    return len(metadata.get_dataflow_hierarchies(dataflow)) > 0

try:
    result = tb.get_table(dataflow=dataflow)
except ValueError as e:
    if 'No tables/hierarchies found' in str(e):
        url = ImfQueryBuilder().build_url(dataflow)
        result = {'mode': 'dimension-query', 'data': ImfQueryBuilder().fetch_data(url)}
    else:
        raise

When it happens

Trigger: Calling get_table(dataflow='XYZ') for a flat dataflow without a hierarchical table presentation, or one whose hierarchy metadata failed to load.

Common situations: Using the table builder on dataflows designed for direct dimension queries, or stale metadata missing newly added hierarchies.

Related errors

• Invalid {name}(s): {', '.join(invalid)}
• Invalid indicator code(s) for dataflow '{dataflow}': {'; '.j
• Query string is empty or invalid -> '{query}'
• A query must be provided when no dataflows and keywords are
• No valid dataflows found to search indicators in.This might

AI-assisted analysis of OpenBB-finance/OpenBB@3e071fcc2c (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/af728fad1f4fa70f. Report an issue: GitHub.