OpenBB-finance/OpenBB · error · ValueError

Required field missing -> symbol

Error message

Required field missing -> symbol

What it means

FMP company news QueryParams has a mode='before' validator on `symbol` that raises ValueError('Required field missing -> symbol') when the value is falsy. Unlike the shared NewsQueryParams where symbol may be optional, FMP's endpoint requires at least one ticker. Fires at model construction, before any request.

Source

Thrown at openbb_platform/providers/fmp/openbb_fmp/models/company_news.py:38

    __json_schema_extra__ = {"symbol": {"multiple_items_allowed": True}}

    page: int = Field(
        default=0,
        le=100,
        ge=0,
        description="Page number of the results. Use in combination with limit.",
    )
    press_release: bool | None = Field(
        default=None,
        description="When true, will return only press releases for the given symbol(s).",
    )

    @field_validator("symbol", mode="before", check_fields=False)
    @classmethod
    def _symbol_mandatory(cls, v):
        """Symbol mandatory validator."""
        if not v:
            raise ValueError("Required field missing -> symbol")
        return v


class FMPCompanyNewsData(CompanyNewsData):
    """FMP Company News Data."""

    __alias_dict__ = {
        "symbols": "symbol",
        "date": "publishedDate",
        "author": "publisher",
        "images": "image",
        "source": "site",
        "excerpt": "text",
    }

    source: str = Field(description="Name of the news site.")

View on GitHub (pinned to 3e071fcc2c)

Solutions

1. Always supply at least one ticker (comma-separated string for multiple)
2. Guard callers: skip the FMP news call when your symbol source is empty
3. Use a provider that supports symbol-less news if you need market-wide headlines

Example fix

# before
q = FMPCompanyNewsQueryParams()  # ValueError: Required field missing -> symbol

# after
q = FMPCompanyNewsQueryParams(symbol="AAPL")
# multiple: FMPCompanyNewsQueryParams(symbol="AAPL,MSFT")

if not symbol or not symbol.strip():
    raise ValueError("FMP company news requires at least one ticker")

def has_news_symbol(v) -> bool:
    return bool(v) and bool(str(v).strip())

When it happens

Trigger: Instantiating FMPCompanyNewsQueryParams() with no symbol; passing symbol='' or None; passing a list/iterable that evaluates falsy (empty list).

Common situations: Generic news code paths that omit symbol to fetch 'all news' — FMP does not support that; templated calls where the symbol variable is unset; passing an empty watchlist.

Related errors

• Either symbol or cik must be provided.
• At least one extension type must be selected.
• Incorrect email or password
• Charting is not installed. Please install `openbb-charting`.
• Invalid command : route={route}

AI-assisted analysis of OpenBB-finance/OpenBB@3e071fcc2c (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b834c4281542d88e. Report an issue: GitHub.