OpenBB-finance/OpenBB · warning · EmptyDataError

The request was returned empty.

Error message

The request was returned empty.

What it means

Raised in FredSearchFetcher.transform_data (openbb_fred/models/search.py:263) when the extraction step returned an empty list - the FRED search response contained zero series objects. An EmptyDataError: the request was valid and delivered, but matched nothing. Note this is distinct from error 489, which fires after client-side filtering of non-empty results.

Source

Thrown at openbb_platform/providers/fred/openbb_fred/models/search.py:263

        if isinstance(response, dict) and "count" in response:
            results = response.get("seriess", [])
            return results
        raise OpenBBError(
            f"Unexpected response format. Expected a dictionary, got {type(response)}"
        )

    @staticmethod
    def transform_data(
        query: FredSearchQueryParams, data: list[dict], **kwargs: Any
    ) -> list[FredSearchData]:
        """Transform data."""
        # pylint: disable=import-outside-toplevel
        from numpy import nan
        from pandas import DataFrame, Series

        if not data:
            raise EmptyDataError("The request was returned empty.")

        df = DataFrame(data)

        if query.search_type == "release" and query.release_id is None:
            df = df.rename(columns={"id": "release_id"})

        terms = [term.strip() for term in query.query.split(";")] if query.query else []
        tags = (
            [tag.strip() for tag in query.tag_names.split(";")]
            if query.tag_names and query.search_type != "series_id"
            else []
        )
        terms += tags

        if terms and query.search_type != "series_id":
            combined_mask = Series([True] * len(df))
            for term in terms:
                mask = df.apply(

View on GitHub (pinned to 3e071fcc2c)

Solutions

1. Broaden the query text (fewer/shorter terms).
2. Loosen tag_names - remember multiple tags are ANDed; use fewer or run separate searches per tag.
3. For release searches, confirm the release has series via fred_search(search_type='release', release_id=...).

Example fix

# before - ANDed tags match nothing
obb.economy.fred.search(query='prices', tag_names='cpi;monthly;sa')

# after
obb.economy.fred.search(query='prices', tag_names='cpi')

from openbb_core.provider.utils.errors import EmptyDataError

try:
    res = obb.economy.fred.search(query=query, tag_names=tags)
except EmptyDataError:
    res = obb.economy.fred.search(query=query)  # retry without the tag filter

When it happens

Trigger: A query string that matches no FRED series text; tag_names combinations no series carries (e.g. tag_names='cpi;housing' where both must apply); a release_id whose release contains zero series.

Common situations: Overly specific multi-term queries; semicolon-separated tags treated as AND by FRED; searching a brand-new release before series are attached to it.

Related errors

• No results found for the provided query.
• No results found for the provided query.
• No results found for '{search_term}'.
• The request was returned with no data.
• No data was found for, {query.country}.

AI-assisted analysis of OpenBB-finance/OpenBB@3e071fcc2c (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/0f86e1e97633657a. Report an issue: GitHub.