What causes "Unknown indicator: {indicator}" in OpenBB-finance/OpenBB?

Restrict requests to indicators the plotting class implements: inspect [m[5:] for m in dir(ta) if m.startswith('plot_')] on the PlotlyTA instance/class.

OpenBB-finance/OpenBB · error · ValueError

Unknown indicator: {indicator}

Error message

Unknown indicator: {indicator}

What it means

PlotlyTA.plot (ta_class.py:507) dispatches each requested indicator by name: moving-average names are mapped to plot_ma, the special overlays (fib, srlines, demark, clenow, ichimoku) to their own methods, and everything else to getattr(self, f"plot_{indicator}"). If no plot_<name> method exists the else-branch raises ValueError(f"Unknown indicator: {indicator}") — the name passed in is not one the plotting class implements.

Source

Thrown at openbb_platform/obbject_extensions/charting/openbb_charting/core/plotly_ta/ta_class.py:507

            try:
                if indicator in self.subplots:
                    figure, subplot_row = getattr(self, f"plot_{indicator}")(
                        figure, self.df_ta, subplot_row
                    )
                elif indicator in self.ma_mode or indicator in self.inchart:
                    if indicator in self.ma_mode:
                        if ma_done:
                            continue
                        indicator, ma_done = "ma", True  # noqa

                    figure, inchart_index = getattr(self, f"plot_{indicator}")(
                        figure, self.df_ta, inchart_index
                    )
                    figure.layout.annotations = None
                elif indicator in ["fib", "srlines", "demark", "clenow", "ichimoku"]:
                    figure = getattr(self, f"plot_{indicator}")(figure, self.df_ta)
                else:
                    raise ValueError(f"Unknown indicator: {indicator}")

                fig_new.update(figure.to_plotly_json())

                remaining_subplots = (
                    list(
                        set(plot_indicators[plot_indicators.index(indicator) + 1 :])
                        - set(self.inchart)
                    )
                    if indicator != "ma"
                    else []
                )
                if subplot_row > 5 and remaining_subplots:
                    warnings.warn(
                        f"[bold red]Reached max number of subplots.   Skipping {', '.join(remaining_subplots)}[/]"
                    )
                    break
            except Exception as e:
                warnings.warn(f"[bold red]Error plotting {indicator}: {e}[/]")

View on GitHub (pinned to 3e071fcc2c)

Solutions

Restrict requests to indicators the plotting class implements: inspect [m[5:] for m in dir(ta) if m.startswith('plot_')] on the PlotlyTA instance/class.
Upgrade openbb-charting so the validator and plotters match the same indicator set.
Remove the offending key from your indicators dict (the error message names it).
If the indicator is an MA variant, route it through ma_mode (e.g. put the variant in ma_mode) so it maps to plot_ma.

Example fix

# before
indicators = {"apo": {}}  # ValueError: Unknown indicator: apo
fig = charting.to_chart(data=df, indicators=indicators)

# after
valid = set(ChartIndicators.get_available_indicators())
indicators = {k: v for k, v in indicators.items() if k in valid}
fig = charting.to_chart(data=df, indicators=indicators)

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

from openbb_charting.query_params import ChartIndicators
valid = set(ChartIndicators.get_available_indicators())
indicators = {k: v for k, v in indicators.items() if k in valid}

Type guard

def is_plottable_indicator(ta_engine, name: str) -> bool:
    if name in ("fib", "srlines", "demark", "clenow", "ichimoku"):
        return True
    if name in getattr(ta_engine, "ma_mode", []):
        return True
    return hasattr(ta_engine, f"plot_{name}")

Try / catch

try:
    ta.plot(figure, indicators=list(indicators))
except ValueError as e:
    if "Unknown indicator" in str(e):
        bad = str(e).rsplit(":", 1)[-1].strip()
        indicators.pop(bad, None)
    else:
        raise

Prevention

Build indicator dicts from ChartIndicators.get_available_indicators() output, not pandas_ta docs.
Keep openbb-charting version aligned with the rest of the platform.
Log hasattr checks against plot_* methods when adding custom indicator names.

When it happens

Trigger: Passing an indicator key in the charting query that check_columns/ChartIndicators accepted but that has no plot_ implementation — e.g. a pandas_ta name like 'apo' or a typo such as 'smma', or a name valid in QueryParams but not implemented in this version's ta_class.

Common situations: Version drift: the validator list (ChartIndicators.get_available_indicators) and the plotting methods fell out of sync across charting releases; user-built dicts copied from pandas_ta docs instead of the OpenBB indicator list.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of OpenBB-finance/OpenBB@3e071fcc2c (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/1940b3aa8790cc5d. Report an issue: GitHub.