{"record":{"id":"e9f7f2cba0002f69","repo":"OpenBB-finance/OpenBB","slug":"invalid-symbol-format-sym-identifier-cannot-b","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"Invalid symbol format '{sym}'. Identifier cannot be empty. Expected 'dataflow::identifier'.","messagePattern":"Invalid symbol format '(.+?)'\\. Identifier cannot be empty\\. Expected 'dataflow::identifier'\\.","errorType":"validation","errorClass":"ValueError","httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"openbb_platform/providers/imf/openbb_imf/models/economic_indicators.py","lineNumber":338,"sourceCode":"            for s in self.symbol.split(\",\")  #  type: ignore  # pylint: disable=E1101\n        ]\n        tables: list[str] = []\n        indicators: list[tuple[str, str]] = []\n        dataflows_seen: set[str] = set()\n\n        for sym in symbols:\n            if \"::\" not in sym:\n                raise ValueError(\n                    f\"Invalid symbol format '{sym}'. Expected 'dataflow::identifier'. \"\n                    \"Use `available_indicators()` or `list_tables()` to find valid symbols.\"\n                )\n\n            parts = sym.split(\"::\", 1)\n            dataflow = parts[0].strip().upper()\n            identifier = parts[1].strip()\n\n            if not identifier:\n                raise ValueError(\n                    f\"Invalid symbol format '{sym}'. Identifier cannot be empty. \"\n                    \"Expected 'dataflow::identifier'.\"\n                )\n\n            dataflows_seen.add(dataflow)\n            # Tables can start with H_ or be any valid hierarchy ID for the dataflow\n            is_table = False\n\n            if identifier.startswith(\"H_\"):\n                is_table = True\n            else:\n                metadata = ImfMetadata()\n                try:\n                    hierarchies = metadata.get_dataflow_hierarchies(dataflow)\n                    hierarchy_ids = {h.get(\"id\") for h in hierarchies}\n                    if identifier in hierarchy_ids:\n                        is_table = True\n                except Exception:  # noqa","sourceCodeStart":320,"sourceCodeEnd":356,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/OpenBB-finance/OpenBB/blob/3e071fcc2cd9f891cac6040ae60296dba76dab46/openbb_platform/providers/imf/openbb_imf/models/economic_indicators.py#L320-L356","documentation":"Error \"Invalid symbol format '{sym}'. Identifier cannot be empty. Expected 'dataflow::identifier'.\" thrown in OpenBB-finance/OpenBB.","triggerScenarios":"Thrown at openbb_platform/providers/imf/openbb_imf/models/economic_indicators.py:338 when the library encounters an invalid state.","commonSituations":"See trigger scenarios.","solutions":["Provide a non-empty identifier after the '::' separator.","Format the symbol as 'dataflow::identifier'."],"exampleFix":null,"handlingStrategy":null,"validationCode":null,"typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":null,"preventionTips":[],"tags":[],"backgroundTag":null,"analyzedSha":"3e071fcc2cd9f891cac6040ae60296dba76dab46","analyzedAt":"2026-08-14T23:40:48.960Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-08-15T17:31:12.345Z"}