openbb

What it is and what it does

OpenBB Platform is a Python library that centralizes access to financial market data across multiple public and commercial data sources. Instead of writing separate connectors for each provider (Yahoo Finance, FRED, SEC, Polygon, Benzinga, etc.), you import a single module and call methods like obb.equity.price.historical() to fetch data. The library handles authentication, data normalization, and error handling across providers.

It ships with a REST API built on FastAPI, allowing developers in any language to query financial data over HTTP. The core package installs with a selection of free data providers; additional paid sources and features (charting, MCP server integration) are available as optional extensions. Configuration uses a JSON settings file or runtime credential assignment.

Use it for:

• Fetch historical stock prices, crypto data, or commodity prices for backtesting trading strategies.
• Build a financial dashboard or reporting tool that aggregates data from multiple free and paid sources.
• Query economic indicators (FRED, IMF, OECD) for macroeconomic analysis without writing separate API clients.
• Deploy a REST API server to serve financial data to web or mobile applications written in any language.
• Integrate SEC filings, congressional data, or regulatory reports into compliance or research workflows.

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

Unified interface to fetch financial market data from multiple providers (stocks, crypto, commodities, economic indicators) with a built-in REST API for cross-language access.

Yes, if you need unified access to diverse financial data sources and can accept the AGPL-3.0 license terms. Install friction is low and maintenance is active. The 30-dependency footprint is substantial but unavoidable given the breadth of providers. Not suitable for proprietary closed-source applications without license review. Verify that your intended data providers are included or available as optional extensions before committing.

Install

openbb on PyPI

pip install openbb

uv add openbb

poetry add openbb

Installing openbb

Before you install

Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel. Actively maintained (80 days since last release). Requires Python 3.10–3.13 and pulls in 30 runtime dependencies covering data providers; installation is straightforward but the dependency tree is substantial.

License in practice

Licensed under AGPL-3.0-only. Any derivative work or networked deployment must make source code available under the same license; proprietary or closed-source applications should review compatibility before use.

Quickstart

pip install openbb

from openbb import obb
output = obb.equity.price.historical("AAPL")
df = output.to_dataframe()

Requires Python 3.10 or later. Most data providers require API keys configured in ~/.openbb_platform/user_settings.json or set at runtime via obb.user.credentials.

Verify before relying

• Whether all 30 runtime dependencies are installed by default or if selective installation is recommended for production use.
• Performance characteristics and rate limits when querying across multiple data providers in a single session.
• Whether the REST API (via FastAPI/uvicorn) is production-ready or intended for development only.

Package facts

Evidence: openbb-4.7.2-py3-none-any.whl

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