OpenBB is an open source financial data platform that lets you pull equities, options, crypto, forex, macro, fixed income and more through a unified Python API and CLI. It pairs community-driven connectors with a commercial UI called OpenBB Workspace for firms that want a secure, collaborative front end. In short: install a package, call obb, and start shipping workflows that used to live only in terminals and pricey desktops.
OpenBB-finance
Organization
OpenBB
Financial data platform for analysts, quants and AI agents.
Image Credit: OpenBB
The problem and the solution
Financial research is fragmented across vendors, endpoints, schemas and SDKs. Analysts and quants spend time gluing together one-off APIs, dealing with inconsistent symbols, and re-writing code when providers change terms.
OpenBB solves the integration tax by providing a common data model and a routing layer over many public and commercial sources, exposed as a simple Python package and a CLI. For teams that need a UI, OpenBB Workspace connects to the same backend so your code and dashboards point to one source of truth. See the project README.md and the API reference (OpenBB Docs, 2025).
Key features
- Unified Python API and CLI: One set of commands across asset classes, from
obb.equitytoobb.fixedincome, with a matching CLI for scripted terminals. Reference categories in API reference.- Pluggable providers: Route the same function across yfinance, SEC, FRED, Crypto, and other sources by setting
provider=..., or change defaults in settings. Issues and requests show active provider additions in Issues.- Local API server: Run
openbb-apito expose the backend on127.0.0.1:6900and connect it to Workspace with a couple of clicks, as shown in the README.- Examples and notebooks: The examples/ folder and Colab link help you bootstrap analysis without vendor lock-in.
- Open governance + commercial UI: Hack in Python today; bring an audited, SOC2 UI later with Workspace (OpenBB, 2025).
Why I like it
It is practical. The quick start is literally pip install openbb and a single call like obb.equity.price.historical("AAPL"), returning a typed object you can turn into a pandas DataFrame.
The same backend can run locally as a FastAPI server with openbb-api, which makes it trivial to wire into an app or into OpenBB Workspace.
The balance between open connectors and an enterprise UI is thoughtful: you can start with Python and move up to a governed UI without re-writing your stack. Reference: README.md.
from openbb import obb
# Historical daily prices for AAPL as a DataFrame
out = obb.equity.price.historical("AAPL")
df = out.to_dataframe()
print(df.tail())
Under the hood
The repository is a Python-first monorepo with a public package on PyPI and a CLI sibling. At the root you will find LICENSE, README.md, linting configs and documentation hooks. The code you will likely touch lives under openbb_platform/ for connectors and models, cli/ for the command-line interface, and examples/ for runnable notebooks and scripts.
The backend can be started locally with openbb-api which spins up a FastAPI app via Uvicorn on port 6900, making the same commands available over HTTP. Data domains span equity, derivatives, economy, ETF, fixed income, indices, news, quant, technical and more, as outlined in the reference.
Community and contribution
OpenBB is active: issues range from new data providers to CLI UX and workspace integration, with open tickets on dropdown search, FOMC docs, crypto realtime, symbol normalization, and more. You can start by reading the Contributing guide, browsing Issues, and exploring Contributors. Real discussions happen on Discord too. Bug and feature templates in the README make it easy to file actionable tickets.
Usage and license terms
OpenBB is licensed under AGPLv3. In practice this means you can run, modify and share the software, but if you offer a modified version as a network service you must make the corresponding source available to users of that service. The license is strong copyleft, ensures patent grants by contributors, and is compatible with linking to GPLv3 components. Review LICENSE and the AGPLv3 text for details (Free Software Foundation, 2007).
Use cases
For individual developers, OpenBB is a fast way to standardize data access across brokers and public sources.
Typical flows include equity screening and pricing, factor and risk workups, ETF holdings look-through, macro time series joins, options surfaces and unusual activity, and technical studies you can reproduce in code.
For teams, running the backend locally or in a VPC means you can integrate proprietary and licensed datasets behind the same API and front them with OpenBB Workspace. The docs catalog endpoints like economy.calendar, equity.screener, etf.holdings, derivatives.surface, and quantitative.sharpe_ratio that stitch together day-to-day research tasks (OpenBB Docs, 2025).
Competition landscape: open and closed
Closed-source incumbents set the bar for coverage and UX: Bloomberg Terminal, FactSet, and LSEG Workspace offer deep data, news and analytics, but they are expensive and closed. On the web-first side, TradingView is ubiquitous for charting and community ideas (TradingView, 2025).
In open source, the QuantConnect Lean engine powers research and backtesting with a commercial cloud on top (QuantConnect, 2025). Strategy runners like Backtrader and Freqtrade focus on trading systems.
OpenBB positions itself as a general research fabric: broad data integrations, a consistent API, optional CLI, and an enterprise UI that you can run on-prem. If you already live in pandas and notebooks, OpenBB lowers switching costs across data vendors while keeping your analysis portable.
Impact and future potential
A credible open platform in finance changes the build vs. buy equation. By separating the integration layer from the UI and keeping the core under AGPL, OpenBB encourages contributions while giving firms a path to adopt a supported workspace.
The issues queue hints at where the project is heading: more international markets, real-time crypto, better symbol normalization, and smoother Workspace-backend handshakes.
Expect continued growth in connectors, typed models, and examples that make multi-asset analysis feel uniform across providers. For organizations, the on-prem Workspace pitch is timely: integrate your AI agents and proprietary data into a controlled, auditable environment (OpenBB, 2025).
About OpenBB
OpenBB Inc. builds the open platform and the commercial Workspace product. The website positions it as a secure, SOC2, on-prem or VPC-ready workspace that lets you connect public, licensed and internal data, and run AI agents safely across your firm (OpenBB, 2025). You can sign up for an account at pro.openbb.co and find community links at openbb.co/links.
Conclusion
OpenBB is a practical way to unify financial data work. Start with the package and CLI, wire the backend into your apps, and, if you need it, plug the same backend into Workspace. Read the repo README, scan the reference, and try a small workflow today. Repository: OpenBB-finance/OpenBB.
OpenBB: An Open Financial Data Platform That Meets You Where You Work