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Credentials

By default, authorization is not required to initialize and use the core services. Most data providers, however, require an API key to access their data. Keys can be stored locally and they can also be securely saved to your OpenBB Hub account for convenient remote access.

OpenBB Hub​

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The OpenBB Hub is only accessible via the Python Interface. For REST API, store credentials and preferences in the user_settings.json file local to the deployment.

Data provider credentials and user preferences can be securely stored on the OpenBB Hub and accessed in Python using a revokable Personal Access Token (PAT). Login to the Hub to manage this method of remote authorization.

The OpenBB Hub is a convenient solution for accessing data in temporary Python environments, like Google Colab (example notebook). Login with:

from openbb import obb

# Login with personal access token
obb.account.login(pat="my_pat", remember_me=True)

# Alternatively, login with email and password
obb.account.login(email="my_email", password="my_password", remember_me=True)

# Change a credential
obb.user.credentials.polygon_api_key = "my_api_key"

# Save account changes to the Hub
obb.account.save()

# Refresh account with latest changes
obb.account.refresh()

# Logout
obb.account.logout()

Set remember_me as False to discard all credentials at the end of the session.

tip

With remember_me=True, credentials will be permanently stored in the environment. Wrapping this sequence before deploying an API server is one (insecure) way to authorize data providers for remote access.

Local Environment​

Credentials and user preferences are stored locally, ~/.openbb_platform/, as a JSON file, user_settings.json. It is read upon initializing the Python client, or when the Fast API is authorized. If the file does not exist, it will be created on the first run. The schema below can be copy/pasted as a template:

{
  "credentials": {
    "fmp_api_key": "REPLACE",
    "polygon_api_key": "REPLACE",
    "benzinga_api_key": "REPLACE",
    "fred_api_key": "REPLACE",
    "nasdaq_api_key": "REPLACE",
    "intrinio_api_key": "REPLACE",
    "alpha_vantage_api_key": "REPLACE",
    "biztoc_api_key": "REPLACE",
    "tradier_api_key": "REPLACE",
    "tradier_account_type": "sandbox OR live",
    "tradingeconomics_api_key": "REPLACE",
    "tiingo_token": "REPLACE"
  }
}

To set keys from the Python client for the current session only, access the Credentials class:

obb.user.credentials.intrinio_api_key = "my_api_key"
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See Environment Variables & System Settings for more information on configuring the installation via user_settings.json.

See Extensions for a current list of data provider extensions.

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