Xbbg MCP

Latest release: xbbg==1.4.12 (release: notes)

This main branch is the Rust-powered v1 release. For the legacy pure-Python line, use release/0.x.

Important: xbbg is an independent open-source project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or approved by Bloomberg Finance L.P. or its affiliates. Bloomberg, Bloomberg Terminal, B-PIPE, BQL, and related names are trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. xbbg does not grant access to Bloomberg services, data, software, licenses, credentials, or entitlements; users must obtain and use those separately under their own Bloomberg agreements and applicable policies.

Contents

• What is xbbg?
• Why xbbg?
• Installation
• Quickstart
• JavaScript and Node
• Configuration and engines
• Common API surface
• Entitlement IDs
• Output backends
• Async usage
• Subscriptions: raw, tick mode, and all fields
• MCP server
• Troubleshooting
• Development
• Project links

What is xbbg?

xbbg is a Bloomberg client with Python as the primary surface and companion JavaScript/Node bindings, all backed by a shared Rust engine for request execution, response parsing, Arrow-shaped data movement, async workers, typed errors, and diagnostics.

Use xbbg when you already have Bloomberg access and want higher-level helpers for common request patterns, plus an escape hatch for lower-level Bloomberg service requests.

Core scope:

• request helpers for BDP, BDS, BDH, intraday bars, ticks, BQL, BEQS, BSRCH, BQR, BTA, YAS, and related analytics
• local Bloomberg Desktop API / DAPI by default
• configuration for managed Bloomberg environments, including B-PIPE/SAPI, ZFP leased lines, TLS, failover hosts, SOCKS5, and SDK logging
• sync and async Python APIs backed by the same engine
• output as Narwhals, native xbbg Arrow carriers, PyArrow, pandas, Polars, DuckDB, and other optional Narwhals-backed libraries
• JavaScript/Node bindings in js-xbbg

Why xbbg?

xbbg's project goal is direct: be the most complete, technically advanced, and performance-focused open-source Bloomberg client for Python workflows, while staying independent of Bloomberg and requiring users to bring their own authorized Bloomberg access.

The short version: if all you need is a tiny one-off bdp() wrapper, several packages can work. xbbg is built for the path where that notebook later grows into intraday data, BQL, streaming, B-PIPE/SAPI, ZFP, async services, typed errors, diagnostics, and non-pandas data pipelines.

Installation

pip install xbbg

Conda users can install the conda-forge build:

conda install -c conda-forge xbbg

blpapi is not required as a Python dependency. xbbg only needs Bloomberg's shared runtime library (blpapi3_64.dll on Windows, libblpapi3_64.so on macOS/Linux), which can come from Bloomberg Terminal/DAPI, a managed Bloomberg C++ SDK install, or Bloomberg's official blpapi wheel. Installing the wheel is just the easiest discovery path for many users:

pip install blpapi --index-url=https://blpapi.bloomberg.com/repository/releases/python/simple/

Supported Python versions: 3.10 through 3.14.

Requirements and notes:

• You need an authorized Bloomberg environment: local Terminal/DAPI, SAPI/B-PIPE, or ZFP, depending on your setup.
• If you build from source, stage the Bloomberg C++ SDK with bash ./scripts/sdktool.sh on macOS/Linux or .\\scripts\\sdktool.ps1 on Windows PowerShell.
• If you manage the SDK yourself, set BLPAPI_ROOT or use xbbg.set_sdk_path(...).
• On Windows Terminal installs, xbbg automatically probes DAPI runtime roots such as C:\blp\DAPI and C:\Program Files (x86)\Bloomberg\Blp\DAPI before requiring manual configuration.
• Linux wheels are manylinux_2_28 (x86_64): any distro with glibc ≥ 2.28 works — RHEL/Alma/Rocky 8+, Debian 10+, Ubuntu 20.04+, Amazon Linux 2023.
• Optional dataframe conversions are installed separately: xbbg[pyarrow], xbbg[pandas], xbbg[polars], or xbbg[duckdb].

Verify the install:

import xbbg

print(xbbg.__version__)
print(xbbg.get_sdk_info())

Quickstart

from xbbg import blp

# Reference data
prices = blp.bdp(["AAPL US Equity", "MSFT US Equity"], "PX_LAST")

# Historical data
hist = blp.bdh("SPX Index", "PX_LAST", "2024-01-01", "2024-12-31")

# Intraday bars
bars = blp.bdib("TSLA US Equity", dt="2024-01-15", interval=5)

Common request patterns:

from xbbg import blp, ovr

# Multiple fields
info = blp.bdp("NVDA US Equity", ["Security_Name", "GICS_Sector_Name", "PX_LAST"])

# Bloomberg-style overrides
vwap = blp.bdp("AAPL US Equity", "Eqy_Weighted_Avg_Px", VWAP_Dt="20240115")
adj = blp.bdp("AAPL US Equity", "CRNCY_ADJ_PX_LAST", overrides=ovr(EQY_FUND_CRNCY="EUR"))
per_sec = blp.bdp(
    ["AAPL US Equity", "MSFT US Equity"],
    "CRNCY_ADJ_PX_LAST",
    overrides=ovr(
        {
            "EQY_FUND_CRNCY": "USD",
            "AAPL US Equity": ovr(EQY_FUND_CRNCY="EUR"),
            "MSFT US Equity": ovr(EQY_FUND_CRNCY="JPY"),
        }
    ),
)

# Bulk data
holders = blp.bds("AAPL US Equity", "DVD_Hist_All", DVD_Start_Dt="20240101")

# BQL
result = blp.bql("get(px_last) for('AAPL US Equity')")

# Field lookup
fields = blp.bflds(search_spec="vwap")

# Equity screening and constituents
screen = blp.beqs(screen="MyScreen", asof="2024-01-01")
members = blp.index_members("SPX Index", asof="2024-01-02")

# Workflow helpers
active = blp.active_futures("ESA Index", "2024-01-15")
surface = blp.vol_surface("SPX Index", start_date="2024-01-02", end_date="2024-01-05")
resolved = blp.resolve_isins(["US0378331005", "INVALIDISIN000"])

ETF NAV / iNAV workflows live in xbbg.ext and resolve Bloomberg's authoritative ETF_NAV_TICKER / ETF_INAV_TICKER relationships instead of guessing ticker suffixes:

from xbbg import ext