Quick Start

This guide will help you make your first Bloomberg request.

Reference Data (BDP)

Get point-in-time data for securities:

import xbbg

# Single ticker, single field
df = xbbg.bdp('AAPL US Equity', 'PX_LAST')

# Multiple tickers and fields
df = xbbg.bdp(
    ['AAPL US Equity', 'MSFT US Equity'],
    ['PX_LAST', 'VOLUME', 'NAME']
)

Output (long format):

ticker	field	value
AAPL US Equity	PX_LAST	185.50
AAPL US Equity	VOLUME	45234521
AAPL US Equity	NAME	Apple Inc
MSFT US Equity	PX_LAST	378.91
…	…	…

Historical Data (BDH)

Get time series data:

df = xbbg.bdh(
    'AAPL US Equity',
    ['PX_LAST', 'VOLUME'],
    start_date='2024-01-01',
    end_date='2024-01-31'
)

Output:

ticker	date	field	value
AAPL US Equity	2024-01-02	PX_LAST	185.50
AAPL US Equity	2024-01-02	VOLUME	45234521
AAPL US Equity	2024-01-03	PX_LAST	186.20
…	…	…	…

Bulk Data (BDS)

Get multi-row data like dividends or index members:

# Dividend history
df = xbbg.bds('AAPL US Equity', 'DVD_Hist_All')

# Index members
df = xbbg.bds('SPX Index', 'INDX_MEMBERS')

Choose Your Backend

Return data in your preferred DataFrame format:

# Global setting
xbbg.set_backend('polars')
df = xbbg.bdp('AAPL US Equity', 'PX_LAST')  # polars.DataFrame

# Per-call override
df = xbbg.bdp('AAPL US Equity', 'PX_LAST', backend='pandas')  # pandas.DataFrame

# Available backends: pandas, polars, pyarrow, duckdb, narwhals

Async Support

For concurrent requests, use the async API:

import asyncio
import xbbg

async def main():
    # Concurrent requests
    results = await asyncio.gather(
        xbbg.abdp('AAPL US Equity', 'PX_LAST'),
        xbbg.abdp('MSFT US Equity', 'PX_LAST'),
        xbbg.abdp('GOOGL US Equity', 'PX_LAST'),
    )
    return results

dfs = asyncio.run(main())

Next Steps

API Reference - Full function documentation
DataFrame Backends - Learn about backend options
Output Formats - Typed output formats