Installation

Requirements

• Python 3.10+
• Bloomberg Terminal or B-PIPE connection
• Bloomberg C++ SDK

For ZFP over leased lines, you also need Bloomberg-provided TLS client credentials and trust material. See Configuration: ZFP over Leased Lines for the exact configure() call and mutually exclusive connection options.

Install xbbg

pip install xbbg

Bloomberg SDK Setup

xbbg requires the Bloomberg C++ SDK shared library. You have several options:

blpapi (Recommended)

Install the official Bloomberg Python bindings:

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

xbbg will automatically detect and use the bundled SDK.

Bloomberg Terminal

If you have Bloomberg Terminal installed, xbbg will auto-detect the DAPI SDK:

• Windows: C:\blp\DAPI
• Linux: ~/blp/DAPI or /opt/bloomberg/DAPI

Manual SDK

For local development from this repo, use the bundled helper:

bash ./scripts/sdktool.sh

Or set the BLPAPI_ROOT environment variable manually:

export BLPAPI_ROOT=/path/to/blpapi_cpp_3.x.x.x

Or configure at runtime:

import xbbg
xbbg.set_sdk_path('/path/to/blpapi_cpp_3.x.x.x')

Verify Installation

import xbbg

# Check SDK detection
print(xbbg.get_sdk_info())
# {'sources': [{'name': 'blpapi_python', 'version': '3.25.x.x', ...}], 'active': 'blpapi_python'}

# Check version
print(xbbg.__version__)

Tip

Run xbbg.get_sdk_info() to see all detected SDK sources and which one is active.

Install xbbg-mcp for coding agents

If you want Claude Code or OpenCode to call Bloomberg directly, install the local MCP launcher and binary from GitHub Releases:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/alpha-xone/xbbg/main/scripts/install-xbbg-mcp.sh | sh

This installer currently targets macOS arm64 and Linux amd64. Windows release .zip assets are attached to GitHub Releases for manual installation.

GitHub release assets include only the xbbg wrapper/binary pair. They do not bundle Bloomberg SDK files or the Bloomberg runtime; you must provide those locally via blpapi, BLPAPI_ROOT, or another supported runtime source.

The launcher uses the same Bloomberg runtime detection order as the Python package family:

1. XBBG_MCP_LIB_DIR
2. BLPAPI_LIB_DIR
3. BLPAPI_ROOT
4. vendored SDK under vendor/blpapi-sdk/
5. the official Python blpapi package

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport stdio xbbg -- ~/.local/bin/xbbg-mcp

OpenCode

{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "xbbg": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["/Users/you/.local/bin/xbbg-mcp"],
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

For the full env surface and local smoke test instructions, see apps/xbbg-mcp/README.md.

Next Steps

Continue to Quick Start to make your first Bloomberg request.