pivotalpath

Python wrapper around the PivotalPath v2 HTTP API. Returns pandas.DataFrame when pandas is installed, otherwise plain list[dict]. Single hard dependency: requests.

Install

# Core install - pulls `requests`
pip install pivotalpath

# With pandas extra - calls return DataFrames
pip install "pivotalpath[pandas]"

Without the [pandas] extra, calls return plain list[dict].

Configure

Set the API key via env var or call:

import os
os.environ['PIVOTALPATH_API_KEY'] = 'pp-...'
# OR
import pivotalpath as pp
pp.set_api_key('pp-...')

The base URL defaults to the production API (https://apis.pivotalpath.com/resources/api/v2/). Point at a local dev server (or staging) via the PIVOTALPATH_BASE_URL env var or pp.set_base_url(...).

Without a key

No key set? The two free endpoints — index_catalog and index_return — are served straight from the public dataset (github.com/pivotalpath/publicdata), so they work out of the box with no signup:

import pivotalpath as pp        # no key needed
idx = pp.index_catalog()
ret = pp.index_return(id='iHFC', date_min='202001', pivot=True, columns='name')

All the usual query options (select, id, date window, filters, pivot) apply — they're evaluated locally against the dataset. The data is fetched once per process and cached. Any paid endpoint raises PivotalPathError('ApiKeyRequired', …) until you set a key. (Override the dataset location with PIVOTALPATH_PUBLICDATA_URL if you've forked it.)

Use

import pivotalpath as pp

# Free, no key needed (served from the public dataset):
indices = pp.index_catalog()
rets    = pp.index_return(date_min='202401', date_max='202412',
                          pivot=True, columns='name')

# Paid endpoints — set your key, then call any endpoint by name.
pp.set_api_key('pp-...')
rows = pp.get('your_endpoint', some_filter='value', select=['id', 'name'])
rows = pp.your_endpoint(some_filter='value')   # identical, via shortcut

Endpoint discovery. This package is intentionally schema-agnostic — it ships no list of endpoints or columns. Which endpoints you can call (and their columns) comes from your API reference at https://apis.pivotalpath.com (the Reference tab), not from this package. Any pp.<name>(...) is shorthand for pp.get('<name>', ...). The two free endpoints, index_catalog and index_return, are the exception: their data is public.

Discover endpoints from Python

The reference is served live by the API, so these calls need a network connection and always match the current service:

pp.help()         # how to get started, and where the full reference lives
pp.reference()    # one row per endpoint you can use: name, group, tier, parameters
pp.reference(raw=True)   # the complete OpenAPI document (dict)

Without an API key you see the public edition (the free endpoints). With a valid key (pp.set_api_key('pp-...')) you see the complete edition, the same document as the Reference tab and the PDF.

Errors

A non-null envelope error block raises PivotalPathError carrying the type, message, and HTTP status code. Calling a paid endpoint without a key raises PivotalPathError('ApiKeyRequired', …) with a pointer to where to get one.

from pivotalpath import PivotalPathError

try:
    rows = pp.index_return(id='iHFC')
except PivotalPathError as e:
    print(e.type, e.message, e.status_code)

Cleaner errors in notebooks (opt-in)

By default PivotalPathError prints a full Python traceback like any other exception. In an interactive notebook you usually just want to see what's wrong. Opt in once:

import pivotalpath as pp
pp.install_excepthook()

After that, a bad column reads as a one-liner instead of a stack trace:

>>> pp.index_catalog(select=['bogus'])
Error: 'bogus' is not a column on 'index_catalog'. Try: abstract, id, name

The hook covers plain Python REPL, IPython, and Jupyter. Pass force=True to install in scripts where you'd rather log a one-liner than dump a stack. Reverse with pp.uninstall_excepthook().

The package does not auto-install on import — silently changing sys.excepthook as a side effect of import is considered bad form (it surprises collaborators, collides with other tools like rich.traceback, and hides debug info). It's an explicit one-line opt-in.

Multiple keys / multiple environments

The module-level shortcuts share a singleton Client. For two keys in one process (or to point at a different base URL), instantiate clients explicitly:

from pivotalpath import Client

prod = Client(api_key='pp-prod...', base_url='https://apis.pivotalpath.com/resources/api/v2/')
dev  = Client(api_key='pp-dev...',  base_url='http://127.0.0.1:8044/resources/api/v2/')

a = prod.index_catalog()
b = dev.index_catalog()

Auto-routing by id prefix

pp.returns() (alias pp.mtd()) and pp.info() detect the asset class from the leading character of each id and route to the matching <class>_return or <class>_catalog endpoint:

df = pp.returns(id=['iHFC', 'iQNT'], start='202401', columns='name')
df = pp.mtd(id='iHFC')                    # alias of pp.returns
df = pp.info(id='iHFC')                   # catalog metadata for an id

Only index ids (i…) auto-route. For any other endpoint, name it explicitly — pp.returns(api_class='…', …) or, most directly, pp.get('<endpoint>', id=['my_slug']).

Catalog filters resolve to ids

The package recognises kwargs that belong on the matching <class>_catalog table and resolves them to ids in one step — it fetches matching ids from the catalog, then runs your query filtered by those ids, returned to you as a single call:

# Filter by index name, then pull the matching return series:
df = pp.index_return(name='PivotalPath Composite%', start='202401', pivot=True)

Works for any non-catalog feature; pass id=… explicitly to bypass the resolver.

Endpoints

This package does not enumerate endpoints. See the Reference tab at https://apis.pivotalpath.com for the endpoints and columns available to your subscription. Every endpoint is callable two equivalent ways:

pp.get('your_endpoint', **params)   # generic
pp.your_endpoint(**params)          # dynamic shortcut (same request)

index_catalog and index_return are free and work with no key (served from the public dataset — see Without a key).

Common parameters

Same shape as the HTTP API:

• select=['id', 'name'] — restrict columns
• id=['iHFC', 'iQNT'] — restrict to a list of ids
• date_min='202401', date_max='202412' — time-series window
• pivot=True, columns='name' — wide-form output

License

Proprietary. Copyright (c) 2026 PivotalPath. All rights reserved. See LICENSE. Access to PivotalPath data is governed separately.