Imports and Startup¶

Q: Why does import lumibot load so fast?

LumiBot uses lazy exports. Importing a namespace such as lumibot or lumibot.brokers is cheap. The code behind a broker, data source, or tool is only imported when you actually use that object.

Q: How do I import YahooDataBacktesting in LumiBot?

Use from lumibot.backtesting import YahooDataBacktesting. The same package also exports PolygonDataBacktesting and PandasDataBacktesting. Import your strategy base class with from lumibot.strategies import Strategy.

Q: Which import styles does LumiBot support?

You can use import lumibot or import names from a subpackage, such as from lumibot.brokers import Alpaca, from lumibot.entities import Asset, Order, and from lumibot.tools import parse_symbol. from lumibot.tools import * also works.

Q: Why does import lumibot work but my broker import fails?

Because of lazy loading, import lumibot can succeed even when a package that one broker needs is missing. The error shows up when you access that broker, not at import time. Install the optional package that broker needs.

Q: Do old entities imports still work?

Yes. Imports such as from entities.asset import Asset still work. LumiBot only adds these compatibility names when no other real entities package is already installed.

Q: How do I hide the LumiBot starting message?

Set LUMIBOT_LOG_LEVEL=ERROR before you import LumiBot. That hides the LumiBot v... starting line and skips the console logger setup at import time. See Environment Variables.

Q: What does parse_symbol return?

parse_symbol returns a dictionary. A full OCC option symbol such as SPY250117C00500000 returns "type": "option" with the underlying symbol, expiration date, option type, and strike price. Any other text returns "type": "stock" with the cleaned, uppercase symbol. Empty input or a value that is not a string returns {"type": None}.

LumiBot package initializers use lazy exports for high-level namespaces such as lumibot, lumibot.brokers, lumibot.data_sources, lumibot.entities, lumibot.tools, and lumibot.traders.

The goal is to keep common startup paths fast by avoiding broker SDKs, market-data helpers, plotting/dataframe utilities, CCXT-related helpers, and provider tooling until a caller actually asks for that object.

Supported Import Styles¶

These import styles remain supported:

import lumibot
from lumibot.brokers import Alpaca
from lumibot.entities import Asset, Order
from lumibot.tools import parse_symbol
from lumibot.tools import *

Legacy entities imports are also preserved:

import entities
from entities.asset import Asset
from entities.order import Order

These compatibility aliases are installed only when another real entities package is not already present.

Lazy Import Semantics¶

Lazy exports change import timing, not trading behavior:

Importing a namespace should be cheap.
Accessing a concrete export imports the underlying implementation module.
Missing optional dependencies or broken feature modules should fail when that feature is accessed.
The failure should be explicit. Lazy loading must not silently skip broker, data-source, order, fill, or accounting behavior.

This means import lumibot may succeed even if an optional package needed by a specific broker is missing. The broker import should still fail when the broker is accessed.

Symbol Parsing¶

lumibot.tools.parse_symbol and lumibot.tools.helpers.parse_symbol share the same implementation in lumibot.tools.symbol_parser.

The parser:

strips whitespace and uppercases symbols;
returns {"type": None} for non-string or empty input;
requires full OCC-style option symbol matches;
parses OCC YYMMDD years as 2000 + YY;
returns stock symbols after normalization when the option pattern does not match.

The parser is intentionally conservative so live order symbols are not misclassified by partial matches.

Frequently asked questions¶

Why does import lumibot load so fast?¶

LumiBot uses lazy exports. Importing a namespace such as lumibot or lumibot.brokers is cheap. The code behind a broker, data source, or tool is only imported when you actually use that object.

How do I import YahooDataBacktesting in LumiBot?¶

Use from lumibot.backtesting import YahooDataBacktesting. The same package also exports PolygonDataBacktesting and PandasDataBacktesting. Import your strategy base class with from lumibot.strategies import Strategy.

Which import styles does LumiBot support?¶

You can use import lumibot or import names from a subpackage, such as from lumibot.brokers import Alpaca, from lumibot.entities import Asset, Order, and from lumibot.tools import parse_symbol. from lumibot.tools import * also works.

Why does import lumibot work but my broker import fails?¶

Because of lazy loading, import lumibot can succeed even when a package that one broker needs is missing. The error shows up when you access that broker, not at import time. Install the optional package that broker needs.

Does lazy loading change how my strategy trades?¶

No. Lazy exports only change when code is imported. They do not change broker, data source, order, fill, or accounting behavior, and a broken feature fails with a clear error instead of being skipped.

Do old entities imports still work?¶

Yes. Imports such as from entities.asset import Asset still work. LumiBot only adds these compatibility names when no other real entities package is already installed.

How do I hide the LumiBot starting message?¶

Set LUMIBOT_LOG_LEVEL=ERROR before you import LumiBot. That hides the LumiBot v... starting line and skips the console logger setup at import time. See Environment Variables.

What does parse_symbol return?¶

parse_symbol returns a dictionary. A full OCC option symbol such as SPY250117C00500000 returns "type": "option" with the underlying symbol, expiration date, option type, and strike price. Any other text returns "type": "stock" with the cleaned, uppercase symbol. Empty input or a value that is not a string returns {"type": None}.