---
title: Platform vs SDK
sidebar_position: 1
description: The OpenBB SDK has evolved to become the OpenBB Platform.
  This page describes some of the key differences between the legacy version
  and the new architecture.
keywords:
- what's new
- v3
- legacy
- sdk
- platform
- api
- FastAPI
---

import HeadTitle from '@site/src/components/General/HeadTitle.tsx';

<HeadTitle title="What's the Difference Between OpenBB Platform and SDK? - FAQs | OpenBB Platform Docs" />

If you're already an OpenBB user, you may be familiar with some of the legacy pain points. As [this](https://openbb.co/blog/celebrating-the-openbb-platform-v4-beta) blog post highlights, there were many challenges with maintaining the existing codebase. We needed to refresh the architecture to make it modular, resilient, and scalable. The core components have been trimmed substantially to be lean and efficient - the number of dependencies has reduced from nearly four-hundred down to about twenty. The result is a much smoother installation procedure, with the tradeoff being some breaking changes for those transitioning from V3 SDK to the V4 Platform. The major differences are described below.

### Terminal Application

The OpenBB Terminal is not installed with the Platform. The Terminal will be reimagined with the new extension framework, it won't get left behind for long!

### Extension Framework

The extension framework lets users install or uninstall individual data and toolkit extensions. No more bloated environments.

```bash
pip install openbb-yfinance

pip uninstall openbb-yfinance
```

### Import Statement

Initialize the OpenBB Platform with a shorter statement and reduced import time.

```python
from openbb import obb
```

### REST API Compliant

The OpenBB Platform is built for REST API deployments, out-of-the-box. Outputs are JSON serializable, and this is a major difference between the SDK and Platform.

Start the API on `localhost` with:

```bash
uvicorn openbb_core.api.rest_api:app
```

### Verbose Namespaces

After careful consideration, the decision was made to name functions with more verbosity. This adds clarity to the functions and lets the user better understand its purpose. It also improves the performance of AI tooling built on top of the Platform.

```python
obb.equity.fundamental.employee_count("AAPL")
```

### Asset Class Names

Some asset classes have been renamed:

- stocks -> equity
- forex -> currency
- stocks.options -> derivatives.options
- futures -> derivatives.futures

### Source -> Provider

V3 SDK users should note that the `source` parameter is now, `provider`.

:::note
OpenBB Hub Preferences for default sources do not currently sync with V4 Platform, and some API keys not used in the Terminal application are not able to be saved to the Hub.
:::

### API Key Management

API keys and user preferences are stored in a JSON file - `$HOME/.openbb_platform/user_settings.json` - instead of the `ENV` file in `$HOME/.openbb_sdk/.env`.

Credentials can be entered directly from the Python interface:

```python
from openbb import obb
obb.user.credentials.fmp_api_key="REPLACE_WITH_YOUR_KEY"
```

### OpenBB Hub Login

Login to your OpenBB Hub account with an email/password combo or a revokable Personal Access Token (recommended):

```python
from openbb import obb
obb.account.login()
```

### Function Outputs

The default output format can be selected by the user, and all outputs are Pydantic models. If you are transitioning from V3 SDK and like working with Pandas DataFrames, set the preference to "dataframe" to get a V3-like response.

```python
from openbb import obb
obb.user.preferences.output_type="dataframe"
df = obb.equity.price.historical("AAPL", provider="yfinance")
```

When the `output_type` is set to, `OBBject`, DataFrames are created from the response object after it is returned.

```python
from openbb import obb
data = obb.equity.price.historical("AAPL", provider="yfinance")
df = data.to_df()
```

:::warning
DataFrames are not JSON serializable. Changing this preference will remove REST API compatibility.
:::

### Jupyter

Jupyter does not get installed with the OpenBB Platform. Install from `pip` in the environment containing the Platform.

```bash
pip install jupyter-lab
```

### Views

Most of the development has been on the core architecture and data providers. Most views from the V3 SDK and Terminal have yet to be ported over to the V4 Platform, although some charts are already available with the `openbb-charting` toolkit extension - which includes PyWry for window creation.

Install the charting extension with:

```bash
pip install openbb-charting
```

The equivalent to `openbb.stocks.candle("AAPL")` is, `obb.equity.price.historical("AAPL", chart=True).show()`.

More views to come soon!

### Getting Started

See the [usage](/platform/usage) page for examples on getting started using the OpenBB Platform.