Bloomberg Query Language (BQL)

aid: bloomberg-query-language-bql
name: Bloomberg Query Language (BQL)
description: Bloomberg Query Language (BQL) is a proprietary query language for accessing, filtering, aggregating, and computing
  on Bloomberg's financial data universe. BQL enables users to write flexible data requests that go beyond standard API fields,
  supporting derived calculations, time series expressions, and complex filtering of securities and data points. Available
  in the Bloomberg Terminal, Excel Add-in, and via API.
type: Index
accessModel:
  pricing: freemium
  onboarding: unknown
  trial: false
  try_now: false
  public: false
  label: Freemium
  confidence: medium
  source:
  - plans
  generated: '2026-07-22'
  method: derived
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/icons/bloomberg-query-language-bql.png
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/bloomberg-query-language-bql/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
created: '2024-01-01'
modified: '2026-04-21'
specificationVersion: '0.23'
tags:
- BQL
- Query Language
- Financial Data
- Analytics
- Data Query
- Bloomberg
apis:
- aid: bloomberg-query-language-bql:bql-api
  name: Bloomberg Query Language (BQL) API
  description: Execute BQL queries programmatically via the Bloomberg API to retrieve custom computed financial data, filtered
    security sets, and time series expressions from Bloomberg's data universe. Accessible via BLPAPI and Bloomberg Excel Add-in.
  humanURL: https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/support/api-library/
  baseURL: blpapi://localhost:8194
  tags:
  - BQL
  - Query API
  - Financial Data
  - Time Series
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/support/api-library/
- aid: bloomberg-query-language-bql:bql-excel
  name: BQL in Bloomberg Excel Add-in
  description: Use Bloomberg Query Language directly in Microsoft Excel to execute complex data queries and retrieve computed
    results in spreadsheet cells. Supports multi-row outputs, time series, and calculated fields.
  humanURL: https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/solution/bloomberg-excel/
  baseURL: https://bloomberg.com/bql-excel
  tags:
  - BQL
  - Excel
  - Spreadsheet
  - Formulas
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/solution/bloomberg-excel/
common:
- type: DomainSecurity
  url: security/bloomberg-query-language-bql-domain-security.yml
- type: Portal
  url: https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/
- type: Documentation
  url: https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/support/api-library/
- type: TermsOfService
  url: https://www.bloomberg.com/notices/tos/
- type: PrivacyPolicy
  url: https://www.bloomberg.com/privacy/
- type: Support
  url: https://www.bloomberg.com/professional/support/
- type: Features
  data:
  - name: Security Universe Filtering
    description: Filter securities using complex logical and conditional expressions.
  - name: Derived Calculations
    description: Compute derived financial metrics and ratios in BQL expressions.
  - name: Time Series Expressions
    description: Build time series queries for historical data analysis.
  - name: Aggregation Functions
    description: Aggregate data with sum, average, rank, and other functions.
  - name: Cross-Asset Data Access
    description: Query Bloomberg data across equities, fixed income, FX, and commodities.
  - name: BQL in Excel
    description: Execute BQL queries directly in Excel cells for spreadsheet analysis.
- type: UseCases
  data:
  - name: Quantitative Screening
    description: Screen securities using complex fundamental and technical criteria.
  - name: Custom Analytics
    description: Create custom financial metrics not available as standard data fields.
  - name: Portfolio Analysis
    description: Analyze portfolio characteristics using flexible BQL expressions.
  - name: Backtesting
    description: Access historical data via BQL time series for strategy backtesting.
  - name: Risk Reporting
    description: Compute and aggregate risk metrics across portfolios using BQL.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kinlane@gmail.com