Arelle

2.39.10 verified Mon Apr 27 auth: no python

Arelle is an open-source XBRL platform for creating, validating, and analyzing XBRL, iXBRL, and other financial reporting standards. Current version is 2.39.10, released regularly with updates for taxonomy support and bug fixes.

pip install arelle-release

Common errors

error ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'arelle' ↓

cause Arelle not installed or installed under different package name 'arelle-release'.

fix

Run 'pip install arelle-release' instead of 'pip install arelle'.

error ImportError: cannot import name 'main' from 'arelle.CntlrCmdLine' ↓

cause Old import path no longer valid in newer versions of arelle.

fix

Use 'from arelle import Arelle' and then 'Arelle.main(options)'.

error AttributeError: 'NoneType' object has no attribute 'validate' ↓

cause Arelle instance not created because options dict missing required keys like 'logFile' or 'plugins'.

fix

Ensure options dict includes at minimum 'logFile': '-' and 'plugins': [].

Warnings

breaking Arelle 2.30+ changed the import structure: 'from arelle import Arelle' instead of 'from arelle.CntlrCmdLine import main'. ↓

fix Update imports to use the new top-level module: 'from arelle import Arelle' and call Arelle.main().

gotcha Arelle's default log output goes to stderr; use 'logFile': '-' to redirect to stdout or a file path. ↓

fix Set 'logFile' option to '-' for stdout or '/path/to/log.txt' for a file.

deprecated The 'validate' argument in Arelle.main is deprecated; use the 'validate' option in the options dict instead. ↓

fix Pass 'validate' as a key in the options dictionary (e.g., options['validate'] = True).

Imports

Arelle
```
from arelle import Arelle
```
Common mistake: importing from arelle.CntlrCmdLine when Arelle is the main entry point
ModelDocument
wrong
```
from arelle.model import Document
```
correct
```
from arelle import ModelDocument
```
Old path was from arelle.model.Document; now ModelDocument is the top-level class

Quickstart

Basic import and setup of Arelle for XBRL processing. Replace 'instance.xbrl' with your file path.

import os
from arelle import Arelle

# Set up Arelle with minimal options
options = {
    'logFile': '-',  # stdout
    'logLevel': 'INFO',
    'plugins': [],
    'validate': True,
    'packages': []
}
# Arelle will validate if validation called further
print("Arelle imported successfully")

# Example: validate an XBRL instance (commented out)
# options['entrypoint'] = os.environ.get('XBRL_FILE', 'instance.xbrl')
# result = Arelle.main(options)