Command Line Usage Guide

Overview

ISO-DART provides a powerful command-line interface for downloading electricity market data. This guide covers all command-line options and common usage patterns.

Basic Syntax

python isodart.py [OPTIONS]

Quick Examples

# Interactive mode (easiest)
python isodart.py

# Download CAISO Day-Ahead LMP
python isodart.py --iso caiso --data-type lmp --market dam \
  --start 2024-01-01 --duration 7

# Download MISO fuel mix
python isodart.py --iso miso --data-type fuel-mix \
  --start 2024-01-01 --duration 30

# Download weather data
python isodart.py --data-type weather --state CA \
  --start 2024-01-01 --duration 30

Global Options

Required Arguments

Argument	Description	Example
`--iso`	ISO to download from	`--iso caiso`
`--data-type`	Type of data to download	`--data-type lmp`
`--start`	Start date (YYYY-MM-DD)	`--start 2024-01-01`
`--duration`	Duration in days	`--duration 7`

Optional Arguments

Argument	Description	Default
`--market`	Market type	None
`--verbose`	Enable verbose logging	False
`--config`	Path to config file	None
`--interactive`	Force interactive mode	False

ISO-Specific Options

CAISO Options

# LMP data
python isodart.py --iso caiso --data-type lmp --market dam \
  --start 2024-01-01 --duration 7

# Available markets: dam, rtm, hasp, rtpd, ruc
# Available data types: lmp, load, wind-solar, fuel-prices, ghg-prices, as-prices

MISO Options

# LMP data
python isodart.py --iso miso --data-type lmp --lmp-type da_exante \
  --start 2024-01-01 --duration 7

# Available LMP types: da_exante, da_expost, rt_exante, rt_expost
# Available data types: lmp, mcp, load, fuel-mix, generation

NYISO Options

# LBMP data
python isodart.py --iso nyiso --data-type lbmp --market dam --level zonal \
  --start 2024-01-01 --duration 7

# Available levels: zonal, generator
# Available data types: lbmp, load, fuel-mix, btm-solar

SPP Options

# LMP by settlement location
python isodart.py --iso spp --data-type lmp --market dam \
  --start 2024-01-01 --duration 7

# LMP by bus
python isodart.py --iso spp --data-type lmp --market dam --by-bus \
  --start 2024-01-01 --duration 7

# Available markets: dam, rtbm
# Available data types: lmp, mcp, operating-reserves, binding-constraints

BPA Options

# Wind and load data
python isodart.py --iso bpa --data-type wind_gen_total_load \
  --start 2024-01-01 --duration 7

# Available data types: wind_gen_total_load, reserves_deployed, outages, all

PJM Options

# Day-ahead LMP
python isodart.py --iso pjm --data-type lmp --lmp-type da_hourly \
  --start 2024-01-01 --duration 7

# With specific pricing node
python isodart.py --iso pjm --data-type lmp --lmp-type da_hourly \
  --pnode-id 51288 --start 2024-01-01 --duration 7

# Available LMP types: da_hourly, rt_5min, rt_hourly

ISO-NE Options

# Day-ahead hourly LMP
python isodart.py --iso isone --data-type lmp --lmp-type da_hourly \
  --start 2024-01-01 --duration 7

# Available data types: lmp, ancillary, demand

Weather Data Options

# Download weather data
python isodart.py --data-type weather --state CA \
  --start 2024-01-01 --duration 30

# Include solar data
python isodart.py --data-type weather --state CA \
  --start 2024-01-01 --duration 30 --include-solar

Advanced Usage

Using Configuration Files

Create a config.yaml:

caiso:
  max_retries: 5
  timeout: 60

logging:
  level: DEBUG
  file: logs/isodart.log

Use it:

python isodart.py --config config.yaml --iso caiso --data-type lmp \
  --market dam --start 2024-01-01 --duration 7

Automation with Cron

# Daily download at 2 AM
0 2 * * * cd /path/to/ISO-DART && /path/to/venv/bin/python isodart.py \
  --iso caiso --data-type lmp --market dam \
  --start $(date -d "yesterday" +\%Y-\%m-\%d) --duration 1

# Weekly download on Monday
0 3 * * 1 cd /path/to/ISO-DART && /path/to/venv/bin/python isodart.py \
  --iso caiso --data-type lmp --market dam \
  --start $(date -d "7 days ago" +\%Y-\%m-\%d) --duration 7

Batch Processing

Create a shell script download_all.sh:

#!/bin/bash

START_DATE="2024-01-01"
DURATION=7

# Download multiple data types
python isodart.py --iso caiso --data-type lmp --market dam \
  --start $START_DATE --duration $DURATION

python isodart.py --iso caiso --data-type lmp --market rtm \
  --start $START_DATE --duration $DURATION

python isodart.py --iso caiso --data-type load --market dam \
  --start $START_DATE --duration $DURATION

python isodart.py --iso caiso --data-type wind-solar \
  --start $START_DATE --duration $DURATION

echo "All downloads complete!"

Make it executable:

chmod +x download_all.sh
./download_all.sh

Output Files

Downloaded files are saved to:

data/
├── CAISO/
│   └── YYYYMMDD_to_YYYYMMDD_datatype.csv
├── MISO/
│   └── miso_datatype_YYYY-MM-DD.csv
├── NYISO/
│   └── YYYYMMDD_to_YYYYMMDD_dataid.csv
├── SPP/
│   └── YYYYMMDD_to_YYYYMMDD_SPP_datatype.csv
├── BPA/
│   └── YYYY_BPA_datatype.csv
├── PJM/
│   └── MM-DD-YYYY_to_MM-DD-YYYY_datatype.csv
└── weather/
    └── YYYY-MM-DD_to_YYYY-MM-DD_station_STATE.csv

Logging

Enable verbose logging:

python isodart.py --verbose --iso caiso --data-type lmp --market dam \
  --start 2024-01-01 --duration 7

Check logs:

tail -f logs/isodart.log

Error Handling

Common Errors

“API Error 404: Data not found”

Date range may be too recent or too old
Data may not exist for that period
Try a different date range

“ModuleNotFoundError”

Activate virtual environment
Install dependencies: pip install -r requirements.txt

“Authentication failed”

Check API keys in user_config.ini
Verify credentials are correct

Exit Codes

0: Success
1: Download failed or error occurred

Check exit code:

python isodart.py --iso caiso --data-type lmp --market dam \
  --start 2024-01-01 --duration 7
echo $?  # 0 = success, 1 = failure

Best Practices

Start with small date ranges to test connectivity
Use verbose mode when debugging
Check logs for detailed error messages
Automate wisely - respect API rate limits
Validate data after download

Command Reference

Quick Reference Table

Command	Purpose
`python isodart.py`	Interactive mode
`python isodart.py --help`	Show help
`python isodart.py --iso caiso --data-type lmp --market dam --start 2024-01-01 --duration 7`	Download CAISO DAM LMP
`python isodart.py --verbose`	Enable debug output
`python isodart.py --config file.yaml`	Use custom config