README.md
Access economic data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) MCP Server
Access economic data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - one of the most comprehensive economic databases with 800,000+ time series.
Data Available
- Interest Rates - Federal funds rate, Treasury yields, mortgage rates
- GDP & Growth - Real/nominal GDP, growth rates
- Employment - Unemployment rates, payrolls, labor force
- Inflation - CPI, PCE, inflation expectations
- Housing - Home prices, housing starts, mortgage rates
- Financial Markets - Stock indices, exchange rates, money supply
- State/Regional - State-level unemployment, income, GDP
Setup
- Get a free API key at: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/docs/api/api_key.html
- Add to your MCP config:
{
"fred": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/path/to/fred/dist/index.js"],
"env": {
"FRED_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
}
}
}
Tools
`get_series`
Get time series data for a FRED series ID.
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| seriesId | Yes | FRED series ID (e.g., "GDP", "UNRATE") |
| startDate | No | Start date YYYY-MM-DD |
| endDate | No | End date YYYY-MM-DD |
| limit | No | Max observations (default 100) |
| sort | No | "asc" or "desc" (default: desc - most recent first) |
Example: Get recent GDP data
seriesId: "GDP"
limit: 20
`search_series`
Search for FRED series by keywords.
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| query | Yes | Search keywords (e.g., "unemployment california") |
| limit | No | Max results (default 20) |
Example: Find retail sales series
query: "retail sales"
limit: 10
`get_series_info`
Get metadata about a series (title, units, frequency, notes).
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| seriesId | Yes | FRED series ID |
`list_popular`
List commonly used FRED series IDs with descriptions.
Returns: Popular series for GDP, unemployment, interest rates, inflation, etc.
`get_category_series`
Get all series in a FRED category.
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| categoryId | Yes | Category ID (e.g., 32991 for GDP) |
| limit | No | Max results (default 50) |
`get_releases`
Get recent data releases (useful for finding fresh data).
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| limit | No | Max results (default 20) |
`get_state_data`
Shortcut for common state-level economic data.
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| stateAbbr | Yes | State abbreviation (e.g., "CA", "TX") |
| metric | Yes | "unemployment", "income", "population", "gdp" |
Example: Get California unemployment
stateAbbr: "CA"
metric: "unemployment"
Popular Series IDs
| Series ID | Description |
|---|---|
| GDP | Gross Domestic Product |
| GDPC1 | Real GDP |
| UNRATE | Unemployment Rate |
| CPIAUCSL | Consumer Price Index |
| FEDFUNDS | Federal Funds Rate |
| DGS10 | 10-Year Treasury Rate |
| MORTGAGE30US | 30-Year Mortgage Rate |
| SP500 | S&P 500 Index |
| DEXUSEU | USD/EUR Exchange Rate |
| HOUST | Housing Starts |
| RSXFS | Retail Sales |
| PAYEMS | Total Nonfarm Payrolls |
Rate Limits
- 120 requests per minute
Documentation
- API Documentation: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/docs/api/fred/
- Series Search: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/
Tools (8)
get_seriesGet time series data for a FRED series ID.search_seriesSearch for FRED series by keywords.get_series_infoGet metadata about a series (title, units, frequency, notes).list_popularList commonly used FRED series IDs with descriptions.get_category_seriesGet all series in a FRED category.get_releasesGet recent data releases (useful for finding fresh data).get_state_dataShortcut for common state-level economic data.get_state_dataShortcut for common state-level economic data.Environment Variables
FRED_API_KEYrequiredFree API key from https://fred.stlouisfed.org/docs/api/api_key.htmlConfiguration
claude_desktop_config.json
{
"fred": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/path/to/fred/dist/index.js"],
"env": {
"FRED_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
}
}
}Try it
→Get recent GDP data using get_series with seriesId: GDP and limit: 20.
→Search for unemployment series in California using search_series with query: unemployment california.
→List popular FRED series using list_popular.
→Get California unemployment data using get_state_data with stateAbbr: CA and metric: unemployment.
→Get metadata for UNRATE series using get_series_info.