fred-mcp

FRED API MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides access to the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) API from the St. Louis Federal Reserve.

Features

• Search Economic Data: Search for economic data series by keywords
• Get Series Data: Retrieve time series data for specific economic indicators
• Series Information: Get detailed metadata about economic data series
• Browse Categories: Explore FRED data categories
• Get Releases: Access information about FRED data releases
• Release Series: Get all series associated with a specific release
• Release Dates: Get release dates and schedules
• Popular Series Resource: Quick access to commonly used economic indicators
• Popular Releases Resource: Quick access to commonly used releases

Setup

1. Get a FRED API Key

1. Visit https://fred.stlouisfed.org/docs/api/api_key.html
2. Create a free account if you don't have one
3. Request an API key (it's free and approved instantly)

2. Install the Server with Claude Desktop

Install the server using uv:

uv run mcp install src/server.py

3. Add API Key Configuration

Add the following configuration to your Claude Desktop MCP settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fred_mcp_server": {
      "command": "/path/.local/bin/uv",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--with",
        "mcp[cli]",
        "mcp",
        "run",
        "/path/to/dev/fred-mcp/src/server.py"
      ],
      "env": {
        "FRED_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Popular Series IDs

Here are some commonly used FRED series IDs:

• GDP - Gross Domestic Product
• UNRATE - Unemployment Rate
• CPIAUCSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers
• FEDFUNDS - Federal Funds Rate
• DGS10 - 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Rate
• DEXUSEU - US/Euro Foreign Exchange Rate
• PAYEMS - All Employees, Total Nonfarm
• HOUST - Housing Starts
• INDPRO - Industrial Production Index
• CPILFESL - Core CPI (excluding food and energy)

Popular Release IDs

Here are some commonly used FRED release IDs:

• 53 - Gross Domestic Product
• 10 - Employment Situation
• 24 - Consumer Price Index
• 62 - Federal Reserve Economic Data
• 18 - Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization
• 20 - Housing Starts
• 25 - Personal Income and Outlays
• 50 - Flow of Funds
• 13 - G.17 Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization
• 21 - New Residential Construction

Rate Limits

FRED API has the following rate limits:

• 120 requests per 60 seconds
• Be respectful of the API and cache results when possible

Usage with MCP Clients

This server follows the Model Context Protocol specification and can be used with any MCP-compatible client. The server communicates via stdin/stdout and provides tools for querying economic data.

Documentation

For detailed information about available tools and server implementation, see SERVER.md.