`fred_search`

Pack: fred · Endpoint: https://gateway.pipeworx.io/fred/mcp

Search for economic data series by keyword. Returns series IDs, titles, and descriptions to identify the right indicator.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
`search_text`	string	yes	Keywords to search for (e.g., “mortgage rate”, “housing starts”)
`limit`	number	no	Max results to return (1-1000, default 20)
`order_by`	string	no	Order results by: search_rank, series_id, title, units, frequency, seasonal_adjustment, realtime_start, realtime_end, last_updated, observation_start, observation_end, popularity, group_popularity. Default: search_rank
`sort_order`	string	no	Sort direction: asc or desc. Default: asc for search_rank
`_apiKey`	string	yes	FRED API key

Example call

Arguments

{
  "search_text": "mortgage rate",
  "limit": 10,
  "_apiKey": "your-fred-api-key"
}

curl

curl -X POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/fred/mcp \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"fred_search","arguments":{"search_text":"mortgage rate","limit":10,"_apiKey":"your-fred-api-key"}}}'

TypeScript (@pipeworx/sdk)

import { Pipeworx } from '@pipeworx/sdk';
const pipeworx = new Pipeworx();

const result = await pipeworx.call('fred_search', {
  "search_text": "mortgage rate",
  "limit": 10,
  "_apiKey": "your-fred-api-key"
});

More examples

{
  "search_text": "unemployment",
  "order_by": "popularity",
  "sort_order": "desc",
  "_apiKey": "your-fred-api-key"
}

Response shape

Always returns: total_matches, series

Field	Type	Description
`total_matches`	number	Total number of matching series
`series`	array	List of matching series

Full JSON Schema

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "total_matches": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Total number of matching series"
    },
    "series": {
      "type": "array",
      "description": "List of matching series",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "series_id": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "FRED series ID"
          },
          "title": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Full title of the series"
          },
          "units": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Units of measurement"
          },
          "frequency": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Data frequency (d, w, m, q, a, etc.)"
          },
          "seasonal_adjustment": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Seasonal adjustment method"
          },
          "observation_start": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "First available observation date"
          },
          "observation_end": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Latest available observation date"
          },
          "popularity": {
            "type": "number",
            "description": "Series popularity score"
          },
          "notes": {
            "type": [
              "string",
              "null"
            ],
            "description": "Additional notes about the series"
          }
        },
        "required": [
          "series_id",
          "title",
          "units",
          "frequency",
          "seasonal_adjustment",
          "observation_start",
          "observation_end",
          "popularity",
          "notes"
        ]
      }
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "total_matches",
    "series"
  ]
}

Connect

Add this to your MCP client config, or use one-click install buttons:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fred": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/fred/mcp"
    }
  }
}

See Getting Started for client-specific install steps.

fred_search