Federal MCP Server

Search and fetch ~800K Federal Reserve economic time-series from the FRED API via MCP.

Local serverstdio

What is the Federal MCP server?

If you already use Federal, the federal mcp server is the piece that lets your assistant work with it directly. Search and fetch ~800K Federal Reserve economic time-series from the FRED API via MCP.

What the server does

  • Declarative tool definitions — single file per tool, framework handles registration and validation
  • Unified error handling across all tools
  • Pluggable auth (none, jwt, oauth)
  • Swappable storage backends: in-memory, filesystem, Supabase, Cloudflare KV/R2/D1
  • Structured logging with optional OpenTelemetry tracing
  • STDIO and Streamable HTTP transports

Available tools

The toolset is worth reading before you wire it up, because it tells you what the integration is really for:

  • fedreserve_search_series — Full-text search across FRED series titles, units, frequency, and tags — returns matching series IDs with metadata
  • fedreserve_get_series — Fetch metadata for one or more series (title, units, frequency, seasonal adjustment, observation range)
  • fedreserve_get_observations — Fetch date+value observation data for one or more series with date-range filtering and unit transformations
  • fedreserve_browse_categories — Navigate the FRED category tree; drill into a category to see child categories and a series sample
  • fedreserve_get_release — Look up a FRED release by ID or name search — returns release metadata and its associated series list
  • fedreserve_dataframe_describe — List active DataCanvas dataframes registered by this server (canvas IDs, row counts, schemas)
  • fedreserve_dataframe_query — Run a SELECT query against a registered DataCanvas dataframe
  • fedreserve_dataframe_drop — Drop a DataCanvas dataframe by name (opt-in via FRED_DATAFRAME_DROP_ENABLED=true)
  • Prerequisites — The Prerequisites tool exposed by this server
  • Installation — The Installation tool exposed by this server

Installation

Setup follows the usual MCP pattern — install or clone the server, register it in your client's configuration file, restart the client. The configuration blocks on this page cover the common clients.

Credentials and setup notes

Configuration is passed through the environment: MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE, MCP_LOG_LEVEL, FRED_API_KEY, FRED_BASE_URL. Treat anything key-shaped as a real credential — scope it to the minimum the server needs, and rotate it if it ever lands in a shared config.

Where it fits

Plenty of file and storage access servers cover similar ground. The differences that matter in practice are scope of access and how much setup stands between you and a working tool call. Federal's toolset — fedreserve_search_series, fedreserve_get_series, fedreserve_get_observations and 7 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by cyanheads; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.

We check each listing at SyncDev against the project's documentation before it goes live — if something here drifts out of date, it is a bug worth reporting.

Worth knowing first

  • It runs with your machine's permissions. That is convenient and also the reason to think about what you point it at before you approve a tool call.
  • With 10 tools registered it takes up a noticeable share of the context window; turn it off in projects that never touch Federal.
  • Missing credentials fail quietly in some clients — if no tools show up, check the environment block first.
  • Keep per-call confirmation enabled while you learn its behaviour; it is the cheapest safeguard you have.

Available tools

ToolWhat it does
fedreserve_search_seriesFull-text search across FRED series titles, units, frequency, and tags — returns matching series IDs with metadata
fedreserve_get_seriesFetch metadata for one or more series (title, units, frequency, seasonal adjustment, observation range)
fedreserve_get_observationsFetch date+value observation data for one or more series with date-range filtering and unit transformations
fedreserve_browse_categoriesNavigate the FRED category tree; drill into a category to see child categories and a series sample
fedreserve_get_releaseLook up a FRED release by ID or name search — returns release metadata and its associated series list
fedreserve_dataframe_describeList active DataCanvas dataframes registered by this server (canvas IDs, row counts, schemas)
fedreserve_dataframe_queryRun a SELECT query against a registered DataCanvas dataframe
fedreserve_dataframe_dropDrop a DataCanvas dataframe by name (opt-in via FRED_DATAFRAME_DROP_ENABLED=true)
PrerequisitesThe Prerequisites tool exposed by this server.
InstallationThe Installation tool exposed by this server.

How to install the Federal MCP server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "federal-reserve-mcp-server": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "bunx",
      "args": ["@cyanheads/federal-reserve-mcp-server@latest"],
      "env": {
        "MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE": "stdio",
        "MCP_LOG_LEVEL": "info",
        "FRED_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Configuration as documented by the project. Restart the client after saving.

Configuration

VariableDescriptionRequired
MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPEConfiguration value read at startup.Optional
MCP_LOG_LEVELConfiguration value read at startup.Optional
FRED_API_KEYCredential the server authenticates with.Yes
FRED_BASE_URLEndpoint or connection string the server talks to.Yes

Example prompts to try

  • Use Federal to fedreserve search series.
  • Use Federal to fedreserve get series.
  • Use Federal to fedreserve get observations.

Frequently asked questions

It connects Federal to MCP-compatible AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor, exposing 10 tools (fedreserve_search_series, fedreserve_get_series, fedreserve_get_observations, and more) that the assistant can call on your behalf. Instead of copying data back and forth by hand, the assistant works with Federal directly.