FRED Economic Data

GDP, unemployment, CPI, interest rates, and 800K+ economic time series from the Federal Reserve

CommunityDegradedNo sign-inGlobalFreeRead-only

What it can do

    What data it sees

    Do you need an account

    No: the server works without sign-in

    GDP, unemployment, CPI, interest rates, and 800K+ economic time series from the Federal Reserve

    How to connect

    How to connect FRED Economic Data to Claude

    The server address to paste into Claude settings:

    https://mcp.olyport.com/fred/mcp

    1. Open Claude (claude.ai or the desktop app).
    2. Go to Settings → Connectors.
    3. Click Add custom connector.
    4. Paste the server address copied below into Remote MCP server URL and click Add.
    5. In a chat, click + → Connectors and switch the new connector on.

    Custom connectors are available on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans (Free is limited to one). On Team and Enterprise an organization Owner adds the connector first under Organization settings → Connectors.

    Authorization

    After you click Add, a sign-in window for the service opens. Sign in with your own account and approve access. Claude never sees your password.

    How to connect FRED Economic Data to ChatGPT

    The server address to paste into ChatGPT settings:

    https://mcp.olyport.com/fred/mcp

    1. Open ChatGPT in a browser (chatgpt.com). A Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu plan is required.
    2. Turn on developer mode once: Settings → Apps → Advanced settings → Developer mode.
    3. Open Settings → Connectors and click Create.
    4. Fill in the form: Name (anything), Description (one line about what the service does), MCP server URL (copy it below).
    5. Under Authentication choose OAuth if the service requires sign-in, otherwise None. Click Create.
    6. In a new chat open + → Apps/Connectors and enable the connector.

    OpenAI has renamed this section before (Connectors → Apps/Plugins). If the label differs, search settings for "developer mode". On Business/Enterprise workspaces an admin must allow custom connectors first.

    Authorization

    On first use ChatGPT opens the service's sign-in window. Sign in and approve access.

    How to connect FRED Economic Data to Cursor

    The server address to paste into Cursor settings:

    https://mcp.olyport.com/fred/mcp

    Fastest: click Open in Cursor below and confirm the prompt.

    Manually:

    1. In Cursor open Settings → Cursor Settings → MCP and click Add new global MCP server.
    2. Paste the JSON copied below into ~/.cursor/mcp.json (per project: .cursor/mcp.json in the repo root).
    3. Save the file. The server appears in the MCP list; authorize it there if asked.

    Authorization

    If the service needs sign-in, an authorize button appears next to the server in the MCP list.

    Server tool list (5)

    Raw names from tools/list. Only developers need these.

    search_seriesSearch for FRED economic data series by keyword. Use this to find series IDs for economic indicators. For example, search 'unemployment rate' to find UNRATE, or 'gross domestic product' to find GDP. Returns series metadata including ID, title, frequency, units, and date range. Common series: UNRATE (unemployment), GDP (gross domestic product), CPIAUCSL (consumer price index), FEDFUNDS (federal funds rate), MORTGAGE30US (30-year mortgage rate), MEHOINUSA672N (median household income). Args: search_text: Keywords to search for (e.g. 'unemployment rate', 'GDP', 'inflation'). limit: Maximum number of results to return (default 10, max 1000).
    get_series_observationsGet time series observations (data points) for a FRED series. Returns the actual data values for an economic indicator over time. Use search_series first to find the series_id, or use well-known IDs like UNRATE, GDP, CPIAUCSL, FEDFUNDS, MORTGAGE30US. For state unemployment, use state abbreviation + 'UR' (e.g. WAUR for Washington, CAUR for California). Results are sorted most-recent-first. For long series (e.g. daily data since 1954), use start_date/end_date to narrow the window or increase the limit up to 10000. Args: series_id: FRED series identifier (e.g. 'UNRATE', 'GDP', 'CPIAUCSL'). start_date: Optional start date in YYYY-MM-DD format (e.g. '2020-01-01'). end_date: Optional end date in YYYY-MM-DD format (e.g. '2024-12-31'). limit: Maximum observations to return (default 1000, max 10000).
    get_series_infoGet metadata and details for a specific FRED series. Returns comprehensive information about a series including its title, frequency, units, seasonal adjustment, source, and date range. Use this to understand what a series measures before pulling observations. Args: series_id: FRED series identifier (e.g. 'UNRATE', 'GDP', 'CPIAUCSL').
    get_category_seriesGet all FRED series within a specific category. FRED organizes data into a hierarchy of categories. Use this to browse available series within a topic area. Common category IDs: - 32991: Money, Banking, & Finance - 10: Population, Employment, & Labor Markets - 32992: National Accounts (GDP) - 1: Production & Business Activity - 32455: Prices (CPI, PPI) - 97: Housing Args: category_id: FRED category identifier (integer).
    get_release_datesGet release dates for a specific FRED data release. Returns the dates when a particular data release was published. Useful for tracking when economic indicators are updated. Common release IDs: - 10: Consumer Price Index - 46: Producer Price Index - 50: Employment Situation (jobs report) - 53: Gross Domestic Product - 17: Federal Reserve H.15 (interest rates) - 21: Federal Reserve H.6 (money stock) Args: release_id: FRED release identifier (integer).