searchNaics
Ranked candidate codes for a keyword or phrase, matched against over 20,000 official Census index terms plus titles and descriptions. Returns every plausible code without applying classification rules. Available on all plans; results capped at 5 on Free and Learner.
This record as markdown: /tools/com-api-ninjas-mcp/searchnaics.md
What searchNaics does on API Ninjas
AI agents call searchNaics to retrieve information from API Ninjas without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
year | string | — | NAICS revision. Currently 2022 only; NAICS 2027 is not published by the Census Bureau until January 2027. |
level | integer | — | Restrict results to codes of this digit length. |
limit | integer | — | Maximum results. Capped at 5 on Free and Learner, 25 on Developer and above. |
query | string | Yes | Keyword or phrase describing an industry or activity. Limited to 300 characters; for a full business description use /naicsclassify. |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why searchNaics is rated Low
Even though searchNaics only reads data, uncontrolled read access leaks sensitive information and racks up API costs: an agent caught in a retry loop can make thousands of calls a minute without anyone noticing.
Risk signalsBulk/mass operation — affects multiple targets
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs searchNaics safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and API Ninjas, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For searchNaics, this is the rule to start with:
searchNaics is read-only, so it stays allowed. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect API Ninjas, apply this rule, and every searchNaics call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about searchNaics
Ranked candidate codes for a keyword or phrase, matched against over 20,000 official Census index terms plus titles and descriptions. Returns every plausible code without applying classification rules. Available on all plans; results capped at 5 on Free and Learner. It is categorised as a Read tool in the API Ninjas MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
searchNaics accepts 4 parameters: year, level, limit, query. Required: query. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.
Register the API Ninjas MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for searchNaics: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches API Ninjas. Nothing to install.
searchNaics is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the searchNaics rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for searchNaics. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
searchNaics is provided by the API Ninjas MCP server (https://mcp.api-ninjas.com/mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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