Search 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: UNRA...
Part of the FRED Economic Data server.
Free to start. No card required.
AI agents call search_series to retrieve information from FRED Economic Data without modifying any data. This is common in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows where the agent needs context before taking action. Because read operations don't change state, they are generally safe to allow without restrictions -- but you may still want rate limits to control API costs.
Even though search_series only reads data, uncontrolled read access can leak sensitive information or rack up API costs. An agent caught in a retry loop could make thousands of calls per minute. A rate limit gives you a safety net without blocking legitimate use.
Read-only tools are safe to allow by default. No rate limit needed unless you want to control costs.
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"search_series": {}
}
}See the full FRED Economic Data policy for all 5 tools.
These attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access search_series gives an agent. Each links to the full case and the policy that stops it:
Other read tools across the catalogue. The same approach applies to each: allow, with a rate cap to control cost.
Search 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).. It is categorised as a Read tool in the FRED Economic Data MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the FRED Economic Data MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for search_series: 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 FRED Economic Data. Nothing to install.
search_series 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 search_series 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 search_series. 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.
search_series is provided by the FRED Economic Data MCP server (https://mcp.olyport.com/fred/mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Deterministic rules across all 5 FRED Economic Data tools. Per-identity grants. Full audit log. Live in minutes. Nothing to install.
Free to start. No card required.
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