fred_search
Full-text search across FRED's 800,000+ economic series. Returns matching series IDs and titles ranked by popularity. Use when you don't know the exact series ID.
This record as markdown: /tools/io-github-blackboxfoundry-livedatalink/fred-search.md
What fred_search does on Livedatalink
AI agents call fred_search to retrieve information from Livedatalink 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
limit | number | — | Maximum rows to return (default 50 for observations, 25 for catalog queries). |
tag_names | string | — | Optional semicolon-delimited tag filter (e.g. 'usa;monthly'). |
search_text | string | Yes | Free-text search query (e.g. 'unemployment Texas', 'natural gas price', 'corporate profit'). |
search_type | string | — | 'full_text' (default) or 'series_id'. |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why fred_search is rated Low
This is a query/search function that retrieves and ranks economic data from FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data). It has no ability to modify, delete, or execute operations. The blast radius of misuse is minimal—an agent could retrieve irrelevant series IDs, but this causes no harm. Classified as Read with low severity.
From the tool's definition Tool performs 'full-text search' and 'returns matching series IDs and titles ranked by popularity' — a retrieval operation with no side effects. No modification, deletion, or execution of external operations.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs fred_search safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Livedatalink, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For fred_search, this is the rule to start with:
fred_search 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 Livedatalink, apply this rule, and every fred_search call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about fred_search
Full-text search across FRED's 800,000+ economic series. Returns matching series IDs and titles ranked by popularity. Use when you don't know the exact series ID. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Livedatalink MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
fred_search accepts 4 parameters: limit, tag_names, search_text, search_type. Required: search_text. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.
Register the Livedatalink MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for fred_search: 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 Livedatalink. Nothing to install.
fred_search 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 fred_search 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 fred_search. 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.
fred_search is provided by the Livedatalink MCP server (https://livedatalink.ai/mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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