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
Even though fred_search 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.
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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