Spec Driven Development
MCP Server that facilitates spec-driven development workflows, not just Vibe Coding.
Runs on your computer
Ferric Fred MCP
Overview
Description from the maker (original English)
MCP server for FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data): full read API plus GeoFRED, 34 tools.
PopNx MCP’s three pillars
These three are never merged into one score: opinions, measurements and popularity are different things.
- User voiceiNo reviews yetReviews open together with accounts in a later step
- Our basic checksi1 of 1 passedChecked from public information; code not scanned yet
- UsageiVery new★ –
What you can do with it
We have not written a plain-language summary for this one yet. Below are the facts we read from the registry.
- Connection: Runs on your computer
- Transport: stdio
- Category: Other
- You need to fill in: FRED_API_KEY
Install
Pick the AI app you use, then copy the settings.
Before you install
- Basic checks: 1 of 1 passed
- Runs on your computer with your user’s permissions (files, network, apps).
- You fill in yourself:
FRED_API_KEY
Values marked secret are keys to your account. Never share them or paste them into a chat.
The maker has not listed install details in the registry. See the maker’s README below.
What it can do
Runs on your computer; the tool list appears in your AI app after you install it.
Basic checksi
We check information anyone can see; we have not read the code. Checks that do not apply are left out of the count. · Checked Nov 10, 2026
- ✓ Pass
Maker matches the repo
The registry name was verified with the GitHub account ojhermann-org, which owns the repo
- … Not checked yet
Still maintained
We have not read this repo from GitHub yet
- … Not checked yet
Has a licence
We have not read this repo from GitHub yet
- – Not applicable
Endpoint responds
This one runs on your computer; there is no internet endpoint
- – Not applicable
Sign-in with OAuth
Runs on your computer and uses local settings instead
- … Not checked yet
No hidden instructions in tool descriptions
Runs on your computer; we can only read tool lists from internet endpoints
Compared with others in Otheri
- More stars than 0% of the other 19018 servers in this category
- Published to the registry more recently than 17% of the other 19018 servers in this category
- Basic checks equal to or better than 100% of the other 19018 servers in this category
Compared with every active server in this category in the registry. Stars count only when the publisher owns the repo.
Common questions
Is Ferric Fred MCP safe?
It passed 1 of 1 applicable basic checks. We have not read the code. Before adding a key or token, see what access the server asks for and use a key with only the permissions you need.
What keys or codes does it need?
You need to fill in: FRED_API_KEY
Does it run on my computer or in the cloud?
It runs on your computer. Your AI app starts it when needed, and data does not pass through the maker’s servers (unless it calls an online service itself).
Is it still maintained?
The GitHub repo last changed –, and the latest version (0.3.11) reached the registry 3 months ago.
Which apps can use it?
Apps that support MCP, such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code. You also need Rust on your computer.
What can I use instead?
In the same category: Spec Driven Development, Remote Desktop Commander, Google Jobs
Alternatives
Servers in the same category from other makers, sorted by stars.
Reading a card:↓ Downloads per weeki★ GitHub starsiThree pillars: reviews · checks · usageiUpdated = latest version published to the registryi
Remote Desktop Commander
Remote Desktop Commander: use files, terminal and processes on your own computers from any AI app.
Runs in the cloud✓ desktopcommander.app
Google Jobs
Google Jobs listings (title, company, salary, description) + AI-training job boards.
Runs in the cloud
README from the maker
Open the README
Copied from the maker’s repo as written. PopNx MCP has not reviewed or endorsed it. HTML, images and scripts are removed. Links lead off this site.
ferric-fred
A strongly-typed Rust client for FRED — the Federal Reserve Economic Data service from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis — plus a CLI (with TUI charts) and an MCP server built on top of it.
ferric(iron oxide → *rust*) +FRED. Iron-clad, typed access to economic data.
Workspace
A Cargo workspace of three crates — each with its own README (the crates.io / docs.rs landing page) that carries the full usage detail:
| Crate | Binary | What it is | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
ferric-fred | — | Strongly-typed async FRED client | README · docs.rs |
ferric-fred-cli | fred | Command-line tool with ratatui TUI charts | README |
ferric-fred-mcp | fred-mcp | MCP server exposing FRED to MCP clients | README |
Published versions (these badges are the source of truth — the crates version independently, so they can drift out of lockstep):
Consumers depend on the library by workspace path, so a breaking change in the library cannot compile-pass its consumers without updating them — that compile-time coupling is the primary "stay in sync" guarantee (versions are managed on top; see the ADRs).
What it covers
The library wraps all of FRED's read endpoints — series and observations (including ALFRED point-in-time / vintage data via a real-time window), search, categories, releases (including the nested release-table tree, with optional inline observation values), sources, and tags — plus the GeoFRED / Maps API (regional data and the geographic shape files to map it, ADR-0025) — behind ergonomic builders, with newtype identifiers, typed enums for FRED's closed value sets, a non-panicking error taxonomy, and auto-pagination (Paginate::send_all walks an endpoint to exhaustion, Paginate::stream yields lazily; --all on the CLI). See ADR-0020 and ADR-0021.
GeoFRED support spans the library, CLI (fred geofred), and MCP (get_regional_data, get_series_data, get_series_group) layers. The one exception is the geographic shapes/file endpoint, which is library/CLI-only — a large projected-GeoJSON blob is poor ergonomics for an MCP tool caller (ADR-0025).
Pick an entry point:
- Library —
cargo add ferric-fred; typed async access from your own code. See the crate README and docs.rs. - CLI (
fred) —cargo install ferric-fred-cli; search, show metadata, print or chart observations in the terminal, browse categories, releases, sources, and tags, and pull GeoFRED regional data and map shapes (fred geofred). See the crate README orfred --help. - MCP server (
fred-mcp) —cargo install ferric-fred-mcp; 34 tools over stdio covering the same read surface, for MCP-capable clients (ADR-0010). Each tool declares input and output schemas plus behavioural annotations (ADR-0023). See the crate README.
The MCP server is listed and scored on Glama:
Development
A Nix flake provides a reproducible toolchain (nix develop, or direnv allow once), but the project builds with a plain Rust toolchain too — Nix supplies the environment, not the build (ADR-0008).
Contributor setup, the fmt/clippy/test/prose gate, the tracked git hooks, and the workflow for adding an endpoint live in [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md). CI (ci.yml) runs that same offline gate on every push and PR; a dormant live.yml runs the live FRED tests once an Infisical machine identity is configured (ADR-0016).
Benchmarks
Performance tooling from the org Tech Radar pilot (ADR-0026, issue #42):
# Deserialization microbenches (divan) — the observations parse hot path.cargo bench -p ferric-fred --bench deserialization
Same workload under criterion (the divan-vs-criterion baseline).
cargo bench -p ferric-fred --bench deserialization_criterion
Headless fred chart render cost (divan + ratatui TestBackend, no tty).
cargo bench -p ferric-fred-cli --bench render
CLI wall-clock timing (hyperfine): startup + a live fetch-and-render.
The fetch benchmark needs FRED_API_KEY; startup runs offline.
scripts/bench-cli.sh # add --json DIR to export hyperfine JSON
CI keeps the benches compiling on every PR (cargo bench --no-run), and a separate bench.yml uploads results to Bencher (hosted project ferric-fred) to track them over time and flag regressions on PRs. Bencher has no divan adapter, so it ingests the *criterion* mirror (rust_criterion) and *hyperfine* startup (shell_hyperfine); divan stays the fast local harness. BENCHER_API_TOKEN comes from Infisical, so the upload is a no-op until the machine identity is configured — see ADR-0026.
Secrets
The client reads a free FRED API key from the FRED_API_KEY environment variable (get one at https://fredaccount.stlouisfed.org/apikeys). Locally, secrets are injected via Infisical + direnv (ADR-0009):
cp .envrc.example .envrc # local, git-ignored entry pointinfisical login # user auth (opens a browser) infisical init # link this dir → project direnv allow # load the shell + inject secrets on cd-in
Store the key with infisical secrets set FRED_API_KEY="…" --env=dev --path=/shared. No Infisical? Just set it directly in your git-ignored .envrc: export FRED_API_KEY="…" — the library only reads the env var and has no dependency on Infisical.
Architecture decisions
Design decisions are recorded as ADRs in docs/adr/. Start with the index.
License
Dual-licensed under MIT OR Apache-2.0, at your option — the Rust ecosystem default (ADR-0006). See LICENSE-MIT and LICENSE-APACHE. Unless you state otherwise, any contribution you submit is licensed under the same dual terms (see CONTRIBUTING.md).
This covers *our code*; FRED data itself is subject to the St. Louis Fed's terms of use, and you supply your own API key — the project ships no data and no key.