---
title: Advanced Queries
description: Complex search patterns and data retrieval strategies
icon: 'magnifying-glass-chart'
---
# Advanced Queries
Master complex search patterns, filtering techniques, and efficient data retrieval strategies using the FRED MCP Server.
## Advanced Search
### Multi-term Search
Combine multiple keywords:
```javascript
{
"query": "unemployment rate seasonally adjusted",
"limit": 20,
"sort_by": "popularity"
}
```
**Search strategies:**
- More specific terms = fewer, more relevant results
- Include seasonal adjustment status
- Add frequency (monthly, quarterly)
- Specify geographic scope (national, state)
### Wildcard Patterns
Use partial series IDs:
```javascript
{
"query": "UNRATE*",
"search_type": "series_id"
}
```
Returns:
- UNRATE (National)
- UNRATENSA (Not seasonally adjusted)
- UNRATEUSA (Alternate series)
### Source-Specific Searches
Find series from specific agencies:
<Tabs>
<Tab title="Bureau of Labor Statistics">
```javascript
{
"query": "employment",
"tags": ["bls"],
"limit": 50
}
```
</Tab>
<Tab title="Bureau of Economic Analysis">
```javascript
{
"query": "gdp",
"tags": ["bea"],
"limit": 50
}
```
</Tab>
<Tab title="Federal Reserve Board">
```javascript
{
"query": "interest rate",
"tags": ["frb"],
"limit": 50
}
```
</Tab>
<Tab title="Census Bureau">
```javascript
{
"query": "housing",
"tags": ["census"],
"limit": 50
}
```
</Tab>
</Tabs>
## Tag-Based Filtering
### Multiple Tag Combinations
```javascript
{
"query": "inflation",
"tags": ["monthly", "sa", "usa"],
"tag_mode": "all" // Must match all tags
}
```
**Common tag combinations:**
<CardGroup cols={2}>
<Card title="National Monthly SA" icon="flag-usa">
```javascript
["monthly", "sa", "usa"]
```
</Card>
<Card title="Quarterly National Accounts" icon="landmark">
```javascript
["quarterly", "bea", "nipa"]
```
</Card>
<Card title="Daily Financial Data" icon="chart-candlestick">
```javascript
["daily", "finance", "rates"]
```
</Card>
<Card title="State-Level Data" icon="map">
```javascript
["state", "monthly", "sa"]
```
</Card>
</CardGroup>
### Tag Discovery
Find related tags:
```javascript
{
"query": "employment",
"include_observation_values": false,
"sort_by": "popularity"
}
```
Then examine tags in results to refine search.
## Category-Based Browsing
### Navigate Hierarchy
<Steps>
<Step title="Start at Root">
```javascript
{
"category_id": 0
}
```
Returns top-level categories
</Step>
<Step title="Drill Down">
```javascript
{
"category_id": 10 // Employment & Labor
}
```
Returns subcategories
</Step>
<Step title="Get Series">
```javascript
{
"category_id": 11, // Current Employment Statistics
"limit": 100
}
```
Returns series in category
</Step>
</Steps>
### Popular Categories
| Category ID | Name | Series Count |
|-------------|------|--------------|
| 32991 | Money, Banking & Finance | ~10,000 |
| 10 | Population, Employment & Labor | ~15,000 |
| 1 | Production & Business Activity | ~40,000 |
| 32455 | Prices | ~25,000 |
| 32263 | International Data | ~60,000 |
| 3008 | U.S. Regional Data | ~30,000 |
## Geographic Queries
### State-Level Data
Find data for specific states:
```javascript
{
"query": "unemployment rate",
"tags": ["state", "monthly", "sa"],
"limit": 50
}
```
**State code patterns:**
- Format: `{INDICATOR}{STATE}`
- Example: `CAUR` (California Unemployment Rate)
<AccordionGroup>
<Accordion title="California Data">
```javascript
// Unemployment
{ "series_id": "CAUR" }
// GDP
{ "series_id": "CANGSP" }
// Home Price Index
{ "series_id": "CASTHPI" }
```
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="Texas Data">
```javascript
// Unemployment
{ "series_id": "TXUR" }
// GDP
{ "series_id": "TXNGSP" }
// Home Price Index
{ "series_id": "TXSTHPI" }
```
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="New York Data">
```javascript
// Unemployment
{ "series_id": "NYUR" }
// GDP
{ "series_id": "NYNGSP" }
// Home Price Index
{ "series_id": "NYSTHPI" }
```
</Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>
### Metro Area Data
Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs):
```javascript
{
"query": "unemployment rate",
"tags": ["msa", "monthly"],
"limit": 100
}
```
**Example MSAs:**
- **LAUMT064910**: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim
- **LAUMT364190**: New York-Newark-Jersey City
- **LAUMT121410**: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
### International Data
```javascript
{
"query": "gdp",
"tags": ["oecd"],
"limit": 50
}
// Or specific countries
{
"query": "gdp japan",
"limit": 20
}
```
## Frequency-Specific Searches
### Daily Data
```javascript
{
"tags": ["daily"],
"query": "interest rate",
"limit": 20
}
```
**Common daily series:**
- Treasury yields (DGS2, DGS10, DGS30)
- Fed funds rate (DFF)
- Exchange rates (DEXUSEU, DEXJPUS)
- Stock indices (SP500, DJIA)
### High-Frequency Financial
```javascript
{
"tags": ["daily", "finance"],
"sort_by": "popularity",
"limit": 50
}
```
### Low-Frequency Data
Annual or less frequent:
```javascript
{
"tags": ["annual"],
"query": "population",
"limit": 30
}
```
## Date Range Optimization
### Recent Data Only
```javascript
{
"series_id": "GDP",
"observation_start": "2020-Q1",
"observation_end": "2024-Q3"
}
```
<Tip>
Limiting date ranges reduces API payload size and improves performance
</Tip>
### Historical Analysis
Long-term series:
```javascript
{
"series_id": "CPIAUCSL",
"observation_start": "1947-01-01", // Series inception
"observation_end": "2024-10-01"
}
```
### Rolling Windows
Get last N periods:
```javascript
{
"series_id": "UNRATE",
"observation_start": "2023-01-01", // Last ~20 months
"sort_order": "desc",
"limit": 20
}
```
## Complex Filtering
### Popularity Threshold
Focus on commonly-used series:
```javascript
{
"query": "gdp",
"sort_by": "popularity",
"limit": 100
}
```
Filter results where popularity > 50:
```javascript
results.filter(series => series.popularity > 50)
```
### Frequency Filtering
Find only monthly series:
```javascript
{
"query": "inflation",
"tags": ["monthly"]
}
```
### Seasonal Adjustment
Prefer seasonally adjusted:
```javascript
{
"query": "retail sales",
"tags": ["sa"] // Seasonally adjusted only
}
```
## Batch Retrieval
### Multiple Series
Retrieve related series efficiently:
```javascript
const series_ids = [
"UNRATE", // Unemployment
"CPIAUCSL", // CPI
"GDP", // GDP
"DFF", // Fed Funds
"SP500" // Stock Market
];
// Request each
series_ids.forEach(id => {
fred_get_series({
series_id: id,
observation_start: "2020-01-01"
});
});
```
### Category Sweep
Get all series in a category:
```javascript
{
"category_id": 11, // Current Employment Statistics
"limit": 1000, // Max per request
"offset": 0
}
// If more than 1000, paginate:
// offset: 1000, 2000, 3000, etc.
```
## Search Optimization
### Precision vs Recall
<Tabs>
<Tab title="High Precision">
```javascript
{
"query": "UNRATE", // Exact ID
"search_type": "series_id"
}
```
Returns: 1 exact match
</Tab>
<Tab title="High Recall">
```javascript
{
"query": "unemployment" // Broad term
}
```
Returns: ~500 related series
</Tab>
<Tab title="Balanced">
```javascript
{
"query": "unemployment rate monthly",
"tags": ["sa", "usa"],
"limit": 20
}
```
Returns: 20 most relevant
</Tab>
</Tabs>
### Sort Strategies
<AccordionGroup>
<Accordion title="By Popularity">
```javascript
{ "sort_by": "popularity" }
```
Best for: Finding commonly-used series
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="By Name">
```javascript
{
"sort_by": "title",
"sort_order": "asc"
}
```
Best for: Alphabetical browsing
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="By Date">
```javascript
{
"sort_by": "last_updated",
"sort_order": "desc"
}
```
Best for: Finding recently updated data
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="By Series ID">
```javascript
{
"sort_by": "series_id",
"sort_order": "asc"
}
```
Best for: Finding related series by ID pattern
</Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>
## Real-World Query Patterns
### Economic Dashboard
Build a monitoring dashboard:
```javascript
const dashboard_queries = [
// Labor Market
{
series_ids: ["UNRATE", "PAYEMS", "CIVPART"],
start: "2020-01-01",
transform: "lin"
},
// Inflation
{
series_ids: ["CPIAUCSL", "CPILFESL", "PCEPI"],
start: "2020-01-01",
transform: "pc1"
},
// Growth
{
series_ids: ["GDP", "GDPC1", "INDPRO"],
start: "2020-Q1",
transform: "pca"
},
// Markets
{
series_ids: ["DFF", "DGS10", "SP500"],
start: "2020-01-01",
transform: "lin"
}
];
```
### Comparative Analysis
Compare across geographies:
```javascript
const states = ["CA", "TX", "NY", "FL"];
const indicator = "UR"; // Unemployment Rate
states.forEach(state => {
fred_get_series({
series_id: `${state}${indicator}`,
observation_start: "2020-01-01"
});
});
```
### Historical Research
Long-term trend analysis:
```javascript
{
"series_id": "CPIAUCSL",
"observation_start": "1947-01-01", // Full history
"units": "pc1", // Annual inflation
"frequency": "a", // Annual frequency
"aggregation_method": "eop" // End of period
}
```
### Nowcasting
Get most recent values:
```javascript
{
"series_id": "UNRATE",
"sort_order": "desc",
"limit": 1 // Just the latest
}
```
## Performance Tips
<Steps>
<Step title="Use Specific IDs">
When known, use exact series IDs instead of search
</Step>
<Step title="Limit Date Ranges">
Request only needed time periods
</Step>
<Step title="Apply Filters Early">
Use tags to narrow before searching
</Step>
<Step title="Plan Data Needs">
Identify what data you need upfront to avoid redundant calls
</Step>
<Step title="Batch Related Queries">
Group similar requests together
</Step>
</Steps>
## Troubleshooting
<Warning>
**Common issues:**
- **No results**: Query too specific, try broader terms
- **Too many results**: Add tags or more specific terms
- **Slow queries**: Reduce date range or result limit
- **Unexpected series**: Check tags and sort order
</Warning>
### Query Refinement
```javascript
// Too broad (10,000 results)
{ "query": "rate" }
// Better (500 results)
{ "query": "interest rate" }
// Best (20 results)
{
"query": "interest rate",
"tags": ["daily", "treasury"],
"limit": 20
}
```
## Next Steps
<CardGroup cols={2}>
<Card
title="API Reference"
icon="book"
href="/api-reference/overview"
>
Complete tool documentation
</Card>
<Card
title="Economic Analysis"
icon="chart-mixed"
href="/use-cases/economic-analysis"
>
Applied analysis patterns
</Card>
<Card
title="Common Series"
icon="bookmark"
href="/resources/common-series"
>
Popular series reference
</Card>
<Card
title="Troubleshooting"
icon="wrench"
href="/resources/troubleshooting"
>
Solve common issues
</Card>
</CardGroup>
