CPI Inflation Calculator MCP
Server Configuration
Describes the environment variables required to run the server.
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| BLS_API_KEY | No | Optional free BLS registration key for a higher live-data quota (the keyless BLS API caps daily requests per IP address). |
Instructions
Guidance the server publishes about itself, which clients place ahead of the tool catalog so the model reads it before choosing anything.
This server publishes no instructions, or was last inspected before Glama recorded them.
Capabilities
Features and capabilities supported by this server
Protocol revision2025-11-25
| Capability | Details |
|---|---|
| tools | {
"listChanged": true
} |
Tools
Functions exposed to the LLM to take actions
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| calculate_inflationA | Adjusts a dollar amount for inflation between any two periods from 1913 to the latest month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has published, using the official CPI-U (or CPI-W or core CPI). Checks the BLS Public Data API live for months newer than its bundled data (bundled through September 2026, fetched 2026-11-03), so it knows CPI figures newer than a model's training data. Handles the October 2025 gap: BLS published no October 2025 CPI because of the 2025 lapse in appropriations. Returns the adjusted amount, cumulative and average annual inflation, and the exact index values used. |
| get_latest_cpiA | Returns the most recent CPI index values published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, checked live against the BLS Public Data API: the latest month, the 12-month inflation rate for headline CPI-U, CPI-W and core CPI (less food and energy), the not seasonally adjusted 1-month change, and the year-to-date change. Use it to answer 'what is inflation right now'. If the live check fails it says so and falls back to bundled BLS data (through September 2026). |
| get_inflation_rateA | Returns the official U.S. inflation rate for a calendar year from BLS CPI data: annual-average change (BLS annual averages, including the 2025 average published despite the missing October 2025 index), December-to-December change, and for the current year the latest 12-month rate. Years 1914 to the present for CPI-U and CPI-W, 1958 onward for core CPI. |
| compare_raise_to_inflationA | Compares a pay change with CPI inflation over the same period using official BLS data through the latest published month (checked live). Returns the nominal raise, inflation, the real (inflation-adjusted) raise, the pay needed to keep pace, and the gain or shortfall. Works for salaries, hourly wages, rents or any recurring amount. |
| calculate_social_security_colaA | Computes the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for a year with the statutory formula: average CPI-W for July-September of the prior year over the same quarter a year earlier, rounded to 0.1%. Uses official BLS CPI-W values (live check). Reproduces the 3.6% COLA for 2027 that SSA announced in October 2026, and shows the Q3 index values behind it. Covers 1976 onward. |
Prompts
Interactive templates invoked by user choice
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
No prompts | |
Resources
Contextual data attached and managed by the client
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
No resources | |
TDQS
Scored across 5 tools
The five tools cover distinct use cases: current CPI snapshot, historical dollar adjustment, annual inflation rate, raise comparison, and Social Security COLA. There is some conceptual overlap between calculate_inflation and compare_raise_to_inflation, and between get_latest_cpi and get_inflation_rate, but the descriptions make the boundaries reasonably clear.
All names use consistent snake_case with a verb_noun structure. The verbs vary appropriately (get, calculate, compare), though get_inflation_rate could arguably be named to distinguish it more sharply from get_latest_cpi.
Five tools is well-scoped for a focused CPI inflation calculator. Each tool corresponds to a clear user question or calculation, and there are no redundant or filler tools.
The surface covers the main workflows: current inflation, adjusting dollar amounts, annual rates, wage/raise comparison, and Social Security COLA. Minor gaps might include direct retrieval of CPI series by category or month, but the existing tools return index values and cover the stated domain well.