`get_cpi`

Pack: econdata · Endpoint: https://gateway.pipeworx.io/econdata/mcp

Current US inflation rate (CPI year-over-year) and Consumer Price Index history for All Urban Consumers, US city average, all items. Returns monthly index values with computed yoy_inflation_pct per month plus a latest summary carrying BOTH adjustments — answers “what is the latest inflation rate” and “what is the current CPI-U index level” directly. Defaults to the not-seasonally-adjusted index CUUR0000SA0, the series BLS headlines; pass seasonally_adjusted: true for the seasonally adjusted index CUSR0000SA0 (the FRED CPIAUCSL series). The two differ by roughly a point, so the answer states which one it used.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
`seasonally_adjusted`	boolean	no	true returns the seasonally adjusted CPI-U index (BLS series CUSR0000SA0, same series as FRED CPIAUCSL); false or omitted returns the not-seasonally-adjusted index (CUUR0000SA0), which is the series BLS headlines and the basis of the published year-over-year inflation rate. Set it to true when the question says seasonally adjusted.
`start_year`	string	no	Start year as 4-digit string (e.g. “2020”). Optional.
`end_year`	string	no	End year as 4-digit string (e.g. “2024”). Optional.
`_apiKey`	string	no	Optional BLS registration key (free, raises the daily cap from ~25 to 500). The gateway supplies a platform key; pass your own only to override.

Example call

Arguments

{
  "seasonally_adjusted": true
}

curl

curl -X POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/econdata/mcp \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"get_cpi","arguments":{"seasonally_adjusted":true}}}'

TypeScript (@pipeworx/sdk)

import { Pipeworx } from '@pipeworx/sdk';
const pipeworx = new Pipeworx();

const result = await pipeworx.call('get_cpi', {
  "seasonally_adjusted": true
});

More examples

{
  "start_year": "2020",
  "end_year": "2024"
}

Response shape

Always returns: series_id, seasonally_adjusted, description, unit, start_year, end_year, total, data

Field	Type	Description
`series_id`	string	BLS series ID actually used — CUUR0000SA0 (not seasonally adjusted) or CUSR0000SA0 (seasonally adjusted)
`seasonally_adjusted`	boolean	Whether the returned series is seasonally adjusted (CUSR0000SA0) or not (CUUR0000SA0)
`description`	string	Series description, naming the seasonal adjustment used
`unit`	string	Unit of measurement (index 1982-84=100)
`start_year`	string \| null	Start year filter if provided, null otherwise
`end_year`	string \| null	End year filter if provided, null otherwise
`total`	integer	Number of data points returned. Equal to `returned` — BLS returns every point in the requested year range.
`returned`	integer	How many data points are in `data`. Always equal to `total` here; stated so a caller need not assume it.
`observation_order`	string	Order of the `data` array. BLS returns each series newest-first.
`data`	array	Monthly CPI data
`latest`	object	Most recent observation, carrying BOTH seasonal adjustments so the caller can tell which number answers their question. Absent when the range returned no usable data points.

Full JSON Schema

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "series_id": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "BLS series ID actually used — CUUR0000SA0 (not seasonally adjusted) or CUSR0000SA0 (seasonally adjusted)"
    },
    "seasonally_adjusted": {
      "type": "boolean",
      "description": "Whether the returned series is seasonally adjusted (CUSR0000SA0) or not (CUUR0000SA0)"
    },
    "description": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Series description, naming the seasonal adjustment used"
    },
    "unit": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Unit of measurement (index 1982-84=100)"
    },
    "start_year": {
      "type": [
        "string",
        "null"
      ],
      "description": "Start year filter if provided, null otherwise"
    },
    "end_year": {
      "type": [
        "string",
        "null"
      ],
      "description": "End year filter if provided, null otherwise"
    },
    "total": {
      "type": "integer",
      "description": "Number of data points returned. Equal to `returned` — BLS returns every point in the requested year range."
    },
    "returned": {
      "type": "integer",
      "description": "How many data points are in `data`. Always equal to `total` here; stated so a caller need not assume it."
    },
    "observation_order": {
      "type": "string",
      "enum": [
        "newest_first"
      ],
      "description": "Order of the `data` array. BLS returns each series newest-first."
    },
    "data": {
      "type": "array",
      "description": "Monthly CPI data",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "year": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Year of the observation"
          },
          "month": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Month name (e.g., January)"
          },
          "period": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Period code (e.g., M01)"
          },
          "value": {
            "type": "number",
            "description": "CPI index value"
          },
          "date": {
            "type": [
              "string",
              "null"
            ],
            "description": "First day of the covered period as an ISO date, derived from the BLS period code"
          },
          "yoy_inflation_pct": {
            "type": [
              "number",
              "null"
            ],
            "description": "Year-over-year percent change vs the same month a year earlier, or null when the prior-year month is not in range"
          }
        },
        "required": [
          "year",
          "month",
          "period",
          "value"
        ]
      }
    },
    "latest": {
      "type": "object",
      "description": "Most recent observation, carrying BOTH seasonal adjustments so the caller can tell which number answers their question. Absent when the range returned no usable data points.",
      "properties": {
        "date": {
          "type": [
            "string",
            "null"
          ],
          "description": "ISO date of the latest observation"
        },
        "index_value": {
          "type": "number",
          "description": "Index level of the series that was requested"
        },
        "seasonally_adjusted": {
          "type": "boolean",
          "description": "Which adjustment index_value is"
        },
        "index_value_sa": {
          "type": [
            "number",
            "null"
          ],
          "description": "Seasonally adjusted index level (CUSR0000SA0) for the same month"
        },
        "index_value_nsa": {
          "type": [
            "number",
            "null"
          ],
          "description": "Not-seasonally-adjusted index level (CUUR0000SA0) for the same month"
        },
        "yoy_inflation_pct": {
          "type": [
            "number",
            "null"
          ],
          "description": "Year-over-year percent change for the latest month, or null when the prior-year month is out of range"
        }
      },
      "required": [
        "date",
        "index_value",
        "seasonally_adjusted",
        "index_value_sa",
        "index_value_nsa",
        "yoy_inflation_pct"
      ]
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "series_id",
    "seasonally_adjusted",
    "description",
    "unit",
    "start_year",
    "end_year",
    "total",
    "data"
  ]
}

Connect

Add this to your MCP client config, or use one-click install buttons:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "econdata": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/econdata/mcp"
    }
  }
}

See Getting Started for client-specific install steps.

get_cpi