Fetch historical observations (data points) for one or more FRED® series.

The obs command retrieves time-series data from the FRED API (or local cache via –from) and outputs it in a consistent, pipeline-friendly format. It supports date filtering, unit transformations, frequency aggregation, batching, and multiple output formats.

USAGE

reserve obs [subcommand]

Available Subcommands:

get	Fetch observations for one or more series
latest	Show the most recent observation for one or more series

reserve obs [subcommand] –help (for more details about a specific subcommand)

GET

reserve obs get <series1, series2>

Retrieve one or more series.

Usage:

reserve obs latest <SERIES_ID…>

lin – Levels (default)
chg – Change from previous period
ch1 – Change from year ago
pch – Percent change
pc1 – Percent change from year ago
pca – Percent change annual rate
log – Natural log

daily
weekly
monthly
quarterly
annual

avg – Average
sum – Sum
eop – End of period value

Usage Examples

## Fetch a single series:

reserve obs get GDP

## Fetch multiple series:

reserve obs get GDP CPIAUCSL UNRATE

## Filter by date range:

reserve obs get CPIAUCSL --start 2020-01-01 --end 2024-12-31

## Retrieve from local cache

reserve obs get CPIAUCSL --from cache --format jsonl

## Limit observations:

reserve obs get GDP --limit 10

## Percent change from year ago:

reserve obs get UNRATE --units pc1

## Natural log:

reserve obs get GDP --units log

## Convert monthly to quarterly (average):

reserve obs get CPIAUCSL --freq quarterly --agg avg

## Convert to annual (end of period):

reserve obs get CPIAUCSL --freq annual --agg eop

## Write to CSV:

reserve obs get GDP CPIAUCSL --format csv --out data.csv

## JSONL (pipeline friendly):

reserve obs get GDP --format jsonl

## Markdown table:

reserve obs get GDP --format md

# Write to CSV
reserve obs get GDP CPIAUCSL --format csv --out data.csv

## Fetch a single series:

reserve obs get GDP

## Fetch multiple series:

reserve obs get GDP CPIAUCSL UNRATE

## Filter by date range:

reserve obs get CPIAUCSL --start 2020-01-01 --end 2024-12-31

## Retrieve from local cache

reserve obs get CPIAUCSL --from cache --format jsonl

## Limit observations:

reserve obs get GDP --limit 10

## Percent change from year ago:

reserve obs get UNRATE --units pc1

## Natural log:

reserve obs get GDP --units log

## Convert monthly to quarterly (average):

reserve obs get CPIAUCSL --freq quarterly --agg avg

## Convert to annual (end of period):

reserve obs get CPIAUCSL --freq annual --agg eop

## Write to CSV:

reserve obs get GDP CPIAUCSL --format csv --out data.csv

## JSONL (pipeline friendly):

reserve obs get GDP --format jsonl

## Markdown table:

reserve obs get GDP --format md

# Write to CSV
reserve obs get GDP CPIAUCSL --format csv --out data.csv

LATEST

reserve obs latest

Show the most recent observation for one or more series.

Usage:

reserve obs latest <SERIES_ID…>

$ reserve obs latest GDP

$ reserve obs latest GDP CPIAUCSL UNRATE

$ reserve obs latest GDP

$ reserve obs latest GDP CPIAUCSL UNRATE

See Global Flags for additional options.