Reported issues for bls-mcp-server
Pod holds 23 of 72 problems reported by people outside the maintainer team. Issues filed by the project's own owners, members and collaborators are excluded entirely — a maintainer's release checklist is not a warning to a prospective user.
Back to bls-mcp-server.
Most discussed
bug(bls_get_series): one unknown SeriesID discards the whole batch's data
Summary
parseSeriesResponse currently throws as soon as any upstream message says a series does not exist or has no data. BLS can return those per-series advisories with REQUEST_SUCCEEDED and usable observations for other requested IDs, so one unresolved ID discards the rest of a successful batch.
Reproduction
{"name":"bls_get_series","arguments":{"series_ids":["LNS14000000","LNS99999999"],"start_year":2025,"end_year":2025}}
BLS returns observations for LNS14000000 an
Read the thread · 2026-08-02 · open · 4 comments
chore(canvas): remove vestigial dataframe truncation metadata
Use case
bls_get_series and bls_dataframe_describe advertise dataframe-materialization truncation metadata that this server never produces. CanvasBridge.registerDataframe() sends every supplied row to the framework's registerTable(), and its only production caller supplies neither a row cap nor a truncation flag. The exposed fields therefore add permanent false/absent values to two tool contracts without describing a real outcome.
Related: #46
Proposed behavior
Remove the u
Read the thread · 2026-07-17 · closed · 4 comments
bug(bls_list_surveys): AP and CW capability flags deny calculations the API returns
Server version
0.4.2
mcp-ts-core version
0.9.21
Runtime
Bun (hosted)
Runtime version
n/a — black-box via claude.ai connector
Transport
http (Streamable HTTP)
Description
bls_list_surveys reports allowsNetChange: false, allowsPercentChange: false for AP (Average Price Data) and CW (CPI-W), but bls_get_series with calculations: true returns calculations for both. The flags — and the bls_get_series guidance to "check bls_list_surveys first" — a
Read the thread · 2026-06-08 · closed · 3 comments
feat(bls_get_series): add request_echo and spill notice to structuredContent output
bls_get_series is the highest-value tool in this server — it fetches time-series data for the agent's chosen series. When results look wrong (unexpected year range, missing series data, wrong number of observations), there is no structured signal in structuredContent confirming what the server actually requested from the BLS API. Agents can only re-read the input schema and retry blind.
Status
Partial. Shipped in 0.2.3: bls_get_series got an enrichment block (totalObservations, `n
Read the thread · 2026-05-29 · closed · 3 comments
feat(responses): surface query echo and filter echo in structuredContent output
Three tools — bls_search_series, bls_list_surveys, and bls_get_latest — return results with no structured record of what parameters were actually applied. When an agent gets fewer results than expected, it has no way to confirm via structuredContent whether its filters were interpreted as intended (e.g., was survey: 'ce' treated as CE? was the category filter active?). Without parameter echo, the only debugging path is re-reading the input schema and retrying blind.
Status
Par
Read the thread · 2026-05-29 · closed · 3 comments
bug(bls_get_series): BLS missing-value sentinel "-" passed through undeclared — breaks float parsing and canvas SQL
Summary
BLS uses the literal string - when an observation is unavailable or suppressed. bls_get_series and bls_get_latest currently expose that value as if it were numeric, count it without qualification, and write it to DataCanvas as text that fails ordinary numeric casts.
Reproduction
{"name":"bls_get_series","arguments":{"series_ids":["LNS14000000"],"start_year":2025,"end_year":2025}}
The October 2025 row has value: "-" and a lapse-in-appropriations footnote. The
Read the thread · 2026-08-02 · open · 2 comments
bug(bls-api-service): an invalid BLS_API_KEY is reported as quota_exceeded
Server version
0.4.9
mcp-ts-core version
0.10.14
Runtime
Bun
Runtime version
Bun 1.3.x
Transport
stdio
Description
BLS returns status: "REQUEST_NOT_PROCESSED" for at least two distinct causes: a key that has exhausted its 500/day quota, and a key the API rejects as invalid. parseSeriesResponse (src/services/bls-api/bls-api-service.ts) attributes the status to quota unconditionally:
if (parsed.status === 'REQUEST_NOT_PROCESSED') {
throw serviceUna
[Read the thread](https://github.com/cyanheads/bls-labor-mcp-server/issues/56) · 2026-07-17 · closed · 2 comments
### bug(responses): get_latest double-lists failed series; dataframe_query notice cites wrong cap param
### Server version
0.4.2
### mcp-ts-core version
0.9.21
### Runtime
Bun (hosted)
### Runtime version
n/a — black-box via claude.ai connector
### Transport
http (Streamable HTTP)
### Description
Two minor output-shape papercuts found while field-testing.
### Steps to reproduce
1. `bls_get_latest({ series_ids: ["LNS14000000", "BOGUS999"] })`
2. `bls_dataframe_query({ sql: "<a 20-row SELECT>", preview: 3 })` (`row_limit` defaults to 1000)
### Actual behavior
1. **`bls_get_latest` dou
[Read the thread](https://github.com/cyanheads/bls-labor-mcp-server/issues/42) · 2026-06-08 · closed · 2 comments
## Most recent
### bug(bls_dataframe_drop): provider failures erase metadata and report success
### Server version
0.5.1
### mcp-ts-core version
^0.12.3
### Runtime
Bun 1.4.0
### Transport
DataCanvas service path
### Description
`CanvasBridge.drop()` deletes dataframe metadata before attempting the physical drop, then returns `true` when the provider operation throws. The caller is told the dataframe was dropped even though the table may still exist and its recovery metadata is gone.
### Steps to reproduce
1. Register a dataframe so its metadata exists in tenant state.
2. Make `
[Read the thread](https://github.com/cyanheads/bls-labor-mcp-server/issues/74) · 2026-08-31 · open · 0 comments
### bug(bls-observations): partial routing violates request-order and missing-series contracts
### Server version
0.5.1
### mcp-ts-core version
^0.12.3
### Runtime
Bun 1.4.0
### Transport
Observation-mirror routing
### Description
Partial observation-mirror routing can reorder `bls_get_series.series[]`, despite the output schema declaring request order. With live fallback disabled, a missed SeriesID is also omitted from `series[]`, contradicting the declared zero-observation entry contract.
Related: #25, #45
### Steps to reproduce
1. Configure a ready mirror that contains rows
[Read the thread](https://github.com/cyanheads/bls-labor-mcp-server/issues/73) · 2026-08-31 · open · 0 comments
### bug(bls-observations): sync subprocess never initializes the mirror service
### Server version
0.5.1
### mcp-ts-core version
^0.12.3
### Runtime
Node.js 26.5.0
### Transport
Direct observation-mirror worker invocation
### Description
The documented observation-mirror init and scheduled refresh worker exits before syncing because the child entry calls `getBlsObservationsService()` without initializing the service.
Related: #26
### Steps to reproduce
1. Run `bun run rebuild`.
2. Set `BLS_OBSERVATIONS_MIRROR_ENABLED=true` and a writable `BLS_OBSERVATIONS_MIRROR
[Read the thread](https://github.com/cyanheads/bls-labor-mcp-server/issues/72) · 2026-08-31 · open · 0 comments
### bug(bls_dataframe_query): registered schemas report every column as VARCHAR
### Server version
0.5.1
### mcp-ts-core version
^0.12.3
### Runtime
Bun 1.4.0
### Transport
HTTP (Streamable HTTP), `CANVAS_PROVIDER_TYPE=duckdb`
### Description
`bls_dataframe_describe` reports every table registered by `bls_dataframe_query` as `VARCHAR`, regardless of the DuckDB result types. A client following the documented describe-before-query workflow receives a false schema for numeric and boolean expressions.
### Steps to reproduce
1. Materialize any `bls_get_series` spill t
[Read the thread](https://github.com/cyanheads/bls-labor-mcp-server/issues/71) · 2026-08-31 · open · 0 comments
### bug(bls_search_series): blank filters execute unfiltered searches
### Server version
0.5.1
### mcp-ts-core version
^0.12.3
### Runtime
Bun 1.4.0
### Transport
HTTP (Streamable HTTP)
### Description
`bls_search_series` accepts blank `survey` and `area` filters, echoes them as applied, and silently executes an unfiltered search. This makes malformed input look like a successful filtered query.
Related: #18, #64
### Steps to reproduce
1. Call `bls_search_series` with `{"query":"employment","survey":""}`.
2. Observe a successful broad result (`totalCou
[Read the thread](https://github.com/cyanheads/bls-labor-mcp-server/issues/70) · 2026-08-31 · open · 0 comments
### bug(bls_search_series): area filtering after the FTS cap returns false-empty results
### Server version
0.5.1
### mcp-ts-core version
^0.12.3
### Runtime
Bun 1.4.0
### Transport
HTTP (Streamable HTTP)
### Description
`bls_search_series` applies `area` only after the FTS candidate query has already been capped at 1,000 rows. Broad national terms can fill that pool before any local series is considered, so a valid geographic workflow returns a false empty result.
Related: #7, #62
### Steps to reproduce
1. Call `bls_search_series` with `{"query":"unemployment rate","are
[Read the thread](https://github.com/cyanheads/bls-labor-mcp-server/issues/69) · 2026-08-31 · open · 0 comments
### feat(bls_get_series): spill response names only bls_dataframe_query — canvas column names unreachable
### Use case
When `bls_get_series` spills, the inline preview is not the canvas schema: it uses camelCase fields, while the dataframe contains snake_case columns and additional fields. A spill response that directs callers straight to `bls_dataframe_query` makes them guess the SQL columns.
Related: #66
### Proposed behavior
For an enabled canvas, every spill discovery surface must give the same two-step workflow: call `bls_dataframe_describe` with `dataset.name` to inspect `column_schema`, t
[Read the thread](https://github.com/cyanheads/bls-labor-mcp-server/issues/68) · 2026-08-13 · closed · 1 comment
### bug(mirror): observation queries use limit 1,000,000 and fail the framework's mirror query bounds
## Validation result
The reported framework failure no longer exists on the server's pinned `@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core` 0.12.3.
The issue was filed while SQLite mirror stores applied a default query ceiling of 1,000 rows. `@cyanheads/mcp-ts-core` 0.11.3 changed mirror-store ceilings to opt-in: when `limits.limit` is omitted, any positive safe integer is accepted. `bls-labor-mcp-server` does not declare a limit ceiling, so both existing `limit: 1_000_000` calls pass current framework validation.
[Read the thread](https://github.com/cyanheads/bls-labor-mcp-server/issues/67) · 2026-08-10 · closed · 1 comment
### feat(canvas): hide dataframe tools when DataCanvas is disabled
### Use case
On a deployment with `CANVAS_PROVIDER_TYPE=none` (the framework default), `bls_dataframe_describe` and `bls_dataframe_query` are advertised through `tools/list` even though the initialized canvas bridge is unavailable and both handlers return `canvas_unavailable`. `bls_dataframe_drop` has the same problem if `BLS_DATAFRAME_DROP_ENABLED=true` while canvas remains disabled.
The advertised server instructions also describe large results as spilling to a DataCanvas dataframe, although
[Read the thread](https://github.com/cyanheads/bls-labor-mcp-server/issues/66) · 2026-08-02 · closed · 1 comment
### bug(bls_list_surveys): category map covers 36 of 70 surveys — CW, SU, EN, LE and 30 others unreachable
### Server version
0.4.11
### mcp-ts-core version
0.10.14
### Runtime
Bun
### Runtime version
1.3.14
### Transport
HTTP (Streamable HTTP)
### OS
macOS 25.1.0
### Description
`CATEGORY_MAP` in `bls-list-surveys.tool.ts` covers 36 of the 70 surveys the BLS `/surveys` endpoint returns. The other 34 are unreachable through any `category` value, and the omissions include the headline members of the categories that do exist — so a caller who filters by category concludes those surveys don
[Read the thread](https://github.com/cyanheads/bls-labor-mcp-server/issues/65) · 2026-08-02 · open · 0 comments
### bug(bls_search_series): survey filter dead-ends on un-indexed surveys; description advertises OE, which is off by default
### Server version
0.4.11
### mcp-ts-core version
0.10.14
### Runtime
Bun
### Runtime version
1.3.14
### Transport
HTTP (Streamable HTTP)
### OS
macOS 25.1.0
### Description
`bls_search_series` accepts any two-letter survey code, but the offline catalog indexes only 12 of the 70 surveys `bls_list_surveys` returns. Filtering on one of the other 58 yields an empty result whose notice blames the query, sending the caller to reword something that can never match.
The tool description m
[Read the thread](https://github.com/cyanheads/bls-labor-mcp-server/issues/64) · 2026-08-02 · open · 0 comments
### bug(bls-catalog): JOLTS, ECEC and productivity series all share one title — search cannot distinguish them
### Server version
0.4.11
### mcp-ts-core version
0.10.14
### Runtime
Bun
### Runtime version
1.3.14
### Transport
HTTP (Streamable HTTP)
### OS
macOS 25.1.0
### Description
For three indexed surveys, every catalog entry carries the identical synthesized title, so `bls_search_series` cannot distinguish one series from another within them:
| Survey | Series indexed | Distinct titles | Title on every row |
|:---|---:|---:|:---|
| JT — JOLTS | 2,060 | 1 | `JOLTS - Job Openings and Lab
[Read the thread](https://github.com/cyanheads/bls-labor-mcp-server/issues/63) · 2026-08-02 · open · 0 comments
### feat(bls_search_series): add offset paging — results past the 50-row limit are unreachable
`bls_search_series` returns at most 50 results with no way to reach the rest. `limit` is capped at 50 and there is no `offset` or `cursor`, so a query whose enrichment reports `totalCount: 1002` exposes 50 series and permanently hides the remainder. It is the anchor tool for resolving concepts to SeriesIDs, so a caller that cannot find the right series in the first page has no move except rewording the query.
The truncation is reported honestly — `truncated: true`, `shown`, `cap`, and a notice
[Read the thread](https://github.com/cyanheads/bls-labor-mcp-server/issues/62) · 2026-08-02 · open · 0 comments
### bug(bls_get_latest): BLS "Invalid Series" reported as "series may exist but has no data"
## Summary
BLS reports malformed IDs as `Invalid Series for Series <id>`. The parser recognizes only `does not exist`, so `bls_get_latest` misreports malformed IDs as a possibly valid series with no current observation.
## Reproduction
```json
{"name":"bls_get_latest","arguments":{"series_ids":["BOGUS123"]}}
The upstream response is REQUEST_SUCCEEDED with an empty series block and the message Invalid Series for Series BOGUS123.
Required behavior
- Classify `Invalid Series for Se
Read the thread · 2026-08-02 · closed · 1 comment
bug(bls-api-service): declared recovery hints never reach the client for service-raised errors
Summary
The tools declare recovery guidance for service-raised errors, but several BlsApiService throw sites omit ctx.recoveryFor(reason). Those failures therefore lack structuredContent.error.data.recovery.hint and the formatted Recovery: line.
Required behavior
- Every service throw whose reason is declared by the calling tool spreads
ctx.recoveryFor(reason)into its error data. - Cover the data paths for
quota_exceeded,series_locked,series_not_found, `no_data_for_pe
Read the thread · 2026-08-02 · closed · 1 comment
The remaining reports are on the project's issue tracker.