Docs
Observation contract
Every paid response is an Observation. Honesty fields are required so agents can cite prints without guessing cadence or trust tier.
freshness_classeod | weekly | monthly | decree | …qualityofficial | indicative | derived | delayedlicense_tagRedistribution posture (fred_public, usgs_public, …)source{ name, series_id, url }provenanceretrieved_at, cache_hit, cache_ttl_s
Deeper product copy: Freshness & quality →
What is freshness_class?
freshness_class describes the economic cadence of the print — eod, weekly, monthly, decree, and related classes. Agents should treat weekly EIA stocks differently from monthly Pink Sheet metals; the field makes that explicit.
What does quality mean?
quality is the trust tier: official (direct agency), indicative (compiled or pending license nuance), derived (computed with inputs listed in provenance), or delayed. Never assume exchange real-time from an indicative monthly print.
Why are license_tag and provenance required?
license_tag states redistribution posture (fred_public, us_gov_public, usgs_public, …). provenance records retrieved_at, cache_hit, and cache_ttl_s so agents know whether they hit a warm cache and when the upstream was last fetched.