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pp-us-data

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Use official US public data recipes for CPI, unemployment, Census population setup/lookups, BEA industry setup, and region-comparison briefs. Trigger phrases: US CPI, unemployment rate, Census population, BEA industry data, compare US regions, us-data-pp-cli.

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Source SKILL.md: https://github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/blob/HEAD/cli-skills/pp-us-data/SKILL.md

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US Data — Printing Press CLI

Prerequisites: Install the CLI

This skill drives the us-data-pp-cli binary. You must verify the CLI is installed before invoking any command from this skill. If it is missing, install it first:

  1. Install via the Printing Press installer: 
    npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install us-data --cli-only
  2. Verify: us-data-pp-cli --version
  3. Ensure $GOPATH/bin (or $HOME/go/bin) is on $PATH.

If the npx install fails (no Node, offline, etc.), fall back to a direct Go install (requires Go 1.26.5 or newer):

go install github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/other/us-data/cmd/us-data-pp-cli@latest

If --version reports "command not found" after install, the install step did not put the binary on $PATH. Do not proceed with skill commands until verification succeeds.

When To Use

Use us-data-pp-cli when an agent needs source-backed US public economic or demographic context from BLS, Census, or BEA.

  • You need the latest BLS CPI or national unemployment snapshot.
  • You need a Census population lookup for a supported city/state and have a Census API key.
  • You need to explain what auth is missing for Census or BEA workflows.
  • You need a compact region-comparison shell for a research brief.

When Not To Use

  • Do not use it for forecasts, investment advice, legal advice, or policy conclusions.
  • Do not treat missing data as proof that the fact does not exist.
  • Do not use it as a full Census/BLS/BEA endpoint mirror; this CLI is recipe-first.

Setup

BLS CPI and national unemployment commands work without credentials by default.

Census data queries require:

export US_DATA_CENSUS_API_KEY="..."

BEA data queries require:

export US_DATA_BEA_API_KEY="..."

Recipes

CPI Snapshot

us-data-pp-cli cpi --agent

Use this for a compact BLS CPI result with latest value, prior value, calculated percent change, and freshness caveat.

National Unemployment

us-data-pp-cli unemployment --agent

Use this for a national BLS unemployment snapshot. For state/local unemployment, pass an explicit BLS series ID until state mapping is expanded.

Population Setup Or Lookup

us-data-pp-cli population --place "Austin, TX" --agent

If US_DATA_CENSUS_API_KEY is missing, the command returns setup guidance. If a key is present, it fetches the supported Census place population.

Region Comparison

us-data-pp-cli compare-regions "Seattle, WA" "Austin, TX" --agent

Use this to prepare an agent-readable comparison shell. The output names available facts and any missing source credentials.

Source Coverage

us-data-pp-cli sources --agent

Use this before a larger brief to confirm which sources are live in the current environment.

Output Notes

--agent enables compact JSON so the result can be consumed by an agent without parsing prose. Results include source names and caveats because public datasets have release schedules, vintages, and revisions.