Symbols & Metadata

Symbol lookup

Search the symbol universe with filters and pagination.

What it is

The symbol lookup endpoint returns a paginated list of instruments and lets you narrow the result set by search term, asset type, sector, and tags.

When to use it

Powering searchable ticker pickers in apps and dashboards.
Filtering the universe before signal or backtest requests.
Helping agents find the right symbol before requesting analytics.

REST example

python

import os
import requests

response = requests.get(
  'https://api.financedata.com/v1/symbols',
  params={
      'page': 1,
      'page_size': 25,
      'search': 'apple',
      'asset_type': 'stock',
      'sector': 'Technology',
  },
  headers={'X-API-Key': os.environ['FDA_KEY']},
  timeout=30,
)
response.raise_for_status()
print(response.json())

MCP example

Tool call body

{
"name": "list_symbols",
"arguments": {
  "page": 1,
  "page_size": 25,
  "search": "apple",
  "asset_type": "stock",
  "sector": "Technology"
}
}

Agent prompt that triggers it

Find likely Apple-related stock symbols in the Technology sector and list the best matches.