Bullion API24 October
Building a status page for the Bullion API that explains its incidents
I built a public status page for the Bullion API, chose checks with a clear failure meaning, and gave every incident a timeline from open to close.
- +A public status page that says what each component’s check is
- +Incidents that open after two failed checks and close after three good ones, each with its own timeline
- +Email updates for confirmed subscribers when an incident opens or closes
- +A live status badge on the marketing site and a JSON status endpoint
Read how I built itBullion API24 October
Requiring a verified email address for Bullion API keys
How I put email verification in front of Bullion API access, then changed sign-up so the emailed link itself proves the address before anyone sets a password.
- +An API key can’t read price data until its owner verifies their email address
- +A blocked request gets a 403 with the code email_not_verified, before any quota is used
- +Sign-up takes only an email address, and the emailed link confirms it before a password is set
- +A “Verify your email” banner with a resend button in the dashboard
Read how I built itBullion API21 October
Adding an inflation-adjusted gold price to the Bullion API
I added a gold price in today's money and a gold/real-yield correlation to the Bullion API, and chose seasonally adjusted CPI over a simpler substitute.
- +Daily gold closes restated in the dollars of the latest CPI month
- +A public tool that charts the nominal and inflation-adjusted gold price together
- +Seasonally adjusted CPI from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, so seasonal swings don’t look like gold moving
- +A rolling correlation between gold returns and the 10-year US real Treasury yield
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Adding nine more central banks to the Bullion API's gold data
I added nine central banks to the Bullion API's gold holdings data, and had to make one rule about showing changes hold across every page.
- +Gold holdings for nine more central banks, from Denmark to Moldova
- +Central-bank gold pages now cover 52 countries
- +A weight worked out from a reported value is labelled as a calculation
- +One rule everywhere: a change the API derives itself is never labelled as buying or selling
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Building an MCP server for the Bullion API
I built a read-only MCP server so I could ask an agent about gold without handing it anything that could change an account.
- +A read-only MCP server at api.bullionapi.dev/mcp, with no write tools
- +The same data as the REST API, from prices and history to central-bank gold, rates, inflation and your portfolio
- +Sign in with OAuth 2.1 and approve exactly what an agent may read
- +A public plugin with two skills, one for market analysis and one for portfolio review
Read how I built itBullion API5 October
Adding a data page for every dataset in the Bullion API
The Bullion API has more than metal prices. I built a data page that lists every dataset, including the central-bank and rates data that moves gold.
- +Every dataset in one place: metal prices, countries and economies, production history, gold metrics and calculators
- +Central-bank gold holdings for 52 countries, with monthly changes back to October 2016
- +Reserves for 176 countries and regions, with and without gold
- +Holdings are kept apart from purchases, because a change in holdings often isn’t a purchase
Read how I built itBullion API1 October
Adding past metal prices to the Bullion API price request
I put past metal prices beside the latest price, so developers can get daily chart data and the latest figure in one request.
- +Daily prices for the dates you choose from the same request as the latest price
- +Up to five years of history at a time
- +One price per weekday, ready to plot; dates without a price are left out
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