Fed Balance Sheet Screensaver
The Fed Balance Sheet screensaver charts the U.S. Federal Reserve's total balance sheet size over time — the real figure central-bank watchers use to track quantitative easing and tightening — refreshed by a background pipeline using your free FRED API key. It's free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.
How the Fed Balance Sheet screensaver works
A background pipeline reads the Federal Reserve's real weekly balance-sheet total from the St. Louis Fed's FRED data service, using your free key.
The chart plots the real total over recent years, so the post-2020 expansion and later runoff are both visible.
The current total and its change from the prior week are shown alongside the chart.
Readings refresh on the pipeline's schedule, not live tick by tick.
A worked example
The chart's climbing stretch is the real 2020 expansion; its later decline is the real runoff since — an honest picture straight from the Fed's own published series, not a stylized illustration.
Settings & tips
- Accent recolours the chart line.
- Run
automation/run.py fedbalanceon your pipeline machine to refresh the data. - A free FRED API key is required — see the site's setup notes.
Frequently asked questions
- Is the data real?
- Yes. It comes straight from the St. Louis Fed's FRED data service, the real published weekly balance-sheet series.
- Why does it need a pipeline?
- FRED's JSON API requires a free key, which stays on your pipeline machine and never reaches the browser.
- How do I get a key?
- Register for free at the FRED website — no cost, approval is usually immediate.
- Is it free?
- Yes — free to use; only the pipeline's FRED key requires a free signup.