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Live & Up to Date (Sep 2026)500 Chains · 210,484 Locations

Platform Documentation & API Reference

The commercial intelligence gateway for restaurant franchise location data, in-store Point-of-Sale (POS) hardware fingerprints, statutory FDD Item 19 unit economics, multi-unit franchisee ownership trees, third-party delivery shelf telemetry, and autonomous AI coding agents.

# Authentication# AI Coding Agents & MCP# REST Endpoints# News Wire & Feeds# Equities & Benchmarks# Sync Timestamps# Bulk Exports# SDKs

Authentication & Access Models

franchisedata.io provides a 100% free open web directory for operators and researchers, plus pay-per-call programmatic API keys and stateless x402 micropayments for developers and autonomous agents.

Developers & AgentsRecommended

Prepaid API Credits

Mint an API key starting at $1.00. Deducts $0.002–$0.005 atomically per call. Balances never expire. Top up using Coinbase, Phantom, or MetaMask across Base, Polygon, Arbitrum, or Solana.

Authorization: Bearer fc_live_...
$0.003 / callTop Up Credits →
Researchers & Operators100% Free

Open Web Directory

Unlimited institutional web platform access. Completely unblurs all 500 chains, 210,484 locations, full franchisee holding entities, POS hardware audits, and CSV fleet exports.

100% Free & Open Access
$0 / monthBrowse Directory →
Autonomous BotsOn-Chain

x402 Micropayments

Stateless on-chain USDC transfer authorizations across Base, Polygon, Arbitrum, Monad, and Solana. Facilitator sponsors gas. Zero prepaid custody required.

X-Payment: <signed_auth>
Zero CustodyRFC 402

AI Coding Agents: Claude Code, Codex & Cursor

franchisedata.io is designed for seamless discovery by AI coding assistants. When a restaurant operator asks their coding agent questions like "What POS does Wendy's use in Miami?" or "Compare McDonald's Item 19 AUV to Burger King", agents automatically locate our service via standard manifests, prompt the owner to top up an API key, and call live endpoints.

Agent Discovery Manifests

Provide these URLs directly to your agent or add them to your workspace context:

skill.md

Agent system instructions & trigger rules

https://franchisedata.io/skill.md
llms.txt(also /llm.txt)

Canonical index for Claude Code & LLM crawlers

https://franchisedata.io/llms.txt
openapi.json

Machine-readable OpenAPI 3.1 specification

https://franchisedata.io/openapi.json
Model Context Protocol (MCP)

Connect our remote MCP gateway directly to Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Claude Code:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "franchisedata": {
      "url": "https://franchisedata.io/api/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer fc_live_..."
      }
    }
  }
}
Registered Remote MCP Tools17 Live Tools
search_brandsFREE. Search all 500 indexed chains by sector, category, and pricing.FREE
describe_endpointFREE. Get detailed schema and parameter documentation for an endpoint.FREE
check_balanceFREE. Check remaining credit balance on your fc_live_... key.FREE
topup_creditsFREE. Check balance, refill prepaid credits, or mint a new API key.FREE
mcdonalds_locationsShortcut to search McDonald's store locations by city, state, zip, or coordinates.$0.003 / call
starbucks_store_statusShortcut to check live operating status (open/closed, hours) for Starbucks.$0.002 / call
franchise_search_nearRadial cross-brand search for open restaurant locations near coordinates.$0.005 / call
detect_tech_stackFingerprint POS (Toast, Aloha, Brink), KDS, and online ordering gateway.$0.003 / call
get_operator_intelligenceMulti-unit franchisee holding LLC, executive contacts, and portfolio size.$0.005 / call
get_fdd_item19Statutory Item 19 AUV quartiles, royalty %, ad fund %, and initial investment.$0.010 / call
get_menu_pricingRetrieve local item pricing, national baseline benchmarks, and price variance.$0.003 / call
track_brand_changesTrack real-time store openings, closures, and chain fleet relocations.$0.003 / call
get_local_share_of_choiceHyperlocal digital shelf telemetry (basket price gap, organic vs sponsored placement).$0.005 / call
get_weekly_scorecard6-Question Weekly Operating Review Scorecard for a restaurant location.$0.010 / call
recommend_local_actionMargin-guardrailed tactical local actions with matched holdout test design.$0.005 / call
semantic_vector_searchpgvector semantic embeddings search across multi-unit operators and menus.$0.005 / call
fetch_franchise_dataUniversal runner calling any franchise REST endpoint with typed parameters.$0.002–$0.005

Real-Time Fleet Sync & Recency Timestamps

Every indexed brand response returns live harvest telemetry indicating exactly when our 24/7 autonomous daemon last verified operational status, geocodes, and digital shelf links.

{
  "status": 200,
  "data": {
    "slug": "mcdonalds",
    "name": "McDonald's",
    "total_locations": 13457,
    "last_synced_at": 1789072518000,
    "last_synced_iso": "2026-09-10T20:35:18.000Z"
  }
}

The last_synced_at field provides epoch milliseconds for high-performance cache invalidation, while last_synced_iso provides human-readable ISO 8601 UTC representation.

Core REST Endpoints

All endpoints return standard RFC JSON envelopes: { "status": 200, "message": "ok", "data": ... }.

GET/api/brandsFREE

Returns full catalog of all 500 indexed chains with categories, store counts, primary POS hardware, and endpoint prices.

curl "https://franchisedata.io/api/brands"
GET/api/brands/{brand}FREE

Commercial profile, total store count, category, and real-time ingestion timestamps (last_synced_at / last_synced_iso).

curl "https://franchisedata.io/api/brands/mcdonalds"
GET/api/brands/{brand}/locations$0.003

Query geocoded store locations by city, state, postal code, drive-thru flag, or radial distance.

Query Parameters
stateTwo-letter US state code (e.g. CA, NY, TX)
Optional
cityCity name filter (e.g. Austin, Seattle)
Optional
drive_thruSet to 1 or true to filter only drive-thru locations
Optional
limitNumber of records (default: 50, max: 250)
Optional
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer fc_live_..." \
  "https://franchisedata.io/api/brands/wendys/locations?state=FL&drive_thru=1"
GET/api/brands/{brand}/store/{storeId}/status$0.002

Evaluates live operating status considering store local timezone, current time, 24-hour service, and Sunday closures (e.g. Chick-fil-A).

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer fc_live_..." \
  "https://franchisedata.io/api/brands/starbucks/store/STA-1002/status"
GET/api/brands/{brand}/store/{storeId}/tech-stack$0.002

Identifies in-store hardware: Point-of-Sale (Toast, NCR Aloha, Oracle Simphony, Brink POS), Kitchen Display Systems (KDS), online ordering middleware (Olo, Punchh), and payment gateways.

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer fc_live_..." \
  "https://franchisedata.io/api/brands/chipotle/store/loc_chp_104/tech-stack"
GET/api/brands/{brand}/store/{storeId}/delivery$0.002

Direct marketplace links (DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub), platform customer review ratings, delivery fee markups, and multi-homing flags.

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer fc_live_..." \
  "https://franchisedata.io/api/brands/tacobell/store/loc_tb_0029/delivery"
GET/api/brands/{brand}/operators$0.004

Multi-unit franchisee entities, operating LLC census, parent holding companies (e.g. Flynn Group, Sun Holdings, Carrols), and private equity sponsors.

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer fc_live_..." \
  "https://franchisedata.io/api/brands/tacobell/operators"
GET/api/brands/{brand}/fdd$0.004

Statutory Item 19 financial disclosure models: Median AUV, top/bottom quartile revenue, royalty fee %, brand ad fund %, Item 7 initial investment range, and SBA loan default solvency.

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer fc_live_..." \
  "https://franchisedata.io/api/brands/chickfila/fdd"
GET/api/brands/{brand}/changes$0.003

Track fleet delta changes: verified new store openings, permanent closures, relocations, and re-branding events.

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer fc_live_..." \
  "https://franchisedata.io/api/brands/subway/changes?type=closure&limit=25"
GET/api/search/near$0.005

Cross-brand radial geospatial search returning all open franchise restaurants within a radius of latitude/longitude coordinates.

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer fc_live_..." \
  "https://franchisedata.io/api/search/near?lat=34.0522&lng=-118.2437&radius_miles=5"
GET/api/fdd/compare$0.020

Side-by-side comparative financial disclosure benchmark returning AUV mean, median, top/bottom quartiles, royalty fee %, ad fund %, and initial investment ranges for multiple brands in a single call.

Query Parameters
brandsComma-separated brand slugs (e.g. mcdonalds,chickfila,wendys,tacobell)
Optional
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer fc_live_..." \
  "https://franchisedata.io/api/fdd/compare?brands=mcdonalds,chickfila,wendys,tacobell"
POST/api/scout/copilotFREE / Interactive

Institutional AI Chief Real Estate Officer (CREO) copilot evaluating trade area demographics, drive-time isochrones, cannibalization risk, occupancy cost ratio (OCR), and FDD Item 12 territorial clearance.

curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"prompt": "Analyze cannibalization and drive-thru stacking for Wendy\'s on South Congress Ave", "scenario": {"brand": "Wendy\'s", "market": "Austin, TX", "fitScore": 88}}' \
  "https://franchisedata.io/api/scout/copilot"

Real-Time News Wire & Syndication Feeds

24/7 institutional wire tracking regulatory filings, franchisor distress, franchisee litigation, NLRB joint-employer wage mandates, M&A rollups, Item 19 updates, and expansion announcements across all 500 restaurant chains.

GET/api/newsFREE

Query real-time franchise news items filtered by category, brand slug, keyword search, or result limit.

Query Parameters
categorydistress, litigation, labor_wages, leadership, ma_rollup, sec_filing, fdd_update, tech_stack, pricing, expansion, investors
Optional
brandBrand slug or name (e.g. mcdonalds, tacobell, subway)
Optional
qKeyword search across headlines and content summaries
Optional
limitNumber of items (1–100, default: 50)
Optional
curl "https://franchisedata.io/api/news?category=litigation&limit=25"
GET/api/news/rssFREE

Standard RSS 2.0 XML feeds with full syndication metadata for feed readers and automated ingestion systems.

/api/news/rssAll real-time franchise wire events
/api/filings/rssSEC 10-K, 10-Q & 8-K filings
/api/fdd/rssState regulatory FDD Item 19 releases
curl "https://franchisedata.io/api/news/rss"

Restaurant Equities & Forbes Global Top 250 Tape

Consolidated real-time quote tape tracking public restaurant equities, private equity rollups, systemwide sales, public market capitalizations, valuation multiples, and institutional power scores.

GET/api/stocksFREE

Returns real-time ticker prices, daily change percentages, Top 250 composite index benchmark, top movers, systemwide sales ($B), total market cap ($B), and average Item 19 AUV.

curl "https://franchisedata.io/api/stocks"

Bulk Data Export (CSV & JSON)

Download full RFC 4180 compliant CSV or GeoJSON datasets of an entire brand's fleet enriched with in-store POS tech stacks and franchisee LLCs.

GET/api/export/brands/{brand}?format=csv$0.050 / call (Unlimited Free on Web Directory)
curl -o mcdonalds_full_fleet.csv -H "Authorization: Bearer fc_live_..." \
  "https://franchisedata.io/api/export/brands/mcdonalds?format=csv&state=CA"

Real-Time Event Streaming (SSE)

Listen to live restaurant store openings, ghost closures, and hyperlocal share-of-choice competitor shifts via Server-Sent Events.

GET/api/events/streamtext/event-stream
curl -N "https://franchisedata.io/api/events/stream?brand=mcdonalds"

Official Developer SDKs

Lightweight, zero-dependency client libraries for TypeScript and Python.

TypeScript / Node.js
import { FranchiseClient } from "./sdk/franchise";

const client = new FranchiseClient({
  apiKey: process.env.FRANCHISE_API_KEY
});

// Search locations
const stores = await client.locations.list("mcdonalds", {
  city: "Miami"
});

// Check live open/closed status
const status = await client.locations.getStatus(
  "mcdonalds",
  stores[0].id
);
Python 3.9+
from sdk.franchise import FranchiseClient

client = FranchiseClient(api_key="fc_live_...")

# Query store locations by state
stores = client.list_locations("starbucks", state="CA")

# Inspect store operating status
status = client.get_store_status("starbucks", stores[0]["id"])
print(status["status_text"])