SAM.gov & US Government Contracting

Q: Does SAM.gov & US Government Contracting need an API key?

Yes. It reads SAM_GOV_API_KEY, CENSUS_API_KEY, FRED_API_KEY, BEA_API_KEY, BLS_API_KEY, DOL_API_KEY, DATA_GOV_API_KEY and NVD_API_KEY from its environment, and SAM_GOV_API_KEY, CENSUS_API_KEY, FRED_API_KEY, BEA_API_KEY, BLS_API_KEY, DOL_API_KEY, DATA_GOV_API_KEY and NVD_API_KEY are secrets. Put the value in your client's config on your own machine, never in a shared file.

Q: What can SAM.gov & US Government Contracting do?

It has 26 tools, including sam_search_opportunities, sam_get_opportunity and grants_search. You can search SAM.gov solicitations and read notice details, contacts and attachments, find federal grants and state/local bids on OpenGov and Bonfire and analyze federal awards, subawards, expiring contracts and spending over time.

listing.by

Search US federal and state/local contracting data, awards, grants, regulations and vendor-vetting records from public government sources.

state.local.longlisting.badge.runs_withstate.key.long

listing.install

listing.local.explain

npx -y @cliwant/mcp-sam-gov

listing.local.needs listing.local.note

SAM_GOV_API_KEY listing.env.secret listing.env.optional Optional. SAM.gov key for higher rate limits + archives older than 12 months. Keyless by default.
CENSUS_API_KEY listing.env.secret listing.env.optional Required only for census_business_patterns (the Census Data API has no keyless tier); every other tool works without it.
FRED_API_KEY listing.env.secret listing.env.optional Required only for fred_search_series and fred_series_observations (FRED has no keyless tier); every other tool works without it.
BEA_API_KEY listing.env.secret listing.env.optional Required only for bea_regional_data (the BEA Data API has no keyless tier); every other tool works without it.
BLS_API_KEY listing.env.secret listing.env.optional Optional free key for BLS labor-statistics tools (raises rate limits).
DOL_API_KEY listing.env.secret listing.env.optional Required only for dol_get_dataset (DOL's data endpoint has no keyless tier; dol_list_datasets works without it).

listing.about

Wraps public US government data sources for contracting work: SAM.gov solicitations, Grants.gov, OpenGov and Bonfire bids, USAspending and FPDS awards, plus regulation sources such as the Federal Register, eCFR and FAR/DFARS. It also covers partner vetting through OFAC sanctions, SAM exclusions, FAC audits, FDIC financials, EPA ECHO, product recalls and CourtListener litigation. The registry lists 153 tools; 26 are shown here.

Runs locally over stdio with npx (@cliwant/mcp-sam-gov) or as a Claude Desktop extension bundle. Most tools need no API key. A few optional or required keys (SAM.gov, Census, FRED, BEA, DOL) are set as environment variables. Independent project, not affiliated with SAM.gov or the GSA.

listing.can

Search SAM.gov solicitations and read notice details, contacts and attachments
Find federal grants and state/local bids on OpenGov and Bonfire
Analyze federal awards, subawards, expiring contracts and spending over time
Screen entities against OFAC sanctions and SAM exclusions
Check FDIC, single-audit, EPA and recall records for vendor vetting
Search court opinions and dockets on bid protests and False Claims Act matters
Look up FAR clauses, Federal Register documents, eCFR and NIST 800-53 controls

listing.tools 26

sam_search_opportunities
Search SAM.gov federal solicitations without an API key.
sam_get_opportunity
Full detail for a SAM.gov notice: SOW, contacts, attachments.
grants_search
Search Grants.gov federal grant opportunities.
opengov_search_solicitations
Search state and local bids on OpenGov Procurement.
bonfire_search_opportunities
Search state and local open bids on Bonfire.
usas_search_individual_awards
Line-item federal contract awards by recipient, amount and state.
usas_search_awards_by_recipient
A recipient's win history for an agency and NAICS slice.
usas_search_expiring_contracts
Find contracts expiring soon for recompete tracking.
usas_spending_over_time
Federal spending time series by year, quarter or month.
usas_search_subawards
Subcontracts on prime awards to map the supply chain.
fpds_search_awards
Search FPDS federal procurement award records.
ofac_screen_entity
Screen an entity against OFAC SDN and consolidated sanctions lists.

listing.tools_more

sam_check_exclusions
Screen against SAM.gov exclusions (debarment).
fdic_institution_financials
FDIC bank financials and health for partner vetting.
fac_search_audits
Search federal single-audit findings from the FAC.
echo_search_facilities
EPA ECHO environmental compliance and enforcement records.
openfda_enforcement
FDA recalls and enforcement actions against a supplier's products.
nhtsa_recalls
NHTSA vehicle and equipment recalls.
cpsc_recalls
CPSC consumer-product recalls.
courtlistener_search_opinions
Search federal court opinions and bid protests on CourtListener.
courtlistener_search_dockets
Search RECAP dockets for False Claims Act and qui tam matters.
fed_register_search_documents
Search Federal Register rules and notices.
ecfr_search
Full-text search of the CFR, including Title 48 (FAR).
far_clause_lookup
Look up FAR and DFARS clause text.
nist_800_53_controls
NIST SP 800-53 security and privacy controls for FedRAMP and CMMC.
usas_autocomplete_naics
Autocomplete NAICS codes to avoid invented codes.

listing.prov.mcpb_on

listing.prompts

Find active SAM.gov solicitations under NAICS 541512 closing this month
Show contracts expiring soon at the VA in NAICS 541512
Screen this company for OFAC sanctions and SAM exclusions
Look up the FAR clause for subcontracting plans

listing.setup.h

listing.setup.local

Claude Code

Run this in a terminal, in your project folder:

claude mcp add --transport stdio sam-gov-us-government-contracting --env "SAM_GOV_API_KEY=<YOUR_SAM_GOV_API_KEY>" --env "CENSUS_API_KEY=<YOUR_CENSUS_API_KEY>" --env "FRED_API_KEY=<YOUR_FRED_API_KEY>" --env "BEA_API_KEY=<YOUR_BEA_API_KEY>" --env "BLS_API_KEY=<YOUR_BLS_API_KEY>" --env "DOL_API_KEY=<YOUR_DOL_API_KEY>" --env "DATA_GOV_API_KEY=<YOUR_DATA_GOV_API_KEY>" --env "NVD_API_KEY=<YOUR_NVD_API_KEY>" -- npx -y @cliwant/mcp-sam-gov

Start Claude Code and type /mcp. sam-gov-us-government-contracting should show as connected.

Add --scope user to make it available in every project. Replace the placeholders with your own values.

Claude Desktop

Open Settings → Developer → Edit Config. It opens claude_desktop_config.json. Add:

claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sam-gov-us-government-contracting": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@cliwant/mcp-sam-gov"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SAM_GOV_API_KEY": "<YOUR_SAM_GOV_API_KEY>",
        "CENSUS_API_KEY": "<YOUR_CENSUS_API_KEY>",
        "FRED_API_KEY": "<YOUR_FRED_API_KEY>",
        "BEA_API_KEY": "<YOUR_BEA_API_KEY>",
        "BLS_API_KEY": "<YOUR_BLS_API_KEY>",
        "DOL_API_KEY": "<YOUR_DOL_API_KEY>",
        "DATA_GOV_API_KEY": "<YOUR_DATA_GOV_API_KEY>",
        "NVD_API_KEY": "<YOUR_NVD_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Save the file and restart Claude Desktop. Replace the placeholders with your own values.

Needs Node.js on your computer. The file lives in ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/ on macOS and %APPDATA%\Claude\ on Windows.

Cursor

Or add it by hand to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (all projects) or .cursor/mcp.json (this project):

mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sam-gov-us-government-contracting": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@cliwant/mcp-sam-gov"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SAM_GOV_API_KEY": "<YOUR_SAM_GOV_API_KEY>",
        "CENSUS_API_KEY": "<YOUR_CENSUS_API_KEY>",
        "FRED_API_KEY": "<YOUR_FRED_API_KEY>",
        "BEA_API_KEY": "<YOUR_BEA_API_KEY>",
        "BLS_API_KEY": "<YOUR_BLS_API_KEY>",
        "DOL_API_KEY": "<YOUR_DOL_API_KEY>",
        "DATA_GOV_API_KEY": "<YOUR_DATA_GOV_API_KEY>",
        "NVD_API_KEY": "<YOUR_NVD_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Needs Node.js on your computer. Replace the placeholders with your own values.

VS Code

Add it to .vscode/mcp.json. VS Code asks for the secret the first time and stores it securely:

.vscode/mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "sam-gov-us-government-contracting": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@cliwant/mcp-sam-gov"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SAM_GOV_API_KEY": "${input:sam-gov-api-key}",
        "CENSUS_API_KEY": "${input:census-api-key}",
        "FRED_API_KEY": "${input:fred-api-key}",
        "BEA_API_KEY": "${input:bea-api-key}",
        "BLS_API_KEY": "${input:bls-api-key}",
        "DOL_API_KEY": "${input:dol-api-key}",
        "DATA_GOV_API_KEY": "${input:data-gov-api-key}",
        "NVD_API_KEY": "${input:nvd-api-key}"
      }
    }
  },
  "inputs": [
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "sam-gov-api-key",
      "description": "SAM_GOV_API_KEY",
      "password": true
    },
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "census-api-key",
      "description": "CENSUS_API_KEY",
      "password": true
    },
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "fred-api-key",
      "description": "FRED_API_KEY",
      "password": true
    },
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "bea-api-key",
      "description": "BEA_API_KEY",
      "password": true
    },
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "bls-api-key",
      "description": "BLS_API_KEY",
      "password": true
    },
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "dol-api-key",
      "description": "DOL_API_KEY",
      "password": true
    },
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "data-gov-api-key",
      "description": "DATA_GOV_API_KEY",
      "password": true
    },
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "nvd-api-key",
      "description": "NVD_API_KEY",
      "password": true
    }
  ]
}

Needs Node.js on your computer.

Devin Desktop

Add it to ~/.config/devin/mcp_config.json (macOS and Linux) or %APPDATA%\devin\mcp_config.json (Windows):

mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sam-gov-us-government-contracting": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@cliwant/mcp-sam-gov"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SAM_GOV_API_KEY": "<YOUR_SAM_GOV_API_KEY>",
        "CENSUS_API_KEY": "<YOUR_CENSUS_API_KEY>",
        "FRED_API_KEY": "<YOUR_FRED_API_KEY>",
        "BEA_API_KEY": "<YOUR_BEA_API_KEY>",
        "BLS_API_KEY": "<YOUR_BLS_API_KEY>",
        "DOL_API_KEY": "<YOUR_DOL_API_KEY>",
        "DATA_GOV_API_KEY": "<YOUR_DATA_GOV_API_KEY>",
        "NVD_API_KEY": "<YOUR_NVD_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Refresh the MCP server list in Cascade. Replace the placeholders with your own values.

Devin Desktop is the new name for Windsurf.

Codex

codex mcp add sam-gov-us-government-contracting --env "SAM_GOV_API_KEY=<YOUR_SAM_GOV_API_KEY>" --env "CENSUS_API_KEY=<YOUR_CENSUS_API_KEY>" --env "FRED_API_KEY=<YOUR_FRED_API_KEY>" --env "BEA_API_KEY=<YOUR_BEA_API_KEY>" --env "BLS_API_KEY=<YOUR_BLS_API_KEY>" --env "DOL_API_KEY=<YOUR_DOL_API_KEY>" --env "DATA_GOV_API_KEY=<YOUR_DATA_GOV_API_KEY>" --env "NVD_API_KEY=<YOUR_NVD_API_KEY>" -- npx -y @cliwant/mcp-sam-gov

Or edit ~/.codex/config.toml directly:

config.toml

[mcp_servers.sam-gov-us-government-contracting]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@cliwant/mcp-sam-gov"]
env = { SAM_GOV_API_KEY = "<YOUR_SAM_GOV_API_KEY>", CENSUS_API_KEY = "<YOUR_CENSUS_API_KEY>", FRED_API_KEY = "<YOUR_FRED_API_KEY>", BEA_API_KEY = "<YOUR_BEA_API_KEY>", BLS_API_KEY = "<YOUR_BLS_API_KEY>", DOL_API_KEY = "<YOUR_DOL_API_KEY>", DATA_GOV_API_KEY = "<YOUR_DATA_GOV_API_KEY>", NVD_API_KEY = "<YOUR_NVD_API_KEY>" }

Needs Node.js on your computer. Replace the placeholders with your own values.

Gemini CLI

gemini mcp add -e "SAM_GOV_API_KEY=<YOUR_SAM_GOV_API_KEY>" -e "CENSUS_API_KEY=<YOUR_CENSUS_API_KEY>" -e "FRED_API_KEY=<YOUR_FRED_API_KEY>" -e "BEA_API_KEY=<YOUR_BEA_API_KEY>" -e "BLS_API_KEY=<YOUR_BLS_API_KEY>" -e "DOL_API_KEY=<YOUR_DOL_API_KEY>" -e "DATA_GOV_API_KEY=<YOUR_DATA_GOV_API_KEY>" -e "NVD_API_KEY=<YOUR_NVD_API_KEY>" sam-gov-us-government-contracting npx -- -y @cliwant/mcp-sam-gov

This adds it to the current project. Add -s user to use it everywhere.

Any client

Most clients that start local servers accept this shape:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sam-gov-us-government-contracting": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@cliwant/mcp-sam-gov"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SAM_GOV_API_KEY": "<YOUR_SAM_GOV_API_KEY>",
        "CENSUS_API_KEY": "<YOUR_CENSUS_API_KEY>",
        "FRED_API_KEY": "<YOUR_FRED_API_KEY>",
        "BEA_API_KEY": "<YOUR_BEA_API_KEY>",
        "BLS_API_KEY": "<YOUR_BLS_API_KEY>",
        "DOL_API_KEY": "<YOUR_DOL_API_KEY>",
        "DATA_GOV_API_KEY": "<YOUR_DATA_GOV_API_KEY>",
        "NVD_API_KEY": "<YOUR_NVD_API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Zed puts servers under context_servers in its settings, with the same command, args and env fields.

Needs Node.js on your computer. Replace the placeholders with your own values.

listing.faq

Can I paste mcp.tc/i/sam-gov-us-government-contracting into my MCP client?

No. SAM.gov & US Government Contracting runs on your own computer, started by your client, so it has no web address to connect to. The quick link is the page to share; the install command is npx -y @cliwant/mcp-sam-gov.

Does SAM.gov & US Government Contracting need an API key?

Yes. It reads SAM_GOV_API_KEY, CENSUS_API_KEY, FRED_API_KEY, BEA_API_KEY, BLS_API_KEY, DOL_API_KEY, DATA_GOV_API_KEY and NVD_API_KEY from its environment, and SAM_GOV_API_KEY, CENSUS_API_KEY, FRED_API_KEY, BEA_API_KEY, BLS_API_KEY, DOL_API_KEY, DATA_GOV_API_KEY and NVD_API_KEY are secrets. Put the value in your client's config on your own machine, never in a shared file.

Is SAM.gov & US Government Contracting a remote or a local server?

Local. Your client starts it as a process on your computer with npx -y @cliwant/mcp-sam-gov, which needs Node.js.

What can SAM.gov & US Government Contracting do?

It has 26 tools, including sam_search_opportunities, sam_get_opportunity and grants_search. You can search SAM.gov solicitations and read notice details, contacts and attachments, find federal grants and state/local bids on OpenGov and Bonfire and analyze federal awards, subawards, expiring contracts and spending over time.

Which clients can use it?

Any client that starts local servers: Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, Devin Desktop, Codex, Gemini CLI, Zed and others. claude.ai and ChatGPT only connect to remote servers.

Who wrote this page?

mcp.tc's robot read SAM.gov & US Government Contracting's public metadata (its package and repository pages), and an AI model drafted the text from it. A person reviews anything the checks can't confirm. The text can still be wrong, so if you spot a mistake, use Report this listing on this page.

listing.em.h

listing.em.lead_local listing.em.how

listing.em.badge

Markdown

[![SAM.gov & US Government Contracting on mcp.tc](https://mcp.tc/i/sam-gov-us-government-contracting/badge.svg)](https://mcp.tc/i/sam-gov-us-government-contracting)

HTML

<a href="https://mcp.tc/i/sam-gov-us-government-contracting"><img src="https://mcp.tc/i/sam-gov-us-government-contracting/badge.svg" alt="SAM.gov &amp; US Government Contracting on mcp.tc" height="20"></a>

listing.em.badge_note

listing.em.widget

HTML

<script src="https://mcp.tc/w/sam-gov-us-government-contracting.js" async></script>

listing.em.widget_note

iframe

HTML

<iframe src="https://mcp.tc/embed/sam-gov-us-government-contracting" title="SAM.gov &amp; US Government Contracting on mcp.tc" width="420" height="200" loading="lazy" allow="clipboard-write" style="border:0;border-radius:8px;max-width:100%"></iframe>

listing.em.iframe_note

JSON

listing.em.json_local

https://mcp.tc/i/sam-gov-us-government-contracting.json

listing.em.fields

listing.disclaimer_checked

listing.install

listing.share.h

listing.about

listing.can

listing.tools 26

listing.prompts

listing.setup.h

Claude Code

Claude Desktop

Cursor

VS Code

Devin Desktop

Codex

Gemini CLI

Any client

listing.faq

listing.em.h

listing.em.badge

listing.em.widget

iframe

JSON

listing.related

Decodo

Wigolo

ScrapeGraph

SearXNG

DuckDuckGo Search

Fetchvf.sr