Search Federal Contract Opportunities

Search_Federal_Contract_Opportunities is the GovTribe MCP search surface for federal solicitations and related pre-award notices.

When To Use

Typical questions this tool answers well:

• Which open or recently posted federal opportunities match a topic, code, agency, geography, or deadline window?

• Which opportunities are Solicitation versus Pre-Solicitation, and which set-aside designations dominate a market slice?

• Which opportunities are tied to a known solicitation number or GovTribe opportunity ID?

• Which points of contact and government files are attached to matching opportunities?

• Which opportunities look similar to a known contract award, IDV, vehicle, vendor, or prior opportunity?

Required Reading

1. Search_Query_Guide: Required before setting free-text query strings when search_mode is used.

2. Search_Mode_Guide: Required before choosing keyword vs semantic retrieval.

3. Date_Filtering_Guide: Required before setting date window filters.

4. Location_Filtering_Guide: Required before setting location filters.

Input Contract

• query: Free-text query string. See Required Reading: Search_Query_Guide.l

  • type: string

  • required: no

  • default: n/a

• page: 1-based page index.

  • type: null|number

  • required: no

  • default: 1

• per_page: Rows per page.

  • type: null|number

  • required: no

  • default: 10

• search_mode: Query interpretation mode. See Required Reading: Search_Mode_Guide.

  • type: string

  • required: no

  • default: keyword

  • options: keyword, semantic

• due_date_range: Set the from value to a future date if the user wants to see open items or those they can bid on. See Required Reading: Date_Filtering_Guide.

  • type: object

  • required: no

  • default: n/a

  • shape: { from?: null|string, to?: null|string }

• posted_date: Filter by posted date. See Required Reading: Date_Filtering_Guide.

  • type: object

  • required: no

  • default: n/a

  • shape: { from?: null|string, to?: null|string }

• federal_agency_ids: Filter by federal agencies. Use GovTribe IDs.

  • type: array<string>

  • required: no

  • default: n/a

• federal_agency_ids_operator: Choose whether to include or exclude values for Federal Agency GovTribe IDs.

  • type: null|string

  • required: no

  • default: in

  • options: in, not_in

• naics_category_ids: Filter by NAICS categories. Use GovTribe IDs or NAICS codes.

  • type: array<string>

  • required: no

  • default: n/a

• naics_category_ids_operator: Choose whether to include or exclude values for NAICS Category IDs (GovTribe or NAICS code).

  • type: null|string

  • required: no

  • default: in

  • options: in, not_in

• psc_category_ids: Filter by PSC categories. Use GovTribe IDs or PSC codes.

  • type: array<string>

  • required: no

  • default: n/a

• psc_category_ids_operator: Choose whether to include or exclude values for PSC Category IDs (GovTribe or PSC code).

  • type: null|string

  • required: no

  • default: in

  • options: in, not_in

• place_of_performance_ids: Filter by place of performance. Use GovTribe location IDs or location text for countries, cities/localities, ZIP or postal codes, states/territories, or counties; matching is US-biased for ambiguous names. See Required Reading: Location_Filtering_Guide.

  • type: array<string>

  • required: no

  • default: n/a

• place_of_performance_ids_operator: Choose whether to include or exclude values for Place of Performance IDs or Locations.

  • type: null|string

  • required: no

  • default: in

  • options: in, not_in

• contact_ids: Filter by points of contact. Use GovTribe IDs.

  • type: array<string>

  • required: no

  • default: n/a

• contact_ids_operator: Choose whether to include or exclude values for Contact GovTribe IDs.

  • type: null|string

  • required: no

  • default: in

  • options: in, not_in

• federal_meta_opportunity_ids: Filter by federal meta opportunity IDs. These are GovTribe-derived linking IDs from federal contract opportunities.

  • type: array<string>

  • required: no

  • default: n/a

• federal_meta_opportunity_ids_operator: Choose whether to include or exclude values for Federal Meta Opportunity GovTribe IDs.

  • type: null|string

  • required: no

  • default: in

  • options: in, not_in

• opportunity_types: Filter by the type of federal contract opportunity.

  • type: array<string>

  • required: no

  • default: n/a

  • options: Solicitation, Pre-Solicitation, Special Notice, Limited / Sole Source Justification, Award Notice, Sale of Surplus Property, Foreign Government Standard, Cancellation

• opportunity_types_operator: Choose whether to include or exclude values for Opportunity Types.

  • type: null|string

  • required: no

  • default: in

  • options: in, not_in

• set_aside_types: Filter by the set-aside designations for small businesses.

  • type: array<string>

  • required: no

  • default: n/a

  • options: 8(a) Sole Source, Buy Indian, Competitive 8(a), Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small Business Sole Source, HUBZone Sole Source, No Set-Aside Used, Partial Small Business, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, Total Small Business, Veteran Sole Source, Veteran-Owned Small Business, Woman-Owned Small Business Sole Source, Woman-Owned Small Business

• set_aside_types_operator: Choose whether to include or exclude values for Set-Aside Types.

  • type: null|string

  • required: no

  • default: in

  • options: in, not_in

• similar_filter: Find similar to the provided govtribe_type + govtribe_id.

  • type: null|object

  • required: no

  • default: n/a

  • shape: { govtribe_type: string, govtribe_id: string }

• federal_contract_opportunity_ids: Include or exclude results by GovTribe IDs.

  • type: array<string>

  • required: no

  • default: n/a

• federal_contract_opportunity_ids_operator: Choose whether to include or exclude values for GovTribe IDs.

  • type: null|string

  • required: no

  • default: in

  • options: in, not_in

• aggregations: Aggregation keys to compute.

  • type: array<string>

  • required: no

  • default: n/a

  • options: top_federal_agencies_by_doc_count, top_set_aside_types_by_doc_count, top_locations_by_doc_count, top_naics_codes_by_doc_count, top_psc_codes_by_doc_count, top_contacts_by_doc_count

• sort: Sort configuration.

  • type: object

  • required: no

  • default: n/a

  • shape: { key?: null|string, direction?: null|string }

  • options: key: postedDate, dueDate, awardDate, _score; direction: asc, desc

• fields_to_return: Optional field list for row payloads. If omitted and per_page > 0, rows default to govtribe_id. For per_page: 0 aggregation/meta calls, this field may be omitted. Specify fields_to_return whenever the user asks for fields beyond govtribe_id, and prefer omitting it in pure aggregation workflows.

  • type: array<string>

  • required: no

  • default: n/a

  • options: govtribe_id, govtribe_ai_summary, govtribe_type, govtribe_url, solicitation_number, name, opportunity_type, set_aside_type, posted_date, due_date, award_date, descriptions, federal_meta_opportunity_id, updated_at, federal_contract_vehicle, federal_agency, place_of_performance, naics_category, psc_category, government_files, federal_contract_awards, federal_contract_idvs, points_of_contact

Output Contract

• Top-level keys:

  • current_page: Current page number when per_page > 0.

  • data: Array of result rows when per_page > 0.

  • from: First row position in the current page.

  • last_page: Last page number for current filters.

  • path: GovTribe search URL for this result set.

  • per_page: Applied page size.

  • to: Last row position in the current page.

  • total: Total matched row count for current query filters.

  • contains: Dataset label for the returned result set.

  • search_results_id_can_generate_saved_search: Saved-search eligibility flag.

  • search_results_id: Server-side search result identifier.

  • view_search_results_url: URL to open this exact result set.

  • aggregations: Aggregation payload keyed by requested aggregation names when requested.

• Row keys:

  • govtribe_id

  • govtribe_ai_summary

  • govtribe_type

  • govtribe_url

  • solicitation_number

  • name

  • opportunity_type

  • set_aside_type

  • posted_date

  • due_date

  • award_date

  • descriptions

  • federal_meta_opportunity_id

  • updated_at

  • federal_contract_vehicle

  • federal_agency

  • place_of_performance

  • naics_category

  • psc_category

  • government_files

  • federal_contract_awards

  • federal_contract_idvs

  • points_of_contact

• Relationship retrieval map:

  • federal_agency

    • resource_type: federal_agency

    • tool: Search_Federal_Agencies

    • filter: federal_agency_ids

    • nested_keys: govtribe_id, govtribe_type, govtribe_url, name

  • federal_contract_awards

    • resource_type: federal_contract_award

    • tool: Search_Federal_Contract_Awards

    • filter: federal_contract_award_ids

    • nested_keys: govtribe_id, govtribe_type, govtribe_url, name

  • federal_contract_idvs

    • resource_type: federal_contract_idv

    • tool: Search_Federal_Contract_IDVs

    • filter: federal_contract_i_d_v_ids

    • nested_keys: govtribe_id, govtribe_type, govtribe_url, name

  • federal_contract_vehicle

    • resource_type: federal_contract_vehicle

    • tool: Search_Federal_Contract_Vehicles

    • filter: federal_contract_vehicle_ids

    • nested_keys: govtribe_id, govtribe_type, govtribe_url, name

  • government_files

    • resource_type: government_file

    • tool: Search_Government_Files

    • filter: government_file_ids

    • nested_keys: govtribe_id, govtribe_type, govtribe_url, name

  • naics_category

    • resource_type: naics_category

    • tool: Search_Naics_Categories

    • filter: naics_category_ids

    • nested_keys: govtribe_id, govtribe_type, govtribe_url, name

  • place_of_performance

    • resource_type: location

    • tool: n/a

    • filter: n/a

    • fallback: No direct Search_* tool returns this resource class; use parent dataset filters and parent IDs.

    • nested_keys: govtribe_id, govtribe_type, govtribe_url, name

  • points_of_contact

    • resource_type: contact

    • tool: Search_Contacts

    • filter: contact_ids

    • nested_keys: govtribe_id, govtribe_type, name, email, govtribe_url

  • psc_category

    • resource_type: psc_category

    • tool: Search_Psc_Categories

    • filter: psc_category_ids

    • nested_keys: govtribe_id, govtribe_type, govtribe_url, name

Usage Patterns

Pattern A: Open solicitations for target NAICS codes. Tool: Search_Federal_Contract_Opportunities

{
  "query": "",
  "search_mode": "keyword",
  "fields_to_return": [
    "govtribe_id"
  ],
  "naics_category_ids": [
    "<NAICS_OR_GOVTRIBE_ID_1>",
    "<NAICS_OR_GOVTRIBE_ID_2>"
  ],
  "naics_category_ids_operator": "in",
  "opportunity_types": [
    "Solicitation"
  ],
  "opportunity_types_operator": "in",
  "due_date_range": {
    "from": "now/d",
    "to": null
  },
  "sort": {
    "key": "dueDate",
    "direction": "asc"
  },
  "page": 1,
  "per_page": 25
}

Pattern B: Topic + set-aside + due within the next 30 days. Tool: Search_Federal_Contract_Opportunities

{
  "query": "cloud modernization",
  "search_mode": "semantic",
  "fields_to_return": [
    "govtribe_id"
  ],
  "set_aside_types": [
    "Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business"
  ],
  "set_aside_types_operator": "in",
  "due_date_range": {
    "from": "now/d",
    "to": "now+30d/d"
  },
  "sort": {
    "key": "dueDate",
    "direction": "asc"
  },
  "page": 1,
  "per_page": 20
}

Pattern C: Exact solicitation lookup by solicitation number. Tool: Search_Federal_Contract_Opportunities

{
  "query": "\"W912HQ-24-R-0123\"",
  "search_mode": "keyword",
  "fields_to_return": [
    "govtribe_id"
  ],
  "sort": {
    "key": "postedDate",
    "direction": "desc"
  },
  "page": 1,
  "per_page": 10
}

Pattern D: Aggregation-only market scan by agency and set-aside mix. Tool: Search_Federal_Contract_Opportunities

{
  "query": "",
  "search_mode": "keyword",
  "federal_agency_ids": [
    "<FEDERAL_AGENCY_ID>"
  ],
  "federal_agency_ids_operator": "in",
  "aggregations": [
    "top_set_aside_types_by_doc_count",
    "top_naics_codes_by_doc_count",
    "top_contacts_by_doc_count"
  ],
  "sort": {
    "key": "_score",
    "direction": "desc"
  },
  "per_page": 0
}

Then rerun with per_page > 0 and the same filters if the user asks for row-level examples behind the rollups.

Pattern E: Find opportunities similar to a known award or IDV. Tool: Search_Federal_Contract_Opportunities

{
  "query": "",
  "search_mode": "semantic",
  "fields_to_return": [
    "govtribe_id"
  ],
  "similar_filter": {
    "govtribe_type": "federal_contract_award",
    "govtribe_id": "<FEDERAL_CONTRACT_AWARD_ID>"
  },
  "sort": {
    "key": "_score",
    "direction": "desc"
  },
  "page": 1,
  "per_page": 15
}

Pattern F: Incumbent discovery workflow for a known opportunity thread. Tool: Search_Federal_Contract_Opportunities

{
  "query": "",
  "search_mode": "keyword",
  "fields_to_return": [
    "govtribe_id"
  ],
  "federal_meta_opportunity_ids": [
    "<FEDERAL_META_OPPORTUNITY_ID>"
  ],
  "federal_meta_opportunity_ids_operator": "in",
  "sort": {
    "key": "_score",
    "direction": "desc"
  },
  "page": 1,
  "per_page": 25
}