# UK Find a Tender Alerts: New Public Contracts (`accountable_eel/uk-tender-alerts`) Actor

New UK public contract notices from Find a Tender and Contracts Finder by keyword, CPV code or region, with a true monitoring mode that only returns and bills for notices new since your last run.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/accountable_eel/uk-tender-alerts.md
- **Developed by:** [Adrian Voss](https://apify.com/accountable_eel) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.50 / 1,000 tender notice returneds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## UK Find a Tender Alerts: New Public Contracts

**Get new UK public contract notices by keyword, CPV code, buyer or region, as soon as they're published.**
Search Find a Tender (above-threshold contracts) and optionally Contracts Finder (the below-threshold SME market) — the UK government's own OCDS notice feeds. Turn on monitoring mode and run it on a schedule to get only the notices that are new since your last run, charged per notice and free on a quiet day.

**Related actors:** for EU/EEA above-threshold notices (TED, post-Brexit a different feed) use [EU Tender Alerts](https://apify.com/accountable_eel/eu-tender-alerts). This actor is UK-only.

### How to use

1. **In the Apify Console.** Open the actor page and click **Start** — the `keywords` field is already pre-filled with a working example. Results land in the run's dataset as soon as each item is found.
2. **Via the API.** Call it directly with a POST request — no Console needed once you have an API token:
   ```bash
   curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~uk-tender-alerts/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>" \
     -X POST \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{"keywords":["construction"]}'
   ```
3. **On a schedule.** Save this actor as an Apify **Task** with the input you want, then add a **Schedule** (hourly, daily, weekly) so it runs on its own — no server of your own required.

### Input

```json
{
  "keywords": [
    "construction"
  ]
}
```

One keyword or phrase per line, matched against the notice title and description. Combine with CPV codes, buyer names and regions below (optional). Leave empty to list recent UK notices without a keyword filter. Accepted formats: construction, IT services, "waste management".

One combined search runs per call. Keywords are matched against title and description; optional CPV codes are prefix-matched, buyer names are contains-matched, and regions are NUTS prefix-matched (UKI = London). Filters run after the fetch. At least the date window always applies — an empty keyword list still returns recent notices. The search run itself is free; you're billed per notice actually returned.

### Output

One row per notice, for example:

| query | found | status | searchSummary | noticeCount | truncated | monitorStatus | notices | source | ocid | noticeId | noticeType | title | description | buyerName | buyerRegion | cpvCodes | valueGbp | currency | publishedAt | deadline | procedureType | lotsCount | noticeUrl | isNew | firstSeenAt | scrapedAt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| construction | true | OK | <search run> | <notices returned> | <more results were available> | <monitoring status> | \<all notices (full list)> | <source> | <ocid> | <notice id> | <notice type> | <notice title> | <description> | \<buyer / contracting authority> | \<buyer region (nuts)> | <cpv codes> | \<value (gbp)> | <currency> | <published on> | <submission deadline> | <procedure type> | <lots> | <notice page> | \<is this notice new?> | <first seen on a run> | 1970-01-01T00:00:00.000Z |

A miss comes back as a row with `"found": false` and is never charged. `valueGbp` is `null` when the notice does not publish a value — never `0`.

### Pricing

- **Tender notice returned**: $3 per 1,000 notices

Plus a $0.00005 start fee per run. Each event above is billed independently, only when it actually returns data — misses (`found:false`) are never charged.

### Example runs

Paste any of these into the Input tab and press Start. All three return rows with no key, no token
and no account of your own beyond an Apify login.

**UK construction tenders, last 7 days, Find a Tender.** The default shape.

```json
{
  "keywords": ["construction"],
  "noticeTypes": "tender",
  "sources": "findATender",
  "sinceDays": 7
}
```

**London (NUTS UKI) public contracts over 100,000 GBP.**

```json
{
  "regions": ["UKI"],
  "minValueGbp": 100000,
  "sinceDays": 14,
  "noticeTypes": "tender"
}
```

**IT and software tenders by CPV prefix, with monitoring on.**

```json
{
  "cpvCodes": ["72"],
  "noticeTypes": "tender",
  "sinceDays": 7,
  "onlyNewSinceLastRun": true
}
```

### Use it from Clay, n8n, Make, or an AI agent

This actor runs synchronously over plain HTTP — call it directly from a script, a workflow tool, or an AI agent, no Apify Console needed once you have an API token.

```bash
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~uk-tender-alerts/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>" \
  -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"keywords":["construction"]}'
```

**n8n.** Add an HTTP Request node: Method `POST`, URL `https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~uk-tender-alerts/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>`, Body Content Type `JSON`, JSON Body `{"keywords":["construction"]}` (swap in an expression from an earlier node for a real value).

**Clay.** Add an "HTTP API" column: Method `POST`, URL `https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~uk-tender-alerts/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>`, Body `{"keywords":["{{search}}"]}`, mapping the row's search into the `keywords` array.

**MCP.** In Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client with the Apify MCP server, ask for "UK Find a Tender new contract alerts" — the agent will find and run this actor.

# Actor input Schema

## `keywords` (type: `array`):

One keyword or phrase per line, matched against the notice title and description. Combine with CPV codes, buyer names and regions below (optional). Leave empty to list recent UK notices without a keyword filter. Accepted formats: construction, IT services, "waste management". You're only charged for the ones we actually find — a miss costs nothing.

## `cpvCodes` (type: `array`):

Optional. Common Procurement Vocabulary codes, matched as a prefix (72 matches 72000000). A notice with any one of these prefixes qualifies. Leave empty to not filter by CPV code.

## `testRun` (type: `boolean`):

Turn this on to test your input on a small sample before running the full list. Turn it off to process everything.

## `onlyFound` (type: `boolean`):

Only keep rows where something was actually found. Misses are always free, whether or not you show them here.

## `includeKeywords` (type: `array`):

Optional. Only keep results that mention at least one of these words (e.g. a job title, a city, a product name). Leave empty to keep everything.

## `excludeKeywords` (type: `array`):

Optional. Drop any result that mentions one of these words. Leave empty to skip nothing.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Up to 500. Caps how many notices you get (and pay for) in one run.

## `buyerNames` (type: `array`):

Optional. Keep notices whose contracting authority name contains any of these strings (for example NHS, Ministry of Defence).

## `regions` (type: `array`):

Optional. NUTS codes matched as a prefix, for example UKI for London, UKC for the North East. Leave empty for the whole UK.

## `minValueGbp` (type: `integer`):

Optional. Only keep notices whose published value is at least this much. Many notices do not publish a value at all — this filter only narrows the subset that does; it never drops a notice just for a missing value.

## `maxValueGbp` (type: `integer`):

Optional. Only keep notices whose published value is at most this much. Notices with no published value are kept.

## `noticeTypes` (type: `string`):

Which OCDS notice types to keep after the fetch. Default is tenders only.

## `sources` (type: `string`):

Find a Tender covers above-threshold UK contracts. Contracts Finder is the below-threshold SME market. Default is Find a Tender only.

## `sinceDays` (type: `integer`):

How far back to search by the notice's last-updated / published date.

## `onlyNewSinceLastRun` (type: `boolean`):

On: only new notice ids since your last run are returned and charged for — run this on a schedule as a tender alert. Off: every matching notice is returned every time.

## `deltaName` (type: `string`):

Optional. Name this search's monitoring memory so you can tell two schedules of this actor apart, or keep one memory across an input change. Leave empty to auto-derive one from your filters.

## `columns` (type: `array`):

Choose which pieces of information to include in each result row. All are included by default.

## `expandRows` (type: `boolean`):

When on, each notice found gets its own row instead of being grouped under its search. You're still only charged once per search, no matter how many rows it produces.

## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

Parallel requests. Keep conservative — this target has no browser fallback, so getting blocked costs more than slow-and-steady.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "keywords": [
    "construction"
  ],
  "cpvCodes": [],
  "testRun": false,
  "onlyFound": false,
  "includeKeywords": [],
  "excludeKeywords": [],
  "maxResults": 100,
  "buyerNames": [],
  "regions": [],
  "noticeTypes": "tender",
  "sources": "findATender",
  "sinceDays": 7,
  "onlyNewSinceLastRun": false,
  "deltaName": "",
  "columns": [
    "searchSummary",
    "noticeCount",
    "truncated",
    "monitorStatus",
    "notices",
    "source",
    "ocid",
    "noticeId",
    "noticeType",
    "title",
    "description",
    "buyerName",
    "buyerRegion",
    "cpvCodes",
    "valueGbp",
    "currency",
    "publishedAt",
    "deadline",
    "procedureType",
    "lotsCount",
    "noticeUrl",
    "isNew",
    "firstSeenAt"
  ],
  "expandRows": true,
  "maxConcurrency": 1
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "keywords": [
        "construction"
    ],
    "cpvCodes": [],
    "includeKeywords": [],
    "excludeKeywords": [],
    "buyerNames": [],
    "regions": []
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("accountable_eel/uk-tender-alerts").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "keywords": ["construction"],
    "cpvCodes": [],
    "includeKeywords": [],
    "excludeKeywords": [],
    "buyerNames": [],
    "regions": [],
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("accountable_eel/uk-tender-alerts").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "keywords": [
    "construction"
  ],
  "cpvCodes": [],
  "includeKeywords": [],
  "excludeKeywords": [],
  "buyerNames": [],
  "regions": []
}' |
apify call accountable_eel/uk-tender-alerts --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,accountable_eel/uk-tender-alerts"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/kWnKhTRze5O37fRGr/builds/MHvz6OZhb5zkP69Ms/openapi.json