USAspending Federal Contract Awards Monitor (No API Key)

For GovCon sales and business development teams, capture managers, subcontractors and market researchers who need to know who won which federal contract, for how much, from which agency. Search and monitor federal contract awards from the official USAspending API in one clean dataset. Filter by NAICS code, PSC code, awarding agency, winner, state and award size, return only awards you have not seen before on a schedule, and send each new one to Slack, Discord, Telegram or your phone. A practical source of government contracts data without copying records by hand.

$0.004 per delivered award — 1,000 awards = $4

It reads the official, public USAspending.gov API v2 (api.usaspending.gov). No scraping, no login, no proxy, and no API key: it is a SAM.gov alternative (no API key) for the "who won" side of federal contracting. SAM.gov's opportunity and entity APIs require a key; USAspending's search API is keyless and open (this Actor identifies itself with an honest User-Agent). Only awards that pass your filters are delivered, and only delivered awards are charged. Selling to other public buyers as well? See the siblings TED EU Tenders Monitor and UK Tenders Monitor: same inputs style, same alerts.

What you get

One row per award, flattened and ready for a spreadsheet, CRM or alert: the award link, the agency's own award number (PIID), recipient (winner) name and UEI, award amount and total outlays, awarding agency, sub-agency and funding agency, NAICS code and description, PSC code, award, start and end dates, place of performance (city, state, country) and the agency's description of what is being bought.

You want	Set
New federal IT awards over $1M	naicsCodes: ["541512"], minAmount: 1000000
Who won contracts from one agency	agencies: ["Department of Homeland Security"] (or ["DHS"])
What one company has won lately	recipientName: "Booz Allen"
Awards performed in your region	states: ["VA", "MD", "DC"]
Anything mentioning a topic	keywords: ["zero trust", "cloud migration"]
Grants as well as contracts	awardTypes: ["contracts", "grants"]
Only what is new since yesterday	onlyNewSinceLastRun: true on a daily Schedule

Quick start

{
  "naicsCodes": ["541512"],
  "awardedWithinDays": 14,
  "maxItems": 20
}

Run it with no filters at all and you get the 50 newest contract awards from the last 30 days across the whole federal government.

Recipes

New federal IT contract awards over $1M to Slack

{
  "naicsCodes": ["541512", "541511", "518210"],
  "minAmount": 1000000,
  "awardedWithinDays": 7,
  "onlyNewSinceLastRun": true,
  "maxItems": 50,
  "slackWebhookUrl": "https://hooks.slack.com/services/<T>/<B>/<token>"
}

Save it as a Task, add a daily Schedule, and Slack gets only the federal IT awards of $1M and up since the last run. The first run is the baseline and sends what currently matches the window.

Who won contracts from DHS this month

{
  "agencies": ["Department of Homeland Security"],
  "awardedWithinDays": 30,
  "maxItems": 200
}

Competitor watch: every new award to one company

{
  "recipientName": "Booz Allen",
  "awardedWithinDays": 30,
  "onlyNewSinceLastRun": true,
  "discordWebhookUrl": "https://discord.com/api/webhooks/<id>/<token>"
}

Awards in a region for local subcontracting outreach

{
  "states": ["VA", "MD", "DC"],
  "pscCodes": ["D302", "D307"],
  "minAmount": 250000,
  "awardedWithinDays": 14,
  "maxItems": 100
}

Last quarter's awards for one category (market sizing)

{
  "naicsCodes": ["5415"],
  "dateFrom": "2026-07-01",
  "dateTo": "2026-09-30",
  "maxItems": 1000
}

Alerts: Discord, Telegram, Slack, Teams, Google Chat, phone push or any app

Add one or more destinations in the Notifications (optional) section and each run sends the awards it delivered. It is a monitor that notifies you: it only reads the public USAspending API, and never bids, applies, contacts anyone or logs in anywhere.

Channel	Fill in	What you get
Discord	discordWebhookUrl	One card per award, 10 per message
Telegram	telegramBotToken + telegramChatId	Up to 10 awards per message, one line each
Slack	slackWebhookUrl	Block Kit message, up to 10 awards per message
Mattermost, Rocket.Chat	slackCompatibleWebhookUrl	A Markdown list
Microsoft Teams	teamsWebhookUrl	Adaptive Card from a Teams Workflows webhook
Google Chat	googleChatWebhookUrl	Card in a space
ntfy (phone push, no account)	ntfyTopic (optional ntfyServer, ntfyToken)	A push per award, up to 10, then one "...and N more"
Pushover (phone push)	pushoverUserKey + pushoverAppToken	A push per award, up to 10, then one "...and N more"
Zapier, Make, n8n, Pipedream	webhookUrl	One JSON POST per 100 delivered rows with the full dataset rows

Each message reads like New contract award: EXAMPLE SYSTEMS LLC — Department of Homeland Security, with the amount, sub-agency, NAICS, PSC, award and contract dates, place and description, and a link to the USAspending award page. Nothing is sent when a run delivers nothing, a failing channel never fails the run, and notifications are free: you pay only for delivered awards. Webhook URLs and tokens are stored as secret inputs.

Setup per channel is a minute or two: for Discord copy a channel webhook URL (Server Settings → Integrations → Webhooks); for Telegram create a bot with @BotFather and give its token plus a chat id; for Slack create an incoming webhook at api.slack.com/apps; for Teams use a Workflows "Post to a channel when a webhook request is received" URL.

maxNotifications (default 25, max 100) caps how many awards go to chat and phone channels per run; the rest are still in the dataset. Use onlyNewSinceLastRun for alerts, otherwise a scheduled run repeats the same awards.

Input

Field	Default	What it does
keywords	[]	Search the award description for any of these words or phrases. At least 3 characters each; up to 20.
naicsCodes	[]	NAICS industry codes of contracts: 2, 4 or 6 digits (541512, 5415, 54). USAspending rejects 3 and 5 digit codes, so those stop the run with an error. Contracts only.
pscCodes	[]	Product and Service Codes, 1 to 4 letters or digits (D302, R, 7A20). Contracts only.
agencies	[]	Awarding top-tier agencies by exact name, or by the acronyms DoD, DHS, VA, HHS, GSA, NASA, DOE, DOS, DOJ, Treasury, USDA, DOC, DOT, DOI, DOL, HUD, EPA, SBA, SSA, NSF, USAID, OPM, NRC. Any other text is sent as typed.
recipientName	""	Winner name contains this text (at least 3 characters).
states	[]	US place of performance as two-letter codes (VA, TX, DC, PR...).
minAmount, maxAmount	none	Dollar bounds on the award amount.
awardTypes	["contracts"]	contracts (procurement contracts, purchase orders, delivery orders) and/or grants. NAICS and PSC cannot be combined with grants.
awardedWithinDays	30	1 to 366 days back, including today.
dateFrom, dateTo	none	Explicit YYYY-MM-DD range, at most 366 days. Overrides awardedWithinDays.
maxItems	50	Hard cap on delivered awards, 1 to 5,000, newest first.
onlyNewSinceLastRun	false	Deliver and charge only awards not delivered before for this same set of filters.
stateStoreName	usaspending-federal-awards-monitor-seen-awards	Named store holding the alert memory.
notification fields	none	discordWebhookUrl, telegramBotToken, telegramChatId, slackWebhookUrl, slackCompatibleWebhookUrl, teamsWebhookUrl, googleChatWebhookUrl, ntfyTopic, ntfyServer, ntfyToken, pushoverUserKey, pushoverAppToken, webhookUrl, maxNotifications.

Every filter is applied by USAspending itself, so you are only charged for awards that match. The window selects new awards: awards whose first action (base obligation) falls inside it, so a later modification to an old contract does not show up as a new award.

How "only new" works

With onlyNewSinceLastRun, the Actor remembers each delivered award by its USAspending award key in a named key-value store, per set of filters (changing a NAICS code starts a fresh baseline; changing maxItems or awardedWithinDays does not). Only awards actually delivered are remembered, so anything held back by maxItems or your spending limit turns up on the next run.

Example output

{
  "awardId": "CONT_AWD_70EXAMPLE26F0001_9700_-NONE-_-NONE-",
  "piid": "70EXAMPLE26F0001",
  "recipientName": "EXAMPLE SYSTEMS LLC",
  "recipientUei": "SYNTH0000001",
  "awardAmount": 2500000,
  "totalOutlays": 125000.5,
  "awardingAgency": "Department of Homeland Security",
  "awardingSubAgency": "U.S. Customs and Border Protection",
  "fundingAgency": "Department of Homeland Security",
  "naicsCode": "541512",
  "naicsDescription": "COMPUTER SYSTEMS DESIGN SERVICES",
  "pscCode": "D302",
  "pscDescription": "IT AND TELECOM - SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT",
  "awardedDate": "2026-10-08",
  "startDate": "2026-10-15",
  "endDate": "2027-10-14",
  "placeOfPerformanceCity": "ARLINGTON",
  "placeOfPerformanceState": "VA",
  "placeOfPerformanceCountry": "USA",
  "description": "ZERO TRUST ARCHITECTURE SUPPORT SERVICES FOR CBP",
  "awardType": "DELIVERY ORDER",
  "awardCategory": "contract",
  "url": "https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_AWD_70EXAMPLE26F0001_9700_-NONE-_-NONE-",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-11T09:00:00.000Z"
}

This sample is illustrative (synthetic company and award numbers), shaped like USAspending's search results. Anything an award does not publish is null, never guessed. awardAmount is the total obligated so far, so it can grow with later modifications. awardId is USAspending's stable award key and the dedupe key across runs; piid is the agency's own number.

Use with AI agents (MCP)

This Actor works as a tool for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and other MCP clients through Apify's MCP server. Every input is optional, so a call can be as small as naicsCodes and awardedWithinDays.

Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json), with your own token from Apify Console > Settings > API & Integrations:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify-usaspending-awards": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y", "mcp-remote",
        "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=lukehunter/usaspending-federal-awards-monitor",
        "--header", "Authorization: Bearer ${APIFY_TOKEN}"
      ],
      "env": { "APIFY_TOKEN": "<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>" }
    }
  }
}

Clients that support OAuth (Claude.ai, VS Code) can connect with just the URL https://mcp.apify.com?tools=lukehunter/usaspending-federal-awards-monitor and sign in to Apify. Never paste a real token into a shared file or chat.

Example. You ask: "Which companies won federal IT contracts over $1M from DHS in the last two weeks?" The agent calls the tool lukehunter--usaspending-federal-awards-monitor with:

{
  "naicsCodes": ["541512"],
  "agencies": ["DHS"],
  "minAmount": 1000000,
  "awardedWithinDays": 14,
  "maxItems": 25
}

It is charged $0.004 per delivered award, capped by maxItems. Each input property description is short and carries an example, so agents fill it in correctly.

Pricing

Pay-per-event: $0.004 per delivered award. An award is charged only after it is accepted into the dataset, and only if it passed your filters (and, in alert mode, was not delivered before).

Awards delivered	Cost
20	$0.08
50 (default cap)	$0.20
5,000 (maximum)	$20.00

maxItems (hard maximum 5,000) and your Apify per-run spending limit both stop delivery before the cap is passed. Reading USAspending, filtering and sending notifications cost nothing extra. Price changes follow Apify's notice rules; the Pricing tab always shows the rate you are charged.

Limitations

• Public domain US government data, attribute the source. USAspending.gov data is public information of the US federal government and free to reuse. If you republish it, credit the source, for example "Source: USAspending.gov", and check the awards you act on at the official award page (the url field).
• Not affiliated with the US government. This is an independent Actor reading the public USAspending API.
• Reporting lags. Agencies report awards on their own schedule: civilian awards usually appear within days, but Department of Defense awards can be published up to 90 days late, so a recent window fills in over time. Use onlyNewSinceLastRun on a schedule so late awards still arrive as new when they appear, as long as their first action falls inside your window.
• Prime awards only. Subawards (who a prime hired) are a separate USAspending dataset and are not included. This is also not a source of open opportunities: for bids that are still open you need SAM.gov, which requires its own key.
• Amounts are as reported and change. awardAmount is the total obligated so far, not necessarily the ceiling of the contract, and later modifications can change it after you have received the row.
• Contracts and grants only. Loans, direct payments and IDV-only searches are not offered.
• Agency names must match. USAspending matches the top-tier agency name exactly. The common acronyms are expanded; a misspelled name returns no awards rather than an error.
• Time window, not archive. Each run covers at most 366 days and reads at most 60 pages per award type (up to 6,000 awards) over at most 15 minutes. When a window is bigger than that, the run says it stopped early; narrow the dates or add filters.
• API changes. If USAspending rejects an optional field the Actor drops that column and says so in the status message; if it rejects the search itself, the run fails with the API's message and nothing is charged.
• Rate limits. Requests are paced at no more than two a second, and 429/5xx responses are retried with backoff. If USAspending stays unavailable, nothing is charged and the run fails with a clear message.

Use it from your code, Make, Zapier or n8n

Built for automated pipelines: small runs, stable field names, one row per item, and you pay only for rows actually delivered.

One API call that runs the Actor and returns the data (replace $APIFY_TOKEN with your token from Apify Console → Settings → Integrations):

curl -s -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/lukehunter~usaspending-federal-awards-monitor/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"naicsCodes": ["541512"], "awardedWithinDays": 14, "maxItems": 20}'

JavaScript (npm i apify-client):

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';
const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('lukehunter~usaspending-federal-awards-monitor').call({
  "naicsCodes": [
    "541512"
  ],
  "awardedWithinDays": 14,
  "maxItems": 20
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();

Python (pip install apify-client):

import os
from apify_client import ApifyClient
client = ApifyClient(os.environ['APIFY_TOKEN'])
run = client.actor('lukehunter~usaspending-federal-awards-monitor').call(run_input={"naicsCodes": ["541512"], "awardedWithinDays": 14, "maxItems": 20})
items = client.dataset(run['defaultDatasetId']).list_items().items

Schedules, webhooks and no-code tools: save your input as a Task, add a Schedule (e.g. hourly or daily), and attach a webhook or one of the Integrations tab's connectors (Make, Zapier, n8n, Google Sheets, Slack) to push each run's results into your own system.

Only new items each run: set "onlyNewSinceLastRun": true on a scheduled Task and every run after the first delivers, and charges for, only items it hasn't delivered before for that same input. That makes it a ready-made change feed.

Feedback: an honest rating on the Store page, good or bad, helps others decide if this Actor fits their needs. Missing a field or found a problem? Open an issue on the Actor page.

FAQ

Is this the official USAspending API? Yes. It calls the public USAspending API v2 (/api/v2/search/spending_by_award/) that the US Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service provides, anonymously, with an honest User-Agent and no proxy.

Do I need a key or a SAM.gov account? No. USAspending's API is keyless. This Actor is not a replacement for SAM.gov's open-opportunity feed; it is the keyless way to get federal contract award data.

What is a NAICS code? The North American Industry Classification System code of the work. 541512 is computer systems design, 541511 custom programming, 518210 hosting, 236220 commercial building construction. Use 2, 4 or 6 digits.

Why is an award I saw on the USAspending website missing? Check its first-action date against your window (this Actor selects new awards, not later modifications), its award type (contracts by default), and the agency name spelling.

How is this different from the Emerging Federal Contractor Radar? That Actor is a lead list: it takes new awards and keeps the winners that are new to federal work. This one is the general search and alert feed: every award that matches your filters, established incumbents included. See Emerging Federal Contractor Radar if you want first-time winners.

Can I get new awards in Slack, Discord or Telegram every morning? Yes: set onlyNewSinceLastRun, add a destination and a daily Schedule. See the recipes above.

Does it submit bids or contact companies? No. It only reads and reports.

Related Actors

Other data tools from the same developer, built to the same standard: official or public sources, hard cost caps, and honest documentation of limits.

• Federal Register Rule Effective-Date Radar: final federal rules about to take effect, with citations, dockets and urgency.
• UK Tenders Monitor: new UK public-sector tenders from Contracts Finder and Find a Tender, filtered by CPV code, value, region and buyer, with Slack, Discord and Telegram alerts.
• TED EU Tenders Monitor: new EU public tenders, awards and prior information notices from TED (Tenders Electronic Daily), filtered by CPV code, buyer country, value and keyword, with Slack, Discord and Telegram alerts.
• Chicago Contract Recompete & Extension Radar: expiring City of Chicago contracts with extension history, for recompete prospecting.
• Bank Branch Closings & Merger Radar (FDIC): new US bank branch closings, openings and mergers from the FDIC.
• Chicago New Business License Radar: newly licensed Chicago businesses as opening leads, grouped by category.
• NYC FDNY Contractor Leads & Hearing Radar: fresh NYC fire-code summonses routed by remediation trade, with hearing dates.
• RCRA Enforcement Response Leads: new EPA hazardous-waste (RCRA) enforcement actions and penalties, by state.