🏦 USAspending Federal Awards Scraper

Scrape US federal awards from USAspending: recipient, agency, amount, award type and dates, including post-award modifications. Run it once and you get the current records as a dataset — that is the default. Turn on watch mode and a scheduled run returns only what changed since the last run (see Optional: run it on a schedule).

POST-AWARD ONLY: awards that have already been made, as published by USAspending. This is NOT an opportunities or solicitations feed and must never be sold as one.

Output is one award_record row per result; billing is pay-per-event, the value event being one award/modification delta (a $0.02 start fee per run, then $0.03 per award/modification delta plus one $0.10 source check per run that reads the source). Source: api.usaspending.gov.

No login, no API key and no CAPTCHA solving are involved: the source is read logged-out with an identified contact User-Agent.

📊 Sample Output

Real rows from run B7Yb8jTyJmbwRIgzW on build 0.1.24 (2026-09-23), the same input as the Quick start below — every value is as the source published it (emails masked, long text shortened):

award_id	recipient_name	award_amount	awarding_agency	awarding_sub_agency	start_date
DEAC0494AL85000	LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP	48063737196.35	Department of Energy	Department of Energy	1993-10-15
DENA0003525	NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS OF SANDIA, LLC	43198566451.99	Department of Energy	Department of Energy	2017-01-18
DEAC0500OR22725	UT-BATTELLE LLC	42436211927.7	Department of Energy	Department of Energy	1999-10-15
DEAC5207NA27344	LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL SECURITY, LLC	41519790021.9	Department of Energy	Department of Energy	2007-05-09
89233218CNA000001	TRIAD NATIONAL SECURITY, LLC	35199796916.66	Department of Energy	Department of Energy	2018-06-08
DENA0001942	CONSOLIDATED NUCLEAR SECURITY, LLC	34654023638.7	Department of Energy	Department of Energy	2013-01-08
DEAC0576RL01830	BATTELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTE	30912550571.06	Department of Energy	Department of Energy	1978-09-15
DEAC0908SR22470	SAVANNAH RIVER NUCLEAR SOLUTIONS LLC	27613237659.31	Department of Energy	Department of Energy	2008-01-10

The run finished with the status message: NORMAL: emitted 10 item(s)

✅ What you get

One row per record delivered by USAspending Federal Award Watch (post-award); in watch mode a delta row carries delta_type, before, after and changed_fields. Field names come from the actor's real output; fields the source does not publish are null.

Each row is flat JSON with these fields (from the dataset schema and the sample run; a field the source does not publish for a given row is null):

• record_key (string/null) — e.g. award:DEAC0494AL85000
• award_id (string/number/integer/boolean/null) — e.g. DEAC0494AL85000
• recipient_name (string/number/integer/boolean/null) — e.g. LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP
• award_amount (string/number/integer/boolean/null) — e.g. 48063737196.35
• awarding_agency (string/number/integer/boolean/null) — e.g. Department of Energy
• awarding_sub_agency (string/number/integer/boolean/null) — e.g. Department of Energy
• start_date (string/number/integer/boolean/null) — e.g. 1993-10-15
• end_date (string/number/integer/boolean/null) — e.g. 2017-04-30
• award_stage (string/number/integer/boolean/null) — e.g. post_award
• record_type (string) — e.g. award_record
• delta_type (string/null) — null in every sample row
• before (object/array/string/number/integer/boolean/null) — null in every sample row
• after (object/array/string/number/integer/boolean/null) — null in every sample row
• changed_fields (array/object/string/null) — null in every sample row
• observed_at (string/null) — null in every sample row

✅ What you get

Each row is flat JSON with these fields (from the dataset schema and the sample run; a field the source does not publish for a given row is null):

• record_key (string/null) — e.g. award:DEAC0494AL85000
• award_id — e.g. DEAC0494AL85000
• recipient_name — e.g. LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP
• award_amount — e.g. 48063737196.35
• awarding_agency — e.g. Department of Energy
• awarding_sub_agency — e.g. Department of Energy
• start_date — e.g. 1993-10-15
• end_date — e.g. 2017-04-30
• award_stage — e.g. post_award
• record_type (string) — e.g. award_record
• delta_type (string/null) — null in every sample row

Every run also writes a RUN_RECEIPT record to its key-value store with the source checks it made and the counts it charged — diagnostics never land in the paid dataset.

Every run also writes a RUN_RECEIPT record to its key-value store with the source checks it made and the counts it charged — diagnostics never land in the paid dataset.

⚙️ Sample inputs

1. Quick start — the Store example (this is what the sample above came from)

{
  "start_date": "2026-07-01",
  "end_date": "2026-07-24",
  "award_type_codes": [
    "A",
    "B",
    "C",
    "D"
  ],
  "watch_mode": false,
  "baseline_id": "default",
  "max_items": 10
}

The sample run charged exactly: 1 × $0.02 apify-actor-start + 1 × $0.10 source-check + 0 × $0.03 award-modification-delta = $0.12 on the Free tier — snapshot preview rows are delivered unbilled; only the source check and the start fee were charged.

2. A smaller, narrowed run

{
  "start_date": "2026-07-01",
  "end_date": "2026-07-24",
  "award_type_codes": [
    "A",
    "B",
    "C",
    "D"
  ],
  "watch_mode": false,
  "baseline_id": "default",
  "max_items": 5
}

Caps the run at 5 rows; same billing shape as the sample run above. start_date narrows what the source is asked for.

3. Optional watch mode (changes only, for a schedule)

{
  "start_date": "2026-07-01",
  "end_date": "2026-07-24",
  "award_type_codes": [
    "A",
    "B",
    "C",
    "D"
  ],
  "watch_mode": true,
  "baseline_id": "default",
  "max_items": 10
}

The first run seeds a private baseline and emits zero deltas; every later run emits one row per change, billed at $0.03 each plus the $0.10 source check; billed deltas are capped at 500 per run.

🧾 JSON sample record

One real record from run B7Yb8jTyJmbwRIgzW, exactly as it lands in the dataset (emails masked, long text shortened):

{
  "record_key": "award:DEAC0494AL85000",
  "award_id": "DEAC0494AL85000",
  "recipient_name": "LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP",
  "award_amount": 48063737196.35,
  "awarding_agency": "Department of Energy",
  "awarding_sub_agency": "Department of Energy",
  "start_date": "1993-10-15",
  "end_date": "2017-04-30",
  "award_stage": "post_award",
  "record_type": "award_record",
  "schema_version": "1.0",
  "output_mode": "preview",
  "preview_cap": 25,
  "preview_truncated": 0
}

🔧 How it works

Source. The actor reads api.usaspending.gov — endpoints: https://api.usaspending.gov/api/v2/search/spending_by_award/. Public pages and feeds only; nothing behind a login.

Transport. Plain HTTPS from the Apify platform, no proxy. Every request carries an identified contact User-Agent.

Watch semantics. Snapshot mode (watch_mode: false) returns a preview capped at 25 records. Watch mode keys every record on a source-native id, stores a private baseline in a named key-value store, and on each later run emits one delta row per change (new / changed / removed). A blocked fetch is never diffed, so a source outage cannot show up as a mass removal.

Terminal states. A run ends NORMAL, CAPPED (your cap was reached), PARTIAL (something was withheld and the message says what), GENUINE_EMPTY (the source was read and truly had nothing in scope) or BLOCKED (the source refused or changed shape — the run FAILS loud and bills nothing). A zero-row run is never reported as a silent success.

Charging. Each award/modification delta is charged at the moment it is pushed (award-modification-delta); a row that fails to charge is not delivered, so the dataset count always equals the charged count. One source-check is charged per run that actually read the source.

🔧 How it works

Transport. Plain HTTPS from the Apify platform, no proxy. Every request carries an identified contact User-Agent.

Charging. Each award/modification delta is charged at the moment it is pushed (award-modification-delta); a row that fails to charge is not delivered, so the dataset count always equals the charged count. One source-check is charged per run that actually read the source.

Source

USAspending v2 spending_by_award (public, logged-out)

• https://api.usaspending.gov/api/v2/search/spending_by_award/

Public, logged-out only — no API key, login, cookie or CAPTCHA.

Snapshot mode is a PREVIEW

watch_mode: false returns a preview only: at most 25 records, hard-capped in code regardless of max_items. Preview records carry output_mode: "preview" with preview_cap and preview_truncated. It charges no value event. This actor sells change detection, not bulk record export — use watch mode for the feed.

Watch semantics

The first watch run stores a private baseline and emits zero deltas. Later runs emit NEW / CHANGED / REMOVED keyed on the source-native id, with before / after and changed_fields.

Terminal states

NORMAL · SUCCEEDED-0: GENUINE_EMPTY · PARTIAL · BLOCKED. A zero with no evidence FAILS loud rather than exiting 0 quietly.

What is not done. No login, no cookie or CAPTCHA bypass, no private or personal-account data, no browser automation.

What is not done. No login, no cookie or CAPTCHA bypass, no private or personal-account data, no browser automation.

⏰ Optional: run it on a schedule

A single run returns the current records. If you also want to be told what changed over time, open the actor in Apify Console → Schedules → Create new, add this actor with input 3 above (watch_mode: true) so each run returns only the changes, and pick a cadence:

• Daily — 0 7 * * * (07:00 UTC): catch changes within a day.
• Weekly — 0 7 * * 1: a Monday digest.

The baseline persists in a named key-value store between runs, so every scheduled run compares against the last one; use a different baseline_id for independent watches. Schedules can also POST results to a webhook (Console → Integrations).

💰 Pricing example

Event	Free	Bronze	Silver	Gold
Actor Start (apify-actor-start)	$0.02	$0.02	$0.02	$0.02
Source check (source-check)	$0.10	$0.09	$0.08	$0.07
Award/modification delta (award-modification-delta)	$0.03	$0.02	$0.02	$0.02

Worked at the live Free-tier price (watch mode, one delta per change):

• 8 award/modification deltas: $0.02 start + $0.10 source check + 8 × $0.03 = $0.32
• 25 award/modification deltas: $0.02 start + $0.10 source check + 25 × $0.03 = $0.74
• 300 award/modification deltas: $0.02 start + $0.10 source check + 300 × $0.03 = $7.62

A run that delivers zero rows charges the $0.02 start fee plus the $0.10 source check (the source was read and reported empty). A BLOCKED run (source refused) fails loud and charges no value event. The start fee is charged once per GB of run memory; the default run memory is 1024 MB.

Yield on the sample run: NORMAL: emitted 10 item(s). max_items is a hard ceiling on what is delivered and billed, never a target. Snapshot output is capped at 25 records regardless of the cap you set; watch mode is the full feed.

⚖️ Legal & ToS

This actor reads public, logged-out pages and feeds published by api.usaspending.gov. It collects only what the source publishes to any visitor, identifies itself with a contact User-Agent, and does not access accounts, private data or anything behind authentication. Use the output in line with the source's terms and your local law; the intended use is B2B research and monitoring.

❓ FAQ

Q: Do I need an API key or a login?
A: No. The source (api.usaspending.gov) is read logged-out; the input schema has no key field and the actor carries no secrets.

Q: Why did my run return 0 rows?
A: Read the run's status message. GENUINE_EMPTY means the source was read and had nothing in scope for your input (in watch mode the first run always seeds the baseline and returns zero deltas); BLOCKED means the source refused and the run failed without billing a value event — retry later or narrow the input. A zero-row run bills the start fee plus one source check.

Q: How many rows can one run return?
A: Up to max_items (default 300); snapshot previews stop at 25. Raise the cap for a bigger run; you pay per delivered row.

Q: What does watch mode remember between runs?
A: A private baseline of source-native record ids in a named key-value store (baseline_id names it, so several independent watches can coexist). Each later run diffs the live source against it and emits only changes.

Q: How fresh is the data?
A: Every run reads the source live at run time; nothing is cached between runs except the watch baseline. Put it on a schedule for a continuous feed.

Q: What formats can I export?
A: The dataset downloads as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML or RSS from the run's Dataset tab or the Apify API, and any run can push to a webhook or integration.

Q: How is this different from the other public funding registries actors?
A: Same output shape and billing model; this one covers api.usaspending.gov. The siblings under Related Actors cover the other sources or slices — run several on one schedule for a combined feed.

🆘 Troubleshooting

• Run FAILED with BLOCKED → the source refused the request or changed its page shape → nothing was billed beyond the start fee; retry after a while, and if it persists open an Issue with the run id.
• Status says CAPPED → your cap (max_items) was reached → raise it for a bigger run.
• Input validation error on start → a field is outside the schema's allowed values → start from the Quick start block and change one field at a time.
• Run TIMED-OUT → a very wide request on a slow day → raise the run timeout in Run options or narrow the input; what was delivered before the timeout is still in the dataset.
• First watch run shows no deltas → expected: it seeds the baseline; changes appear from the second run.

🔗 Related Actors

• EU FTS Beneficiary Records — One structured fundingrecord per record from the official public source, logged-out. Public, robots-honoured
• France ADEME Financial Aid Records — One structured fundingrecord per record from the official public source, logged-out. Public, robots-honoured
• Poland EU-Funded Projects — One funding record per EU-co-financed project in Poland (2021-2027) from the official national project list — beneficiary, programme, value, EU co-fi…
• World Bank Projects Funding Registry — One structured fundingrecord per record from the official public source, logged-out. Public, robots-honoured
• 🏢 About NexGenData — NexGen Watch is NexGenData's fleet of 281 public data actors built on official sources, pay-per-result. Browse the catalog at apify.com/nexgenwatch.

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