# UK Contracts Finder Scraper - Tenders & Awards (`thirdwatch/uk-contracts-finder-scraper`) Actor

Export official UK Contracts Finder OCDS notices with buyers, suppliers, values, deadlines, CPV categories, procurement methods, and source URLs. Built for lead sourcing, enrichment, and prospect research. No login, cookies, or API keys — clean JSON output and pay-per-result pricing.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/thirdwatch/uk-contracts-finder-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Thirdwatch](https://apify.com/thirdwatch) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Business
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 1,000 results

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 Contracts Finder Scraper

Export official UK Contracts Finder notices as structured JSON, CSV, or Excel. The Actor reads the Cabinet Office's public Open Contracting Data Standard feed, follows cursor pagination, and normalizes tenders, awards, buyers, suppliers, values, deadlines, and CPV classifications.

### What you get

- OCDS and release identifiers, publication time, lifecycle stage, status, title, and description
- Buyer, suppliers, procurement method, category, CPV code, and SME-suitability flag
- Tender deadline, contract period, value, currency, and official source URL
- Date, stage, and local keyword filtering with strict deduplication

### Output fields

Common fields are `ocid`, `releaseId`, `publishedAt`, `stage`, `title`, `description`, `status`, `buyer`, `suppliers`, `category`, `cpvCode`, `cpvDescription`, `procurementMethod`, `tenderDeadline`, `contractStart`, `contractEnd`, `value`, `currency`, `smeSuitable`, `sourceUrl`, and `source`.

### Example output

```json
{"ocid":"ocds-b5fd17-example","stage":"tender","title":"Cloud support services","buyer":"Example Council","category":"services","cpvCode":"72000000","tenderDeadline":"2026-08-30T12:00:00Z","value":250000,"currency":"GBP","source":"UK Contracts Finder"}
```

### Input parameters

| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| `queries` | Optional terms matched against notice, buyer, category, and CPV text. |
| `stages` | OCDS lifecycle stages requested from the official feed. |
| `publishedFrom` | Optional ISO lower publication bound; defaults to 30 days before the run. |
| `publishedTo` | Optional ISO upper publication bound. |
| `maxResults` | Maximum unique matching releases saved and charged. |

### Use cases

Public-sector sales pipelines, tender alerts, contract-award research, supplier intelligence, CPV market sizing, SME opportunity monitoring, procurement transparency, and scheduled bid discovery.

### Limitations

Contracts Finder publishes source-provided OCDS releases. A notice can be amended, withdrawn, incomplete, or superseded; treat each `releaseId` as an event and use `ocid` to group its history. Keyword filters run after retrieval, so narrow date windows are more efficient. The generated fallback notice URL may not resolve for every legacy release; source documents are preferred when published.

### Compared to alternatives

Thirdwatch provides transparent result-level PPE, official cursor pagination, evidence URLs, and a normalized table without requiring API credentials. Start with the [UK Contracts Finder Scraper](https://apify.com/thirdwatch/uk-contracts-finder-scraper), browse [all Thirdwatch Actors](https://apify.com/thirdwatch), or read the [UK tender-data guide](https://thirdwatch.dev/actors/uk-contracts-finder-scraper).

### FAQ

**Is this official data?** Yes. Results come from the public UK Contracts Finder OCDS endpoint under its stated Open Government Licence.

**What is charged?** One `result` event per unique matching release saved. Pages and filtered-out releases are not charged.

Open the [input form](https://apify.com/thirdwatch/uk-contracts-finder-scraper?tab=input) or review [recent runs](https://apify.com/thirdwatch/uk-contracts-finder-scraper?tab=runs).

Always confirm deadlines and requirements in the official notice before bidding. This Actor is an independent data integration, not government advice.

Last verified: 2026-07

# Actor input Schema

## `queries` (type: `array`):

Optional terms matched locally against title, description, buyer, category, and CPV description.

## `stages` (type: `array`):

Published OCDS stages: planning, tender, award, or implementation. Other values are rejected.

## `publishedFrom` (type: `string`):

Optional ISO date or date-time. Defaults to 30 days before the run.

## `publishedTo` (type: `string`):

Optional ISO date or date-time upper bound.

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

Maximum unique matching releases saved and charged.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "queries": [],
  "stages": [
    "tender"
  ],
  "maxResults": 25
}
```

# 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 = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("thirdwatch/uk-contracts-finder-scraper").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 = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("thirdwatch/uk-contracts-finder-scraper").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 '{}' |
apify call thirdwatch/uk-contracts-finder-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,thirdwatch/uk-contracts-finder-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

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/idXbVf0eNcMB73F6u/builds/HyCgMHCsHp0HpwGlq/openapi.json