signaltender-mcp

Search Historical Federal Contract Awards & CLIN Pricing

search_historical_awards

Read-onlyIdempotent

Query historical federal contract awards, incumbent prime contractors, award ceilings, and labor/CLIN pricing benchmarks filtered by keyword, agency, or 6-digit NAICS code. This is a read-only, stateless, non-destructive database query (requires X-RapidAPI-Key; all filter parameters are optional and combinable, returning up to limit [default 20, max 100] matching historical awards per call). Use this tool when researching past award prices, incumbent vendors, or Price-to-Win (PTW) benchmarks; use get_live_solicitations instead to find currently open RFPs available for bidding, or classify_naics_psc_nigp if you need to discover the right NAICS code first.

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description
`limit`	No	Maximum number of award records to return.
`agency`	No	Optional issuing federal or state agency name substring filter (e.g., 'Department of Defense', 'Veterans Affairs').
`keywords`	No	Required technical or domain search keywords matched against award descriptions and CLIN titles (e.g., 'zero trust', 'cloud migration', 'SIEM').
`naics_code`	No	Optional exact 6-digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code filter (e.g., '541512' for Computer Systems Design).
`max_amount_usd`	No	Maximum award amount in USD.
`min_amount_usd`	No	Minimum award amount in USD.

Output Schema

Name	Required	Description
`query`	No	Echoed query parameter or filter criteria.
`results`	No	List of standardized award records with line items.
`total_count`	No	Total number of matching award records found.

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed13 schema fields changedOct 29, 2026

addedInput schema / properties / agency / maxLength
```
Added value: +100000
```
addedInput schema / properties / agency / minLength
```
Added value: +1
```

addedInput schema / properties / limit

Added value: +{
+  "default": 10,
+  "description": "Maximum number of award records to return.",
+  "maximum": 100,
+  "minimum": 1,
+  "type": "integer"
+}

addedInput schema / properties / max_amount_usd

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Maximum award amount in USD.",
+  "maximum": 1000000000,
+  "minimum": 0,
+  "type": "number"
+}

addedInput schema / properties / min_amount_usd

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Minimum award amount in USD.",
+  "maximum": 1000000000,
+  "minimum": 0,
+  "type": "number"
+}

addedInput schema / properties / naics_code / maxLength
```
Added value: +100000
```
addedInput schema / properties / naics_code / minLength
```
Added value: +1
```
removedInput schema / required
```
Removed value: -[
-  "keywords"
-]
```

removedOutput schema / properties / awards

Removed value: -{
-  "description": "List of historical contract awards with recipient, agency, ceiling amount, NAICS, and labor/CLIN benchmarks.",
-  "items": {
-    "type": "object"
-  },
-  "type": "array"
-}

addedOutput schema / properties / query

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Echoed query parameter or filter criteria.",
+  "type": [
+    "string",
+    "null"
+  ]
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / results

Added value: +{
+  "description": "List of standardized award records with line items.",
+  "items": {
+    "type": "object"
+  },
+  "type": "array"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / total_count

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Total number of matching award records found.",
+  "type": "integer"
+}

removedOutput schema / properties / total_matches

Removed value: -{
-  "description": "Number of historical award records matching the query.",
-  "type": "integer"
-}

Changed7 schema fields changedOct 21, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / agency / description

Previous value: -"Optional agency name filter."New value: +"Optional issuing federal or state agency name substring filter (e.g., 'Department of Defense', 'Veterans Affairs')."

changedInput schema / properties / keywords / description

Previous value: -"Search keywords (e.g., 'zero trust', 'cloud migration', 'SIEM')."New value: +"Required technical or domain search keywords matched against award descriptions and CLIN titles (e.g., 'zero trust', 'cloud migration', 'SIEM')."

addedInput schema / properties / keywords / maxLength
```
Added value: +200
```
addedInput schema / properties / keywords / minLength
```
Added value: +2
```

changedInput schema / properties / naics_code / description

Previous value: -"Optional 6-digit NAICS code filter (e.g., '541512')."New value: +"Optional exact 6-digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code filter (e.g., '541512' for Computer Systems Design)."

addedInput schema / properties / naics_code / pattern
```
Added value: +"^[0-9]{6}$"
```

changedOutput schema / (root)

Previous value: -nullNew value: +{
+  "properties": {
+    "awards": {
+      "description": "List of historical contract awards with recipient, agency, ceiling amount, NAICS, and labor/CLIN benchmarks.",
+      "items": {
+        "type": "object"
+      },
+      "type": "array"
+    },
+    "total_matches": {
+      "description": "Number of historical award records matching the query.",
+      "type": "integer"
+    }
+  },
+  "type": "object"
+}

First observedOct 18, 2026

TDQS

A4.3/5.0

Behavior4/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already declare readOnlyHint/idempotentHint/destructiveHint, so the description's 'read-only, stateless, non-destructive' phrasing is partly redundant. It does add genuinely new context: the X-RapidAPI-Key credential requirement, that all filters are optional and combinable, and the per-call result cap. The only weakness is that the stated default (20) conflicts with the schema default (10), which could mislead on result volume.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness4/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Two dense sentences, front-loaded with purpose then routing rules, with no filler sentences. Some phrases ('stateless, non-destructive') restate annotation data rather than adding value, which keeps it just short of a 5.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness4/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

An output schema exists, so return-shape explanation is rightly omitted. Purpose, alternatives, auth requirement, and result limits are all present; the only incompleteness is the mismatched default-limit figure that an agent might rely on for planning.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters3/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema coverage is 100%, so per the baseline this is a 3; the description adds only the combinability/optionality note beyond the schema. It actively introduces an error by stating a default limit of 20 when the schema declares default 10, so it does not earn above baseline.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

States a specific verb and resource set (historical federal contract awards, incumbent primes, award ceilings, CLIN/labor pricing benchmarks) plus the filter dimensions. This is clearly distinguishable from get_live_solicitations (open RFPs) and classify_naics_psc_nigp (NAICS discovery) without opening either schema.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines5/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

Explicitly names the research scenarios (past award prices, incumbent vendors, Price-to-Win benchmarks) and routes the agent elsewhere by name: get_live_solicitations for open RFPs and classify_naics_psc_nigp when the NAICS code is unknown. Both the use and the do-not-use paths are covered.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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