MCP Sam Gov

@cliwant/mcp-sam-gov

$4 trillion of public federal data, one `npm install` away.

The most comprehensive keyless-first MCP server for US federal and state/local (SLED) contracting + spending + regulation + partner vetting. 153 tools across 54 data sources — keyless-first: only 4 sources (Census business-patterns, FRED, BEA, and DOL's data endpoint) need a free key; the other 50 need none. Works today, in any AI agent.

Independent project — not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by SAM.gov, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), or any government agency.

English · 한국어 · 日本語

See it in action

👤  user        Find active SAM.gov solicitations under NAICS 541512 closing this month

🤖 Claude → sam_search_opportunities { ncode: "541512", limit: 5 } ✓ 47,478 active opportunities indexed

• 5ef3db5d… VA Bulk Oxygen Tank Rental closes 2026-05-15 ($1.05M) • a000339c… Articulating Boom Lifts closes 2026-05-30 ($310K) • be9c24ef… CMOP Hazardous Waste Removal closes 2026-06-12 ($2.7M)

👤 user Pull the SOW + contracting officer for the first one

🤖 Claude → sam_get_opportunity { noticeId: "5ef3db5d…" } ✓ Department of Veterans Affairs · Combined Synopsis/Solicitation POC: Contracting Officer +1-XXX-XXX-XXXX Set-aside: Total Small Business Attachments: 1 ↓ 36C24526Q0460_1.docx (172 KB) SOW preview: "RFQ# 36C24526Q0460 — Bulk Oxygen Tank Rental, Fill, Telemetry…"

No API key, registration or signup for 148 of the 153 tools. Just plug it in and ask.

Why this exists

The federal data this wraps is public domain. There is no good reason it should cost a five-figure subscription to query.

What this gives Claude (and other AI agents)

153 tools across 54 data sources — keyless-first: only 4 sources (Census business-patterns, FRED, BEA, and DOL's data endpoint) need a free key; the other 50 need none. (An earlier 52-tool build measured roughly p50 ~0.25s / p95 ~0.8s against production federal APIs; latency varies by source and upstream load — treat it as fast, not a benchmarked guarantee.)

How do I install it? Pick the path that matches you.

🟢 Path 1 — Claude Desktop, one-click (no terminal needed)

Best for non-developers. Just download a file and double-click.

1. Download `mcp-sam-gov.mcpb` from the latest release.
2. Double-click the file. Claude Desktop opens with an "Install Extension" dialog.
3. Click Install.
4. Done. Start a new conversation and ask "Find active SAM.gov opportunities under NAICS 541512".

That's it. No PowerShell, no npm, nothing.

Requires Claude Desktop ≥ 1.0 (which ships its own Node.js runtime).

🟡 Path 2 — Claude Code, one command

If you already use Claude Code (the CLI):

/plugin install cliwant/mcp-sam-gov

This installs the MCP server plus a SKILL.md workflow guide that teaches Claude when + how to use each of the 153 tools.

🔵 Path 3 — Manual install for any MCP host (Codex, Cursor, Continue, Gemini)

For Codex CLI / Cursor / Continue / Gemini CLI / anything that speaks MCP:

gh repo clone cliwant/mcp-sam-gov

cd mcp-sam-gov npm install --omit=dev npm install -g .

After install, the binary mcp-sam-gov is on your PATH. Add this to your host config:

{

"mcpServers": { "sam-gov": { "command": "mcp-sam-gov" } } }

Specific config locations per host: see Host configurations below.

No global install? Every host config below also has an npx variant (npx -y @cliwant/mcp-sam-gov) that skips the clone and npm install -g. It only needs Node.js.

⚪ Path 4 — Direct path (zero install, just point at the file)

Skip installation entirely:

gh repo clone cliwant/mcp-sam-gov

cd mcp-sam-gov npm install --omit=dev # only runtime deps; dist/ is pre-built

Then point your host config at the absolute path:

{

"mcpServers": { "sam-gov": { "command": "node", "args": ["C:\\Users\\you\\mcp-sam-gov\\dist\\server.js"] } } }

Host configurations

Each host below shows two variants. Use one of them:

• Global install: "command": "mcp-sam-gov". This works only after npm install -g (Path 3) has put the mcp-sam-gov binary on your PATH.
• No global install (npx): "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@cliwant/mcp-sam-gov"]. This needs only Node.js. npx downloads the package from npm on first run and caches it.

Package name: the npm package is scoped: `@cliwant/mcp-sam-gov`. mcp-sam-gov is only the name of the binary that a global install puts on your PATH. No unscoped mcp-sam-gov package exists on npm, so npx -y mcp-sam-gov fails with a 404. Use npx -y @cliwant/mcp-sam-gov.

Claude Desktop

%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows) or ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS):

Global install:

{

"mcpServers": { "sam-gov": { "command": "mcp-sam-gov" } } }

No global install (npx):

{

"mcpServers": { "sam-gov": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@cliwant/mcp-sam-gov"] } } }

On Windows, if the server fails to start with spawn npx ENOENT in %APPDATA%\Claude\logs\mcp*.log, wrap npx in cmd /c:

{

"mcpServers": { "sam-gov": { "command": "cmd", "args": ["/c", "npx", "-y", "@cliwant/mcp-sam-gov"] } } }

(Or skip this entirely — use Path 1's .mcpb and it auto-configures.)

Restart Claude Desktop fully (system tray quit on Windows / Quit menu on macOS), then look for the 🔨 icon. You should see "sam-gov (153 tools)".

Claude Code

Per-project .mcp.json, global install:

{ "mcpServers": { "sam-gov": { "command": "mcp-sam-gov" } } }

No global install (npx):

{ "mcpServers": { "sam-gov": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@cliwant/mcp-sam-gov"] } } }

Or with the CLI:

# global install

claude mcp add sam-gov mcp-sam-gov

no global install (npx)

claude mcp add sam-gov -- npx -y @cliwant/mcp-sam-gov

Codex CLI

~/.codex/config.toml:

Global install:

[mcp_servers.sam-gov]

command = "mcp-sam-gov" args = []

No global install (npx):

[mcp_servers.sam-gov]

command = "npx" args = ["-y", "@cliwant/mcp-sam-gov"]

Cursor

Settings → MCP → Add new MCP server. Global install:

{ "mcpServers": { "sam-gov": { "command": "mcp-sam-gov" } } }

No global install (npx):

{ "mcpServers": { "sam-gov"