Search federal transactions MCP tool

• MCP tool name: Search_Federal_Transactions
• Data type: Federal transaction data type
• Returns: Federal transaction MCP response
• Search modes: Keyword
• Annotations: Read only, not destructive, idempotent, closed world
• Surfaces: GovTribe AI, GovTribe MCP, GovTribe Compact MCP server (through Invoke Search Tool)

Examples

Use this tool for contract award, IDV, assistance award, and contract/assistance subaward transactions. Set transaction_types to choose a population. Omitted, null, and empty selections leave the family population unrestricted, including all five families and any unrecognized stored families. Vendor and NAICS filters can overlap across families.

Select transaction_type and parent_record to identify a row's family and immediate parent. A subaward transaction points to its subaward record. Parent names, source identifiers, and links are optional; an unavailable parent retains its stored ID and any recognized type.

All dollar statistics and leaderboards use signed total_value, including reported non-federal shares. Sorting by federalValue uses the federal portion. For prime contract analysis, select contract_award and contract_idv; a mixed prime/subaward sum is not unduplicated government spending. See Federal award values and transactions for the family-specific amount basis.

Use transaction_date_range for activity during a period, transaction_effective_date_range for the stored effective date, and award_date_range for the immediate parent's award date. A 2022 award modified in 2025 appears in the 2025 transaction period, but not the 2025 award-date cohort. Missing dates do not match the corresponding range. Bounds are inclusive. Date-only ranges include their starting and ending calendar days in UTC; explicit ISO timestamps retain their time and offset. Date math uses Elasticsearch date interpretation. Use explicit UTC timestamps when an exact cutoff matters.

Identifier filters: Use govtribe_ids for GovTribe transaction record IDs returned as govtribe_id. Raw transaction identifiers are not resolved by this tool. Parent-record filters such as federal_contract_award_ids and federal_contract_idv_ids use GovTribe record IDs from those related records. vendor_ids accepts GovTribe vendor IDs or exact UEIs. contracting_federal_agency_ids and funding_federal_agency_ids accept GovTribe federal agency IDs and uniquely matching exact agency codes, canonical or alternate names, acronyms, and configured matching keys.

Use naics_codes and psc_codes when the user gives classification codes.

Which transaction lines mention Veritas eDiscovery software?

{
  "tool": "Search_Federal_Transactions",
  "arguments": {
    "transaction_types": ["contract_award", "contract_idv"],
    "query": "Veritas eDiscovery platform software",
    "sort": {
      "key": "transactionDate",
      "direction": "desc"
    },
    "fields_to_return": [
      "govtribe_id",
      "date",
      "transaction_type",
      "parent_record",
      "last_mod_number",
      "reason_for_modification",
      "federal_value",
      "total_value",
      "awardee",
      "contracting_federal_agency"
    ]
  }
}

What are the transaction lines for a known award?

{
  "tool": "Search_Federal_Contract_Awards",
  "arguments": {
    "query": "W52P1J20D0049 W912HQ25F0178",
    "search_mode": "keyword",
    "fields_to_return": [
      "govtribe_id",
      "name",
      "contract_number",
      "award_date"
    ]
  }
}

{
  "tool": "Search_Federal_Transactions",
  "arguments": {
    "transaction_types": ["contract_award", "contract_idv"],
    "federal_contract_award_ids": [
      "<federal_contract_award_govtribe_id>"
    ],
    "sort": {
      "key": "transactionDate",
      "direction": "asc"
    },
    "fields_to_return": [
      "govtribe_id",
      "date",
      "transaction_type",
      "parent_record",
      "last_mod_number",
      "reason_for_modification",
      "federal_value",
      "total_value",
      "awardee"
    ]
  }
}

Aggregation examples

Every aggregation uses the full filtered population, independently of returned-page size and the 10,000 hit-count threshold. transactions_by_type returns matching family buckets with counts and sum_value.value. positive_value_stats and negative_value_stats use strictly positive and strictly negative total_value; zero and missing amounts enter neither group. The negative sum stays negative. Net dollars_obligated_stats includes actual zeros and excludes absent values from its count and average. Existing stored zeros cannot be reinterpreted as missing source amounts.

Requested aggregation objects include amount_basis: "total_value" and transaction_types. An explicit family selection returns its deduplicated list; an omitted, null, or empty selection returns transaction_types: null, meaning the family population is unrestricted and may include unrecognized stored families. For a +$100 contract action and a −$20 action, positive sum is $100, negative sum is −$20, and net sum is $80. A ceiling-only change contributes no obligation dollars.

What were prime contract obligations and deobligations in FY2024?

{
  "tool": "Search_Federal_Transactions",
  "arguments": {
    "transaction_types": ["contract_award", "contract_idv"],
    "transaction_date_range": {
      "from": "2023-10-01",
      "to": "2024-09-30"
    },
    "per_page": 0,
    "aggregations": [
      "transactions_by_type",
      "positive_value_stats",
      "negative_value_stats",
      "dollars_obligated_stats"
    ]
  }
}

Use aggregation examples when the answer needs rollups instead of individual rows. These examples use quoted keyword anchors in query so long-tail matches do not skew buckets; broaden the query only when the user asks for exploratory sizing, and pair broader queries with structured filters when possible. Set per_page to 0 when row results are not needed.

How much recent cloud migration transaction activity is there?

{
  "tool": "Search_Federal_Transactions",
  "arguments": {
    "transaction_types": ["contract_award", "contract_idv"],
    "query": "\"cloud migration\"",
    "transaction_date_range": {
      "from": "now-12M/d",
      "to": "now/d"
    },
    "per_page": 0,
    "aggregations": [
      "dollars_obligated_stats"
    ]
  }
}

Which vendors lead program operations support transactions?

{
  "tool": "Search_Federal_Transactions",
  "arguments": {
    "transaction_types": ["contract_award", "contract_idv"],
    "query": "\"program operations support\"",
    "per_page": 0,
    "aggregations": [
      "top_awardees_by_dollars_obligated"
    ]
  }
}

Which agencies drive cybersecurity compliance transactions?

{
  "tool": "Search_Federal_Transactions",
  "arguments": {
    "transaction_types": ["contract_award", "contract_idv"],
    "query": "\"cybersecurity compliance\" + \"security assessment\"",
    "per_page": 0,
    "aggregations": [
      "top_funding_federal_agencies_by_dollars_obligated",
      "top_contracting_federal_agencies_by_dollars_obligated"
    ]
  }
}

Which categories and set-asides define medical logistics transactions?

{
  "tool": "Search_Federal_Transactions",
  "arguments": {
    "transaction_types": ["contract_award", "contract_idv"],
    "query": "\"home oxygen\" + \"medical equipment\"",
    "per_page": 0,
    "aggregations": [
      "top_set_aside_types_by_dollars_obligated",
      "top_naics_codes_by_dollars_obligated",
      "top_psc_codes_by_dollars_obligated"
    ]
  }
}

Where are facilities or engineering transactions concentrated?

{
  "tool": "Search_Federal_Transactions",
  "arguments": {
    "transaction_types": ["contract_award", "contract_idv"],
    "query": "\"architect engineering\" + facilities",
    "per_page": 0,
    "aggregations": [
      "top_locations_by_dollars_obligated"
    ]
  }
}

Which vehicles and IDVs organize cloud modernization transactions?

{
  "tool": "Search_Federal_Transactions",
  "arguments": {
    "transaction_types": ["contract_award", "contract_idv"],
    "query": "\"cloud modernization\"",
    "per_page": 0,
    "aggregations": [
      "top_idvs_by_dollars_obligated",
      "top_federal_contract_vehicles_by_dollars_obligated"
    ]
  }
}

Related articles

• Federal transaction MCP response: Review the response shape returned by this tool.
• Federal transaction data type: Understand the shared record fields and relationships used by this tool.
• Choose a search mode and write queries: Choose keyword or semantic search behavior and shape query values.
• GovTribe AI: Review the GovTribe AI surface where this tool can be called.
• GovTribe for Agents: Use GovTribe for Agents as the starting point for MCP tools, MCP tool responses, and guides.
• MCP servers: Review where this MCP tool can be used.
• Invoke Search Tool MCP tool: Review where this MCP tool can be used.
• Source identifiers and record matching: Use GovTribe IDs and source identifiers when passing records between tools.