Federal contracting MCPs

Name: BLS OEWS
Author: 1102tools

Free, open-source, read-only source tools for federal contracting research: opportunities, awards, company records, labor pricing, travel rates, regulations, and rulemaking.

Explore 1102tools · Find a matching prompt · Download the MCP prompt guide

Why these MCPs

Free. MIT-licensed, with no subscription and no credits. Hosted installs need no account or API key.
Tested. Checked against the government sources, reviewed by Claude Code and Codex, and backed by thousands of regression tests. How it's tested.
Listed. Hosted installs are in the Claude and ChatGPT directories and need no user API key. See where each server is listed.
One of a kind. The only known MCP server for Acquisition.gov FAR Overhaul model text and agency class deviations.

Testing

Checked against the source. Realistic contracting questions run against each server, and the answers are compared with the government source: the numbers, the dates, the citations.
Worst problems first. Every problem is ranked by how much it could mislead you, from a wrong answer you might act on down to a minor wording issue. Wrong answers are fixed first.
Reviewed by more than one AI. Audits run with both Claude Code and Codex, and every finding is checked by a second reviewer before a fix ships.
Fixed for good. Every fix gets a regression test so the problem can't come back, and thousands of these tests run before each release.

Server	Testing record
SAM.gov	Testing
USAspending	Testing
GSA CALC+	Testing
BLS OEWS	Testing
GSA Per Diem	Testing
eCFR	Testing
Federal Register	Testing
Regulations.gov	Testing
Acquisition.gov	Testing

Release details are in the October 10, 2026 release record.

See how 1102tools compares with paid GovCon platforms and other MCP servers.

Local or hosted

Every MCP works in Claude or ChatGPT two ways. Local runs it on your computer, inside the Claude or ChatGPT desktop app or another AI app. Hosted runs it on Cloudflare, so it works anywhere you use Claude or ChatGPT. Local is the better setup for daily work, and you don't have to set it up by hand: give your AI the local setup guide and ask it to set it up or walk you through it.

The table shows where each server is listed as a hosted install.

MCP	Local setup (desktop)	Claude (hosted)	ChatGPT (hosted)
SAM.gov	Setup guide (full 20-tool edition, free key)	Add to Claude (6-tool edition, no key)	In review
USAspending	Setup guide	Add to Claude	Add to ChatGPT
GSA CALC+	Setup guide	Add to Claude	Add to ChatGPT
BLS OEWS	Setup guide	Add to Claude	Add to ChatGPT
GSA Per Diem	Setup guide (free key)	Add to Claude	Add to ChatGPT
eCFR	Setup guide	Add to Claude	Add to ChatGPT
Federal Register	Setup guide	Add to Claude	In review
Regulations.gov	Setup guide (free key)	Add to Claude	In review
Acquisition.gov	Setup guide	Add to Claude	Add to ChatGPT

	Local	Hosted
Why use it	Your own full rate limits, so you skip any congestion on hosted	Always up to date. No setup or keys, and it works in Claude or ChatGPT anywhere
Works in	Claude or ChatGPT desktop apps and other AI apps, on a desktop or laptop	Claude or ChatGPT on web, desktop, and phone
Setup	Ask your AI to set it up or walk you through it, using the setup guide. Free keys for SAM.gov, Regulations.gov, and GSA Per Diem	Add it from the Claude or ChatGPT directory. No keys
Rate limits	Your own, in full	Pooled across all users. Your lookups stay private
Relies on	Government sources	Government sources and Cloudflare
Updates	Manual. Local installs don't update themselves. Ask your AI to update them	Automatic. Always runs the latest release
SAM.gov	Full edition: 20 tools, free key	6 tools, no key

Use hosted if you're on your phone, your work computer blocks installs, or you want SAM.gov opportunity, registration and exclusion search without a key.

SAM.gov comes in two editions. Hosted has 6 keyless tools for contract opportunities, public entity registrations, and exclusions, built from SAM.gov's public files. Local is the full edition: 20 tools that add live API lookups, detailed SBA certification dates, reps and certs, integrity records, and contract award records, with a free SAM.gov key. Compare the editions.
Hosted privacy. Hosted services cache some public government responses temporarily in bounded memory to reduce repeated source requests. No conversations or query/result logs are retained. Public data snapshots are maintained separately. Their code and Cloudflare setup are public in federal-contracting-mcps. Cloudflare still handles connection data such as IP addresses, and Claude or ChatGPT handles your conversation under its own privacy policy.

Local setup

You don't have to do this by hand. Give this page's link to Claude or ChatGPT and ask it to set up the MCP you want, or to walk you through it. The steps:

Install uv, the free tool that downloads and runs the servers (uv install guide).

macOS or Linux:
sh
```
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
```
Windows (PowerShell):
powershell
```
powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"
```
Add the server to your app. Each server's setup guide has the exact command.
- Claude desktop app: Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Paste the server's block from its setup guide into claude_desktop_config.json, save, and restart Claude.
- ChatGPT desktop app: Settings → MCP servers → Add server. Choose STDIO, enter uvx and the arguments from the setup guide, save, and restart.
- Claude Code or Codex: one command. For example, USAspending:
  sh
```
claude mcp add usaspending -- uvx --from usaspending-gov-mcp usaspending-mcp
codex mcp add usaspending -- uvx --from usaspending-gov-mcp usaspending-mcp
```
Add a key if the server needs one. SAM.gov, Regulations.gov, and GSA Per Diem take a free key from the agency. The setup guide shows where to get it and which setting to use.

Updating. Local installs don't update themselves. To get the latest version, ask your AI to update the server, or run it with @latest (for example uvx usaspending-gov-mcp@latest).

If your app says it can't find uvx, use its full path instead: run which uvx on macOS or where uvx on Windows.

Start with a question

Pick a request from the prompt library. Each one names the MCPs it needs.
Connect those MCPs, local or hosted, from the table above.
Fill in the bracketed details, such as [AGENCY] or [COMPANY], and send it. Ask for source links and dates.

What you want to do	MCP to connect	Matching prompts
Find solicitations and check company registrations	SAM.gov	Open prompts
Research awards, competitors, agencies, and recompetes	USAspending	Open prompts
Compare awarded labor-rate ceilings	GSA CALC+	Open prompts
Look up occupation and location wage data	BLS OEWS	Open prompts
Estimate lodging and meals for travel	GSA Per Diem	Open prompts
Read and compare codified FAR, DFARS, and CFR text	eCFR	Open prompts
Follow proposed rules, final rules, and FAR cases	Federal Register	Open prompts
Explore rulemaking dockets and public comments	Regulations.gov	Open prompts
Research FAR Overhaul model text and posted agency deviations	Acquisition.gov	Open prompts

Results reflect government-source data and retrieval time or the bundled snapshot release. Check source and as-of metadata; bundled data does not make a fresh upstream request on every lookup. Check dates, completeness, identity matches, and reported limitations. The MCPs provide evidence; they do not make a contracting or procurement-specific applicability decision.