Connect SAM.gov to Claude
Query SAM.gov directly from Claude. Arlet links the two through one MCP connection and takes care of API keys.
This server connects your AI client to SAM.gov, the US government's official system for contract opportunities and entity registrations, operated by the GSA.
Key features:
- search_opportunities: find active and past contract notices - solicitations, pre-solicitations, combined synopses, sources-sought and award notices - filtered by title keyword, NAICS code, procurement type, agency, place-of-performance state and posted-date range. The posted range defaults to the last 90 days and is capped at one year by the upstream API; dates are accepted in ISO form and converted to SAM.gov's MM/dd/yyyy automatically.
- search_entities: look up companies and organizations registered to do business with the US government, by legal name, 12-character UEI or 5-character CAGE code. Returns registration status and expiration, address, and identifiers.
The UEI returned by search_entities is the same identifier USAspending uses for award recipients, so the two servers join cleanly: find a company here, then pull its award history there. Division of labor with USASpending: SAM.gov is where notices are published (before and at award); USAspending is where actual spending is recorded.
Using the API requires a personal API key generated from your SAM.gov account's Account Details page (a login is required; keys are tied to the account's roles). Set it as SAM_GOV_API_KEY in your Arlet environment variables. Note the upstream gateway answers invalid keys with an empty 404 response; this server converts that into an actionable error message.
How to connect SAM.gov to Claude
- 1
In the Arlet dashboard, open Data tools, find SAM.gov, set the API key issued by SAM.gov and switch it on.
- 2
In Claude, open Organization settings → Connectors from the account menu at the bottom left, then click + Add.
- 3
Choose Custom → Web, enter "Arlet" as the Name and https://mcp.arlet.dev/mcp/ as the Remote MCP server URL, then click Add. Authentication settings are auto-detected, so keep the defaults.
- 4
The first time you use it, sign in with Google. After that, every service you switched on in Arlet is available from Claude.
Adding a connector is done by an organization admin on Team / Enterprise plans. On Pro / Max you can add it for yourself from Settings → Connectors with the same steps.