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Govly’s hosted Model Context Protocol (MCP) server lets supported AI assistants use Govly data and tools on your behalf. Connections use your Govly identity and can only access the data and actions available to you in the web app. A connection can also run as an agent account — a non-human identity in your organization — so a scheduled or long-running integration does not depend on an employee’s account. See MCP for developers.

What you can do

Connected assistants can:
  • Search and read opportunities — keyword and boolean search with status, NAICS, and date filters, plus full opportunity pages with sources and attachments.
  • Search and read awarded contracts — federal, SLED, and international award history with recipient, buyer, funder, and amount filters, plus full award pages with transactions, sub-awards, and line items.
  • Work with workspaces — create workspaces, add members, post comments, follow or unfollow opportunities, awards, and contacts, and list or upload attachments.
  • Use saved searches — list your opportunity saved searches and their cached matches.
  • Read and download documents — inspect bounded existing representations, continue long reads, and request original files only when needed.
MCP requires a paid Govly seat, but Enterprise API access is not required to connect. Some tools apply daily limits or smaller page sizes without Enterprise API access, and SLED or international data requires the matching organization subscription. The same operations are also available through the Tools API Reference.

MCP server URL

Use this URL when a client asks for Govly’s remote MCP server:

Choose a connection guide

  • Connect Govly to Claude — install Govly from Claude’s connector directory and authorize with your Govly account.
  • MCP for developers — connect an API, command-line tool, or other MCP client with OAuth or a personal API key.

Read and download documents

Use read_file with a fileId or canonical /files/<type>:<id> path returned by tools such as show_opportunity, show_workspace, and list_files. The initial response reports the representations already available for that document. Request positioned_text only when it is advertised and layout or geometry matters; reads never create missing analysis or enqueue extraction work. Use list_files with path: "/public-entity-uploads" to discover public-entity source uploads, including agency budget documents. Optionally supply entityName to match a stored name or abbreviation, then inspect the returned category and fiscal year and pass the file’s path to read_file. This directory follows the existing paid-account entity access rules. It lists metadata; it does not search file contents. Continue listings with only cursor and an optional limit. Document reads are bounded. When meta.hasMore is true, continue by calling read_file with cursor set to meta.nextCursor and, optionally, maxChars. Treat the cursor as opaque. Use download_file with a fileId or canonical path when you need the authorized original file. Opportunity responses may omit embedded attachment URLs; the download tool re-authorizes access and returns a fresh URL with its expiration time. It downloads the current original blob without extracting text or generating artifact exports. Previously issued storage URLs remain valid until expiration. Existing document_download(documentType, id) calls remain supported for compatibility.

Using MCP across multiple Govly organizations

Connections are scoped to one Govly organization. An OAuth connection uses the organization you were viewing when you authorized it; switching organizations in Govly later does not change the connection. Personal API keys are also tied to the organization where they were created. To use MCP with another organization, create a separate connection while viewing that organization or create a personal API key from that organization.

Manage connections

  • Manage OAuth connections under Govly Settings → API → Connected Apps.
  • Manage personal API keys under Govly Settings → API → API Keys.
  • Manage agent accounts and their keys under Govly Settings → API → Agent Accounts.
Revoking an OAuth grant immediately invalidates that connection. For setup-specific troubleshooting, use the relevant connection guide above. Still stuck? Email support@govly.com with the client you’re using and any error messages you’re seeing.