Tango MCP Server

Tango by MakeGov is a unified API for US federal contracting data that consolidates SAM.gov, USAspending, FPDS, DSBS, Grants.gov, and GAO into a single normalized interface. The Tango MCP server, hosted at https://govcon.dev/mcp, exposes that API to MCP-compatible clients like Claude Desktop, Cursor, and the OpenAI Responses API so agents can answer government contracting questions using natural language.

The server provides a focused set of tools for entity resolution, multi-record search across 13 procurement record types (contracts, IDVs, vehicles, OTAs, protests, IT Dashboard, etc.), opportunity discovery on SAM.gov, full record detail retrieval with optional enrichment, and on-demand API documentation lookups. SAM.gov opportunities refresh every 20 to 60 minutes, and responses default to TOON (Token-Oriented Object Notation) to reduce token usage by roughly 30 to 60 percent versus standard JSON.

Tango supports multiple authentication paths (API key header, OAuth bearer token, or TANGO_API_KEY env var), aggregate statistics on result sets, parameter coercion, smart zero-result hints, and a circuit breaker that backs off after repeated upstream failures. It was launched commercially in February 2026 as one of the first paid MCP servers focused on federal procurement.

Tools

Prerequisites

• A Tango account and API key from tango.makegov.com, or an OAuth access token
• An MCP-compatible client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, OpenAI Responses API, etc.)
• npx available locally if you connect through the mcp-remote bridge

Remote HTTP with API key (Claude Desktop / Cursor)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tango-remote": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://govcon.dev/mcp",
        "--header",
        "X-Tango-API-Key: your_api_key_here"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Remote HTTP with OAuth bearer token

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tango-remote-oauth": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://govcon.dev/mcp",
        "--header",
        "Authorization: Bearer your_oauth_token_here"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Authentication order

1. OAuth bearer token (Authorization: Bearer ...)
2. API key header (X-Tango-API-Key: ...)
3. Environment variable TANGO_API_KEY (local/stdio mode only)

Optional environment variables

• TANGO_RESPONSE_FORMAT=json to force standard JSON instead of the default TOON encoding.

Store API keys in environment variables or a secrets manager rather than committing them to plain config files.

• Identify federal contract vehicles, IDVs, and OTAs available to a given agency and pull obligated amounts and set-aside breakdowns.
• Monitor new SAM.gov opportunities and procurement forecasts by NAICS code, agency, or deadline for capture and BD teams.
• Run competitive intelligence on incumbents: surface awards, subawards, and recent modifications for a target vendor.
• Resolve a vendor name to its UEI/CAGE and enrich with socioeconomic status, NAICS, and contract history.
• Investigate bid protests and IT Dashboard investments tied to a specific program or agency.

• "Find all active SAM.gov opportunities under NAICS 541512 closing in the next 30 days at the Department of Veterans Affairs."
• "Resolve 'Booz Allen' to its Tango entity ID, then show total obligated dollars across DoD contracts in FY2025."
• "List the top 10 GWAC and IDV vehicles available at GSA with their ceiling values."
• "Get full details for contract award ID 12345 and include subawards and labor rate enrichment."
• "Search recent bid protests involving cloud services contracts and summarize the GAO outcomes."

• Official, provider-hosted server maintained by MakeGov, no self-hosting required.
• Unifies multiple fragmented federal data sources (SAM.gov, USAspending, FPDS, Grants.gov, DSBS, GAO) behind a small set of MCP tools.
• TOON response format reduces token usage by roughly 30 to 60 percent versus JSON, helpful for large procurement result sets.
• Multiple auth modes (API key, OAuth bearer, env var) and built-in resilience features like a circuit breaker and zero-result hints.

• Requires a paid Tango API key or OAuth token; not free to use.
• Scope is limited to US federal contracting data; no state, local, or international procurement coverage.
• Only five high-level tools; complex queries depend on knowing the right record types and filters, which may require fetch_api_docs lookups.

• blencorp/capture-mcp-server: open-source MCP server that wraps SAM.gov, USASpending.gov, and the Tango APIs.
• Community-built SAM.gov and USAspending MCP servers that hit the underlying government APIs directly without the Tango unification layer.
• GovTribe API for commercial government contracting intelligence (no official MCP server).