Docs

Base URL https://api.nextbid.us (also under https://nextbid.us/v1). Version 0.4.0. JSON in and out. Times are ISO 8601 UTC.

Subscribe / sign up (people and AI agents)

Authorized AI agents may assist with or complete NextBid signup and account setup. Payment and acceptance of terms must be authorized by the account owner or organization. Machine-readable: the signup object in ai.json.

1. Request a signup link. POST https://data.nextbid.us/start/request, Content-Type: application/json, body {"name": "...", "email": "...", "business": "...", "plan": "monthly", "source": "agent"}. plan (monthly | annual) and source are optional. Any valid request answers 200 {"ok":true} (existing accounts are not revealed); invalid input answers 400 with the field names. The "Start now" buttons on nextbid.us send the same request.
2. Verify the email. Email verification is required before checkout. The owner opens the link from admin@nextbid.us: https://nextbid.us/start?t=<token>&plan=<plan>. It works for 24 hours; a new request replaces it.
3. Choose a plan. Monthly $49.99 a month or Annual $499 a year; same access, 6,000 calls each month after the trial.
4. Checkout. Stripe Checkout; a payment method is required. Nothing is charged today; cancel before the 14-day trial ends and nothing is charged.
5. Create the password. Checkout returns to https://nextbid.us/start/complete?session_id=...: the company account is ready. Create the password; it signs in to https://data.nextbid.us/dashboard.
6. Create a key. https://data.nextbid.us/keys, then connect over REST (https://api.nextbid.us/v1/...) or MCP (https://api.nextbid.us/mcp), header X-API-Key.

Authentication and metering

Send your key as X-API-Key: <key> or Authorization: Bearer <key>. /v1/health, /v1/pricing and /v1/public/corpus need no key. Every other call costs one unit. Each response carries x-usage-today, x-quota-remaining, x-price-cents and x-plan. No key: 401. Quota exhausted: 402 with the upgrade terms in the body.

What consumes a call. One unit each: a search, an opportunity read, a document list, a file list, a file read. Free but recorded: stats, tradelines, set-asides, usage, account, activity, pursuits and profile, and the MCP handshake. Every response carries x-usage-used, x-quota-remaining, x-units, x-usage-period, x-usage-resets-at and x-plan. When the allowance is used the API answers 402 quota_exhausted and free calls keep working. All keys on one account share its allowance.

Endpoints

Search parameters

Record fields

nb_id, source, title, agency, agency_department, requesting_department, solicitation_number, notice_type, procurement_kind, set_aside, response_deadline, posted_date, lifecycle_status, tradelines[], naics[], unspsc[], psc, states[], cities[], counties[], place_of_performance, document_count, document_set_status, attachment_count, bonding_required, wage_determination, requires_clearance, source_url, summary, last_updated, rank_score. The full record adds description, ai_summary, contract_type, opp_kind, is_goods_only, document0_version, contacts[], amendments[], documents[].

File kinds

document0 the canonical notice (markdown and JSON) · normalized attachment text · case the case file · requirements · scope_graph · evidence · classifications · graph · packet · other.

MCP

Remote endpoint https://api.nextbid.us/mcp (Streamable HTTP). Send the same X-API-Key header. Tools: search_opportunities, get_opportunity, list_documents, list_files, read_file, corpus_stats, list_tradelines (the catalog with specialties and aliases), list_set_asides, my_usage, my_account, mark_pursuit. A tool call costs what its REST call costs (searches and reads one unit; catalogs, stats, account and pursuit tools free) and returns the same JSON as the REST call plus a _meter block.

{ "mcpServers": { "nextbid": { "url": "https://api.nextbid.us/mcp", "headers": { "X-API-Key": "YOUR_KEY" } } } }

Examples

curl -H "X-API-Key: $KEY" "https://api.nextbid.us/v1/opportunities?tradelines=roofing&due_within_days=14&page_size=10"
curl -H "X-API-Key: $KEY" "https://api.nextbid.us/v1/opportunities/NB00098908"
curl -H "X-API-Key: $KEY" "https://api.nextbid.us/v1/opportunities/NB00098908/files"
curl -H "X-API-Key: $KEY" "https://api.nextbid.us/v1/opportunities/NB00010002/files/nextbid/sam/shadow/document0/docs/NB00010002/NB00010002.document0.md"

Limits and status codes

Honour Retry-After on 429. Repeated abuse revokes the key.

Terms in one paragraph

Access is licensed for your own use. The issuing agency's official notice always controls; verify with the agency before you bid. Derived fields are labelled. Buyer contacts are public records served with their solicitation and may not be redistributed as a list. Keys are personal; sharing keys or scraping the API ends the licence. Questions and licences: admin@nextbid.us. Full terms of use and privacy notice.