Setup and data access

Install the agent. Know the key requirements before you start.

The agents supply tested integrations. Some federal providers require a free key; others use sharply limited fallbacks. Each agent checks locally and explains the state before work begins.

Install agents Download PDF ↗

Credential matrix

What works when no keys are configured

No 1102tools account is required; some federal providers require a free account or API key. Every affected agent checks credential presence locally before its menu or routed response. The check never displays, transmits, logs, or validates the value.

Agent	Credential and no-key access	What the agent says at startup
GovCon Growth	`SAM_API_KEY` Required for SAM.gov opportunity, entity, registration, exclusion, certification, award, hierarchy, and subaward operations.	Reports a missing required credential before the menu, makes no SAM.gov data call, and never labels the missing key as an outage.
Pre-Award	`BLS_API_KEY` `PERDIEM_API_KEY` BLS is limited to 25 requests per day and 10 years per query without its optional key. Per Diem uses a shared DEMO_KEY limited to approximately 10 requests per hour.	Discloses both limited fallbacks before workflow routing and permits bounded work. Scope-only work and GSA CALC+ remain keyless.
Other Transaction	`BLS_API_KEY` `PERDIEM_API_KEY` BLS is limited to 25 requests per day and 10 years per query without its optional key. Per Diem uses a shared DEMO_KEY limited to approximately 10 requests per hour.	Discloses both limited fallbacks before workflow routing and permits bounded work. Project-description-only work and GSA CALC+ remain keyless.

No user key: USASpending, GSA CALC+.

Get a key: SAM.gov Help · BLS registration · api.data.gov signup. Configure it outside chat, fully restart the client, and rerun the workflow.

Install all three

Codex Desktop and CLI

Add the marketplace and agents, then install the complete five-server host profile. The profile contains credential variable names and exact package pins, never credential values.

codex plugin marketplace add 1102tools-dev/federal-contracting-agents --ref main
codex plugin add govcon-growth-agent@1102tools
codex plugin add pre-award-agent@1102tools
codex plugin add other-transaction-agent@1102tools

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/1102tools-dev/federal-contracting-agents/main/config/codex/1102tools-host.config.toml -o ~/.codex/1102tools-host.config.toml

Codex CLI

Launch with codex --profile 1102tools-host. The named file layers the complete MCP inventory on top of the shared base configuration.

Codex Desktop

Merge every [mcp_servers...] table from the downloaded profile into ~/.codex/config.toml, replacing older 1102tools tables with the same names. Fully quit and reopen Codex.

Claude Desktop and Claude Code CLI

claude plugin marketplace add 1102tools-dev/federal-contracting-agents
claude plugin install govcon-growth-agent@1102tools
claude plugin install pre-award-agent@1102tools
claude plugin install other-transaction-agent@1102tools

Fully restart Claude Code or run /reload-plugins after an update. Shared MCP names are intentionally identical and must resolve to the same pinned launcher bytes regardless of install order.

Configure keys outside chat

Restart is required

Never paste a credential into a conversation. Configure it in the environment that launches the client or its documented credential surface. The readiness check reports configured but not verified until the first approved provider call; 401/403 means the configured credential was rejected, and 429 means rate limited.

Expected startup: missing required credential, limited unauthenticated fallback, configured but not verified, outdated or incomplete MCP installation, configured credential rejected, rate limited, or upstream unavailable. A missing key is never a provider outage.

Start the work

No special prompt is required to start

Open a fresh task or session and use the client picker to load the installed agent. The first Enter accepts the autocomplete into the prompt box. The second Enter sends it and starts the agent.

Codex Desktop and CLI

Type @, begin typing the agent name, and wait for the matching agent to appear. Press Enter once to load it into the prompt box, then press Enter again to start it.

Claude Desktop and Claude Code CLI

Type /, begin typing the agent name, and wait for its workflow to appear. Press Enter once to load it into the prompt box, then press Enter again to start it.

After the second Enter, the agent runs its local data-access readiness check and shows its complete menu. Choose the closest numbered route. You should not have to invent a report name.

Recommended outcome: Includes: Boundary/default: Next:

Legitimate gate

“Which agency, requirement, date, source document, pricing method, or authority fact applies?” The agent needs a fact or a reserved decision it cannot safely invent.

Improper blank-canvas handoff

“What report would you like me to make?” without first naming meaningful products. The agent defaults the product and explains its strongest route.

See the complete 17-route product map, compare ordinary and ambitious requests on How It Works, or use the optional Agent Playbook.