Your profile
This part is yours. It's stored against your name and PIN on the server, so it follows you to any computer — no retyping every time you sign in.
Your first name is your sign-in ID.
Yours alone — teammates can't change it.
If you have your own key, your syncs draw on your quota instead of the shared one. Leave blank to keep using the shared key.
Leave both blank to keep your current PIN.
Only you can see or change this.
SAM.gov connection
Shared by the whole team. The Help tab explains how to get a key.
Separate multiple codes with commas.
Separate multiple search terms with commas.
Opportunities at or above this score count as qualified.
How far back each regular sync searches.
Checked agencies earn bonus points in the fit score.
Email digest
A morning email that lists new qualified matches and approaching deadlines.
The account the digest sends from. You must have access to it.
Generated in that Google account's security settings — not the normal password.
Sending directly from a hosted site can be blocked by the host. The preview always works, and a scheduled robot can handle the daily send separately.
Saving rescores every stored opportunity with the new rules.
Answers to the questions everyone asks first. Click a question to open it.
What is the first thing I should do after opening the app?
Go to the Settings page. If your dashboard is empty, this is expected for first-time users. You need to add your SAM.gov API key before contracts can be retrieved.
How do I log in?
The username is always radar. The password is set by your administrator — ask them for it. Your browser remembers it after the first sign-in.
How do I get a SAM.gov API key?
- Sign in to your SAM.gov account.
- Open Account Details.
- Request a SAM.gov API key.
- Wait for the confirmation email containing your API key.
- Copy the API key and paste it into the SAM.gov API Key field in SAM Radar's Settings.
How do I configure email notifications?
In Settings, scroll to the Email digest section and fill in:
- Recipients: one or more email addresses, separated by commas.
- Gmail address (sender): the account the digest sends from. You must have access to it.
- Gmail app password: a 16-character password generated in that Google account's security settings. This is not the account's normal password.
- Daily digest time: when the email goes out each day.
What settings can I customize?
- NAICS codes, by entering multiple codes separated by commas.
- Keywords, by entering multiple search terms separated by commas.
- Minimum digest score.
- How far back SAM Radar searches for contract opportunities.
- Which agencies count as priority agencies.
- The daily sync and email schedule.
How does syncing work?
SAM Radar automatically runs a sync each morning at the scheduled time. During each sync, it searches SAM.gov for contracts that match your configured NAICS codes and keywords. The newest data appears once a sync finishes. You can also press Sync now at any time to run a manual search.
Why can't I sync right now?
If you've reached your daily SAM.gov API request limit, syncing will not work until your quota resets. For example, some API keys are limited to a small number of requests per day — your available quota depends on your SAM.gov account. Quotas reset daily.
How do I view contract details?
- Click a contract on the dashboard. A detail panel opens and stays open until you close it.
- Inside you'll see why it matched your criteria — the full score breakdown — plus which organization posted it, key dates, and the point of contact.
- Use Open on SAM.gov to view the opportunity directly on SAM.gov.
- Close the panel with the ✕ button or the Esc key.
Can I send the email digest myself, right now?
Yes. The Send digest now button on the Dashboard (top right of the toolbar) sends the current digest to your recipients immediately — no need to wait for the morning schedule or open Settings. Make sure a sync has run first so the digest has fresh opportunities in it.
Will my filters and sort be remembered?
Yes. Your search text, agency filter, notice-type filter, minimum score, and sort order are saved in your own browser, so the dashboard opens the way you left it. This is per browser and per computer — it does not change what anyone else sees, and it does not affect the shared SAM.gov key or email settings.
Why is my dashboard empty?
An empty dashboard usually means one of the following:
- Your SAM.gov API key has not been added.
- No contracts match your current NAICS codes or keywords.
- A sync has not been performed yet.
- The app was just updated or redeployed — hosted versions start with a fresh database after each update.
What do I need before I can start using SAM Radar?
Before using the app, make sure you have:
- A valid SAM.gov API key.
- At least one recipient email address.
- A sender email address.
- Your desired NAICS codes.
- Any keywords you want to search for.