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LDA.gov

lda-gov-pp-cli

Lobbying disclosure records with local sync, entity resolution, and evidence-grade exports.

Printed by @mherzog4 (Mherzog4)

Install

npx — recommended

npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install lda-gov

Installs the CLI binary and the agent skill (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Copilot, and more). Add --cli-only or --skill-only for one half. Requires Node.

Hermes

hermes skills install mvanhorn/printing-press-library/cli-skills/pp-lda-gov --force

From the Hermes CLI. Inside a chat session use /skills install with the same path.

OpenClaw

Install the pp-lda-gov skill from https://github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/tree/main/cli-skills/pp-lda-gov. The skill defines how its required CLI can be installed.

Paste this to your OpenClaw agent — the skill describes how to install its CLI.

Claude Desktop

This CLI ships an MCPB bundle. Download the latest release .mcpb and double-click it — Claude Desktop walks you through the install.

View source on GitHub →

Lobbying disclosure records with local sync, entity resolution, and evidence-grade exports.

Search the official Lobbying Disclosure Act API, sync public filings into SQLite, and turn nested lobbying records into source-linked audits. The CLI keeps anonymous reads safe by default, supports optional registered API keys, and adds commands for entity resolution, anomaly checks, spend timelines, contribution totals, and graph exports.

Learn more at LDA.gov.

Created by @mherzog4 (Mherzog4).

Authentication

LDA.gov works anonymously at a lower rate limit. For higher throughput, register for an API key at https://lda.gov/api/register/ and set LDA_API_KEY to the key value; the CLI sends it as Authorization: Token . Legacy scripts may use SENATE_LDA_API_KEY or USSLDA_KEY, but new usage should prefer LDA_API_KEY.

Quick Start

# Check CLI configuration without making a network request.
lda-gov-pp-cli doctor --dry-run

# Seed a bounded local mirror for analysis without exhausting anonymous quota.
lda-gov-pp-cli sync --resources filings,contributions,registrants,clients,lobbyists --resource-param filings:filing_year=2024 --resource-param contributions:filing_year=2024 --max-pages 1 --db ./lda.db

# Search the synced filing corpus locally.
lda-gov-pp-cli search Boeing --type filings --limit 10 --db ./lda.db

# Resolve an ambiguous name across registrants, clients, and lobbyists.
lda-gov-pp-cli entities resolve Boeing --agent --limit 10 --db ./lda.db

Unique Features

These capabilities aren't available in any other tool for this API.

Evidence-grade local audits

audit filings — Flag amendments, terminations, duplicate-risk filings, client/registrant conflicts, and missing source URLs.

Use this when an agent needs reproducible watchdog flags instead of raw filing rows.
```
lda-gov-pp-cli audit filings --agent --limit 25
```
audit spend — Aggregate disclosed lobbying income and expenses by client, registrant, issue, year, and quarter.

Use this when an agent needs analysis-ready spend totals rather than individual filings.
```
lda-gov-pp-cli audit spend --client Boeing --from-year 2020 --to-year 2025 --csv
```
contributions totals — Aggregate LD-203 contribution items by contributor, recipient, payee, item type, year, and report.

Use this when an agent needs contribution totals without writing a custom flattener.
```
lda-gov-pp-cli contributions totals --year 2024 --csv
```

Entity intelligence

entities resolve — Rank matching registrants, clients, and lobbyists with official IDs, counts, last activity, and source URLs.

Use this before citing or joining an ambiguous company, firm, or lobbyist name.
```
lda-gov-pp-cli entities resolve Boeing --agent --limit 10
```
graph export — Export client-registrant-lobbyist-issue-government entity edges for graph analysis.

Use this when an agent needs a relationship graph for downstream NetworkX, Gephi, or SQL work.
```
lda-gov-pp-cli graph export --client Boeing --format csv
```
lobbyists covered-positions — List lobbyists' covered government positions connected to clients, registrants, and filing periods.

Use this when an agent needs exact official covered-position evidence tied to active lobbying records.
```
lda-gov-pp-cli lobbyists covered-positions --client Boeing --csv
```

Period monitoring

reports quarter — Produce quarter stats for filings, amendments, terminations, top issues, top entities, spend, and LD-203 totals.

Use this after quarterly deadlines when an agent needs a compact, source-linked snapshot.
```
lda-gov-pp-cli reports quarter --year 2024 --period year_end --agent --select top_issue,top_government_entity,filings
```

Recipes

Resolve a company before joining records

lda-gov-pp-cli entities resolve Boeing --agent --limit 10 --db ./lda.db

Ranks official registrant, client, and lobbyist matches so an agent can pick the right ID.

Build a source-linked quarter snapshot

lda-gov-pp-cli reports quarter --year 2024 --period year_end --agent --select top_issue,top_government_entity,filings --db ./lda.db

Narrows a potentially large report to the fields an agent needs in context.

Audit filings for cleanup flags

lda-gov-pp-cli audit filings --agent --limit 25 --db ./lda.db

Flags amendments, terminations, duplicate risks, and client/registrant conflicts.

Export a lobbying relationship graph

lda-gov-pp-cli graph export --client Boeing --format csv --db ./lda.db

Creates edge rows connecting clients, registrants, lobbyists, issues, and government entities.

Summarize LD-203 contribution counterparties

lda-gov-pp-cli contributions totals --year 2024 --csv --db ./lda.db

Flattens contribution items and aggregates them by counterparty and item type.

Usage

Run lda-gov-pp-cli --help for the full command reference and flag list.

Commands

clients

Access Client information.

lda-gov-pp-cli clients list - Returns all clients matching the provided filters.
lda-gov-pp-cli clients retrieve - Returns all clients matching the provided filters.

constants

An assorted list of constants found in the LDA REST API.

lda-gov-pp-cli constants list-contribution-item-types - Returns all ContributionItemTypes.
lda-gov-pp-cli constants list-countries - Returns all Countries.
lda-gov-pp-cli constants list-filing-types - Returns all FilingTypes.
lda-gov-pp-cli constants list-government-entities - Returns all GovernmentEntities.
lda-gov-pp-cli constants list-lobbying-activity-general-issues - Returns all LobbyingActivityGeneralIssues.
lda-gov-pp-cli constants list-lobbyist-prefixes - Returns all LobbyistPrefixes.
lda-gov-pp-cli constants list-lobbyist-suffixes - Returns all LobbyistSuffixes.
lda-gov-pp-cli constants list-states - Returns all States.

contributions

Manage contributions

lda-gov-pp-cli contributions list-reports - List reports
lda-gov-pp-cli contributions retrieve-report - Returns all contributions matching the provided filters.

filings

Access LD1 / LD2 filings.

lda-gov-pp-cli filings list - List
lda-gov-pp-cli filings retrieve - Returns all filings matching the provided filters.

lobbyists

Access Lobbyist information.

lda-gov-pp-cli lobbyists list - Returns all lobbyists matching the provided filters. The ID is a unique integer value identifying this Lobbyist Name as reported by this Registrant.
lda-gov-pp-cli lobbyists retrieve - Returns all lobbyists matching the provided filters. The ID is a unique integer value identifying this Lobbyist Name as reported by this Registrant.

registrants

Access Registrant information.

lda-gov-pp-cli registrants list - Returns all registrants matching the provided filters.
lda-gov-pp-cli registrants retrieve - Returns all registrants matching the provided filters.

Output Formats

# Human-readable table (default in terminal, JSON when piped)
lda-gov-pp-cli clients list

# JSON for scripting and agents
lda-gov-pp-cli clients list --json

# Filter to specific fields
lda-gov-pp-cli clients list --json --select id,name,status

# Dry run — show the request without sending
lda-gov-pp-cli clients list --dry-run

# Agent mode — JSON + compact + no prompts in one flag
lda-gov-pp-cli clients list --agent

Agent Usage

This CLI is designed for AI agent consumption:

Non-interactive - never prompts, every input is a flag
Pipeable - --json output to stdout, errors to stderr
Filterable - --select id,name returns only fields you need
Previewable - --dry-run shows the request without sending
Read-only by default - this CLI does not create, update, delete, publish, send, or mutate remote resources
Offline-friendly - sync/search commands can use the local SQLite store when available
Agent-safe by default - no colors or formatting unless --human-friendly is set

Exit codes: 0 success, 2 usage error, 3 not found, 5 API error, 7 rate limited, 10 config error.

Health Check

lda-gov-pp-cli doctor

Verifies configuration and connectivity to the API.

Configuration

Config file: ~/.config/lobbying-disclosure-pp-cli/config.toml

Static request headers can be configured under headers; per-command header overrides take precedence.

Troubleshooting

Not found errors (exit code 3)

Check the resource ID is correct
Run the list command to see available items

API-specific

HTTP 429 Too Many Requests — Wait for the Retry-After window, lower --max-pages, or use a registered key with LDA_API_KEY.
Pagination fails after page 1 for filings or contributions — Add a filter such as --filing-year 2024 or sync with --resource-param filings:filing_year=2024.
Old examples point at lda.senate.gov — Use the default lda.gov base URL; lda.senate.gov is deprecated and sunsets in 2026.
Audit command returns an empty JSON array — Run sync first with the resources named by the command and pass the same --db path.

Sources & Inspiration

This CLI was built by studying these projects and resources:

lobbyR — R
lobby — R
lobbying_disclosure_client — Ruby
us-gov-open-data-mcp — TypeScript
LegisMCP — TypeScript
scraper_senate-lobbying-disclosures — Python

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