Pursue or Pass: five rules for every federal notice, and a five-check script (free sample)
by PaperChaseWebb
Five rules for a bid/no-bid call you can defend: gate before you score, the score sets a ceiling, write the reason, you decide by name, keep every row. A read-only script checks your list against them in seconds.
- Price
- Free
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Setup
- 5 min
- Format
- .md file
pursue-or-pass-five-rules-for-every-federal-notice-free-sample.md · 5 KB · direct download, no signup
What you end up with
In a few minutes you can see which of your bid/no-bid calls do not hold together yet.
What you get
- Five bid/no-bid rules
- pursue_mini.py: five read-only checks on one pursuits.csv
- One prompt for all four harnesses
- A fictional worked example that checks clean
Who it is for
Anyone weighing federal notices who wants a quick check that each yes or no holds together.
Works with
Solid chips: the agent is named in this listing's own tools list. Dashed chip: Plain Markdown, so it also pastes into other agents such as Grok Bot, Hermes, OpenClaw or Muse. We list those as compatible by format only, not as tested.
Tools needed
Cost to run: Free.
Time to result: About five minutes to a first result
Sample prompts, free to use
Add this notice as a row in pursuits.csv. Gate it first. If it passes, score it and write the band. Draft the decision and the reason, leave decided_by empty for me, then run pursue_mini.py and show me what it prints.
The rules and the script are in the file.
Free preview of the file
# Pursue or Pass: five rules for every federal notice, and a five-check script (free sample)
From the PaperChaseWebb Pursue or Pass bundle. Version 1.0, 2026-11-03. Plain markdown and one Python 3 script, standard library only. It reads one file, writes nothing and opens no network connection. Works with Grok Bot, Claude Code, Codex and Hermes through the prompt below. Not legal advice.
## Install
Save this file as pursue-or-pass-sample.md, then pull the script out of it:
~~~sh
python3 -c "import re;t=open('pursue-or-pass-sample.md').read();open('pursue_mini.py','w').write(re.search(r'~~~python\n(.*?)~~~',t,re.S).group(1))"
~~~
Save the worked example below as pursuits.csv, or write your own, and run `python3 pursue_mini.py pursuits.csv`. Exit 0 clean, 1 findings, 2 missing input.
## Five rules
1. Gate before you score. If any eligibility gate fails, the answer is no-bid, however good the notice looks.
2. The score sets a ceiling. You can decide lower than the band your score gives. Never higher.
3. Write the reason. Three lines at most, in plain words, for yes and for no.
4. You decide, by name. An agent can draft the decision. It cannot make it.
5. Keep every row, no-bids included. They show you what to target next quarter.
## The five checks
| Check | What it catches |
|---|---|
| Q1 | a gate stopped the notice but the decision is not NO-BID |
| Q2 | a decision above the band its score gives (75 BID, 60 BID WITH CONDITIONS, 45 RESHAPE) |
| Q3 | a decision with no Test record
- Date
- Nov 3, 2026
- What was run
- tests/test_mini.py (6 tests) and the worked example on Linux with Python 3.
- Result
- 6 passed, 0 failed; the example checks clean.
- Not run
- The prompt inside a harness.
Copied from this item's dated test notes. What was not run stays in.
Worth knowing
- The sample checks five rules on one file. The full Pursuit Desk, the twenty-column register and seventeen checks, and the four GovCon packs are in the bundle.
- On 2026-11-03 pursue_mini.py passed its 6 tests and the worked example checked clean. The prompt was not run inside a harness. Not legal advice.
Questions
Does it send anything anywhere?
No. It reads one file and opens no network connection.
What is in the full bundle?
The Pursuit Desk with seventeen checks, plus the Triage Kit, Gate Checklist, Evidence-Only Capability Statement and Buyer Outreach Screen in full. $79, against $111 for the four bought separately.
Details
Version 1.0 · Updated Nov 3, 2026 · Markdown version of this page
License: Personal and commercial use. Download terms
Related
Pursue or Pass bundle: every federal notice gated, scored, decided by you and screened before anyone calls a buyer
Stop spending proposal hours on notices you cannot win or should not bid. The Triage Kit, Gate Checklist, Evidence-Only Capability Statement and Buyer Outreach Screen in full, tied together by a Pursuit Desk that is only here: one register for every notice and a script with seventeen checks. It catches a bid after a failed gate, a decision above its score, an agent standing in for you, and buyer contact before a clean screen.
GovCon Opportunity Triage Kit: bid or no-bid on a federal opportunity, gates first, scores with evidence
Every bid you chase spends hours you could put into one you can win. This kit gives you one repeatable call on every sources sought, RFQ or RFP: eight eligibility gates first (any No stops the bid), then six weighted criteria scored 0 to 5 with the evidence written beside each score, a pursuit cost worksheet with expected value, and four decision bands with overrides. Every rule points to its FAR, 13 CFR or SAM.gov source.
Eligibility and Compliance Gate Checklist: eight gates to clear before you bid a set-aside
Before you bid a set-aside, check the current SBA and FAR rules on size and status and confirm you are eligible. This is not legal advice. This checklist walks the eight gates in order, from an active SAM record and size under the assigned NAICS to set-aside status, exclusions, the limitations on subcontracting, teaming, responsibility and procurement integrity, with checkboxes and the exact rule behind each one.