feat: add tender URL validation cleanup
- Created cleanup-invalid-tenders.mjs script to validate tender URLs - Detects removed tenders via redirect to /syserror/notfound - Marks invalid tenders as closed in database - Initial run found 277/626 tenders (~44%) already removed from sources - Contracts Finder has highest removal rate (tenders removed before deadline) - Add comprehensive documentation in TENDER_CLEANUP_SUMMARY.md
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TENDER_CLEANUP_SUMMARY.md
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# Tender URL Cleanup Summary
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**Date:** 2026-02-15
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**Issue:** Apply Now buttons showing 404 errors for URL like:
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`https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/24dac264-3958-4928-a1ad-675ecd5e203d`
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## Root Cause
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Tender URLs become invalid even before their deadline because:
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1. Contracting authorities close tenders early
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2. Contracts Finder immediately removes them from the site
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3. TenderRadar database still shows them as "open"
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## Cleanup Results
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**Before cleanup:**
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- Total tenders: 626
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- Open tenders: 626
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- Closed tenders: 0
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**After cleanup:**
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- Total tenders: 626
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- **Open tenders: 349** (valid, working URLs)
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- **Closed tenders: 277** (removed from source sites)
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**Removal rate: ~44%** of tenders were already removed from their source websites!
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## How Contracts Finder Handles Removals
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- Returns HTTP 200 (not 404!)
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- Redirects to: `https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/syserror/notfound`
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- This makes detection tricky - we need to check the final redirect URL
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## Solution Implemented
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### 1. Cleanup Script: `cleanup-invalid-tenders.mjs`
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- Checks tender URLs by making HEAD requests
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- Detects removals by checking for `/syserror/` or `/notfound` in final URL
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- Marks removed tenders as "closed" in database
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- Rate-limited to 500ms between requests (be nice to servers)
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### 2. Cron Job (Recommended)
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Add to crontab on VPS:
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```bash
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# Run tender cleanup daily at 3am
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0 3 * * * cd /home/peter/tenderpilot && /usr/bin/node cleanup-invalid-tenders.mjs >> logs/cleanup.log 2>&1
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```
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### 3. Dashboard Filter (NEEDS IMPLEMENTATION)
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The API already filters by status, but the dashboard doesn't pass the filter. Update `/public/dashboard.html`:
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Currently the API query at line 1089 doesn't include status filter.
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Need to ensure only "open" tenders are shown.
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## Testing Results
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All tested URLs from each source:
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| Source | Sample URLs Tested | Working | Removed |
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|--------|-------------------|---------|---------|
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| contracts_finder | 100+ | ~56 | ~44 |
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| find_tender | 3 | 3 ✅ | 0 |
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| ted_eu | 10 | 9 ✅ | 1 (rate limit) |
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| etendersni | 3 | 3 ✅ | 0 |
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| pcs_scotland | 3 | 3 ✅ | 0 |
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| sell2wales | 3 | 3 ✅ | 0 |
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**Contracts Finder has the highest removal rate** - nearly half of scraped tenders get removed early.
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## Next Steps
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1. ✅ **Created cleanup script** - `cleanup-invalid-tenders.mjs`
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2. ✅ **Ran initial cleanup** - 277 invalid tenders marked as closed
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3. ⏳ **Set up daily cron job** - run cleanup automatically
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4. ⏳ **Verify dashboard filtering** - ensure closed tenders don't show
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## Files Created
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- `/home/peter/tenderpilot/cleanup-invalid-tenders.mjs` - Cleanup script
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- `/home/peter/tenderpilot/TENDER_CLEANUP_SUMMARY.md` - This documentation
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