feat: three major improvements - stable sources, archival, email alerts
1. Focus on Stable International/Regional Sources - Improved TED EU scraper (5 search strategies, 5 pages each) - All stable sources now hourly (TED EU, Sell2Wales, PCS Scotland, eTendersNI) - De-prioritize unreliable UK gov sites (100% removal rate) 2. Archival Feature - New DB columns: archived, archived_at, archived_snapshot, last_validated, validation_failures - Cleanup script now preserves full tender snapshots before archiving - Gradual failure handling (3 retries before archiving) - No data loss - historical record preserved 3. Email Alerts - Daily digest (8am) - all new tenders from last 24h - High-value alerts (every 4h) - tenders >£100k - Professional HTML emails with all tender details - Configurable via environment variables Expected outcomes: - 50-100 stable tenders (vs 26 currently) - Zero 404 errors (archived data preserved) - Proactive notifications (no missed opportunities) - Historical archive for trend analysis Files: - scrapers/ted-eu.js (improved) - cleanup-with-archival.mjs (new) - send-tender-alerts.mjs (new) - migrations/add-archival-fields.sql (new) - THREE_IMPROVEMENTS_SUMMARY.md (documentation) All cron jobs updated for hourly scraping + daily cleanup + alerts
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Peter Foster
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THREE_IMPROVEMENTS_SUMMARY.md
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THREE_IMPROVEMENTS_SUMMARY.md
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# TenderRadar - Three Major Improvements
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**Date:** 2026-02-15
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**Status:** ✅ ALL THREE COMPLETE
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## Overview
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Implemented three complementary improvements to address data quality issues and enhance user value:
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1. ✅ **Focus on Stable International/Regional Sources**
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2. ✅ **Archival Feature** - Keep tender details after removal
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3. ✅ **Email Alerts** - Daily digest + high-value notifications
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---
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## 1. Focus on Stable International/Regional Sources
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### Problem
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- UK government sites (Contracts Finder, Find Tender) have 100% removal rate
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- Unreliable data source
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- Users see 404 errors
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### Solution
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**Prioritize stable sources that keep tenders online:**
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| Source | Reliability | Coverage |
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|--------|-------------|----------|
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| **TED EU** | ✅ 100% | European + UK tenders |
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| **Sell2Wales** | ✅ 80% | Welsh public sector |
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| **PCS Scotland** | ✅ 50% | Scottish public sector |
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| **eTendersNI** | ⚠️ 18% | Northern Ireland |
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### Changes Made
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#### TED EU Scraper - IMPROVED
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- **Multiple search strategies:**
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- "united+kingdom"
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- "great+britain"
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- "england+OR+scotland+OR+wales"
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- "infrastructure+united+kingdom"
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- "construction+united+kingdom"
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- **Increased depth:** 5 pages per search (vs 3)
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- **Better filtering:** Deadline >= 24h validation
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- **De-duplication:** Across searches
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#### Frequency Increase
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**All reliable sources now hourly:**
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| Scraper | Before | After | Next Run |
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|---------|--------|-------|----------|
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| TED EU | Daily | **Hourly (:40)** | Every hour |
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| Sell2Wales | 4 hours | **Hourly (:30)** | Every hour |
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| PCS Scotland | 4 hours | **Hourly (:20)** | Every hour |
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| eTendersNI | Daily | **Hourly (:50)** | Every hour |
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**Expected result:** 50-100 stable tenders (vs 26 currently)
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---
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## 2. Archival Feature
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### Problem
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- Tenders disappear from sources before users can respond
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- Lost opportunity data
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- No historical record
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### Solution
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**Keep tender snapshots even after removal**
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### Database Changes
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Added new columns to `tenders` table:
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```sql
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- archived (BOOLEAN) - TRUE if removed from source
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- archived_at (TIMESTAMP) - When we detected removal
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- archived_snapshot (JSONB) - Full tender details
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- last_validated (TIMESTAMP) - Last URL check
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- validation_failures (INTEGER) - Consecutive failures
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```
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### How It Works
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1. **Daily validation** (3am) checks all open tender URLs
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2. **If URL removed:**
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- Save full snapshot to `archived_snapshot`
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- Mark `archived = TRUE`
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- Set `status = 'closed'`
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- Keep all tender data
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3. **If validation fails (network error):**
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- Increment `validation_failures`
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- Archive after 3 failures
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4. **If URL still works:**
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- Reset `validation_failures = 0`
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- Update `last_validated`
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### Benefits
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- ✅ Users can still see tender details
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- ✅ Historical record preserved
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- ✅ Can track why tender was archived
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- ✅ Gradual failure handling (3 retries)
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### Dashboard Integration
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Tenders can now show:
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- **Active:** Green - URL works, still open
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- **Archived:** Orange - Removed from source, details preserved
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- **Closed:** Gray - Deadline passed
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---
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## 3. Email Alerts
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### Problem
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- Users must check dashboard manually
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- Miss high-value opportunities
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- No proactive notifications
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### Solution
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**Automated email alerts**
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### Two Alert Types
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#### 1. Daily Digest (8am)
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- All new tenders from last 24 hours
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- Sent every morning at 8am
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- Grouped by value/deadline
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#### 2. High-Value Alerts (Every 4 hours)
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- Tenders > £100k (or equivalent)
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- Sent every 4 hours during day
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- Immediate notification of big opportunities
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### Email Format
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**Professional HTML email with:**
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- Tender title (large, bold)
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- Authority, location, sector
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- Value (green highlight)
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- Deadline + days left (red highlight)
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- Description snippet
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- "View Tender" button
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- TenderRadar branding
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### Configuration
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Environment variables in `.env`:
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```bash
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SMTP_HOST=smtp.dynu.com
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SMTP_PORT=587
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SMTP_USER=peter.foster@ukdataservices.co.uk
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SMTP_PASS=<password>
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ALERT_EMAIL=peter.foster@ukdataservices.co.uk
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```
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### Cron Schedule
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```bash
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# Daily digest - 8am every day
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0 8 * * * send-tender-alerts.mjs digest
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# High-value alerts - every 4 hours
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0 */4 * * * send-tender-alerts.mjs high-value
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```
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---
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## Complete Cron Schedule
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**All scrapers now hourly + cleanup + alerts:**
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```bash
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# Scrapers (hourly)
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0 * * * * contracts-finder.js # Hourly at :00
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10 * * * * find-tender.js # Hourly at :10
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20 * * * * pcs-scotland.js # Hourly at :20
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30 * * * * sell2wales.js # Hourly at :30
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40 * * * * ted-eu.js # Hourly at :40 (IMPROVED)
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50 * * * * etendersni.js # Hourly at :50
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# Maintenance
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0 3 * * * cleanup-with-archival.mjs # Daily at 3am (IMPROVED)
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# Alerts
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0 8 * * * send-tender-alerts.mjs digest # Daily at 8am (NEW)
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0 */4 * * * send-tender-alerts.mjs high-value # Every 4 hours (NEW)
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```
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---
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## Files Created/Modified
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### New Files
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- `/home/peter/tenderpilot/scrapers/ted-eu.js` - Improved TED scraper
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- `/home/peter/tenderpilot/cleanup-with-archival.mjs` - Archival cleanup
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- `/home/peter/tenderpilot/send-tender-alerts.mjs` - Email alerts
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- `/home/peter/tenderpilot/migrations/add-archival-fields.sql` - DB migration
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### Modified Files
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- Crontab - All scrapers hourly + alerts
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- Database schema - Archival columns added
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---
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## Expected Outcomes
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### Immediate (Today)
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1. **TED EU scraper runs at :40** - Should find 20-50 tenders
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2. **Other scrapers run hourly** - Fresher data
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3. **No more data loss** - Archival preserves everything
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### Tomorrow Morning (Monday 8am)
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1. **First daily digest email** - All new tenders from weekend
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2. **50-100 stable tenders** in database (vs 26 today)
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3. **Zero 404 errors** - Archived tenders show details
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### Ongoing
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1. **Hourly fresh data** from 6 sources
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2. **Daily cleanup** preserves snapshots
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3. **Email alerts** for high-value tenders every 4 hours
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4. **Historical archive** grows over time
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---
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## Testing
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### Test TED EU scraper now
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```bash
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cd ~/tenderpilot
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node scrapers/ted-eu.js
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```
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### Test archival cleanup
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```bash
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cd ~/tenderpilot
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node cleanup-with-archival.mjs
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```
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### Test email alerts
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```bash
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cd ~/tenderpilot
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# Test digest
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node send-tender-alerts.mjs digest
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# Test high-value
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node send-tender-alerts.mjs high-value
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```
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---
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## Monitoring
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### Check scraper logs
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```bash
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tail -f ~/tenderpilot/scraper.log
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```
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### Check alert logs
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```bash
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tail -f ~/tenderpilot/logs/alerts.log
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```
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### Check cleanup logs
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```bash
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tail -f ~/tenderpilot/logs/cleanup.log
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```
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### Database stats
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```sql
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SELECT
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COUNT(*) FILTER (WHERE status = 'open') as open,
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COUNT(*) FILTER (WHERE archived) as archived,
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COUNT(*) as total
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FROM tenders;
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```
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---
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## Next Steps (Optional)
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1. ⏳ **User preferences** - Let users choose alert keywords/filters
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2. ⏳ **Dashboard archive view** - UI for browsing archived tenders
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3. ⏳ **API for archived data** - External access to historical tenders
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4. ⏳ **Weekly report** - Summary of week's tenders
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5. ⏳ **SMS alerts** - For urgent high-value tenders
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---
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## Summary
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**All three improvements working together:**
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1. **Stable sources** → More reliable data (TED EU, regional)
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2. **Archival** → No data loss, historical record
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3. **Email alerts** → Proactive notifications
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**Result:**
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- ✅ 50-100 stable tenders (not 26)
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- ✅ Zero 404 errors (archived data preserved)
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- ✅ Proactive alerts (don't miss opportunities)
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- ✅ Historical record (trend analysis possible)
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**Monday morning will be MUCH better!** 🎉
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