# /kenyappip/buyers/search

`POST /api/kenyappip/buyers/search`

Price: 20 credits

List Kenyan procuring entities registered on tenders.go.ke by keyword, name, county and entity type. Returns each entity with its contacts, county and its tender, contract and supplier counts.

## How to use it

Take `id` from a row into `buyer_id` of kenyappip/tenders/search or kenyappip/contracts/search to list everything that entity procured. `query` also matches the county and type labels, so `query: "nairobi"` returns every entity in Nairobi county; use `name` to match the entity name alone. The `PE-` code is not searchable.

## Parameters

- `access-token` (string, required)

## Request body

- `timeout` (integer) — Max scrapping execution timeout (in seconds) (default: 300; min: 20; max: 1500)
- `query` (string, nullable) — Words matched against the entity name, its county and its type (examples: "water", "nairobi"; minLength: 1)
- `name` (string, nullable) — Part of the entity name (examples: "University"; minLength: 1)
- `county` (string, nullable) — County the entity is registered in (one of: "Nairobi", "Kitui", "Machakos", "Makueni", "Kiambu", "Kajiado", "Kilifi", "Tana River", "Lamu", "Garissa", "Wajir", "Mandera", "Mombasa", "Kwale", "Taita-Taveta", "Kakamega", "Vihiga", "Bungoma", "Busia", "Siaya", "Kisumu", "Homa Bay", "Migori", "Kisii", "Nyamira", "Turkana", "West Pokot", "Trans Nzoia", "Uasin Gishu", "Elgeyo-Marakwet", "Nandi", "Nyandarua", "Samburu", "Baringo", "Nakuru", "Narok", "Kericho", "Bomet", "Marsabit", "Isiolo", "Meru", "Tharaka-Nithi", "Embu", "Nyeri", "Kirinyaga", "Muranga", "Laikipia")
- `buyer_type` (string, nullable) — Kind of public entity (one of: "Commissions and Independent Offices", "Ministry", "State Department", "State Corporation", "Public University", "County Assembly", "County Government", "Public School", "Public Water Companies", "Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies", "Public Colleges", "The Presidency", "Other Entities owned by County Governments", "Pension Schemes", "NGCDF Committees", "NGAAF", "County", "County Service Delivery Unit", "A Programme Under State Department")
- `count` (integer, required) — Max number of entities to return (min: 1; max: 1800)

## Response

### 200 — Successful Response

- `@type` (string) (default: "KenyappipBuyerProfile")
- `id` (integer, required)
- `code` (string, nullable)
- `name` (string, required)
- `buyer_type` (string, nullable)
- `county` (string, nullable)
- `county_capital` (string, nullable)
- `telephone` (string, nullable)
- `email` (string, nullable)
- `physical_address` (string, nullable)
- `postal_address` (string, nullable)
- `city` (string, nullable)
- `website` (string, nullable)
- `status` (string, nullable)
- `tenders_count` (integer, nullable)
- `contracts_count` (integer, nullable)
- `suppliers_count` (integer, nullable)
- `created_at` (integer, nullable)
- `updated_at` (integer, nullable)

## Errors

### 422 — Validation Error

The request body did not validate

What to do: Check the fields against this schema. A URN with the wrong prefix is the most common cause.

- `detail` (array)
  - `loc` (array, required)
  - `msg` (string, required)
  - `type` (string, required)
  - `input` (any)
  - `ctx` (object)

### 408

The request ran past its time limit

What to do: Raise `timeout` in the request body, up to the maximum this endpoint documents. Lowering `count` or turning off the `with_*` flags also helps, because less work finishes sooner.

### 412

The entity was not found, or a precondition failed

What to do: Retrying will not help: either the entity does not exist, or the input points at a different one.

### 429

Too many requests: a rate limit or a usage window is exhausted

What to do: When the response carries an X-Retry-After header, wait that many seconds and retry: the same number is in the body as `detail.retry_after`, and the limit clears once that window passes. The message in the body names the limit that was hit.

### 500

Something broke on our side

What to do: Retrying will not help. If it keeps happening, send us the X-Request-ID from the response headers.

### 529

Rate limit reached, or the endpoint is overloaded

What to do: Wait at least 30 seconds, then retry.

## Response envelope

Success: Array of objects (may be empty if no results)

Error: Error may coexist with partial results if it occurs mid-execution. Check X-Error header and status code.

Every response carries these headers:

- `X-Error` — Error message text (present only on error)
- `X-Request-ID` — Unique request identifier
- `X-Execution-Time` — Execution time in seconds
- `X-Result-Count` — How many records the body carries. 0 means an empty result, which is a normal answer and not by itself an error. A non-zero count can come back together with X-Error when the failure happened partway through — read this header and X-Error independently.
- `X-Total-Available-Results` — How many records exist for this query, when the endpoint can say. On a `dry_run` request this is the answer and the body is empty. It saturates: the endpoint's documented maximum means 'at least that many', any smaller number is exact.
- `X-Warning` — Present when the request body carried keys this endpoint does not document. They were ignored, so any filter you meant to apply through them did not apply. Check the spelling against this schema and retry.
- `X-Retry-After` — Seconds to wait before retrying. Present only on 429.