Tavily Search 🔎

AI-powered web search platform with 5 modes: Search, Extract, Crawl, Map, and Research.

Requirements

• TAVILY_API_KEY environment variable

Configuration

Env Variable	Default	Description
TAVILY_API_KEY	—	Required. Tavily API key

Set in OpenClaw config:

{
  "env": {
    "TAVILY_API_KEY": "tvly-..."
  }
}

Script Location

python3 skills/tavily/lib/tavily_search.py <command> "query" [options]

---

Commands

search — Web Search (Default)

General-purpose web search with optional LLM-synthesized answer.

python3 lib/tavily_search.py search "query" [options]

Examples:

# Basic search
python3 lib/tavily_search.py search "latest AI news"

# With LLM answer
python3 lib/tavily_search.py search "what is quantum computing" --answer

# Advanced depth (better results, 2 credits)
python3 lib/tavily_search.py search "climate change solutions" --depth advanced

# Time-filtered
python3 lib/tavily_search.py search "OpenAI announcements" --time week

# Domain filtering
python3 lib/tavily_search.py search "machine learning" --include-domains arxiv.org,nature.com

# Country boost
python3 lib/tavily_search.py search "tech startups" --country US

# With raw content and images
python3 lib/tavily_search.py search "solar energy" --raw --images -n 10

# JSON output
python3 lib/tavily_search.py search "bitcoin price" --json

Output format (text):

Answer: <LLM-synthesized answer if --answer>

Results:
  1. Result Title
     https://example.com/article
     Content snippet from the page...

  2. Another Result
     https://example.com/other
     Another snippet...

---

news — News Search

Search optimized for news articles. Sets topic=news.

python3 lib/tavily_search.py news "query" [options]

Examples:

python3 lib/tavily_search.py news "AI regulation"
python3 lib/tavily_search.py news "Israel tech" --time day --answer
python3 lib/tavily_search.py news "stock market" --time week -n 10

---

finance — Finance Search

Search optimized for financial data and news. Sets topic=finance.

python3 lib/tavily_search.py finance "query" [options]

Examples:

python3 lib/tavily_search.py finance "NVIDIA stock analysis"
python3 lib/tavily_search.py finance "cryptocurrency market trends" --time month
python3 lib/tavily_search.py finance "S&P 500 forecast 2026" --answer

---

extract — Extract Content from URLs

Extract readable content from one or more URLs.

python3 lib/tavily_search.py extract URL [URL...] [options]

Parameters:

• urls: One or more URLs to extract (positional args)
• --depth basic|advanced: Extraction depth
• --format markdown|text: Output format (default: markdown)
• --query "text": Rerank extracted chunks by relevance to query

Examples:

# Extract single URL
python3 lib/tavily_search.py extract "https://example.com/article"

# Extract multiple URLs
python3 lib/tavily_search.py extract "https://url1.com" "https://url2.com"

# Advanced extraction with relevance reranking
python3 lib/tavily_search.py extract "https://arxiv.org/paper" --depth advanced --query "transformer architecture"

# Text format output
python3 lib/tavily_search.py extract "https://example.com" --format text

Output format:

URL: https://example.com/article
─────────────────────────────────
<Extracted content in markdown/text>

URL: https://another.com/page
─────────────────────────────────
<Extracted content>

---

crawl — Crawl a Website

Crawl a website starting from a root URL, following links.

python3 lib/tavily_search.py crawl URL [options]

Parameters:

• url: Root URL to start crawling
• --depth basic|advanced: Crawl depth
• --max-depth N: Maximum link depth to follow (default: 2)
• --max-breadth N: Maximum pages per depth level (default: 10)
• --limit N: Maximum total pages (default: 10)
• --instructions "text": Natural language crawl instructions
• --select-paths p1,p2: Only crawl these path patterns
• --exclude-paths p1,p2: Skip these path patterns
• --format markdown|text: Output format

Examples:

# Basic crawl
python3 lib/tavily_search.py crawl "https://docs.example.com"

# Focused crawl with instructions
python3 lib/tavily_search.py crawl "https://docs.python.org" --instructions "Find all asyncio documentation" --limit 20

# Crawl specific paths only
python3 lib/tavily_search.py crawl "https://example.com" --select-paths "/blog,/docs" --max-depth 3

Output format:

Crawled 5 pages from https://docs.example.com

Page 1: https://docs.example.com/intro
─────────────────────────────────
<Content>

Page 2: https://docs.example.com/guide
─────────────────────────────────
<Content>

---

map — Sitemap Discovery

Discover all URLs on a website (sitemap).

python3 lib/tavily_search.py map URL [options]

Parameters:

• url: Root URL to map
• --max-depth N: Depth to follow (default: 2)
• --max-breadth N: Breadth per level (default: 20)
• --limit N: Maximum URLs (default: 50)

Examples:

# Map a site
python3 lib/tavily_search.py map "https://example.com"

# Deep map
python3 lib/tavily_search.py map "https://docs.python.org" --max-depth 3 --limit 100

Output format:

Sitemap for https://example.com (42 URLs found):

  1. https://example.com/
  2. https://example.com/about
  3. https://example.com/blog
  ...

---

research — Deep Research

Comprehensive AI-powered research on a topic with citations.

python3 lib/tavily_search.py research "query" [options]

Parameters:

• query: Research question
• --model mini|pro|auto: Research model (default: auto)
  • mini: Faster, cheaper
  • pro: More thorough
  • auto: Let Tavily decide
• --json: JSON output (supports structured output schema)

Examples:

# Basic research
python3 lib/tavily_search.py research "Impact of AI on healthcare in 2026"

# Pro model for thorough research
python3 lib/tavily_search.py research "Comparison of quantum computing approaches" --model pro

# JSON output
python3 lib/tavily_search.py research "Electric vehicle market analysis" --json

Output format:

Research: Impact of AI on healthcare in 2026

<Comprehensive research report with citations>

Sources:
  [1] https://source1.com
  [2] https://source2.com
  ...

---

Options Reference

Option	Applies To	Description	Default
--depth basic|advanced	search, news, finance, extract	Search/extraction depth	basic
--time day|week|month|year	search, news, finance	Time range filter	none
-n NUM	search, news, finance	Max results (0-20)	5
--answer	search, news, finance	Include LLM answer	off
--raw	search, news, finance	Include raw page content	off
--images	search, news, finance	Include image URLs	off
--include-domains d1,d2	search, news, finance	Only these domains	none
--exclude-domains d1,d2	search, news, finance	Exclude these domains	none
--country XX	search, news, finance	Boost country results	none
--json	all	Structured JSON output	off
--format markdown|text	extract, crawl	Content format	markdown
--query "text"	extract	Relevance reranking query	none
--model mini|pro|auto	research	Research model	auto
--max-depth N	crawl, map	Max link depth	2
--max-breadth N	crawl, map	Max pages per level	10/20
--limit N	crawl, map	Max total pages/URLs	10/50
--instructions "text"	crawl	Natural language instructions	none
--select-paths p1,p2	crawl	Include path patterns	none
--exclude-paths p1,p2	crawl	Exclude path patterns	none

---

Error Handling

• Missing API key: Clear error message with setup instructions.
• 401 Unauthorized: Invalid API key.
• 429 Rate Limit: Rate limit exceeded, try again later.
• Network errors: Descriptive error with cause.
• No results: Clean "No results found." message.
• Timeout: 30-second timeout on all HTTP requests.

---

Credits & Pricing

API	Basic	Advanced
Search	1 credit	2 credits
Extract	1 credit/URL	2 credits/URL
Crawl	1 credit/page	2 credits/page
Map	1 credit	1 credit
Research	Varies by model	-

---

Install

bash skills/tavily/install.sh