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The TavilySearchTool provides an interface to the Tavily Search API, enabling CrewAI agents to perform comprehensive web searches. It allows for specifying search depth, topics, time ranges, included/excluded domains, and whether to include direct answers, raw content, or images in the results.

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Installation

To use the TavilySearchTool, you need to install the tavily-python library: 
uv add 'crewai[tools]' tavily-python

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Environment Variables

Ensure your Tavily API key is set as an environment variable: 
export TAVILY_API_KEY='your_tavily_api_key'
Get an API key at https://app.tavily.com/ (sign up, then create a key).

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Example Usage

Here’s how to initialize and use the TavilySearchTool within a CrewAI agent: 
import os
from crewai import Agent, Task, Crew
from crewai_tools import TavilySearchTool

# Ensure the TAVILY_API_KEY environment variable is set
# os.environ["TAVILY_API_KEY"] = "YOUR_TAVILY_API_KEY"

# Initialize the tool
tavily_tool = TavilySearchTool()

# Create an agent that uses the tool
researcher = Agent(
    role='Market Researcher',
    goal='Find information about the latest AI trends',
    backstory='An expert market researcher specializing in technology.',
    tools=[tavily_tool],
    verbose=True
)

# Create a task for the agent
research_task = Task(
    description='Search for the top 3 AI trends in 2024.',
    expected_output='A JSON report summarizing the top 3 AI trends found.',
    agent=researcher
)

# Form the crew and kick it off
crew = Crew(
    agents=[researcher],
    tasks=[research_task],
    verbose=2
)

result = crew.kickoff()
print(result)

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Configuration Options

The TavilySearchTool accepts the following arguments during initialization or when calling the run method:
  • query (str): Required. The search query string.
  • search_depth (Literal[“basic”, “advanced”], optional): The depth of the search. Defaults to "basic".
  • topic (Literal[“general”, “news”, “finance”], optional): The topic to focus the search on. Defaults to "general".
  • time_range (Literal[“day”, “week”, “month”, “year”], optional): The time range for the search. Defaults to None.
  • days (int, optional): The number of days to search back. Relevant if time_range is not set. Defaults to 7.
  • max_results (int, optional): The maximum number of search results to return. Defaults to 5.
  • include_domains (Sequence[str], optional): A list of domains to prioritize in the search. Defaults to None.
  • exclude_domains (Sequence[str], optional): A list of domains to exclude from the search. Defaults to None.
  • include_answer (Union[bool, Literal[“basic”, “advanced”]], optional): Whether to include a direct answer synthesized from the search results. Defaults to False.
  • include_raw_content (bool, optional): Whether to include the raw HTML content of the searched pages. Defaults to False.
  • include_images (bool, optional): Whether to include image results. Defaults to False.
  • timeout (int, optional): The request timeout in seconds. Defaults to 60.

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Advanced Usage

You can configure the tool with custom parameters: 
# Example: Initialize with specific parameters
custom_tavily_tool = TavilySearchTool(
    search_depth='advanced',
    max_results=10,
    include_answer=True
)

# The agent will use these defaults
agent_with_custom_tool = Agent(
    role="Advanced Researcher",
    goal="Conduct detailed research with comprehensive results",
    tools=[custom_tavily_tool]
)

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Features

  • Comprehensive Search: Access to Tavily’s powerful search index
  • Configurable Depth: Choose between basic and advanced search modes
  • Topic Filtering: Focus searches on general, news, or finance topics
  • Time Range Control: Limit results to specific time periods
  • Domain Control: Include or exclude specific domains
  • Direct Answers: Get synthesized answers from search results
  • Content Filtering: Prevent context window issues with automatic content truncation

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Response Format

The tool returns search results as a JSON string containing:
  • Search results with titles, URLs, and content snippets
  • Optional direct answers to queries
  • Optional image results
  • Optional raw HTML content (when enabled)
Content for each result is automatically truncated to prevent context window issues while maintaining the most relevant information.