- name
- tavily
- description
- Web search and content extraction using Tavily Search/Extract/Research APIs (Bearer auth). Use when you need web results (general/news/finance), date/topic/domain filtering, source citations, or want Tavily instead of built-in web_search/Firecrawl. Requires TAVILY_API_KEY.
- version
- 1.0.0
- compatibility
- Requires env var TAVILY_API_KEY
- requires_env
- [TAVILY_API_KEY]
- primary_credential
- TAVILY_API_KEY
- outbound_hosts
- ["api.tavily.com"]
- metadata
- hermes
- tags
- [Web, Search, Tavily, Research, API, Citations]
- requires_env
- [TAVILY_API_KEY]
- outbound_hosts
- ["api.tavily.com"]
- openclaw
- requires
- env
- ["TAVILY_API_KEY"]
Tavily (Web Search / Extract / Research)
Prereqs
- Ensure
TAVILY_API_KEYis set in the Hermes environment (commonly~/.hermes/.env). - Do not hardcode or paste API keys into chat logs. See
references/bp-api-key-management.md.
Security Notes
- The bundled CLI (
scripts/tavily.py) reads onlyTAVILY_API_KEYfrom the environment and only sends requests tohttps://api.tavily.com. - Prefer
searchthenextractoverinclude_raw_contentonsearchto keep outputs small and reduce accidental data exposure.
Quick Reference
Use the terminal tool to run the bundled CLI script (prints JSON). SKILL_DIR is the directory containing this SKILL.md file.
# Search (general)
python3 SKILL_DIR/scripts/tavily.py search --query "latest OpenAI API changes" --max-results 5
# Search (news) with recency filter
python3 SKILL_DIR/scripts/tavily.py search --query "latest OpenAI API changes" --topic news --time-range week --max-results 5
# High-precision search (more cost/latency)
python3 SKILL_DIR/scripts/tavily.py search --query "OpenAI API rate limits March 2026" --search-depth advanced --chunks-per-source 3 --max-results 5
# Search + answer (still cite URLs from results)
python3 SKILL_DIR/scripts/tavily.py search --query "What is X?" --include-answer basic --max-results 5
# Extract (targeted chunks; prefer this over include_raw_content on search)
python3 SKILL_DIR/scripts/tavily.py extract --url "https://example.com" --query "pricing" --chunks-per-source 3 --format markdown
# Research (creates task + polls until complete)
python3 SKILL_DIR/scripts/tavily.py research --input "Summarize the EU AI Act enforcement timeline. Provide numbered citations." --model auto --citation-format numbered --max-wait-seconds 180Use returned results[].url fields as citations/sources in your final answer.
No-Script Option (curl)
Use Tavily directly via curl (same endpoints, no bundled script):
curl -s "https://api.tavily.com/search" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer <TAVILY_API_KEY>" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"query":"latest OpenAI API changes","topic":"news","time_range":"week","max_results":5}'
curl -s "https://api.tavily.com/extract" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer <TAVILY_API_KEY>" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"urls":"https://example.com","query":"pricing","chunks_per_source":3,"extract_depth":"basic","format":"markdown"}'Procedure
- Turn the user request into a focused search query (keep it short, ideally under ~400 chars). Split multi-part questions into 2-4 sub-queries.
- Choose
topic:
- general for most searches - news for current events (prefer also setting time_range or date range) - finance for market/finance content
- Choose
search_depth:
- Start with basic (1 credit) unless you need higher precision. - Use advanced (2 credits) for high-precision queries; use chunks_per_source to control snippet volume.
- Keep
max_resultssmall (default 5) and filter byscore+ domain trust. - For primary text, run
extracton 1-3 top URLs:
- Provide an extract --query ... --chunks-per-source N to avoid dumping full pages into context.
- For synthesis across multiple subtopics with citations, run
researchand poll untilstatus=completed.
Pitfalls
include_raw_contentonsearchcan explode output size; prefer the two-step flow:searchthenextract.auto_parameterscan silently picksearch_depth=advanced(2 credits). Set--search-depthexplicitly when you care about cost.exact_matchis restrictive; wrap the phrase in quotes inside--queryand expect fewer results.countryboosting is only available fortopic=general.- On failures, keep the
request_idfrom responses for support/debugging.
Verification
- Check credits/limits:
python3 SKILL_DIR/scripts/tavily.py usage - Add
--include-usageonsearch/extractif you want per-request usage info.
References
references/search.mdreferences/extract.mdreferences/research.mdreferences/research-get.mdreferences/bp-search.mdreferences/bp-extract.mdreferences/bp-research.mdreferences/bp-api-key-management.mdreferences/usage.md