Agent skill

Web Search Tavily

by jwynia in jwynia/agent-skills

Search the web using Tavily API for high-quality, AI-optimized results with advanced filtering options.

MITAuto-check passedProductivity & Automation

Install Web Search Tavily

skills CLI
$ npx skills add jwynia/agent-skills --skill web-search-tavily -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install jwynia/agent-skills web-search-tavily --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/jwynia/agent-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/general/research/tools/web-search-tavily .claude/skills/web-search-tavily && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
web-search-tavily
GitHub stars
170
Token cost
~2k tokens
SKILL.md length
684 words
Files
2 (incl. scripts)
Skills in repo
111
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Search the web using Tavily API for high-quality, AI-optimized results with advanced filtering options.

  • Works in 3 steps: Get an API key from https://tavily.com → Set the environment variable → Or run with the variable inline
  • You need structured search results
  • SKILL.md covers When to Use This Skill, Prerequisites, Quick Start and Script Usage, plus 6 more sections
  • Runs TypeScript scripts from its folder; calls deno; reaches react.dev; needs TAVILY_API_KEY

What it does

Web Search Tavily is an agent skill from jwynia/agent-skills. Search the web using Tavily API for high-quality, AI-optimized results with advanced filtering options. Use when you need structured search results, domain filtering, relevance scores, or AI-generated answer summaries. Requires TAVILYAPIKEY. Keywords: tavily, advanced search, filtered search, domain filtering, relevance scoring.

Its SKILL.md is about 2k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 2 other files, including scripts (for example `scripts/search.ts`). Compatibility notes: Requires TAVILYAPIKEY environment variable and internet access

It sits in Productivity & Automation, covering Web search. It works with Tavily. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • You need structured search results
  • Domain filtering
  • Relevance scores
  • AI-generated answer summaries

Example prompts

  • “/web-search-tavily”

Requirements

  • Node.js
  • A credential in TAVILY_API_KEY
  • Compatibility (from SKILL.md): Requires TAVILY_API_KEY environment variable and internet access

Workflow steps

3 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Get an API key from https://tavily.com
  2. Set the environment variable
  3. Or run with the variable inline

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit e02ec7e. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    Ships 1 file in scripts/ (TypeScript), which the agent can run.

    Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

    • deno

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    Hosts in commands or code, which the agent is likely to contact:

    • react.dev

    Also links to:

    • tavily.com

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names these keys or tokens, usually read from environment variables:

    • TAVILY_API_KEY

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

  • Compatibility

    Requires TAVILY_API_KEY environment variable and internet access

    From compatibility in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

Context cost

Web Search Tavily loads about 2k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 88 tokens; SKILL.md has 684 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~88
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~2k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); the scripts in this folder are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from jwynia/agent-skills at commit e02ec7e, republished under its MIT licence (© jwynia). 684 words, ~1,960 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/web-search-tavily/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 1 other file; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
web-search-tavily
description
Search the web using Tavily API for high-quality, AI-optimized results with advanced filtering options. Use when you need structured search results, domain filtering, relevance scores, or AI-generated answer summaries. Requires TAVILY_API_KEY. Keywords: tavily, advanced search, filtered search, domain filtering, relevance scoring.
compatibility
Requires TAVILY_API_KEY environment variable and internet access
license
MIT
metadata.author
agent-skills
metadata.version
1.0
metadata.type
utility
metadata.mode
generative
metadata.domain
research

Web Search (Tavily API)

Search the web using Tavily's AI-optimized search API. Returns high-quality, structured results with relevance scores and optional AI-generated summaries.

Note: This skill requires a Tavily API key. For basic web search using the agent's built-in capability, see web-search.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

  • You need to find current information not in your training data
  • The user asks about recent events, news, or updates
  • You need to verify facts or find authoritative sources
  • Research requires real-time web data
  • Keywords mentioned: search, look up, find online, current, latest, news

Do NOT use this skill when:

  • Information is already in your knowledge base and doesn't need verification
  • The user asks about historical facts that don't change
  • You're working with local files or code (use other tools)
  • A more specific skill exists for the task (e.g., documentation lookup)

Prerequisites

Before using this skill, ensure:

  • TAVILY_API_KEY environment variable is set with a valid API key
  • Deno is installed (for running the search script)
  • Internet access is available

Get a Tavily API key at: https://tavily.com

Quick Start

Run a simple search:

bash
deno run --allow-env --allow-net=api.tavily.com scripts/search.ts "your search query"

Example with AI-generated answer:

bash
deno run --allow-env --allow-net=api.tavily.com scripts/search.ts "React 19 new features" --answer

Script Usage

bash
deno run --allow-env --allow-net=api.tavily.com scripts/search.ts [options] "query"
Options
OptionDescriptionDefault
--answerInclude AI-generated answer summaryfalse
--depth <level>Search depth: basic or advancedbasic
--results <n>Number of results to return5
--topic <type>Topic type: general, news, or financegeneral
--time <range>Time filter: day, week, month, or yearnone
--include <domains>Only include these domains (comma-separated)none
--exclude <domains>Exclude these domains (comma-separated)none
--rawInclude raw page content in resultsfalse
--jsonOutput as JSON (for programmatic use)false
--helpShow help message-

Search Parameters

Topic Types
  • general (default): Broad web search across all content types
  • news: Prioritizes news articles and current events
  • finance: Focuses on financial information and market data
Search Depth
  • basic (default): Fast search, good for most queries
  • advanced: Deeper search with more comprehensive results (slower, higher API cost)
Time Range

Filter results by recency:

  • day: Last 24 hours
  • week: Last 7 days
  • month: Last 30 days
  • year: Last 365 days
Domain Filtering

Control which sites appear in results:

bash
# Only search documentation sites
scripts/search.ts "React hooks" --include docs.react.dev,developer.mozilla.org

# Exclude social media
scripts/search.ts "AI news" --exclude twitter.com,reddit.com

Output Format

Human-Readable Output (default)
🔍 Search: "React 19 new features"

Found 5 results in 234ms

📝 AI Answer:
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
React 19 introduces several new features including...
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

1. React 19 Release Notes
   https://react.dev/blog/2024/04/25/react-19
   React 19 is now available on npm! This release includes...
   Score: 0.987

2. What's New in React 19
   https://example.com/react-19-features
   A comprehensive overview of React 19's new features...
   Score: 0.945
JSON Output (--json)
json
{
  "query": "React 19 new features",
  "results": [
    {
      "title": "React 19 Release Notes",
      "url": "https://react.dev/blog/2024/04/25/react-19",
      "content": "React 19 is now available on npm...",
      "score": 0.987,
      "published_date": "2024-04-25"
    }
  ],
  "answer": "React 19 introduces several new features...",
  "response_time": 234
}
Result Fields
FieldTypeDescription
titlestringPage title
urlstringSource URL
contentstringRelevant excerpt from the page
scorenumberRelevance score (0-1, higher is better)
published_datestringPublication date (if available)
raw_contentstringFull page content (only with --raw)

Examples

Scenario: Find recent news about a technology topic

bash
scripts/search.ts "OpenAI GPT-5 announcement" --topic news --time week --answer

Expected output: Recent news articles about GPT-5, with an AI-generated summary

Show full SKILL.md (272 more words)Show less
Example 2: Documentation Lookup

Scenario: Find specific technical documentation

bash
scripts/search.ts "Deno deploy edge functions tutorial" --depth advanced --results 10

Expected output: Comprehensive results from documentation and tutorial sites

Example 3: Fact Verification

Scenario: Verify a specific claim or statistic

bash
scripts/search.ts "world population 2024" --include un.org,worldbank.org,census.gov --json

Expected output: JSON results from authoritative sources for programmatic verification

Example 4: Financial Research

Scenario: Research market information

bash
scripts/search.ts "NVIDIA stock analysis 2024" --topic finance --answer

Expected output: Financial analysis and market data with AI summary

Common Issues and Solutions

Issue: "TAVILY_API_KEY environment variable is not set"

Symptoms: Script exits immediately with API key error

Solution:

  1. Get an API key from https://tavily.com
  2. Set the environment variable:
    bash
    export TAVILY_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"
  3. Or run with the variable inline:
    bash
    TAVILY_API_KEY="your-key" deno run --allow-env --allow-net=api.tavily.com scripts/search.ts "query"
Issue: "Invalid Tavily API key"

Symptoms: 401 authentication error

Solution:

  1. Verify your API key is correct (no extra spaces)
  2. Check if your API key has expired
  3. Verify your Tavily account is active
Issue: "Tavily API rate limit exceeded"

Symptoms: 429 error response

Solution:

  1. Wait a moment and retry
  2. Reduce request frequency
  3. Consider upgrading your Tavily plan for higher limits
Issue: No results returned

Symptoms: Empty results array

Solution:

  1. Try broader search terms
  2. Remove domain filters that might be too restrictive
  3. Check if the topic exists online
  4. Try --depth advanced for harder queries

Limitations

This skill has the following limitations:

  • Requires active internet connection
  • API rate limits apply based on your Tavily plan
  • Results depend on Tavily's index coverage
  • Cannot access paywalled or login-required content
  • Real-time accuracy depends on Tavily's crawling frequency
  • Maximum query length and result count have API limits
  • research-workflow: For comprehensive research projects that use multiple searches with planning and synthesis

© jwynia, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 1 other file (scripts) in skills/general/research/tools/web-search-tavily of jwynia/agent-skills.

  • SKILL.md
  • scripts/search.ts

Open the folder on GitHubat commit e02ec7e

Compare with similar skills

Web Search Tavily next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Web Search Tavily compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Web Search Tavily this skilljwynia/agent-skills170—~2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Ultimate Searchckckck/UltimateSearchSkill289—~944Automated safety check: NotesMIT
Web SearchEXboys/skilllite1702 repos~1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Mysearchskernelx/MySearch-Proxy159—~3kAutomated safety check: NotesNone
Tavilyopenclaw/openclaw392k2 repos~1.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Web Search Plus Plugin V2robbyczgw-cla/web-search-plus-plugin101—~2kAutomated safety check: NotesMIT

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Works with

Questions about Web Search Tavily

What does Web Search Tavily do?

Search the web using Tavily API for high-quality, AI-optimized results with advanced filtering options. Web Search Tavily is an agent skill from jwynia/agent-skills. Search the web using Tavily API for high-quality, AI-optimized results with advanced filtering options.

When should I use Web Search Tavily?

Web Search Tavily fits situations like: you need structured search results; domain filtering; relevance scores; AI-generated answer summaries.

How do I install Web Search Tavily in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add jwynia/agent-skills --skill web-search-tavily -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/general/research/tools/web-search-tavily in jwynia/agent-skills) into .claude/skills/web-search-tavily in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Web Search Tavily in Codex?

Run `npx skills add jwynia/agent-skills --skill web-search-tavily -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/general/research/tools/web-search-tavily in jwynia/agent-skills) into .agents/skills/web-search-tavily in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Web Search Tavily in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add jwynia/agent-skills --skill web-search-tavily -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/web-search-tavily, .gemini/skills/web-search-tavily, .github/skills/web-search-tavily and .opencode/skills/web-search-tavily in your project.

What does Web Search Tavily need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Web Search Tavily needs TypeScript for the scripts in its folder, the command-line tools its instructions call (deno) and credentials named TAVILY_API_KEY. Our summary lists: Node.js; A credential in TAVILY_API_KEY. Compatibility (from SKILL.md): Requires TAVILY_API_KEY environment variable and internet access.

Does Web Search Tavily access the network?

SKILL.md names 2 domains. In commands or code: react.dev; the agent is likely to contact it when it follows the instructions. As links in the text: tavily.com. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Web Search Tavily safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. The check reads SKILL.md only: the scripts in the folder are not scanned, so read them before running anything.

What licence does Web Search Tavily use?

Web Search Tavily is published under the MIT licence (declared in SKILL.md). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Web Search Tavily use?

About 2k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 7.8k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Web Search Tavily?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Web Search Tavily: Ultimate Search (ckckck/UltimateSearchSkill, 289 stars), Web Search (EXboys/skilllite, 170 stars), Mysearch (skernelx/MySearch-Proxy, 159 stars) and Tavily (openclaw/openclaw, 392k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Web Search Tavily?

jwynia (a GitHub user) maintains it in jwynia/agent-skills, which has 170 GitHub stars. The repository holds 111 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on February 24, 2026.

Source: jwynia/agent-skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.