openclaw/docs/tools/tavily.md
Lakshya Agarwal b36e456b09
feat: add Tavily as a bundled web search plugin with search and extract tools (#49200)
Merged via squash.

Prepared head SHA: ece9226e886004f1e0536dd5de3ddc2946fc118c
Co-authored-by: lakshyaag-tavily <266572148+lakshyaag-tavily@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: gumadeiras <5599352+gumadeiras@users.noreply.github.com>
Reviewed-by: @gumadeiras
2026-03-20 01:06:26 -04:00

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Markdown

---
summary: "Tavily search and extract tools"
read_when:
- You want Tavily-backed web search
- You need a Tavily API key
- You want Tavily as a web_search provider
- You want content extraction from URLs
title: "Tavily"
---
# Tavily
OpenClaw can use **Tavily** in two ways:
- as the `web_search` provider
- as explicit plugin tools: `tavily_search` and `tavily_extract`
Tavily is a search API designed for AI applications, returning structured results
optimized for LLM consumption. It supports configurable search depth, topic
filtering, domain filters, AI-generated answer summaries, and content extraction
from URLs (including JavaScript-rendered pages).
## Get an API key
1. Create a Tavily account at [tavily.com](https://tavily.com/).
2. Generate an API key in the dashboard.
3. Store it in config or set `TAVILY_API_KEY` in the gateway environment.
## Configure Tavily search
```json5
{
plugins: {
entries: {
tavily: {
enabled: true,
config: {
webSearch: {
apiKey: "tvly-...", // optional if TAVILY_API_KEY is set
baseUrl: "https://api.tavily.com",
},
},
},
},
},
tools: {
web: {
search: {
provider: "tavily",
},
},
},
}
```
Notes:
- Choosing Tavily in onboarding or `openclaw configure --section web` enables
the bundled Tavily plugin automatically.
- Store Tavily config under `plugins.entries.tavily.config.webSearch.*`.
- `web_search` with Tavily supports `query` and `count` (up to 20 results).
- For Tavily-specific controls like `search_depth`, `topic`, `include_answer`,
or domain filters, use `tavily_search`.
## Tavily plugin tools
### `tavily_search`
Use this when you want Tavily-specific search controls instead of generic
`web_search`.
| Parameter | Description |
| ----------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `query` | Search query string (keep under 400 characters) |
| `search_depth` | `basic` (default, balanced) or `advanced` (highest relevance, slower) |
| `topic` | `general` (default), `news` (real-time updates), or `finance` |
| `max_results` | Number of results, 1-20 (default: 5) |
| `include_answer` | Include an AI-generated answer summary (default: false) |
| `time_range` | Filter by recency: `day`, `week`, `month`, or `year` |
| `include_domains` | Array of domains to restrict results to |
| `exclude_domains` | Array of domains to exclude from results |
**Search depth:**
| Depth | Speed | Relevance | Best for |
| ---------- | ------ | --------- | ----------------------------------- |
| `basic` | Faster | High | General-purpose queries (default) |
| `advanced` | Slower | Highest | Precision, specific facts, research |
### `tavily_extract`
Use this to extract clean content from one or more URLs. Handles
JavaScript-rendered pages and supports query-focused chunking for targeted
extraction.
| Parameter | Description |
| ------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| `urls` | Array of URLs to extract (1-20 per request) |
| `query` | Rerank extracted chunks by relevance to this query |
| `extract_depth` | `basic` (default, fast) or `advanced` (for JS-heavy pages) |
| `chunks_per_source` | Chunks per URL, 1-5 (requires `query`) |
| `include_images` | Include image URLs in results (default: false) |
**Extract depth:**
| Depth | When to use |
| ---------- | ----------------------------------------- |
| `basic` | Simple pages - try this first |
| `advanced` | JS-rendered SPAs, dynamic content, tables |
Tips:
- Max 20 URLs per request. Batch larger lists into multiple calls.
- Use `query` + `chunks_per_source` to get only relevant content instead of full pages.
- Try `basic` first; fall back to `advanced` if content is missing or incomplete.
## Choosing the right tool
| Need | Tool |
| ------------------------------------ | ---------------- |
| Quick web search, no special options | `web_search` |
| Search with depth, topic, AI answers | `tavily_search` |
| Extract content from specific URLs | `tavily_extract` |
See [Web tools](/tools/web) for the full web tool setup and provider comparison.