Agent skill

tavily-best-practices

Build production-ready Tavily integrations with best practices baked in. Reference documentation for developers using coding assistants (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.) to implement web search, content extraction, crawling, and research in agentic workflows, RAG systems, or autonomous agents.

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Install this agent skill to your Project

npx add-skill https://github.com/tavily-ai/skills/tree/main/skills/tavily-best-practices

SKILL.md

Tavily

Tavily is a search API designed for LLMs, enabling AI applications to access real-time web data.

Installation

Python:

bash
pip install tavily-python

JavaScript:

bash
npm install @tavily/core

See references/sdk.md for complete SDK reference.

Client Initialization

python
from tavily import TavilyClient

# Uses TAVILY_API_KEY env var (recommended)
client = TavilyClient()

#With project tracking (for usage organization)
client = TavilyClient(project_id="your-project-id")

# Async client for parallel queries
from tavily import AsyncTavilyClient
async_client = AsyncTavilyClient()

Choosing the Right Method

For custom agents/workflows:

Need Method
Web search results search()
Content from specific URLs extract()
Content from entire site crawl()
URL discovery from site map()

For out-of-the-box research:

Need Method
End-to-end research with AI synthesis research()

Quick Reference

search() - Web Search

python
response = client.search(
    query="quantum computing breakthroughs",  # Keep under 400 chars
    max_results=10,
    search_depth="advanced"
)
print(response)

Key parameters: query, max_results, search_depth (ultra-fast/fast/basic/advanced), include_domains, exclude_domains, time_range

See references/search.md for complete search reference.

extract() - URL Content Extraction

python
# Simple one-step extraction
response = client.extract(
    urls=["https://docs.example.com"],
    extract_depth="advanced"
)
print(response)

Key parameters: urls (max 20), extract_depth, query, chunks_per_source (1-5)

See references/extract.md for complete extract reference.

crawl() - Site-Wide Extraction

python
response = client.crawl(
    url="https://docs.example.com",
    instructions="Find API documentation pages",  # Semantic focus
    extract_depth="advanced"
)
print(response)

Key parameters: url, max_depth, max_breadth, limit, instructions, chunks_per_source, select_paths, exclude_paths

See references/crawl.md for complete crawl reference.

map() - URL Discovery

python
response = client.map(
    url="https://docs.example.com"
)
print(response)

research() - AI-Powered Research

python
import time

# For comprehensive multi-topic research
result = client.research(
    input="Analyze competitive landscape for X in SMB market",
    model="pro"  # or "mini" for focused queries, "auto" when unsure
)
request_id = result["request_id"]

# Poll until completed
response = client.get_research(request_id)
while response["status"] not in ["completed", "failed"]:
    time.sleep(10)
    response = client.get_research(request_id)

print(response["content"])  # The research report

Key parameters: input, model ("mini"/"pro"/"auto"), stream, output_schema, citation_format

See references/research.md for complete research reference.

Detailed Guides

For complete parameters, response fields, patterns, and examples:

  • references/sdk.md - Python & JavaScript SDK reference, async patterns, Hybrid RAG
  • references/search.md - Query optimization, search depth selection, domain filtering, async patterns, post-filtering
  • references/extract.md - One-step vs two-step extraction, query/chunks for targeting, advanced mode
  • references/crawl.md - Crawl vs Map, instructions for semantic focus, use cases, Map-then-Extract pattern
  • references/research.md - Prompting best practices, model selection, streaming, structured output schemas
  • references/integrations.md - LangChain, LlamaIndex, CrewAI, Vercel AI SDK, and framework integrations

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