/tavily

name: tavily
description: Tavily web search, content extraction, and research tools.
metadata:
  { "velaclaw": { "emoji": "🔍", "requires": { "config": ["plugins.entries.tavily.enabled"] } } }

Tavily Tools

When to use which tool

| Need | Tool | When | | ---------------------------- | ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | | Quick web search | `web_search` | Basic queries, no special options needed | | Search with advanced options | `tavily_search` | Need depth, topic, domain filters, time ranges, or AI answers | | Extract content from URLs | `tavily_extract` | Have specific URLs, need their content |

web_search

Tavily powers this automatically when selected as the search provider. Use for straightforward queries where you don't need Tavily-specific options.

| Parameter | Description | | --------- | ------------------------ | | `query` | Search query string | | `count` | Number of results (1-20) |

tavily_search

Use when you need fine-grained control over search behavior.

| 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, detailed research |

Tips

• **Keep queries under 400 characters** — think search query, not prompt.
• **Break complex queries into sub-queries** for better results.
• **Use `include_domains`** to focus on trusted sources.
• **Use `time_range`** for recent information (news, current events).
• **Use `include_answer`** when you need a quick synthesized answer.

tavily_extract

Use when you have specific URLs and need their content. Handles JavaScript-rendered pages and returns clean markdown. 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, tables) | | `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, embedded content |

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.
• If `tavily_search` results already contain the snippets you need, skip the extract step.

Choosing the right workflow

Follow this escalation pattern — start simple, escalate only when needed:

1. **`web_search`** — Quick lookup, no special options needed. 2. **`tavily_search`** — Need depth control, topic filtering, domain filters, time ranges, or AI answers. 3. **`tavily_extract`** — Have specific URLs, need their full content or targeted chunks.

Combine search + extract when you need to find pages first, then get their full content.