Skill: barneyjm/tavily-best-practices (version 0.1.0)

--- name: tavily-best-practices description: "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." --- # Tavily Tavily is a search API designed for LLMs, enabling AI applications to access real-time web data. ## Prerequisites **Tavily API Key Required** - Get your key at https://app.tavily.com (1,000 free API credits/month, no credit card required) Add to `~/.claude/settings.json`: ```json { "env": { "TAVILY_API_KEY": "tvly-YOUR_API_KEY" } } ``` Restart Claude Code after adding your API key. ## Installation **Python:** ```bash pip install tavily-python ``` **JavaScript:** ```bash npm install @tavily/core ``` See **[references/sdk.md](references/sdk.md)** for complete SDK reference. ## Client Initialization ```python from tavily import TavilyClient # Option 1: Uses TAVILY_API_KEY env var (recommended) client = TavilyClient() # Option 2: Explicit API key client = TavilyClient([REDACTED_SECRET]") # Option 3: With project tracking (for usage organization) client = TavilyClient([REDACTED_SECRET]", 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", # 2 credits, highest relevance topic="general" # or "news", "finance" ) for result in response["results"]: print(f"{result['title']}: {result['score']}") ``` Key parameters: `query`, `max_results`, `search_depth` (ultra-fast/fast/basic/advanced), `topic`, `include_domains`, `exclude_domains`, `time_range` ### extract() - URL Content Extraction ```python # Two-step pattern (recommended for control) search_results = client.search(query="Python async best practices") urls = [r["url"] for r in search_results["results"] if r["score"] > 0.5] extracted = client.extract( urls=urls[:20], query="async patterns", # Reranks chunks by relevance chunks_per_source=3 # Prevents context explosion ) ``` Key parameters: `urls` (max 20), `extract_depth`, `query`, `chunks_per_source` (1-5) ### crawl() - Site-Wide Extraction ```python response = client.crawl( url="https://docs.example.com", max_depth=2, instructions="Find API documentation pages", # Semantic focus chunks_per_source=3, # Token optimization select_paths=["/docs/.*", "/api/.*"] ) ``` Key parameters: `url`, `max_depth`, `max_breadth`, `limit`, `instructions`, `chunks_per_source`, `select_paths`, `exclude_paths` ### map() - URL Discovery ```python response = client.map( url="https://docs.example.com", max_depth=2, instructions="Find all API and guide pages" ) api_docs = [url for url in response["results"] if "/api/" in url] ``` ### 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` ## Detailed Guides For complete parameters, response fields, patterns, and examples: - **[references/sdk.md](references/sdk.md)** - Python & JavaScript SDK reference, async patterns, Hybrid RAG - **[references/search.md](references/search.md)** - Query optimization, search depth selection, domain filtering, async patterns, post-filtering - **[references/extract.md](references/extract.md)** - One-step vs two-step extraction, query/chunks for targeting, advanced mode - **[references/crawl.md](references/crawl.md)** - Crawl vs Map, instructions for semantic focus, use cases, Map-then-Extract pattern - **[references/research.md](references/research.md)** - Prompting best practices, model selection, streaming, structured output schemas - **[references/integrations.md](references/integrations.md)** - LangChain, LlamaIndex, CrewAI, Vercel AI SDK, and framework integrations


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