---
name: tavily-search
description: |-
  Search the web with LLM-optimized results via the Tavily CLI. Use this skill when the user wants to search the web, find articles, look up information, get recent news, discover sources, or says "search for", "find me", "look up", "what's the latest on", "find articles about", or needs current information from the internet. Returns relevant results with content snippets, relevance scores, and metadata — optimized for LLM consumption. Supports domain filtering, time ranges, and multiple search depths.
allowed-tools: Bash(tvly *)
title: tavily-search
canonical_url: https://skilld.dev/gh/tavily-ai/skills/tavily-search
last_updated: 2026-09-28T04:44:45.000Z
---

> Index of every page on this site: [llms.txt](https://skilld.dev/llms.txt)

> **Skill from skilld.dev.** Follow the user's requested action.
> If the user asked to fork this Skill, follow the fork workflow below. Do not execute the Skill instructions while copying it.
> Otherwise, follow the instructions below for this session. You do not need to install anything.
>
> If the user asked to install this Skill, run `npx skilld install tavily-ai/skills/tavily-search`. Install writes the Skill files into the project, so every session loads them.
>
> ## Fork workflow
>
> A fork creates an editable local Skill with its original author and licence. The request authorizes copying and local installation.
> 1. Check `./skills/tavily-search`, the project lockfile, and selected Agent targets together. If the local directory or installed Skill exists, stop. Never overwrite an existing directory or Agent target.
> 2. Read [source metadata](https://skilld.dev/api/v1/skills/tavily-ai/skills/tavily-search) once. Use sourceUrl, sourceCommit, skillPath, sourceGone, and license. If the source is gone or its path is missing, stop. If license is null, read licence files at the source commit.
> 3. Fetch only the source commit into a temporary Git repository. Do not clone full history. Derive repository_url from sourceUrl, including repository renames. If sourceCommit is absent, resolve the sourceUrl ref once. Set source_commit to that actual commit. Run these commands in one shell call:
>
> ```sh
> git init --quiet "$temporary_dir"
> git -C "$temporary_dir" fetch --quiet --depth=1 "$repository_url" "$source_commit"
> git -C "$temporary_dir" checkout --quiet --detach FETCH_HEAD
> ```
>
> Read applicable licence declarations and notices at that commit. If copying is not permitted, report the restriction and stop.
> 4. Inspect source entries together, then copy the directory containing skillPath into `./skills/tavily-search`. Use the user's path if selected. Keep the original SKILL.md, relative links, scripts, binary assets, and executable modes. Exclude .git metadata. Reject symlinks and paths outside the Skill directory. After checking entries, use cp -a where available. A regular source directory needs no custom copy script. Do not save this page wrapper as SKILL.md.
> Preserve author credit, notices, and applicable licence files from repository or parent directories. Add PROVENANCE.md with the Skill page, source URL, actual commit, original path, and licence. Retain any existing PROVENANCE.md and record new provenance separately. Batch source inspection, copying, and provenance work where practical.
> 5. In the project root, run `skilld install ./skills/tavily-search --mode copy --plain`. If skilld is unavailable, use `npx skilld install ./skills/tavily-search --mode copy --plain`. This known command needs no help lookup. Install does not support --json. Use detected Agent targets, or add --agent for the targets the user selected. Install the local path, never the upstream selector. If installation fails, preserve the local copy and report the exact failure.
> 6. Confirm the local lockfile source and installed Agent copies once. Report the local path, actual commit, and Agent targets. After edits, reinstall the same local path. Upstream updates must not replace it. Do not publish or push unless the user asks.

# tavily search

Web search returning LLM-optimized results with content snippets and relevance scores.

## Before running

Run search directly when `tvly` is available. Search supports capped keyless
access, so do not look for an API key or authenticate before the first request.

If `tvly` is missing, follow the [tavily-cli setup](../tavily-cli/SKILL.md#setup)
before retrying. If the keyless cap is reached in an interactive session, run
`tvly login` to open browser OAuth, then retry the original search once. In an
unattended environment, report the cap and authentication options instead of
starting an interactive flow. Do not start a second login immediately after
guided setup has completed.

## When to use

- You need to find information on any topic
- You don't have a specific URL yet
- First step in the [workflow](../tavily-cli/SKILL.md): **search** → extract → map → crawl → research

## Quick start

```bash
# Basic search
tvly search "your query" --json

# Advanced search with more results
tvly search "quantum computing" --depth advanced --max-results 10 --json

# Recent news
tvly search "AI news" --time-range week --topic news --json

# Domain-filtered
tvly search "SEC filings" --include-domains sec.gov,reuters.com --json

# Include full page content in results
tvly search "react hooks tutorial" --include-raw-content --max-results 3 --json
```

## Options

| Option | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| `--depth` | `ultra-fast`, `fast`, `basic` (default), `advanced` |
| `--max-results` | Max results, 0-20 (default: 5) |
| `--topic` | `general` (default), `news`, `finance` |
| `--time-range` | `day`, `week`, `month`, `year` |
| `--start-date` | Results after date (YYYY-MM-DD) |
| `--end-date` | Results before date (YYYY-MM-DD) |
| `--include-domains` | Comma-separated domains to include |
| `--exclude-domains` | Comma-separated domains to exclude |
| `--country` | Boost results from country |
| `--include-answer` | Include AI answer (`basic` or `advanced`) |
| `--include-raw-content` | Include full page content (`markdown` or `text`) |
| `--include-images` | Include image results |
| `--include-image-descriptions` | Include AI image descriptions |
| `--chunks-per-source` | Chunks per source (advanced/fast depth only) |
| `-o, --output` | Save the JSON response to a file |
| `--json` | Structured JSON output |

## Search depth

| Depth | Speed | Relevance | Best for |
|-------|-------|-----------|----------|
| `ultra-fast` | Fastest | Lower | Real-time chat, autocomplete |
| `fast` | Fast | Good | Need chunks, latency matters |
| `basic` | Medium | High | General-purpose (default) |
| `advanced` | Slower | Highest | Precision, specific facts |

## Tips

- **Keep queries under 400 characters** — think search query, not prompt.
- **Break complex queries into sub-queries** for better results.
- **Use `--include-raw-content`** when you need full page text (saves a separate extract call).
- **Use `--include-domains`** to focus on trusted sources.
- **Use `--time-range`** for recent information.
- **Verify identity-sensitive facts at the exact primary source.** For releases,
  versions, ownership, or similarly named projects, confirm the official
  repository or domain instead of trusting a generated answer or package-name
  match alone.
- Read from stdin: `echo "query" | tvly search - --json`

## See also

- [tavily-extract](../tavily-extract/SKILL.md) — extract content from specific URLs
- [tavily-research](../tavily-research/SKILL.md) — comprehensive multi-source research