Tavily MCP Server
Official Tavily MCP server: real-time web search, page content extraction, site mapping and crawling
Install
claude mcp add --transport http tavily https://mcp.tavily.com/mcpAfter adding, open /mcp and complete OAuth. The key can also be passed in the URL: ?tavilyApiKey=<key>.
This is third-party code. Review the repository files before installing.
What it does
The server gives the agent four tools on top of the Tavily API: search, page content extraction, site structure mapping and link-following crawl. It connects to Tavily's hosted server over HTTP or runs locally via npx. Search defaults such as depth and result count can be preset. Authentication uses an API key or OAuth.
Who it is for. For developers and researchers who need the agent to search and read current web data.
Good fit when
- The agent needs fresh web data rather than model knowledge
- You need to pull text from several pages for analysis
- You need to crawl documentation or a site and collect its structure
Not a fit when
- The agent already has built-in web search that is enough
- Queries must not leave your infrastructure
Example request
Find recent news about the latest Node.js release and summarize the changes with linksLimitations
Requires a Tavily account and API key; the free tier is limited. Local mode needs Node.js 20 or later. All queries go to Tavily servers; availability from Russia without a VPN is unverified.
How to disable. Run claude mcp remove tavily or delete the tavily-mcp block from your MCP client config.
MCP
- Transport
- stdio, http
- Authentication
- API key
| Environment variables | |
|---|---|
| TAVILY_API_KEY required, secret | Tavily API key for local mode |
| DEFAULT_PARAMETERS | JSON with default search parameters |
| TAVILY_HUMAN_ID | End user identifier for analytics |
Security check
- Sends queries and page URLs to an external service
- Requires a secret API key
README in short
The README covers connecting the hosted server to Claude Code and Cursor with the key in the URL or via OAuth, plus local launch through npx. It explains search defaults and the optional TAVILY_HUMAN_ID variable for per-user analytics. Requirements are a Tavily key and Node.js 20. MIT licensed.
FAQ
Remote or local server?
Remote is simpler: nothing to install and OAuth is supported. Local via npx is for clients without HTTP transport.
Can search parameters be preset?
Yes, with the DEFAULT_PARAMETERS variable locally or the DEFAULT_PARAMETERS header on the remote server.
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