MCP server for advanced web search using Tavily API.
The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that enables AI systems to interact seamlessly with various data sources and tools, facilitating secure, two-way connections.
Developed by Anthropic, the Model Context Protocol (MCP) enables AI assistants like Claude to seamlessly integrate with Tavily's advanced search and data extraction capabilities. This integration provides AI models with real-time access to web information, complete with sophisticated filtering options and domain-specific search features.
The Tavily MCP server provides:
search, extract, map, crawl tools
Real-time web search capabilities through the tavily-search tool
Intelligent data extraction from web pages via the tavily-extract tool
Powerful web mapping tool that creates a structured map of website
Web crawler that systematically explores websites
π Helpful Resources
Tutorial on combining Tavily MCP with Neo4j MCP server
Tutorial on integrating Tavily MCP with Cline in VS Code
To install Tavily MCP Server for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:
npx -y @smithery/cli install @tavily-ai/tavily-mcp --client claude
Although you can launch a server on its own, it's not particularly helpful in isolation. Instead, you should integrate it into an MCP client. Below is an example of how to configure the Claude Desktop app to work with the tavily-mcp server.
Configuring MCP Clients βοΈ
This repository will explain how to configure VS Code, Cursor and Claude Desktop to work with the tavily-mcp server.
Configuring VS Code π»
For one-click installation, click one of the install buttons below:
Manual Installation
First check if there are install buttons at the top of this section that match your needs. If you prefer manual installation, follow these steps:
Add the following JSON block to your User Settings (JSON) file in VS Code. You can do this by pressing Ctrl + Shift + P (or Cmd + Shift + P on macOS) and typing Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON).
The easiest way to set up the Tavily MCP server in Cline is through the marketplace with a single click:
Open Cline in VS Code
Click on the Cline icon in the sidebar
Navigate to the "MCP Servers" tab ( 4 squares )
Search "Tavily" and click "install"
When prompted, enter your Tavily API key
Alternatively, you can manually set up the Tavily MCP server in Cline:
Open the Cline MCP settings file:
For macOS:
# Using Visual Studio Code
code ~/Library/Application\ Support/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json
# Or using TextEdit
open -e ~/Library/Application\ Support/Code/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json
Save the file and restart Cline if it's already running.
When using Cline, you'll now have access to the Tavily MCP tools. You can ask Cline to use the tavily-search and tavily-extract tools directly in your conversations.
Configuring Cursor π₯οΈ
Note: Requires Cursor version 0.45.6 or higher
To set up the Tavily MCP server in Cursor:
Open Cursor Settings
Navigate to Features > MCP Servers
Click on the "+ Add New MCP Server" button
Fill out the following information:
Name: Enter a nickname for the server (e.g., "tavily-mcp")
Important: Replace your-api-key with your Tavily API key. You can get one at app.tavily.com/home
After adding the server, it should appear in the list of MCP servers. You may need to manually press the refresh button in the top right corner of the MCP server to populate the tool list.
The Composer Agent will automatically use the Tavily MCP tools when relevant to your queries. It is better to explicitly request to use the tools by describing what you want to do (e.g., "User tavily-search to search the web for the latest news on AI"). On mac press command + L to open the chat, select the composer option at the top of the screen, beside the submit button select agent and submit the query when ready.
Configuring the Claude Desktop app π₯οΈ
For macOS:
# Create the config file if it doesn't exist
touch "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json"
# Opens the config file in TextEdit
open -e "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json"
# Alternative method using Visual Studio Code (requires VS Code to be installed)
code "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json"
For Windows:
code %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Add the Tavily server configuration:
Replace your-api-key-here with your actual Tavily API key.
Once the installation is complete, and the Claude desktop app is configured, you must completely close and re-open the Claude desktop app to see the tavily-mcp server. You should see a hammer icon in the bottom left of the app, indicating available MCP tools, you can click on the hammer icon to see more detial on the tavily-search and tavily-extract tools.
Now claude will have complete access to the tavily-mcp server, including the tavily-search and tavily-extract tools. If you insert the below examples into the Claude desktop app, you should see the tavily-mcp server tools in action.
Tavily Search Examples
General Web Search:
Can you search for recent developments in quantum computing?
News Search:
Search for news articles about AI startups from the last 7 days.
Domain-Specific Search:
Search for climate change research on nature.com and sciencedirect.com
Tavily Extract Examples
Extract Article Content:
Extract the main content from this article: https://example.com/article
β¨ Combine Search and Extract β¨
You can also combine the tavily-search and tavily-extract tools to perform more complex tasks.
Search for news articles about AI startups from the last 7 days and extract the main content from each article to generate a detailed report.
Troubleshooting π οΈ
Common Issues
Server Not Found
Verify the npm installation by running npm --verison
Check Claude Desktop configuration syntax by running code ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Ensure Node.js is properly installed by running node --version
NPX related issues
If you encounter errors related to npx, you may need to use the full path to the npx executable instead.
You can find this path by running which npx in your terminal, then replace the "command": "npx" line with "command": "/full/path/to/npx" in your configuration.
