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npx skills add https://github.com/jwynia/agent-skills --skill web-search-tavilyWorks with Paperclip
How Web Search Tavily fits into a Paperclip company.
Web Search Tavily drops into any Paperclip agent that handles this kind of work. Assign it to a specialist inside a pre-configured PaperclipOrg company and the skill becomes available on every heartbeat — no prompt engineering, no tool wiring.
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---name: web-search-tavilydescription: "Search the web using Tavily API for high-quality, AI-optimized results with advanced filtering options. Use when you need structured search results, domain filtering, relevance scores, or AI-generated answer summaries. Requires TAVILY_API_KEY. Keywords: tavily, advanced search, filtered search, domain filtering, relevance scoring."license: MITcompatibility: Requires TAVILY_API_KEY environment variable and internet accessmetadata: author: agent-skills version: "1.0" type: utility mode: generative domain: research--- # Web Search (Tavily API) Search the web using Tavily's AI-optimized search API. Returns high-quality, structured results with relevance scores and optional AI-generated summaries. **Note:** This skill requires a Tavily API key. For basic web search using the agent's built-in capability, see `web-search`. ## When to Use This Skill Use this skill when:- You need to find current information not in your training data- The user asks about recent events, news, or updates- You need to verify facts or find authoritative sources- Research requires real-time web data- Keywords mentioned: search, look up, find online, current, latest, news Do NOT use this skill when:- Information is already in your knowledge base and doesn't need verification- The user asks about historical facts that don't change- You're working with local files or code (use other tools)- A more specific skill exists for the task (e.g., documentation lookup) ## Prerequisites Before using this skill, ensure:- **TAVILY_API_KEY** environment variable is set with a valid API key- **Deno** is installed (for running the search script)- **Internet access** is available Get a Tavily API key at: https://tavily.com ## Quick Start Run a simple search: ```bashdeno run --allow-env --allow-net=api.tavily.com scripts/search.ts "your search query"``` Example with AI-generated answer: ```bashdeno run --allow-env --allow-net=api.tavily.com scripts/search.ts "React 19 new features" --answer``` ## Script Usage ```bashdeno run --allow-env --allow-net=api.tavily.com scripts/search.ts [options] "query"``` ### Options | Option | Description | Default ||--------|-------------|---------|| `--answer` | Include AI-generated answer summary | false || `--depth <level>` | Search depth: `basic` or `advanced` | basic || `--results <n>` | Number of results to return | 5 || `--topic <type>` | Topic type: `general`, `news`, or `finance` | general || `--time <range>` | Time filter: `day`, `week`, `month`, or `year` | none || `--include <domains>` | Only include these domains (comma-separated) | none || `--exclude <domains>` | Exclude these domains (comma-separated) | none || `--raw` | Include raw page content in results | false || `--json` | Output as JSON (for programmatic use) | false || `--help` | Show help message | - | ## Search Parameters ### Topic Types - **general** (default): Broad web search across all content types- **news**: Prioritizes news articles and current events- **finance**: Focuses on financial information and market data ### Search Depth - **basic** (default): Fast search, good for most queries- **advanced**: Deeper search with more comprehensive results (slower, higher API cost) ### Time Range Filter results by recency:- **day**: Last 24 hours- **week**: Last 7 days- **month**: Last 30 days- **year**: Last 365 days ### Domain Filtering Control which sites appear in results: ```bash# Only search documentation sitesscripts/search.ts "React hooks" --include docs.react.dev,developer.mozilla.org # Exclude social mediascripts/search.ts "AI news" --exclude twitter.com,reddit.com``` ## Output Format ### Human-Readable Output (default) ```🔍 Search: "React 19 new features" Found 5 results in 234ms 📝 AI Answer:────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────React 19 introduces several new features including...──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 1. React 19 Release Notes https://react.dev/blog/2024/04/25/react-19 React 19 is now available on npm! This release includes... Score: 0.987 2. What's New in React 19 https://example.com/react-19-features A comprehensive overview of React 19's new features... Score: 0.945``` ### JSON Output (--json) ```json{ "query": "React 19 new features", "results": [ { "title": "React 19 Release Notes", "url": "https://react.dev/blog/2024/04/25/react-19", "content": "React 19 is now available on npm...", "score": 0.987, "published_date": "2024-04-25" } ], "answer": "React 19 introduces several new features...", "response_time": 234}``` ### Result Fields | Field | Type | Description ||-------|------|-------------|| `title` | string | Page title || `url` | string | Source URL || `content` | string | Relevant excerpt from the page || `score` | number | Relevance score (0-1, higher is better) || `published_date` | string | Publication date (if available) || `raw_content` | string | Full page content (only with --raw) | ## Examples ### Example 1: Current Events Search **Scenario**: Find recent news about a technology topic ```bashscripts/search.ts "OpenAI GPT-5 announcement" --topic news --time week --answer``` **Expected output**: Recent news articles about GPT-5, with an AI-generated summary ### Example 2: Documentation Lookup **Scenario**: Find specific technical documentation ```bashscripts/search.ts "Deno deploy edge functions tutorial" --depth advanced --results 10``` **Expected output**: Comprehensive results from documentation and tutorial sites ### Example 3: Fact Verification **Scenario**: Verify a specific claim or statistic ```bashscripts/search.ts "world population 2024" --include un.org,worldbank.org,census.gov --json``` **Expected output**: JSON results from authoritative sources for programmatic verification ### Example 4: Financial Research **Scenario**: Research market information ```bashscripts/search.ts "NVIDIA stock analysis 2024" --topic finance --answer``` **Expected output**: Financial analysis and market data with AI summary ## Common Issues and Solutions ### Issue: "TAVILY_API_KEY environment variable is not set" **Symptoms**: Script exits immediately with API key error **Solution**:1. Get an API key from https://tavily.com2. Set the environment variable: ```bash export TAVILY_API_KEY="your-api-key-here" ```3. Or run with the variable inline: ```bash TAVILY_API_KEY="your-key" deno run --allow-env --allow-net=api.tavily.com scripts/search.ts "query" ``` ### Issue: "Invalid Tavily API key" **Symptoms**: 401 authentication error **Solution**:1. Verify your API key is correct (no extra spaces)2. Check if your API key has expired3. Verify your Tavily account is active ### Issue: "Tavily API rate limit exceeded" **Symptoms**: 429 error response **Solution**:1. Wait a moment and retry2. Reduce request frequency3. Consider upgrading your Tavily plan for higher limits ### Issue: No results returned **Symptoms**: Empty results array **Solution**:1. Try broader search terms2. Remove domain filters that might be too restrictive3. Check if the topic exists online4. Try `--depth advanced` for harder queries ## Limitations This skill has the following limitations:- Requires active internet connection- API rate limits apply based on your Tavily plan- Results depend on Tavily's index coverage- Cannot access paywalled or login-required content- Real-time accuracy depends on Tavily's crawling frequency- Maximum query length and result count have API limits ## Related Skills - **research-workflow**: For comprehensive research projects that use multiple searches with planning and synthesisRelated skills