TavilySAFE
An MCP server for Tavily's search API
Overview
From the repository's own README, as read at the audited commit. Badges and raw HTML are left out.
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Deprecation notice
I built this MCP server back in early March of 2025 when the MCP protocol was brand new and there were no consistent ways to do search in chatbots, predating other implementations.
Since then, the good folks at Tavily have released their official Tavily MCP server which is well-maintained and in sync with their latest capabilities. Therefore, I'm now deprecating this server in favor of theirs.
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A Model Context Protocol server that provides AI-powered web search capabilities using Tavily's search API. This server enables LLMs to perform sophisticated web searches, get direct answers to questions, and search recent news articles with AI-extracted relevant content.
Features
Available Tools
tavily_web_search- Performs comprehensive web searches with AI-powered content extraction.
query(string, required): Search querymax_results(integer, optional): Maximum number of results to return (default: 5, max: 20)search_depth(string, optional): Either "basic" or "advanced" search depth (default: "basic")include_domains(list or string, optional): List of domains to specifically include in resultsexclude_domains(list or string, optional): List of domains to exclude from results
tavily_answer_search- Performs web searches and generates direct answers with supporting evidence.
query(string, required): Search querymax_results(integer, optional): Maximum number of results to return (default: 5, max: 20)search_depth(string, optional): Either "basic" or "advanced" search depth (default: "advanced")include_domains(list or string, optional): List of domains to specifically include in resultsexclude_domains(list or string, optional): List of domains to exclude from
f1337001dd29OBSERVED · 2026-10-07Connect
Built from this server's own package name, version and transport as found in its source — not copied from anyone's documentation, so it cannot drift against a page we do not control. Replace the environment placeholders with a token scoped to the least it needs.
claude mcp add mcp_tavily --env TAVILY_API_KEY=${TAVILY_API_KEY} -- uvx mcp_tavily{
"mcpServers": {
"mcp_tavily": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"mcp_tavily"
],
"env": {
"TAVILY_API_KEY": "${TAVILY_API_KEY}"
}
}
}
}Exposed tools (3)
3 read · 0 write · 0 destructive.
| Tool | Risk | Description |
|---|---|---|
tavily_answer_search | read | |
tavily_news_search | read | |
tavily_web_search | read |
Trust audit
SAFEgrade B · trust 89/100 Nothing in the source contradicts what it says it does. Grade A is reserved for packages that have also passed the behavioural sandbox.
| Layer | What it checks | Result |
|---|---|---|
| L0 | Provenance & inventory | PASS |
| L1 | Static analysis of the code | PASS |
| L2 | Instruction surface (what it tells the agent) | PASS |
| L3 | Class-specific surface | PASS |
| L4 | Behavioural (sandbox) | SKIPPED |
What the source does
- Filesystem
- none-observed
- Network
- none-observed
- Shell
- none-observed
- Dependencies
- not all pinned
- Secrets in source
- none-found
Findings (4)
.env.sample
exec(format_results_code, globals())
build, pytest, pytest-asyncio, pytest-cov, pytest-mock
mcp, pydantic, python-dotenv, tavily-python
Gates applied: no_behavioural_pass.
f1337001dd29full audit observations/trust-audit/mcp-server/ramxx__tavily-3.json · Report an issue / request a re-scanAudit history
Every audit this server has had. A grade with a past is a grade somebody is still checking.
| Date | Source | Verdict | Grade | Score | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-07 | f1337001dd29 | SAFE | B | 89 | first audit |
Questions
What is the Tavily MCP server?
An MCP server for Tavily's search API
What tools does Tavily expose?
3 in total: 3 read-only, 0 that write, and 0 that can delete or overwrite. Every one is listed on this page with its risk.
Is Tavily safe to connect to an agent?
The audit found nothing in the source that contradicts what it says it does, and graded it B (89/100). Grade A is held back for packages that have also passed a sandboxed behavioural run, which is why a clean server reads B.
What credentials does Tavily need?
It reads TAVILY_API_KEY from the environment. Give it a token scoped to the least it needs — an agent that can be talked into calling a tool can be talked into calling it with your credentials.
How does Tavily run?
It speaks stdio, so it runs as a local process your client starts. It is published on PyPI as mcp_tavily.
How current is this page?
The grade is for one exact copy of the source (f1337001dd29), read on 2026-10-07. The repository is watched and re-audited when it changes.