Tavily MCP Server for Claude Code: Setup & Config

What you can do with Tavily in Claude Code

Use it for search plus page collection, with either local execution or authenticated hosted access.

• Find current web sources for an assistant response.
• Crawl websites or assemble research from multiple sources.

Before you start: Tavily in Claude Code

• Node.js 20 or newer for local execution
• A Tavily API key for the local server
• An MCP-compatible client

The command launches the local server. The hosted endpoint is an alternative with API-key or OAuth authentication. DEFAULT_PARAMETERS can set local search defaults.

Tavily Claude Code configuration

1. Choose Claude Code configuration scope

   For Tavily MCP Server, open Project scope: .mcp.json at the repository root. Project JSON: merge into mcpServers; user scope: use the CLI.

2. Add Tavily MCP Server to Claude Code

   Use the tavily-mcp entry below in mcpServers. Keep Tavily MCP Server's documented stdio connection fields and your other Claude Code entries.

3. Check Tavily MCP Server in Claude Code

   Tavily MCP Server: Inspect claude mcp list and /mcp status.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tavily-mcp": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "tavily-mcp@latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "TAVILY_API_KEY": "<Tavily API key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

claude mcp add-json --scope project 'tavily-mcp' '{"type":"stdio","command":"npx","args":["-y","tavily-mcp@latest"],"env":{"TAVILY_API_KEY":"<Tavily API key>"}}'

Tavily tools available to Claude Code

Tavily's stored tool list documents 5 tools; compare it with Claude Code's connected tool list, because the stored list is not a live check.

tavily_search

For Tavily's tavily_search, review the permission request and arguments in Claude Code before approval.

tavily_extract

For Tavily's tavily_extract, review the permission request and arguments in Claude Code before approval.

tavily_crawl

For Tavily's tavily_crawl, review the permission request and arguments in Claude Code before approval.

Explore site pages with adjustable crawl depth and breadth.

tavily_map

For Tavily's tavily_map, review the permission request and arguments in Claude Code before approval.

Discover URLs and outline the structure of a website.

tavily_research

For Tavily's tavily_research, review the permission request and arguments in Claude Code before approval.

Combine multiple sources into a detailed research response; limited to 20 requests per minute.

Tavily: full stored tool descriptions

Troubleshooting Tavily in Claude Code

• If Tavily MCP Server fails to start, check npx tavily-mcp@latest (Node.js/npm), the working directory, and Claude Code's selected scope; inspect claude mcp list and /mcp.
• Tavily MCP Server: check TAVILY_API_KEY; keep credentials out of shared .mcp.json.
• Tavily MCP Server uses stdio here: Claude Code must keep the configured process running; protocol output belongs on stdout and diagnostics on stderr.
• Known limitation: Local execution requires Node.js 20 or newer and a Tavily API key.
• Known limitation: The research tool is limited to 20 requests per minute in the supplied data.
• General Claude Code troubleshooting lives in the /clients/claude-code guide.

Frequently asked questions