Tavily MCP

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. It runs locally over stdio via the published package.

People connecting web scraping tools to Claude, Cursor, VS Code, or another MCP client. The project is written in JavaScript.

VERIFIED ACTIVE

LAST COMMIT 2026-08-20 · ★ 2,351 · #2 OF 78 MAINTAINED WEB SCRAPING · VERIFIED 2026-08-25

MIT · JavaScript servers · how we verify → /methodology

01 · Install Tavily MCP

before you install - you'll need

Set TAVILY_API_KEY, TAVILY_HUMAN_ID before connecting. DEFAULT_PARAMETERS is optional or environment-specific per the README.

Claude Code

claude mcp add tavily-ai-tavily-mcp -- npx -y tavily-mcp

Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code - add to config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tavily-ai-tavily-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "tavily-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Same JSON for Cursor. For VS Code, rename the top-level key from `mcpServers` to `servers`.

Using another client? Same JSON, different key

Claude Desktop · mcpServers

Cursor · mcpServers

VS Code · servers

Windsurf · mcpServers

Zed · context_servers

Cline · mcpServers

Roo Code · mcpServers

Continue · mcpServers

LibreChat · mcpServers

Gemini CLI · mcpServers

Codex CLI · mcp_servers

Full setup guides: every client.

02 · Evidence

Security posture

What to check before giving this server access to your agent - from the registry, GitHub, and our own probes. We don't score safety; we show what's verifiable.

runs as local process (stdio) - runs on your machine with your user's permissions

license MIT - declared in the repository

npm package tavily-mcp - unscoped; check the name against the project README before installing

registry namespace io.github.tavily-ai is GitHub-verified and matches the repo owner

03 · Who maintains Tavily MCP

tavily-mcp is maintained by tavily-ai. It's the only MCP server we track from this author; the repo dates to Jan 2025.

04 · Facts

repository: github.com/tavily-ai/tavily-mcp
category: web scraping - ranked #2 of 78 actively-maintained web scraping servers as of 2026-08-25.
registry: io.github.tavily-ai/tavily-mcp (active, first published 2026-01-26)
packages: npm:tavily-mcp

05 · Tavily MCP FAQ

What is Tavily MCP?

Is Tavily MCP still maintained?

Yes - as of 2026-08-25, its last commit was 2026-08-20. We re-verify nightly.

How do I install Tavily MCP?

Run `npx -y tavily-mcp`. The README documents 3 environment variables (TAVILY_API_KEY, DEFAULT_PARAMETERS, TAVILY_HUMAN_ID) to set first. Set TAVILY_API_KEY, TAVILY_HUMAN_ID before connecting. DEFAULT_PARAMETERS is optional or environment-specific per the README. You can also paste the ready-made client config above.

Does Tavily MCP run locally?

Yes - it's a stdio server: it runs on your machine (via npx) with your user's permissions. Your data stays local unless the server itself calls external APIs.

06 · Alternatives to Tavily MCP

Alternatives to Tavily MCP

Maintained web scraping servers if Tavily MCP isn't the fit.

Pairs well with

Servers that cover what Tavily MCP doesn't - only shown when the pairing reason fits the companion.

head to head · Firecrawl MCP Server vs Tavily MCP · Wigolo vs Tavily MCP

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