Mintplex-Labs/anything-llm · error · Error

${res.status} - ${res.statusText}. params: ${JSON.stringify(

Error message

${res.status} - ${res.statusText}. params: ${JSON.stringify({ auth: this.middleTruncate(process.env.AGENT_TAVILY_API_KEY, 5), q: query })}

What it means

Thrown by the Tavily search provider when a POST to the Tavily API returns a non-OK status. Authentication is via the api_key field in the JSON body (not a header). The error captures status, statusText, a truncated AGENT_TAVILY_API_KEY, and the query. The .catch logs 'Tavily Search Error' and returns a failure string.

Source

Thrown at server/utils/agents/aibitat/plugins/web-browsing.js:911

              `${this.caller}: Using Tavily to search for "${
                query.length > 100 ? `${query.slice(0, 100)}...` : query
              }"`
            );

            const url = "https://api.tavily.com/search";
            const { response, error } = await fetch(url, {
              method: "POST",
              headers: {
                "Content-Type": "application/json",
              },
              body: JSON.stringify({
                api_key: process.env.AGENT_TAVILY_API_KEY,
                query: query,
              }),
            })
              .then((res) => {
                if (res.ok) return res.json();
                throw new Error(
                  `${res.status} - ${res.statusText}. params: ${JSON.stringify({ auth: this.middleTruncate(process.env.AGENT_TAVILY_API_KEY, 5), q: query })}`
                );
              })
              .then((data) => {
                return { response: data, error: null };
              })
              .catch((e) => {
                this.super.handlerProps.log(
                  `Tavily Search Error: ${e.message}`
                );
                return { response: null, error: e.message };
              });

            if (error)
              return `There was an error searching for content. ${error}`;

            const data = [];
            response.results?.forEach((searchResult) => {

View on GitHub (pinned to 526360e320)

Solutions

  1. Confirm AGENT_TAVILY_API_KEY is set to a valid key from app.tavily.com.
  2. A 429 means the monthly plan limit is reached — upgrade the plan or wait for the cycle reset.
  3. A 401 means the key is wrong — check the truncated value; 'undef...' indicates the env var is unset.
  4. For 400 errors, verify the query is a non-empty string.

Example fix

// before
body: JSON.stringify({ api_key: process.env.AGENT_TAVILY_API_KEY, query: query }),
// throw on non-OK

// caller-side fix
if (!process.env.AGENT_TAVILY_API_KEY) {
  return "AGENT_TAVILY_API_KEY is not configured.";
}
Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

if (!process.env.AGENT_TAVILY_API_KEY) {
  throw new Error("AGENT_TAVILY_API_KEY is not set. Configure it to use Tavily search.");
}

Try / catch

try {
  const results = await tavilySearch(query);
  return results;
} catch (e) {
  if (e.message.startsWith("429")) {
    // Tavily monthly limit — cannot retry, must wait for reset
    return "Tavily monthly search limit reached. Upgrade the plan or wait for reset.";
  }
  if (e.message.startsWith("401")) {
    return "Tavily API key invalid. Check AGENT_TAVILY_API_KEY.";
  }
  throw e;
}

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Tavily returns 401 (invalid or missing api_key in the body), 429 (rate limit — Tavily has strict per-plan limits), 400 (malformed query), or 5xx. Because the key travels in the body, an unset AGENT_TAVILY_API_KEY sends api_key: undefined which Tavily rejects.

Common situations: AGENT_TAVILY_API_KEY not set; free tier (1,000 searches/month) exhausted; key from a canceled account; rapid agent queries hitting the rate limit; Tavily API version change requiring a different body format.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of Mintplex-Labs/anything-llm@526360e320 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/411b4fe9bf61245c. Report an issue: GitHub.