crewAIInc/crewAI · error · ImportError

`serpapi` package not found, please install with `uv add ser

Error message

`serpapi` package not found, please install with `uv add serpapi`

What it means

ImportError raised by the SerpApi base tool when the serpapi package cannot be imported and the interactive click.confirm prompt to install it (`uv add serpapi`) is declined or unavailable. The import is attempted lazily during tool initialization; on decline, the error includes the exact install command. It fires at construction time, before any search is executed.

Source

Thrown at lib/crewai-tools/src/crewai_tools/tools/serpapi_tool/serpapi_base_tool.py:41

    client: Any | None = None

    def __init__(self, **kwargs: Any) -> None:
        super().__init__(**kwargs)

        try:
            from serpapi import Client
        except ImportError:
            import click

            if click.confirm(
                "You are missing the 'serpapi' package. Would you like to install it?"
            ):
                import subprocess

                subprocess.run(["uv", "add", "serpapi"], check=True)  # noqa: S607
                from serpapi import Client  # type: ignore[import-untyped]
            else:
                raise ImportError(
                    "`serpapi` package not found, please install with `uv add serpapi`"
                ) from None
        api_key = os.getenv("SERPAPI_API_KEY")
        if not api_key:
            raise ValueError(
                "Missing API key, you can get the key from https://serpapi.com/manage-api-key"
            )
        self.client = Client(api_key=api_key)

    def _omit_fields(
        self, data: dict[str, Any] | list[Any], omit_patterns: list[str]
    ) -> None:
        if isinstance(data, dict):
            for field in list(data.keys()):
                if any(re.compile(p).match(field) for p in omit_patterns):
                    data.pop(field, None)
                else:
                    if isinstance(data[field], (dict, list)):

View on GitHub (pinned to 754d7323be)

Solutions

1. Install it beforehand: `uv add serpapi` (or pip install serpapi).
2. Bake the dependency into Docker/CI images so the prompt never appears.
3. Set SERPAPI_API_KEY too — the very next check raises if the key is missing.

Example fix

# before (CI, no TTY)
tool = SerpApiGoogleSearchTool()  # ImportError

# after
# CI step: uv add serpapi
# env: SERPAPI_API_KEY=...
tool = SerpApiGoogleSearchTool()

def serpapi_available() -> bool:
    try:
        from serpapi import Client  # noqa: F401
        return True
    except ImportError:
        return False

if not serpapi_available():
    subprocess.run(["uv", "add", "serpapi"], check=True)

try:
    tool = SerpApiGoogleSearchTool()
except ImportError as e:
    if "serpapi" in str(e):
        raise SystemExit("Run `uv add serpapi` before using SerpApi tools") from e
    raise

When it happens

Trigger: Instantiating a SerpApi-based tool (e.g. SerpApiGoogleSearchTool / SerpApiGoogleScholarTool) in an environment where `from serpapi import Client` fails and the install prompt is answered 'no' (or auto-declined in non-interactive CI/Docker).

Common situations: CI pipelines and containers missing the optional dependency; fresh environments where crewai-tools was installed without serpapi; headless runs where click.confirm has no TTY and cannot prompt.

Related errors

• `scrapfly-sdk` package not found, please run `uv add scrapfl
• `selenium` and `webdriver-manager` package not found, please
• The 'tavily-python' package is required. 'click' and 'subpro
• The 'tavily-python' package is required. 'click' and 'subpro
• The 'tavily-python' package is required. 'click' and 'subpro

AI-assisted analysis of crewAIInc/crewAI@754d7323be (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/cc768b14bb39b469. Report an issue: GitHub.