crewAIInc/crewAI · error · ImportError

The 'tavily-python' package is required. 'click' and 'subpro

Error message

The 'tavily-python' package is required. 'click' and 'subprocess' are also needed to assist with installation if the package is missing. Please install 'tavily-python' manually (e.g., 'pip install tavily-python') and ensure 'click' and 'subprocess' are available.

What it means

TavilyResearchTool raises this ImportError during __init__ when tavily-python is absent and the installer helpers (click/subprocess) also fail to import. It is the same pattern as the other Tavily tools: the interactive install path is gated behind importing click and subprocess, and their failure aborts with pip-style guidance, chaining the original ImportError.

Source

Thrown at lib/crewai-tools/src/crewai_tools/tools/tavily_research_tool/tavily_research_tool.py:103

            ),
        ]
    )

    def __init__(self, **kwargs: Any):
        super().__init__(**kwargs)
        if TAVILY_AVAILABLE:
            api_key = os.getenv("TAVILY_API_KEY")
            self._client = TavilyClient(api_key=api_key, client_name="crewai")
            self._async_client = AsyncTavilyClient(
                api_key=api_key, client_name="crewai"
            )
        else:
            try:
                import subprocess

                import click
            except ImportError as e:
                raise ImportError(
                    "The 'tavily-python' package is required. 'click' and "
                    "'subprocess' are also needed to assist with installation "
                    "if the package is missing. Please install 'tavily-python' "
                    "manually (e.g., 'pip install tavily-python') and ensure "
                    "'click' and 'subprocess' are available."
                ) from e

            if click.confirm(
                "You are missing the 'tavily-python' package, which is required "
                "for TavilyResearchTool. Would you like to install it?"
            ):
                try:
                    subprocess.run(["uv", "add", "tavily-python"], check=True)  # noqa: S607
                    raise ImportError(
                        "'tavily-python' has been installed. Please restart your "
                        "Python application to use the TavilyResearchTool."
                    )
                except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:

View on GitHub (pinned to 754d7323be)

Solutions

pip install tavily-python click (or uv add tavily-python) before creating the tool.
Add crewai-tools' tavily extra / tavily-python to your dependency lock so import never fails.
In subprocess-hostile sandboxes, pre-install deps and avoid the fallback path.

Example fix

# before
tool = TavilyResearchTool()  # -> ImportError

# after
# shell: pip install tavily-python
tool = TavilyResearchTool()

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

import importlib.util
if importlib.util.find_spec("tavily") is None or importlib.util.find_spec("click") is None:
    raise SystemExit("Install first: pip install tavily-python click")

Try / catch

try:
    tool = TavilyResearchTool()
except ImportError as e:
    raise SystemExit(f"Missing dependency: {e}. Run: pip install tavily-python") from e

Prevention

Pin tavily-python in project dependencies; do not depend on runtime installs.
Startup-check importability of optional tool deps before building crews.
Keep click available in minimal images if you rely on interactive installs.

When it happens

Trigger: Constructing TavilyResearchTool with TAVILY_AVAILABLE False and click (or subprocess) unimportable in the runtime.

Common situations: Lean production images without click; restricted interpreters; environments where crewai-tools' optional tavily extra was never installed.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of crewAIInc/crewAI@754d7323be (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c56da981eb256dea. Report an issue: GitHub.