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

TavilyGetResearchTool raises this ImportError in __init__ when tavily-python is missing and the installer helpers (click, subprocess) cannot be imported either. Unlike the extractor tool, this variant uses pip-style guidance and chains the original ImportError via `from e`. The prompt path is never reached because the helper imports fail first.

Source

Thrown at lib/crewai-tools/src/crewai_tools/tools/tavily_get_research_tool/tavily_get_research_tool.py:67

            ),
        ]
    )

    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 TavilyGetResearchTool. 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 TavilyGetResearchTool."
                    )
                except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:

View on GitHub (pinned to 754d7323be)

Solutions

pip install tavily-python (or uv add tavily-python) before constructing the tool.
Ensure click is installed: pip install click.
In subprocess-restricted runtimes, pre-install dependencies so the fallback is never exercised.

Example fix

# before
tool = TavilyGetResearchTool()  # -> ImportError

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

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 = TavilyGetResearchTool()
except ImportError as e:
    raise SystemExit(f"Dependency missing: {e}. Run: pip install tavily-python") from e

Prevention

Add tavily-python and click to pinned project dependencies.
Fail fast at startup with importlib checks instead of hitting constructor errors.
Avoid relying on runtime installer prompts in automated environments.

When it happens

Trigger: Constructing TavilyGetResearchTool where TAVILY_AVAILABLE is False and click (or subprocess) is unimportable — missing click install, restricted interpreter, or broken sys.path.

Common situations: Minimal containers without click; sandboxes that forbid subprocess; environments where crewai-tools was installed without its tavily extra and click is not otherwise pulled in.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of crewAIInc/crewAI@754d7323be (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/cee85f4b0ae8e3fc. Report an issue: GitHub.