crewAIInc/crewAI · error · ImportError

The 'tavily-python' package is required to use the TavilyRes

Error message

The 'tavily-python' package is required to use the TavilyResearchTool. Please install it with: uv add tavily-python

What it means

TavilyResearchTool raises this ImportError in the branch where the user declines the interactive install prompt. No install is attempted; the tool simply refuses to be usable without tavily-python and points to `uv add tavily-python`.

Source

Thrown at lib/crewai-tools/src/crewai_tools/tools/tavily_research_tool/tavily_research_tool.py:127

                ) 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:
                    raise ImportError(
                        f"Attempted to install 'tavily-python' but failed: {e}. "
                        "Please install it manually to use the TavilyResearchTool."
                    ) from e
            else:
                raise ImportError(
                    "The 'tavily-python' package is required to use the "
                    "TavilyResearchTool. Please install it with: uv add tavily-python"
                )

    @staticmethod
    def _stringify_response(response: Any) -> str:
        if isinstance(response, str):
            return response
        return json.dumps(response, indent=2)

    def _run(
        self,
        input: str,
        model: Literal["mini", "pro", "auto"] | None = None,
        output_schema: dict[str, Any] | None = None,
        stream: bool | None = None,
        citation_format: Literal["numbered", "mla", "apa", "chicago"] | None = None,
    ) -> str | Generator[bytes, None, None]:

View on GitHub (pinned to 754d7323be)

Solutions

Install tavily-python (uv add tavily-python or pip install tavily-python) and re-construct the tool.
Bake the dependency into your environment/image to avoid prompts entirely.

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

import importlib.util
if importlib.util.find_spec("tavily") is None:
    raise SystemExit("tavily-python required for TavilyResearchTool. Install: uv add tavily-python")

Try / catch

try:
    tool = TavilyResearchTool()
except ImportError as e:
    if "required to use the" in str(e):
        log.warning("Tavily install declined at prompt; tool unavailable")
    raise

Prevention

Pre-install dependencies in build images to eliminate prompts.
Make Tavily deps explicit in requirements so no interactive step exists.
Automate stdin handling (or lack thereof) deliberately in scripts.

When it happens

Trigger: TavilyResearchTool.__init__ with tavily-python missing and click.confirm answered 'n' (or declined implicitly in non-TTY contexts).

Common situations: Interactive terminals where the developer opts out; scripts whose stdin is not a TTY.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of crewAIInc/crewAI@754d7323be (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/d51369187626c1fa. Report an issue: GitHub.