crewAIInc/crewAI · error · ImportError

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

Error message

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

What it means

TavilyExtractorTool raises this ImportError when the interactive click.confirm prompt asks to install tavily-python and the user declines (answers 'n'). It is the explicit 'user refused the fix' branch; the tool refuses to construct without its required client library.

Source

Thrown at lib/crewai-tools/src/crewai_tools/tools/tavily_extractor_tool/tavily_extractor_tool.py:121

                    "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., 'uv add tavily-python') and ensure 'click' and 'subprocess' are available."
                ) from None

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

    def _run(
        self,
        urls: list[str] | str,
    ) -> str:
        """Synchronously extracts content from the given URL(s).

        Args:
            urls: The URL(s) to extract data from.

        Returns:
            A JSON string containing the extracted data.
        """
        if not self.client:
            raise ValueError(

View on GitHub (pinned to 754d7323be)

Solutions

Install the package and retry: uv add tavily-python (or pip install tavily-python).
If running non-interactively, pre-install tavily-python so the prompt never appears.
Set TAVILY_API_KEY and add tavily-python to your project dependencies to make first-run deterministic.

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

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

Try / catch

try:
    tool = TavilyExtractorTool()
except ImportError as e:
    if "required to use the TavilyExtractorTool" in str(e):
        log.error("User declined tavily install; provisioning dependency automatically")
        raise
    raise

Prevention

Pre-install dependencies in Docker/CI images so prompts cannot be declined.
Run tools with stdin available or pre-installed deps when non-interactive.
Document tavily-python as a hard requirement for Tavily tools.

When it happens

Trigger: TavilyExtractorTool.__init__ with tavily-python missing and the operator answering 'no' to the confirmation prompt (or a non-TTY/automated harness whose stdin yields a falsy answer).

Common situations: Interactive sessions where the user is unsure about adding dependencies; scripts run with stdin closed so click.confirm defaults to aborting/declining.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of crewAIInc/crewAI@754d7323be (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/cd9ef44c20a74c67. Report an issue: GitHub.