web_searchLABSCO SUMMARY
Search with domain filters and the answer attached.
Beyond searching, a query here can be pinned to the domains you trust or kept away from ones you do not — the difference between an answer you can cite and one you have to go and check. The same call carries a depth switch, so a fast lookup and a careful one need only the one tool.
What it is
A single-tool server that puts Tavily's search API in front of an assistant. One call takes a query and returns ranked pages, a short direct answer where Tavily has one, and suggested follow-up questions. It is a TypeScript project you build and run from the repository against your own Tavily key, not something you pull from a package registry.
What you get
- One search call returning ranked pages with title, URL, a content snippet, a relevance score, and a publication date where one exists
- A direct answer to the query when Tavily has one — alongside the sources, not instead of them
- Suggested follow-up questions with every response
- A depth switch, so a quick lookup and a thorough sweep go through the same tool
- Control over how many results come back
- Domain include and exclude lists, so a query can be pinned to one documentation site or kept away from a source you distrust
Requirements
A Tavily API key of your own, supplied to the process as an environment variable. Node and npm: you clone the repository, install, build, and point your client at the built entry point — there is no package to install by name. A process manager and an optional reverse proxy are documented for leaving it running on a server.
Setup effort
Build from source — git clone https://github.com/altinakseven/tavily-mcp-server
USE CASES
01
Answering a question that needs current sources
Ask once and get ranked pages, their snippets and a direct answer together, so the citation arrives in the same response as the claim.
02
Keeping a search inside one documentation site
Restrict the query to the domains you trust, so nothing outside them can end up in the answer.
03
Keeping a known-bad source out of the results
Name the domains to exclude and run the query normally — the filtering happens before you read anything.
04
Going deeper when a quick lookup did not settle it
Raise the search depth on the same call and ask for more results rather than reaching for a second tool.
1 tool
Listed in project docs. Your client may show a different list.
BEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
1 tool named in the project's documentation.
Requires
- node on PATH
- Node.js 18+
- TAVILY_API_KEY in your environment
Where it runs
The documented client runs the server on your machine.
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
This one is built from source rather than installed with a single command.
Server setup
TERMINAL
git clone https://github.com/altinakseven/tavily-mcp-server
cd tavily-mcp-server
npm install
npm run buildMCP Clients
Roo
ROO · JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"tavily-search": {
"command": "node",
"args": [
"./tavily-mcp-server/dist/index.js"
],
"env": {
"TAVILY_API_KEY": "<YOUR_TAVILY_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}./tavily-mcp-server/dist/index.js has to be the absolute path to dist/index.js in your clone, as in the README's global Roo example, which uses its own full path.
