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Tavily Search API

Returns ranked web search results for a query, and optionally a written answer put together from the top sources.

GET /v1/tavily/search

Last updated November 2026Maintained by the SocialCrawl team

When to use the Tavily Search API

Use it when you want search results you can narrow by domain, date, or topic, with a short written answer alongside them if you ask for one.

From the API reference

Runs a web search via Tavily and returns ranked results plus an optional LLM-generated answer synthesised from the top sources. Set include_answer=true to enable answer synthesis. Use search_depth=advanced for higher-relevance results (also unlocks chunks_per_source). Filter results to specific domains via include_domains (comma-separated), or exclude via exclude_domains. Time-bounded queries via time_range (d / w / m / y) or explicit start_date / end_date (YYYY-MM-DD). When Tavily cannot answer, a second web index serves the call in the same shape at the same price: its results carry score: null, and it does not serve include_answer, include_raw_content, include_images or topic=finance.

Searching 69 platforms in parallel

·TikTok logoTikTok·Instagram logoInstagram·YouTube logoYouTube·Facebook logoFacebook·X logoX·LinkedIn logoLinkedIn·Reddit logoReddit·Threads logoThreads·Pinterest logoPinterest·Twitch logoTwitch·Truth Social logoTruth Social·Snapchat logoSnapchat·Kick logoKick·Bluesky logoBluesky·Kwai logoKwai·Rumble logoRumble·Spotify logoSpotify·Apple Music logoApple Music·TikTok Shop logoTikTok Shop·Amazon Shop logoAmazon Shop·Google Shopping logoGoogle Shopping·Trustpilot logoTrustpilot·TripAdvisor logoTripAdvisor·Yelp logoYelp·Linktree logoLinktree·Komi logoKomi·Pillar logoPillar·lnk.bio logolnk.bio·Facebook Ads logoFacebook Ads·Google Ads logoGoogle Ads·LinkedIn Ads logoLinkedIn Ads·Google Search logoGoogle Search·Google News logoGoogle News·Finance logoFinance·Polymarket logoPolymarket·Tavily logoTavily·Hacker News logoHacker News·GitHub logoGitHub·Perplexity logoPerplexity·Naver logoNaver·Utility logoUtility·Universal Search logoUniversal Search
·TikTok logoTikTok·Instagram logoInstagram·YouTube logoYouTube·Facebook logoFacebook·X logoX·LinkedIn logoLinkedIn·Reddit logoReddit·Threads logoThreads·Pinterest logoPinterest·Twitch logoTwitch·Truth Social logoTruth Social·Snapchat logoSnapchat·Kick logoKick·Bluesky logoBluesky·Kwai logoKwai·Rumble logoRumble·Spotify logoSpotify·Apple Music logoApple Music·TikTok Shop logoTikTok Shop·Amazon Shop logoAmazon Shop·Google Shopping logoGoogle Shopping·Trustpilot logoTrustpilot·TripAdvisor logoTripAdvisor·Yelp logoYelp·Linktree logoLinktree·Komi logoKomi·Pillar logoPillar·lnk.bio logolnk.bio·Facebook Ads logoFacebook Ads·Google Ads logoGoogle Ads·LinkedIn Ads logoLinkedIn Ads·Google Search logoGoogle Search·Google News logoGoogle News·Finance logoFinance·Polymarket logoPolymarket·Tavily logoTavily·Hacker News logoHacker News·GitHub logoGitHub·Perplexity logoPerplexity·Naver logoNaver·Utility logoUtility·Universal Search logoUniversal Search
·TikTok logoTikTok·Instagram logoInstagram·YouTube logoYouTube·Facebook logoFacebook·X logoX·LinkedIn logoLinkedIn·Reddit logoReddit·Threads logoThreads·Pinterest logoPinterest·Twitch logoTwitch·Truth Social logoTruth Social·Snapchat logoSnapchat·Kick logoKick·Bluesky logoBluesky·Kwai logoKwai·Rumble logoRumble·Spotify logoSpotify·Apple Music logoApple Music·TikTok Shop logoTikTok Shop·Amazon Shop logoAmazon Shop·Google Shopping logoGoogle Shopping·Trustpilot logoTrustpilot·TripAdvisor logoTripAdvisor·Yelp logoYelp·Linktree logoLinktree·Komi logoKomi·Pillar logoPillar·lnk.bio logolnk.bio·Facebook Ads logoFacebook Ads·Google Ads logoGoogle Ads·LinkedIn Ads logoLinkedIn Ads·Google Search logoGoogle Search·Google News logoGoogle News·Finance logoFinance·Polymarket logoPolymarket·Tavily logoTavily·Hacker News logoHacker News·GitHub logoGitHub·Perplexity logoPerplexity·Naver logoNaver·Utility logoUtility·Universal Search logoUniversal Search
·TikTok logoTikTok·Instagram logoInstagram·YouTube logoYouTube·Facebook logoFacebook·X logoX·LinkedIn logoLinkedIn·Reddit logoReddit·Threads logoThreads·Pinterest logoPinterest·Twitch logoTwitch·Truth Social logoTruth Social·Snapchat logoSnapchat·Kick logoKick·Bluesky logoBluesky·Kwai logoKwai·Rumble logoRumble·Spotify logoSpotify·Apple Music logoApple Music·TikTok Shop logoTikTok Shop·Amazon Shop logoAmazon Shop·Google Shopping logoGoogle Shopping·Trustpilot logoTrustpilot·TripAdvisor logoTripAdvisor·Yelp logoYelp·Linktree logoLinktree·Komi logoKomi·Pillar logoPillar·lnk.bio logolnk.bio·Facebook Ads logoFacebook Ads·Google Ads logoGoogle Ads·LinkedIn Ads logoLinkedIn Ads·Google Search logoGoogle Search·Google News logoGoogle News·Finance logoFinance·Polymarket logoPolymarket·Tavily logoTavily·Hacker News logoHacker News·GitHub logoGitHub·Perplexity logoPerplexity·Naver logoNaver·Utility logoUtility·Universal Search logoUniversal Search
Tavily API

What can you do with the Search API?

The Search endpoint gives you structured Tavily data with computed fields in a single request. No scraping infrastructure to build or maintain.

Example Request

# GET /v1/tavily/search: 1 credit per call. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
# Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
# --max-time 10: this endpoint's measured p99 latency x 1.5.
# --retry 3: retries timeouts, 429 and 5xx, honoring Retry-After.
# -o response.json keeps only the final attempt's body.
# One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
IDEMPOTENCY_KEY=$(od -An -N16 -tx1 /dev/urandom | tr -d ' \n')
curl -sS --max-time 10 --retry 3 -o response.json \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $IDEMPOTENCY_KEY" \
  "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/tavily/search?query=claude+opus+4.7+release+notes" && cat response.json
# GET /v1/tavily/search: 1 credit per call. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
# Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
import os
import random
import time
import uuid

import requests

API_KEY = os.environ.get("SOCIALCRAWL_API_KEY", "YOUR_API_KEY")
TIMEOUT_S = 10  # this endpoint's measured p99 latency x 1.5.
MAX_RETRIES = 3
URL = "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/tavily/search"


def backoff(attempt):
    # Exponential backoff with jitter: about 1 s, 2 s, then 4 s.
    return 2 ** attempt * (0.5 + random.random() / 2)


def socialcrawl(params):
    # One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
    idempotency_key = str(uuid.uuid4())
    for attempt in range(MAX_RETRIES + 1):
        try:
            res = requests.get(
                URL,
                params=params,
                headers={"x-api-key": API_KEY, "Idempotency-Key": idempotency_key},
                timeout=TIMEOUT_S,
            )
            body = res.json()
        except (requests.RequestException, ValueError):
            # A timeout, a dropped connection or a non-JSON gateway page: retry with the same key.
            if attempt == MAX_RETRIES:
                raise
            time.sleep(backoff(attempt))
            continue
        if body["success"]:
            return body
        error = body["error"]
        # Branch on error["type"], never on the message text.
        if error["type"] == "RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND":
            return None  # refunded: nothing to read
        retry_after = res.headers.get("Retry-After")
        # SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE without Retry-After is a withdrawn endpoint: permanent.
        permanent = error["type"] == "SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE" and retry_after is None
        if not error.get("retryable") or permanent or attempt == MAX_RETRIES:
            raise RuntimeError(f"{error['type']}: {error['message']} (request_id {body['request_id']})")
        # Retry-After (seconds) wins; otherwise back off.
        time.sleep(float(retry_after) if retry_after else backoff(attempt))


params = {
    "query": "claude opus 4.7 release notes",
}
body = socialcrawl(params)
if body is not None:
    print(body["data"])
// GET /v1/tavily/search: 1 credit per call. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
// Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
const API_KEY = process.env.SOCIALCRAWL_API_KEY ?? "YOUR_API_KEY";
const TIMEOUT_MS = 10_000; // this endpoint's measured p99 latency x 1.5.
const MAX_RETRIES = 3;

type Page = { next_cursor: string | null; has_more: boolean };
type SocialCrawlResponse =
  | { success: true; data: any; pagination?: Page; credits_used: number; request_id: string }
  | { success: false; error: { type: string; message: string; retryable: boolean }; request_id: string };

const sleep = (ms: number) => new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
// Exponential backoff with jitter: about 1 s, 2 s, then 4 s.
const backoffMs = (attempt: number) => 2 ** attempt * 1000 * (0.5 + Math.random() / 2);

async function socialcrawl(url: URL) {
  // One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
  const idempotencyKey = crypto.randomUUID();
  for (let attempt = 0; ; attempt++) {
    let res: Response;
    let body: SocialCrawlResponse;
    try {
      res = await fetch(url, {
        headers: {
          "x-api-key": API_KEY,
          "Idempotency-Key": idempotencyKey,
        },
        signal: AbortSignal.timeout(TIMEOUT_MS),
      });
      body = (await res.json()) as SocialCrawlResponse;
    } catch (error) {
      // A timeout, a dropped connection or a non-JSON gateway page: retry with the same key.
      if (attempt >= MAX_RETRIES) throw error;
      await sleep(backoffMs(attempt));
      continue;
    }
    if (body.success) return body;
    // Branch on error.type, never on the message text.
    if (body.error.type === "RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND") return null; // refunded: nothing to read
    const retryAfter = res.headers.get("Retry-After");
    // SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE without Retry-After is a withdrawn endpoint: permanent.
    const permanent = body.error.type === "SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE" && retryAfter === null;
    if (!body.error.retryable || permanent || attempt >= MAX_RETRIES) {
      throw new Error(`${body.error.type}: ${body.error.message} (request_id ${body.request_id})`);
    }
    // Retry-After (seconds) wins; otherwise back off.
    await sleep(retryAfter ? Number(retryAfter) * 1000 : backoffMs(attempt));
  }
}

const url = new URL("https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/tavily/search");
url.searchParams.set("query", "claude opus 4.7 release notes");

const body = await socialcrawl(url);
if (body) console.log(body.data);

Parameters

ParameterRequiredDescription
queryYesThe search query: natural-language free text.
search_depthNoLatency-vs-relevance tradeoff. `basic` is the default; `advanced` unlocks `chunks_per_source` and higher-relevance ranking. (basic | advanced | fast | ultra-fast)
topicNoSearch category. Defaults to `general`. Use `news` for time-sensitive queries and `finance` for market data. (general | news | finance)
time_rangeNoTime window relative to now. Accepts `day` / `week` / `month` / `year` (or shorthand `d` / `w` / `m` / `y`). (day | week | month | year | d | w | m | y)
max_resultsNoNumber of results to return (1-20). Defaults to 5.
chunks_per_sourceNoMax relevant chunks returned per source (1-5). Only honoured when `search_depth=advanced`. Defaults to 3.
include_imagesNoInclude images alongside the result content.
include_image_descriptionsNoInclude AI-generated descriptions for the returned images.
include_answerNoInclude an LLM-generated answer string synthesised from the top sources.
include_raw_contentNoInclude the raw HTML/text alongside the cleaned content.
include_domainsNoComma-separated list of domains to restrict results to (e.g. `nytimes.com,reuters.com`).
exclude_domainsNoComma-separated list of domains to exclude from results.
countryNoISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code to bias results toward.
start_dateNoInclusive lower bound on result publish date (YYYY-MM-DD).
end_dateNoInclusive upper bound on result publish date (YYYY-MM-DD).
Example Response

What does the Tavily Search API return?

Every response follows one unified schema. Here is a real, unmodified response body, so you can see the exact fields you get back before spending a credit.

Example response
{
  "success": true,
  "platform": "instagram",
  "endpoint": "/v1/instagram/engagement",
  "data": {
    "engagement_rate_percentages": 38.33,
    "recent_posts": 12,
    "followers": 87608035,
    "comments": 528912,
    "likes": 33049046,
    "recent_posts_explanation": "Statistics based on the last 12 posts",
    "id_user": "2278169415",
    "username": "mrbeast",
    "is_private": false,
    "posts_details": [
      {
        "likes": 5636982,
        "comments": 69484,
        "taken_at": 1781457954,
        "datetime": "2026-06-14 20:25:54",
        "hours_since_post": 461,
        "time_ago": "19 days ago",
        "likes_per_hour": 12228,
        "comments_per_hour": 151
      },
      {
        "likes": 20000768,
        "comments": 223510,
        "taken_at": 1732824650,
        "datetime": "2024-11-28 23:10:50",
        "hours_since_post": 13971,
        "time_ago": "2 years ago",
        "likes_per_hour": 1432,
        "comments_per_hour": 16
      },
      {
        "likes": 929226,
        "comments": 30633,
        "taken_at": 1782232475,
        "datetime": "2026-06-23 19:34:35",
        "hours_since_post": 246,
        "time_ago": "10 days ago",
        "likes_per_hour": 3777,
        "comments_per_hour": 125
      },
      {
        "likes": 487761,
        "comments": 22482,
        "taken_at": 1781799425,
        "datetime": "2026-06-18 19:17:05",
        "hours_since_post": 366,
        "time_ago": "15 days ago",
        "likes_per_hour": 1333,
        "comments_per_hour": 61
      },
      {
        "likes": 712265,
        "comments": 15716,
        "taken_at": 1781366405,
        "datetime": "2026-06-13 19:00:05",
        "hours_since_post": 487,
        "time_ago": "20 days ago",
        "likes_per_hour": 1463,
        "comments_per_hour": 32
      },
      {
        "likes": 1475116,
        "comments": 35386,
        "taken_at": 1781277094,
        "datetime": "2026-06-12 18:11:34",
        "hours_since_post": 512,
        "time_ago": "21 days ago",
        "likes_per_hour": 2881,
        "comments_per_hour": 69
      },
      {
        "likes": 1108220,
        "comments": 26632,
        "taken_at": 1780160249,
        "datetime": "2026-05-30 19:57:29",
        "hours_since_post": 822,
        "time_ago": "1 months ago",
        "likes_per_hour": 1348,
        "comments_per_hour": 32
      },
      {
        "likes": 542948,
        "comments": 28476,
        "taken_at": 1779375582,
        "datetime": "2026-05-21 17:59:42",
        "hours_since_post": 1040,
        "time_ago": "1 months ago",
        "likes_per_hour": 522,
        "comments_per_hour": 27
      },
      {
        "likes": 698514,
        "comments": 24401,
        "taken_at": 1779120014,
        "datetime": "2026-05-18 19:00:14",
        "hours_since_post": 1111,
        "time_ago": "2 months ago",
        "likes_per_hour": 629,
        "comments_per_hour": 22
      },
      {
        "likes": 468000,
        "comments": 13548,
        "taken_at": 1778947209,
        "datetime": "2026-05-16 19:00:09",
        "hours_since_post": 1159,
        "time_ago": "2 months ago",
        "likes_per_hour": 404,
        "comments_per_hour": 12
      },
      {
        "likes": 526594,
        "comments": 24411,
        "taken_at": 1777737719,
        "datetime": "2026-05-02 19:01:59",
        "hours_since_post": 1495,
        "time_ago": "2 months ago",
        "likes_per_hour": 352,
        "comments_per_hour": 16
      },
      {
        "likes": 462652,
        "comments": 14233,
        "taken_at": 1777580305,
        "datetime": "2026-04-30 23:18:25",
        "hours_since_post": 1538,
        "time_ago": "2 months ago",
        "likes_per_hour": 301,
        "comments_per_hour": 9
      }
    ]
  },
  "credits_used": 5,
  "credits_remaining": 9999,
  "request_id": "req-8Kq2ZmR4vT9xLb3P",
  "cached": false,
  "redacted": true
}

Example captured from the Instagram API. Every SocialCrawl endpoint returns this same unified schema, so your Tavily Search response has the same fields.

API Details

How does the Tavily Search API work?

Send a GET request with your API key and get back clean, structured JSON in our unified schema. Supported computed fields are populated when the source provides the required inputs.

Method

GET

Response

JSON

Why SocialCrawl

Why use SocialCrawl for Tavily Search data?

We handle the complexity of Tavily data extraction so you can focus on building. Unified schema, AI enrichment, and zero platform logic in your code.

Developer First

How do you scrape social media data in seconds?

The fastest social media scraping API for developers. Scrape profiles, posts, comments, and analytics from 69 platforms covering 10B+ monthly active users.

One schema, every platform

Query 69 platforms with identical response structures. Write your integration once.

Computed fields, not just scraped

When an endpoint supports these metrics and the source provides the required inputs, the normalized record includes engagement_rate, estimated_reach, content_category, and language. Ready to use.

See your data before you code

Visual Data Explorer. Paste any URL, get rich result cards, sortable tables, CSV export.

import requests

response = requests.get(
    'https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/tiktok/profile',
    params={'handle': 'charlidamelio'},
    headers={'x-api-key': 'sc_YOUR_API_KEY'}
)
data = response.json()
[ .JSON ]
{
  "success": true,
  "platform": "tiktok",
  "data": {
    "author": {
      "username": "charlidamelio",
      "followers": 152400000
    },
    "engagement": {
      "likes": 12400000000,
      "engagement_rate": 0.087
    },
    "metadata": {
      "language": "en",
      "content_category": "lifestyle"
    }
  }
}
+ 69 platforms
FAQ

Have a question? We got answers

Find answers to frequently asked questions about SocialCrawl's API, pricing, and capabilities.

Contact us
How do I run a Tavily web search with an API?
Send a GET request to /v1/tavily/search with your text in the query parameter and your SocialCrawl x-api-key. You get back ranked web results with title, URL, content snippet, and score, no separate Tavily key needed.
Can Tavily search return an LLM-generated answer?
Yes. Set include_answer to get a short LLM-written answer summarising the top results alongside the raw result list. This is the pattern most teams use for RAG and agent grounding. One call gives you both the sources and a draft answer.
What filters does the Tavily search endpoint support?
search_depth (basic or advanced), topic (general or news), time_range to bound recency, include_domains and exclude_domains to scope sources, max_results to cap the list, and include_images to return image URLs with the results.
Is this a Tavily alternative or the real Tavily?
It is the real Tavily. SocialCrawl proxies api.tavily.com so you call genuine Tavily search through your one SocialCrawl key. If you want a different backend, the same key also reaches Perplexity Sonar and SocialCrawl's AI social search.
How much does the Tavily Search API cost?
Each search costs 1 credit on the standard tier, regardless of how many results return. New accounts get 100 free credits with no credit card required, enough to test depth, topic, and domain filters many times before you pay.

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