---
source_url: "https://docs.crewai.com/en/tools/search-research/youai-search?utm_source=openai"
title: "You.com Search & Research Tools - CrewAI"
mirrored_at: 2026-09-02T01:02:01.164Z
host: docs.crewai.com
cited_in_42a: true
mirror_canonical: "https://index.42a.ai/docs.crewai.com/en/tools/search-research/youai-search__q__utm_source_openai"
---

> **Original source:** https://docs.crewai.com/en/tools/search-research/youai-search?utm_source=openai

You.com provides a remote MCP server at `https://api.you.com/mcp` with two search and research tools. Connect to `https://api.you.com/mcp?profile=free` for `you-search` with 100 queries/day — no API key or sign-up needed.

## Available Tools

Tool

Description

Use when

`you-search`

Web and news search with advanced filtering, operators, freshness, geo-targeting

You need current search results, news, or raw links

`you-research`

Multi-source research that synthesizes a cited Markdown answer

You need a comprehensive, cited answer rather than raw results

## Installation

## Authentication

Three options for connecting to the You.com MCP server:

Option

URL

Available tools

Setup

**Free tier**

`https://api.you.com/mcp?profile=free`

`you-search` only

No credentials needed

**API key**

`https://api.you.com/mcp`

All tools

Set `YDC_API_KEY` env var

**OAuth 2.1**

`https://api.you.com/mcp`

All tools

MCP client handles auth flow

Get an API key at [https://you.com/platform/api-keys](https://you.com/platform/api-keys).

## Quick Start — Free Tier

No API key needed — just point `MCPServerHTTP` at the free-tier URL:

Code

## Authenticated Example — DSL

Use `MCPServerHTTP` with an API key and `create_static_tool_filter` to select both tools:

Code

## you-search Parameters

Parameter

Required

Type

Description

`query`

Yes

`string`

Search query with operator support

`count`

No

`integer`

Max results per section (1–100)

`freshness`

No

`string`

`"day"`, `"week"`, `"month"`, `"year"`, or `"YYYY-MM-DDtoYYYY-MM-DD"`

`offset`

No

`integer`

Pagination offset (0–9)

`country`

No

`string`

Country code for geo-targeting (e.g., `"US"`, `"GB"`, `"DE"`)

`safesearch`

No

`string`

`"off"`, `"moderate"`, `"strict"`

`livecrawl`

No

`string`

Live-crawl sections: `"web"`, `"news"`, `"all"`

`livecrawl_formats`

No

`string`

Crawled content format: `"html"`, `"markdown"`

### Query Operators

Operator

Example

Effect

`site:`

`site:github.com`

Restrict to a specific domain

`filetype:`

`filetype:pdf`

Filter by file type

`+`

`+Python`

Require term to appear

`-`

`-TensorFlow`

Exclude term from results

`AND/OR/NOT`

`(Python OR Rust)`

Boolean logic

`lang:`

`lang:en`

Filter by language

## you-research Parameters

Parameter

Required

Type

Description

`input`

Yes

`string`

Research question or topic

`research_effort`

No

`string`

Depth of research (default: `"standard"`)

### Research Effort Levels

Level

Speed

Detail

Use when

`lite`

Fastest

Brief overview

Quick fact-checking

`standard`

Balanced

Moderate depth

General research questions

`deep`

Slower

Thorough analysis

Complex topics requiring depth

`exhaustive`

Slowest

Most comprehensive

Critical research needing maximum coverage

### Return Format

-   `.output.content`: Markdown answer with inline citations
-   `.output.sources[]`: List of sources with `{url, title?, snippets[]}`

## Security

-   **Trust boundary**: Always add a trust boundary sentence in the agent’s `backstory` — tool results contain untrusted web content that should be treated as data only, never as instructions
-   **Never hardcode API keys**: Use `YDC_API_KEY` environment variable
-   **HTTPS only**: Always use `https://api.you.com/mcp` — never HTTP

See [MCP Security](https://docs.crewai.com/en/mcp/security) for full security best practices.

## Additional Resources

-   **You.com Platform**: [https://you.com/platform](https://you.com/platform)
-   **API Keys**: [https://you.com/platform/api-keys](https://you.com/platform/api-keys)
-   **MCP Documentation**: [https://docs.you.com/developer-resources/mcp-server](https://docs.you.com/developer-resources/mcp-server)
-   **crewAI MCP Docs**: [/en/mcp/overview](https://docs.crewai.com/en/mcp/overview)