What is Valyu TypeScript SDK (valyu-js)?
valyu-js is the official TypeScript and JavaScript client for Valyu, a search API built for AI agents. One `Valyu` object covers search across the web and proprietary sources (PubMed, arXiv, SEC filings, patents and others), content extraction from URLs, grounded answers, and DeepResearch, an asynchronous research agent that returns cited reports with optional PDF, CSV and other files.
Install with `npm install valyu-js` and pass a `VALYU_API_KEY`. The current release is 2.11.5, published on npm on 31 October 2026. The SDK is MIT; every call it makes is billed in Valyu credits.
Is Valyu TypeScript SDK (valyu-js) worth it?
valyu-js is a well-kept wrapper whose value rises or falls with the Valyu API behind it. The SDK itself is free under MIT; it does nothing without a key, and every search, extraction and research task is billed in credits. The question to answer before adopting it is whether Valyu's data beats Exa, Tavily or a self-hosted crawler for your queries, not whether the client is any good.
The client is good. In our reading of the changelog it shipped 2.11.0 to 2.11.5 in quick succession, adding an `instant` research mode, automatic retries on 429 responses (default 2, honouring Retry-After up to 60 seconds), a 120-second timeout on DeepResearch requests, ETag-based polling, and per-page cache controls on `contents()`. Several fixes were for options the SDK had silently dropped, such as `countryCode` sent in the wrong case; that is reassuring candour, and a reason to stay on the latest version.
DeepResearch is priced per task by mode: 8 credits for instant, 25 for fast, 100 for standard, 500 for heavy and 2,500 for max, with searches and page reads included. At the pay-as-you-go rate of 1,600 credits per $10, a fast task is about $0.16 and a max task about $15.60. The TypeScript SDK defaults to fast while the API and Python SDK default to standard, so the same call can cost four times as much from a different client. Extra deliverable files are 16 credits each after the first. Search is priced per thousand results by source: about $0.31 for arXiv and PubMed, $0.63 for web, up to $30 for licensed journals.
The catch: adoption evidence is thin and mostly self-referential. The repository has 2 GitHub stars; npm counted 19,281 downloads in the 30 days to 2 November 2026, and the visible open-source users are demo apps from people close to Valyu, including Global Threat Map, Global Hack Map and Polyseer. That is evidence the API works for those apps, not evidence of market share. The key is also a billing credential: the SDK is meant for server code, and a browser bundle that includes `VALYU_API_KEY` hands your credit balance to anyone who opens developer tools.
Our take: treat valyu-js as the cost of trying Valyu, which is low, and judge Valyu itself on a sample of your own queries before writing it into a product.
Where it earns its place
A two-person startup building a biotech literature assistant in Next.js
Search PubMed and clinical trials from server code without maintaining scrapers
Call `valyu.search()` with `searchType: "proprietary"` and `includedSources` limited to PubMed from an API route. Results are billed per thousand returned, about $0.31 for PubMed, so a prototype runs on the $10 signup credit.
An equity research analyst at a small fund
Get a cited first draft on a company each morning
Queue `deepresearch.create()` jobs through `batch` in fast mode at 25 credits each, roughly $0.16 at pay-as-you-go rates, and read the markdown or PDF output. Heavy mode is 500 credits per report, so the mode choice drives the bill.
A platform engineer adding web reading to an internal agent
Turn a list of URLs into clean text or JSON fields
`contents()` takes 1 to 10 URLs synchronously or up to 50 asynchronously, with an optional JSON schema for structured extraction and `maxAge` to force a fresh crawl. Run it server-side only and keep the key in your secret store.
Before you commit
- Setup
- `npm install valyu-js`, set `VALYU_API_KEY` and call `new Valyu(process.env.VALYU_API_KEY)`. A first search takes minutes; signup needs no card.
- Integrations
- A Python SDK covers the same API; the README lists integrations for the Vercel AI SDK (@valyu/ai-sdk), LangChain and MCP. Full TypeScript types are exported for every request and response.
- Data and privacy
- Queries and URLs go to Valyu's hosted API; the SDK has no self-hosted mode. Valyu's retention and training terms are not covered in the SDK docs. DeepResearch download links are signed and expire.
- Cost at scale
- Monthly plans: $29 for 5,000 credits, $99 for 18,000, $499 for 100,000; credits do not roll over. At zero balance new requests return 402 rather than billing overage. DeepResearch concurrency is plan-dependent: 2 tasks at once on pay-as-you-go, 5 on the $29 plan, per the docs.
- Limits
- Search returns at most 20 results per call. DeepResearch hard limits run from 2 minutes (instant) to 90 minutes (max); `wait()` gives up after 2 hours. No numeric request rate limits are published.
What’s good
- Search, contents, answer, DeepResearch, batch and workflows in one typed client
- Safe automatic retries on 429, with the server's Retry-After honoured
- Frequent releases with a detailed, candid changelog
- MIT licence
What’s not
- Useless without a paid, metered Valyu account
- TypeScript default mode (fast) differs from the API default (standard)
- Little independent adoption beyond Valyu-adjacent demo apps
- Several recent fixes were for options previously dropped without error
Best for
TypeScript teams that have already decided Valyu's data sources suit their agent and want the official, maintained client.
Valyu TypeScript SDK (valyu-js) alternatives
Valyu TypeScript SDK (valyu-js): common questions
- Is Valyu TypeScript SDK (valyu-js) worth it?
- A careful, fast-moving client for one paid API; the code is MIT, but the thing you are actually buying is Valyu's credit meter. We rate it 3.8 out of 5.
- How much does Valyu TypeScript SDK (valyu-js) cost?
- SDK free under MIT. The Valyu API is metered in credits: pay-as-you-go 1,600 credits per $10; plans $29, $99 and $499 a month; new accounts get $10 free credits ($20 with a company email).
- What are the downsides of Valyu TypeScript SDK (valyu-js)?
- Useless without a paid, metered Valyu account; typeScript default mode (fast) differs from the API default (standard); little independent adoption beyond Valyu-adjacent demo apps; several recent fixes were for options previously dropped without error.
- Who is Valyu TypeScript SDK (valyu-js) best for?
- TypeScript teams that have already decided Valyu's data sources suit their agent and want the official, maintained client.
- How much does Valyu TypeScript SDK (valyu-js) cost for a team or in production?
- Monthly plans: $29 for 5,000 credits, $99 for 18,000, $499 for 100,000; credits do not roll over. At zero balance new requests return 402 rather than billing overage. DeepResearch concurrency is plan-dependent: 2 tasks at once on pay-as-you-go, 5 on the $29 plan, per the docs.
- Is Valyu TypeScript SDK (valyu-js) safe for company data?
- Queries and URLs go to Valyu's hosted API; the SDK has no self-hosted mode. Valyu's retention and training terms are not covered in the SDK docs. DeepResearch download links are signed and expire.
- What are the best Valyu TypeScript SDK (valyu-js) alternatives?
- The closest alternatives we have reviewed are Firecrawl, Crawl4AI and GPT Researcher.
Answers checked Nov 3, 2026.