---
title: Arxiv Paper Tool
description: The `ArxivPaperTool` searches arXiv for papers matching a query and optionally downloads PDFs.
icon: box-archive
---

# `ArxivPaperTool`

## Description

The `ArxivPaperTool` queries the arXiv API for academic papers and returns compact, readable results. It can also optionally download PDFs to disk.

## Installation

This tool has no special installation beyond `crewai-tools`.

```shell
uv add crewai-tools
```

No API key is required. This tool uses the public arXiv Atom API.

## Steps to Get Started

1. Initialize the tool.
2. Provide a `search_query` (e.g., "transformer neural network").
3. Optionally set `max_results` (1–100) and enable PDF downloads in the constructor.

## Example

```python Code
from crewai import Agent, Task, Crew
from crewai_tools import ArxivPaperTool

tool = ArxivPaperTool(
    download_pdfs=False,
    save_dir="./arxiv_pdfs",
    use_title_as_filename=True,
)

agent = Agent(
    role="Researcher",
    goal="Find relevant arXiv papers",
    backstory="Expert at literature discovery",
    tools=[tool],
    verbose=True,
)

task = Task(
    description="Search arXiv for 'transformer neural network' and list top 5 results.",
    expected_output="A concise list of 5 relevant papers with titles, links, and summaries.",
    agent=agent,
)

crew = Crew(agents=[agent], tasks=[task])
result = crew.kickoff()
```

### Direct usage (without Agent)

```python Code
from crewai_tools import ArxivPaperTool

tool = ArxivPaperTool(
    download_pdfs=True, 
    save_dir="./arxiv_pdfs",
)
print(tool.run(search_query="mixture of experts", max_results=3))
```

## Parameters

### Initialization Parameters

- `download_pdfs` (bool, default `False`): Whether to download PDFs.
- `save_dir` (str, default `./arxiv_pdfs`): Directory to save PDFs.
- `use_title_as_filename` (bool, default `False`): Use paper titles for filenames.

### Run Parameters

- `search_query` (str, required): The arXiv search query.
- `max_results` (int, default `5`, range 1–100): Number of results.

## Output format

The tool returns a human‑readable list of papers with:
- Title
- Link (abs page)
- Snippet/summary (truncated)

When `download_pdfs=True`, PDFs are saved to disk and the summary mentions saved files.

## Usage Notes

- The tool returns formatted text with key metadata and links.
- When `download_pdfs=True`, PDFs will be stored in `save_dir`.

## Troubleshooting

- If you receive a network timeout, re‑try or reduce `max_results`.
- Invalid XML errors indicate an arXiv response parse issue; try a simpler query.
- File system errors (e.g., permission denied) may occur when saving PDFs; ensure `save_dir` is writable.

## Related links

- arXiv API docs: https://info.arxiv.org/help/api/index.html

## Error Handling

- Network issues, invalid XML, and OS errors are handled with informative messages.


