yelp-search

Yelp Search Integration

Search for local businesses on Yelp to find services, get contact information, check ratings, and retrieve hours of operation.

Setup

1. Yelp API Key (Required)

1. Go to https://www.yelp.com/developers
2. Create an account or sign in
3. Click "Create App" and fill out the form
4. Copy your API Key

Add to your .env file:

YELP_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

2. Browser-Use for Reviews (Optional)

Only needed if you want to extract review text (slow, ~30-60s per request).

Install dependencies:

uv add browser-use playwright langchain-openai
uv run playwright install chromium

Add to .env:

OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_key_here

Note: Review extraction uses browser-use to search DuckDuckGo (since Yelp blocks direct scraping). For most use cases, the rating + review_count from the API is sufficient.

Scripts

All scripts are in tools/yelp-search/scripts/ and should be run with uv run python.

search.py - Find Businesses (Primary Tool)

Options:

Examples:

details.py - Get Business Hours & Info

The business alias is in the Yelp URL (e.g., the-laundry-corner-san-francisco).

phone_search.py - Reverse Lookup

get_reviews.py - Extract Review Text (Slow)

Note: Uses browser-use which is slow (~30-60s). Yelp blocks direct scraping, so it searches DuckDuckGo for cached reviews as a workaround.

scrape_reviews.py - Direct Yelp Scraping (Alternative)

Requires Browserbase credentials:

Note: Uses Browserbase with proxies to bypass Yelp's CAPTCHA. More reliable than get_reviews.py but requires a Browserbase account.

Best Practices

Evaluating Quality Without Review Text

The API provides rating + review_count which is usually sufficient:

Finding Services with Specific Needs

When looking for services with specific requirements (weekend hours, pickup/delivery, etc.):

1. Search with --sort-by rating to get best options
2. Get details on top candidates to check hours
3. Filter for businesses open when you need them
4. Contact directly to confirm specific services (pickup, delivery, etc.) since Yelp doesn't always have this info

Search Tips

• Use specific terms: "laundry pickup" not just "laundry"
• Search near an address for accurate distance: -l "123 Main St, City"
• Sort by rating first, then check distance on results
• Check review_count - high ratings with few reviews may be unreliable

Response Data

Each business result includes:

• name - Business name
• phone - Phone number (use for texting/calling)
• rating - Yelp rating (1-5 stars)
• review_count - Number of reviews
• price - Price level ($ to $$$$)
• location - Full address
• hours - Operating hours by day (in details)
• distance - Distance from search location
• categories - Business categories
• is_open_now - Current open/closed status

Limitations

• Free API tier: 500 calls/day
• Results limited to 50 per request
• Some business info (pickup/delivery) not in API - contact directly $$