diff --git a/tests/tools/test_web_tools_config.py b/tests/tools/test_web_tools_config.py
index 9e33d74454..e5460ffd67 100644
--- a/tests/tools/test_web_tools_config.py
+++ b/tests/tools/test_web_tools_config.py
@@ -397,6 +397,27 @@ class TestBackendSelection:
              patch.dict(os.environ, {"TAVILY_API_KEY": "tvly-test"}):
             assert _get_backend() == "tavily"
 
+    def test_fallback_brave_only_key(self):
+        """Only BRAVE_API_KEY set → 'brave'."""
+        from tools.web_tools import _get_backend
+        with patch("tools.web_tools._load_web_config", return_value={}), \
+             patch.dict(os.environ, {"BRAVE_API_KEY": "brave-test"}):
+            assert _get_backend() == "brave"
+
+    def test_fallback_exa_takes_priority_over_brave(self):
+        """Exa should win over Brave in the fallback path (Brave is last priority)."""
+        from tools.web_tools import _get_backend
+        with patch("tools.web_tools._load_web_config", return_value={}), \
+             patch.dict(os.environ, {"BRAVE_API_KEY": "brave-test", "EXA_API_KEY": "exa-test"}):
+            assert _get_backend() == "exa"
+
+    def test_fallback_tavily_takes_priority_over_brave(self):
+        """Tavily should win over Brave in the fallback path."""
+        from tools.web_tools import _get_backend
+        with patch("tools.web_tools._load_web_config", return_value={}), \
+             patch.dict(os.environ, {"TAVILY_API_KEY": "tvly-test", "BRAVE_API_KEY": "brave-test"}):
+            assert _get_backend() == "tavily"
+
     def test_fallback_tavily_with_firecrawl_prefers_firecrawl(self):
         """Tavily + Firecrawl keys, no config → 'firecrawl' (backward compat)."""
         from tools.web_tools import _get_backend
@@ -429,7 +450,8 @@ class TestBackendSelection:
     def test_fallback_no_keys_defaults_to_firecrawl(self):
         """No keys, no config → 'firecrawl' (will fail at client init)."""
         from tools.web_tools import _get_backend
-        with patch("tools.web_tools._load_web_config", return_value={}):
+        with patch("tools.web_tools._load_web_config", return_value={}), \
+             patch.dict(os.environ, {"BRAVE_API_KEY": ""}, clear=False):
             assert _get_backend() == "firecrawl"
 
     def test_invalid_config_falls_through_to_fallback(self):
diff --git a/tools/web_tools.py b/tools/web_tools.py
index 9f42db68f7..815d1c8bac 100644
--- a/tools/web_tools.py
+++ b/tools/web_tools.py
@@ -87,6 +87,11 @@ def _get_backend() -> str:
     Reads ``web.backend`` from config.yaml (set by ``hermes tools``).
     Falls back to whichever API key is present for users who configured
     keys manually without running setup.
+
+    Fallback priority (highest to lowest):
+    firecrawl > parallel > tavily > exa > brave
+
+    Note: Brave is search-only and falls back to Firecrawl for extraction.
     """
     configured = (_load_web_config().get("backend") or "").lower().strip()
     if configured in ("parallel", "firecrawl", "tavily", "exa", "brave"):
@@ -95,12 +100,13 @@ def _get_backend() -> str:
     # Fallback for manual / legacy config — pick the highest-priority
     # available backend. Firecrawl also counts as available when the managed
     # tool gateway is configured for Nous subscribers.
+    # Brave is last because it's search-only (falls back to Firecrawl for extraction).
     backend_candidates = (
         ("firecrawl", _has_env("FIRECRAWL_API_KEY") or _has_env("FIRECRAWL_API_URL") or _is_tool_gateway_ready()),
         ("parallel", _has_env("PARALLEL_API_KEY")),
         ("tavily", _has_env("TAVILY_API_KEY")),
-        ("brave", _has_env("BRAVE_API_KEY")),
         ("exa", _has_env("EXA_API_KEY")),
+        ("brave", _has_env("BRAVE_API_KEY")),
     )
     for backend, available in backend_candidates:
         if available:
@@ -343,7 +349,7 @@ def _normalize_brave_search_results(response: dict) -> dict:
 
 # ─── Tavily Client ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
-_TAVILY_BASE_URL = os.getenv("TAVILY_API_URL") or "https://api.tavily.com"
+_TAVILY_BASE_URL = "https://api.tavily.com"
 
 
 def _tavily_request(endpoint: str, payload: dict) -> dict:
@@ -1181,7 +1187,7 @@ def web_search_tool(query: str, limit: int = 5) -> str:
 
         if backend == "brave":
             logger.info("Brave Search: '%s' (limit: %d)", query, limit)
-            raw = _brave_request("/web/search", {
+            raw = _brave_request("web/search", {
                 "q": query,
                 "count": min(limit, 20),
                 "search_lang": "en",
@@ -1334,11 +1340,10 @@ async def web_extract_tool(
                 # Set backend to firecrawl so the extraction code below runs
                 backend = "firecrawl"
 
-            # Initialize results list before processing
-            results: List[Dict[str, Any]] = []
-
             # Firecrawl extraction for brave (fallback), firecrawl, or unrecognized backends
             if backend not in ("parallel", "exa", "tavily"):
+                # Initialize results list before processing
+                results: List[Dict[str, Any]] = []
                 # Determine requested formats for Firecrawl v2
                 formats: List[str] = []
                 if format == "markdown":