diff --git a/praisonai_tools/tools/youdotcom_tool.py b/praisonai_tools/tools/youdotcom_tool.py
index 8c9a76c..22944f1 100644
--- a/praisonai_tools/tools/youdotcom_tool.py
+++ b/praisonai_tools/tools/youdotcom_tool.py
@@ -29,24 +29,6 @@ import os
 from importlib import util
 
 
-def _check_youdotcom_available() -> tuple[bool, Optional[str]]:
-    """Check if You.com SDK is available and API key is set.
-    
-    Returns:
-        Tuple of (is_available, error_message)
-    """
-    # Check if youdotcom package is installed
-    if util.find_spec("youdotcom") is None:
-        return False, "youdotcom package is not installed. Please install it using: pip install youdotcom"
-    
-    # Check if API key is set
-    api_key = os.environ.get("YDC_API_KEY")
-    if not api_key:
-        return False, "YDC_API_KEY environment variable is not set. Please set it to use You.com tools."
-    
-    return True, None
-
-
 class YouTools:
     """Comprehensive tools for web search and content using You.com API.
     
@@ -82,14 +64,13 @@ class YouTools:
     def _get_client(self):
         """Get or create You.com client."""
         if self._client is None:
-            is_available, error = _check_youdotcom_available()
-            if not is_available:
-                return None, error
-            
-            from youdotcom import You
+            if util.find_spec("youdotcom") is None:
+                return None, "youdotcom package is not installed. Please install it using: pip install youdotcom"
             api_key = self._get_api_key()
             if not api_key:
-                return None, "YDC_API_KEY not set"
+                return None, "YDC_API_KEY environment variable is not set. Please set it to use You.com tools."
+            
+            from youdotcom import You
             self._client = You(api_key_auth=api_key)
         return self._client, None
     
@@ -499,3 +480,5 @@ def ydc_images(
 
 # Alias for simple usage
 ydc = ydc_search
+
+__all__ = ["YouTools", "ydc_search", "ydc_contents", "ydc_news", "ydc_images", "ydc"]
diff --git a/tests/unit/tools/test_youdotcom_tool.py b/tests/unit/tools/test_youdotcom_tool.py
index 5791fa2..f47e798 100644
--- a/tests/unit/tools/test_youdotcom_tool.py
+++ b/tests/unit/tools/test_youdotcom_tool.py
@@ -12,16 +12,35 @@ from praisonai_tools.tools.youdotcom_tool import (
 )
 
 
+_FIND_SPEC = "praisonai_tools.tools.youdotcom_tool.util.find_spec"
+
+
 def test_missing_api_key_returns_error(monkeypatch):
     monkeypatch.delenv("YDC_API_KEY", raising=False)
-    for fn, arg in (
-        (ydc_search, "q"),
-        (ydc_contents, "https://example.com"),
-        (ydc_news, "q"),
-        (ydc_images, "q"),
+    with patch(_FIND_SPEC, return_value=object()):
+        for fn, arg in (
+            (ydc_search, "q"),
+            (ydc_contents, "https://example.com"),
+            (ydc_news, "q"),
+            (ydc_images, "q"),
+        ):
+            result = fn(arg)
+            assert result == {
+                "error": "YDC_API_KEY environment variable is not set. Please set it to use You.com tools."
+            }
+
+
+def test_explicit_api_key_used_without_env(monkeypatch):
+    monkeypatch.delenv("YDC_API_KEY", raising=False)
+    fake_module = MagicMock()
+    with patch(_FIND_SPEC, return_value=object()), patch.dict(
+        "sys.modules", {"youdotcom": fake_module}
     ):
-        result = fn(arg)
-        assert "error" in result
+        client, error = YouTools(api_key="k")._get_client()
+
+    assert error is None
+    assert client is fake_module.You.return_value
+    fake_module.You.assert_called_once_with(api_key_auth="k")
 
 
 def test_ydc_alias():
@@ -59,3 +78,4 @@ def test_discovered_via_package():
 
     assert tools_pkg.YouTools is YouTools
     assert tools_pkg.ydc_search is ydc_search
+    assert tools_pkg.ydc is ydc_search