Screaming Frog SEO Spider MCP Server

Crawl websites, export SEO data, and manage crawls via Screaming Frog SEO Spider.

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What is the Screaming Frog SEO Spider MCP server?

Most search and retrieval work still happens through a UI a human drives. Screaming Frog SEO Spider MCP server moves it into the conversation instead. Crawl websites, export SEO data, and manage crawls via Screaming Frog SEO Spider.

The short version

A headless MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for Screaming Frog SEO Spider. It drives the SF command line and saved crawl database directly, so Claude (or any MCP-compatible client) can run crawls, export crawl data, and analyze the results with the Screaming Frog GUI closed: on your laptop, on a server, or inside scheduled audits and CI pipelines.

The tools it exposes

The server publishes 9 tools. What each one is for:

  • sf_check — Verify Screaming Frog is installed, check version and license status
  • crawl_site — Start a headless background crawl (see note below)
  • crawl_status — Check progress of a running crawl
  • list_crawls — List all saved crawls with their Database IDs
  • export_crawl — Export crawl data as CSV files (many export options available)
  • read_crawl_data — Read exported CSV data with pagination, filtering, and column selection
  • aggregate_crawl_data — Counts and group-by breakdowns over exported data ("how many 404s", "status code distribution") without reading rows into context
  • delete_crawl — Permanently delete a crawl from the database
  • storage_summary — Show disk usage of SF's crawl storage

What it needs from you

Configuration is passed through the environment: SF_CLI_PATH. Treat anything key-shaped as a real credential — scope it to the minimum the server needs, and rotate it if it ever lands in a shared config.

  1. Screaming Frog SEO Spider installed on your machine (tested with v23.x and v24.x, should work with v16+). Download from: https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/ 2. A valid Screaming Frog license. The free version has a 500-URL crawl limit. Most MCP features (headless CLI, saving/loading crawls, exports) require a paid license. 3. Python 3.10+

Getting it running

The server ships on PyPI as screaming-frog-mcp, so your MCP client can launch it on demand — there is no separate build step. Add the server block to your client's configuration, restart it, and the tools register themselves.

How it compares

This sits in the search and retrieval group, where several servers overlap in what they claim to do but differ sharply once you actually set them up. Screaming Frog SEO Spider's toolset — sf_check, crawl_site, crawl_status and 6 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by bzsasson; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.

We check each listing at SyncDev against the project's documentation before it goes live — if something here drifts out of date, it is a bug worth reporting.

Things to watch

  • It runs with your machine's permissions. That is convenient and also the reason to think about what you point it at before you approve a tool call.
  • With 9 tools registered it takes up a noticeable share of the context window; turn it off in projects that never touch Screaming Frog SEO Spider.
  • Keep per-call confirmation enabled while you learn its behaviour; it is the cheapest safeguard you have.

Available tools

ToolWhat it does
sf_checkVerify Screaming Frog is installed, check version and license status
crawl_siteStart a headless background crawl (see note below)
crawl_statusCheck progress of a running crawl
list_crawlsList all saved crawls with their Database IDs
export_crawlExport crawl data as CSV files (many export options available)
read_crawl_dataRead exported CSV data with pagination, filtering, and column selection
aggregate_crawl_dataCounts and group-by breakdowns over exported data ("how many 404s", "status code distribution") without reading rows into context
delete_crawlPermanently delete a crawl from the database
storage_summaryShow disk usage of SF's crawl storage

How to install the Screaming Frog SEO Spider MCP server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "screaming-frog": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["screaming-frog-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "SF_CLI_PATH": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to claude_desktop_config.json, then restart Claude Desktop.

Configuration

  1. Screaming Frog SEO Spider installed on your machine (tested with v23.x and v24.x, should work with v16+). Download from: https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/ 2. A valid Screaming Frog license. The free version has a 500-URL crawl limit. Most MCP features (headless CLI, saving/loading crawls, exports) require a paid license. 3. Python 3.10+
VariableDescriptionRequired
SF_CLI_PATHFilesystem location the server is allowed to use.Optional

Example prompts to try

  • Use Screaming Frog SEO Spider to sf check.
  • Use Screaming Frog SEO Spider to crawl site.
  • Use Screaming Frog SEO Spider to crawl status.

Frequently asked questions

It connects Screaming Frog SEO Spider to MCP-compatible AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor, exposing 9 tools (sf_check, crawl_site, crawl_status, and more) that the assistant can call on your behalf. Instead of copying data back and forth by hand, the assistant works with Screaming Frog SEO Spider directly.