RankCLI

What RankCLI MCP server does

RankCLI exposes a collection of SEO and GEO checks to MCP-compatible AI assistants. Its primary input is webpage HTML that the assistant or host already has, along with robots.txt content where relevant. The local tools do not require a signup or API key, and their analysis runs inside the MCP host rather than sending audit data to RankCLI servers.

The central seo_analyze tool combines checks for AI-search optimization, estimated Core Web Vitals, Schema.org structured data, security headers, mobile readiness, image handling, and internal linking. Individual tools are available when a narrower diagnostic or generated configuration is more useful than a complete audit.

How it works

An MCP host starts the package as a local process and makes its tools available to an AI assistant. The host can fetch a page and pass its HTML to the tools, or an agent can work with HTML already present in a project or build output. The server analyzes that material locally.

GEO checks examine whether AI crawlers can access a site, how robots.txt rules affect bots such as GPTBot, ClaudeBot, and PerplexityBot, whether JavaScript is needed to reveal content, and whether the page contains signals useful for extraction and citation. Other checks estimate performance from HTML, inspect JSON-LD, review security-related headers, and assess images, links, and mobile layout signals.

rankcli_connect is the exception to the local-only workflow. It opens a browser approval flow for a RankCLI account at rankcli.dev, or reuses an existing session. rankcli_disconnect removes this local connection without deleting the account or revoking other API keys.

Setup and configuration

Install the server with npx:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rankcli": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@rankcli/mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Claude Code can add the same server with claude mcp add rankcli -- npx -y @rankcli/mcp-server. Claude Desktop also supports installing the latest .mcpb release, while Cursor and VS Code provide install links. The package can be used from Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Codex, and Windsurf.

The local server does not need an environment variable, API key, or RankCLI account for its analysis tools. Account linking is optional and is used for dashboard history, scheduled monitoring, and GitHub auto-fix pull requests.

Tools and capabilities

• seo_analyze runs the combined audit.
• seo_geo_check reviews AI-search visibility, crawler access, content structure, and citation readiness.
• seo_robots_ai reports which known AI crawlers are allowed or blocked.
• seo_generate_robots creates a robots.txt intended to permit major AI crawlers.
• seo_core_web_vitals estimates LCP, CLS, INP, and TTFB and flags common HTML-related performance issues.
• seo_structured_data validates JSON-LD and common Schema.org types; seo_generate_schema creates templates for article, product, FAQ, local-business, and website pages.
• seo_security_headers grades HTTPS, HSTS, CSP, X-Frame-Options, and related protections; seo_generate_security_headers produces recommended configuration.
• seo_images, seo_internal_links, and seo_mobile inspect image metadata and loading, link structure, viewport and touch-target signals, font sizing, content width, and PWA readiness.
• seo_ai_crawlers provides user-agent and purpose information for known AI crawlers.
• rankcli_connect and rankcli_disconnect manage the optional local account connection.

Limitations and notes

The local tools work from HTML and robots.txt supplied by the user or MCP host. They do not provide a remote crawl of a URL by themselves. Core Web Vitals are estimates based on HTML analysis rather than field measurements. Account-linked features require the separate connection flow, while the audit tools remain usable without it.