Ahrefs CLI for AI Agents

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Introduction

CLIs are eating MCPs. The industry is converging on the very same idea. MCPs for all their merit can be token hungry, slow, and unreliable for complex tool chaining. However, coding agents have become incredibly good at working with CLIs, and in fact they are far more comfortable working with CLI tools than MCP.

With Composio's Universal CLI, your coding agents can talk to over 850+ SaaS applications. With Ahrefs, agents can get domain rating trend for competitor site, list all broken backlinks for your website, find keyword volume for 'ai tools' in us, and more — all without worrying about authentication.

This guide walks you through Composio Universal CLI and explains how you can connect it with coding agents like Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, etc, for end-to-end Ahrefs automation.

Also integrate Ahrefs with

What is Universal CLI and why use it?

The idea behind building the universal CLI is to give agents a single command interface to interact with all your external applications. Here's what you'll get with it:

  • Agent-friendly: Coding agents like Claude Code, Codex, and OpenCode can use CLI tools natively — no MCP setup required.
  • Authentication handled: Connect once via OAuth or API Key, and all CLI commands work with your credentials automatically.
  • Tool discovery: Search, inspect, and execute 20,000+ tools across 850+ apps from one interface.
  • Trigger support: Use triggers to listen for events across your apps, powered by real-time webhooks or polling under the hood.
  • Type generation: Generate typed schemas for autocomplete and type safety in your projects.

Prerequisites

Install the Composio CLI, authenticate, and initialize your project:

bash
# Install the Composio CLI
curl -fsSL https://composio.dev/install | bash

# Authenticate with Composio
composio login

During login you'll be redirected to sign in page, finish the complete flow and you're all set.

Composio CLI authentication flow

Connecting Ahrefs to Coding Agents via Universal CLI

Once it is installed, it's essentially done. Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, OpenClaw, or any other agent will be able to access the CLI. A few steps to give agents access to your apps.

  1. Launch your Coding Agent — Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, anything you prefer.
  2. Prompt it to "Authenticate with Ahrefs"
  3. Complete the authentication and authorization flow and your Ahrefs integration is all set.
  4. Start asking anything you want.

Supported Tools & Triggers

Tools
Backlinks stats retrievalRetrieves comprehensive backlink statistics for a specified website or url using ahrefs' site explorer tool.
Batch Url AnalysisPerforms a batch analysis on multiple urls or domains using ahrefs' powerful seo metrics.
Domain rating for site explorerRetrieves the domain rating (dr) for a specified domain.
Domain rating historyRetrieves the historical domain rating (dr) data for a specified domain over time.
Explore keywords overviewRetrieves a comprehensive overview of keyword data from ahrefs' keywords explorer tool.
Explore keyword volume by countryRetrieves the search volume data for specified keywords across different countries using ahrefs' keywords explorer tool.
Explore linked domains of a siteRetrieves a list of external domains that the specified target website or url links to, using ahrefs' site explorer functionality.
Explore matching terms for keywordsThe keywords explorer matching terms endpoint retrieves a list of keyword phrases that match or contain the specified keyword from ahrefs' vast database.
Fetch all backlinksRetrieves a comprehensive list of backlinks for a specified website or url using ahrefs' site explorer tool.
Fetch broken backlinks dataRetrieves a list of broken backlinks for a specified website using ahrefs' site explorer tool.
Fetch competitors overviewRetrieves a comprehensive overview of competitor data in relation to keyword rankings and organic search performance.
Fetch rank tracker overviewThe getranktrackeroverview endpoint retrieves a comprehensive summary of keyword rankings and seo performance data from ahrefs' rank tracker tool.
Fetch site explorer referring domainsRetrieves a list of domains that have backlinks pointing to a specified target website.
Fetch total search volume historyRetrieves the historical total search volume data for specified keywords using ahrefs' site explorer tool.
Get serp overviewRetrieves a comprehensive overview of search engine results pages (serp) data for specified keywords or queries.
Get site audit projectsRetrieves a list of site audit projects associated with the authenticated ahrefs account.
Get site explorer country metricsRetrieves country-specific site explorer metrics for a given website from ahrefs.
Get site explorer linked anchors externalThe site-explorer-linked-anchors-external endpoint retrieves data about external anchor texts linking to a specified target website.
Get url rating historyRetrieves the historical url rating data for a specified url over time.
Linked anchors explorerRetrieves information about internal linked anchors for a specified website using the ahrefs api.
List best by external linksThe 'get best by external links' endpoint retrieves a list of pages from a specified website, ranked by the number of external links pointing to them.
Pages by traffic overviewRetrieves a list of pages from a specified website, ordered by their estimated organic search traffic.
Retrieve anchor dataRetrieves anchor text data for a specified website or url using ahrefs' site explorer tool.
Retrieve best by internal linksRetrieves data on the best-performing internal links within a specified website using ahrefs' site explorer feature.
Retrieve crawler ip rangesRetrieves the list of ip address ranges used by ahrefs' web crawler (ahrefsbot).
Retrieve organic competitorsThe getorganiccompetitors endpoint in the ahrefs api provides a comprehensive analysis of websites competing for organic search rankings with a specified target domain.
Retrieve organic keywordsRetrieves organic keywords data for a specified website using ahrefs' site explorer tool.
Retrieve outlinks statsRetrieves comprehensive statistics about outgoing links (outlinks) from a specified website using ahrefs' site explorer tool.
Retrieve paid pages dataRetrieves information about paid pages (ppc advertising) for a specified website using ahrefs' site explorer tool.
Retrieve public crawler ipsRetrieves a list of ip addresses currently used by ahrefsbot, ahrefs' web crawler.
Retrieve related termsThe keywords explorer related terms endpoint retrieves a list of related terms for a given keyword using ahrefs' extensive keyword database.
Retrieve site explorer keywords historyRetrieves historical keyword performance data for a specified website or domain using ahrefs' site explorer.
Retrieve site explorer metricsThe getsiteexplorermetrics endpoint retrieves comprehensive seo metrics for a specified website using ahrefs' site explorer tool.
Retrieve site explorer metrics historyRetrieves historical seo metrics data for a specified website over a given time period.
Retrieve site explorer pages historyThe get site explorer pages history endpoint retrieves historical data about specific pages or domains from ahrefs' site explorer.
Retrieve site explorer referring domains historyRetrieves the historical data of referring domains for a specified website or url over time.
Retrieve subscription limits and usageRetrieves detailed information about the current subscription limits and usage for an ahrefs account.
Retrieve top pages from site explorerRetrieves data about the top-performing pages of a specified website using ahrefs' site explorer tool.
Retrieve volume historyRetrieves the historical search volume data for a specified keyword using ahrefs' keywords explorer tool.
Search suggestions explorerRetrieves search suggestions for a given keyword or phrase using ahrefs' keywords explorer tool.

Universal CLI Commands for Ahrefs

You can also manually execute CLI commands to interact with your Ahrefs.

Connect your Ahrefs account

Link your Ahrefs account and verify the connection:

bash
# Connect your Ahrefs account (opens OAuth flow)
composio connected-accounts link ahrefs

# Verify the connection
composio connected-accounts list --toolkits ahrefs

Discover Ahrefs tools

Search and inspect available Ahrefs tools:

bash
# List all available Ahrefs tools
composio tools list --toolkit ahrefs

# Search for Ahrefs tools by action
composio tools search "ahrefs"

# Inspect a tool's input schema
composio tools info AHREFS_BACKLINKS_STATS_RETRIEVAL

Common Ahrefs Actions

Backlinks stats retrieval — Retrieves comprehensive backlink statistics for a specified website or url using ahrefs' site explorer tool

bash
composio tools execute AHREFS_BACKLINKS_STATS_RETRIEVAL \
  --date "<string>" \
  --target "<string>"

Batch Url Analysis — Performs a batch analysis on multiple urls or domains using ahrefs' powerful seo metrics

bash
composio tools execute AHREFS_BATCH_URL_ANALYSIS \
  --select "<array>" \
  --targets "<array>"

Domain rating for site explorer — Retrieves the domain rating (dr) for a specified domain

bash
composio tools execute AHREFS_DOMAIN_RATING_FOR_SITE_EXPLORER \
  --date "<string>" \
  --target "<string>"

Domain rating history — Retrieves the historical domain rating (dr) data for a specified domain over time

bash
composio tools execute AHREFS_DOMAIN_RATING_HISTORY \
  --target "<string>" \
  --date_from "<string>"

Generate Type Definitions

Generate typed schemas for Ahrefs tools to get autocomplete and type safety in your project:

bash
# Auto-detect language
composio generate --toolkits ahrefs

# TypeScript
composio ts generate --toolkits ahrefs

# Python
composio py generate --toolkits ahrefs

Tips & Tricks

  • Always inspect a tool's input schema before executing: composio tools info <TOOL_NAME>
  • Pipe output with jq for better readability: composio tools execute TOOL_NAME -d '{}' | jq
  • Set COMPOSIO_API_KEY as an environment variable for CI/CD pipelines
  • Use composio dev logs tools to inspect execution logs and debug issues

Next Steps

  • Try asking your coding agent to perform various Ahrefs operations
  • Explore cross-app workflows by connecting more toolkits
  • Set up triggers for real-time automation
  • Use composio generate for typed schemas in your projects

How to build Ahrefs MCP Agent with another framework

OpenAI Agents SDK

OpenAI Agents SDK

Use Ahrefs MCP with OpenAI Agents SDK

Claude Agent SDK

Claude Agent SDK

Use Ahrefs MCP with Claude Agent SDK

Claude Code

Claude Code

Use Ahrefs MCP with Claude Code

Codex

Codex

Use Ahrefs MCP with Codex

OpenClaw

OpenClaw

Use Ahrefs MCP with OpenClaw

Google ADK

Google ADK

Use Ahrefs MCP with Google ADK

LangChain

LangChain

Use Ahrefs MCP with LangChain

Vercel AI SDK

Vercel AI SDK

Use Ahrefs MCP with Vercel AI SDK

Mastra AI

Mastra AI

Use Ahrefs MCP with Mastra AI

LlamaIndex

LlamaIndex

Use Ahrefs MCP with LlamaIndex

CrewAI

CrewAI

Use Ahrefs MCP with CrewAI

FAQ

What is the Composio Universal CLI?

The Composio Universal CLI is a single command-line interface that lets coding agents and developers interact with 850+ SaaS applications. It handles authentication, tool discovery, action execution, and trigger setup — all from the terminal, without needing to configure MCP servers.

Which coding agents work with the Composio CLI?

Any coding agent that can run shell commands works with the Composio CLI — including Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, OpenClaw, and others. Once the CLI is installed, agents automatically discover and use the composio commands to interact with Ahrefs and other connected apps.

How is the CLI different from using an MCP server for Ahrefs?

MCP servers require configuration and can be token-heavy for complex workflows. The CLI gives agents a direct, lightweight interface — no server setup needed. Agents simply call composio commands like any other shell tool. It's faster to set up, more reliable for multi-step tool chaining, and works natively with how coding agents already operate.

How safe is my Ahrefs data when using the Composio CLI?

All sensitive data such as tokens, keys, and configuration is fully encrypted at rest and in transit. Composio is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant and follows strict security practices so your Ahrefs data and credentials are handled as safely as possible. You can also bring your own OAuth credentials for full control.

Used by agents from

Context
Letta
glean
HubSpot
Agent.ai
Altera
DataStax
Entelligence
Rolai
Context
Letta
glean
HubSpot
Agent.ai
Altera
DataStax
Entelligence
Rolai
Context
Letta
glean
HubSpot
Agent.ai
Altera
DataStax
Entelligence
Rolai

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