Connect Semrush to Windsurf
Give Windsurf governed access to Semrush’s 23 tools through Runlayer, with identity, policy, scanning, and audit on every call.
Set up
Add Semrush to Windsurf in four steps
Admins approve the server once. Everyone in Windsurf then gets it through the same governed connection.
- 1
Add Semrush to Runlayer
Semrush isn’t in the Runlayer catalog yet, so an admin adds it by its MCP server URL.
Adding a connector manually - 2
Connect Windsurf to Runlayer
Users add the Runlayer Plugin to Windsurf by following Runlayer’s setup guide. Windsurf reaches Semrush’s 23 tools through the Runlayer Plugin’s search and execute tools instead of listing each one.
Windsurf setup guide - 3
Sign in to Semrush
Sign in the way Semrush requires. Runlayer holds the credentials so they stay out of the client’s configuration.
- 4
Use Semrush from Windsurf
Semrush’s approved tools appear in Windsurf. Every call is checked against policy and recorded.
Tools
23 Semrush tools in Windsurf
Runlayer policy decides which of these Windsurf users can call.
Audience research
Audience Analytics: visitor profile of a domain — demographics (age, gender, income, education, household size, occupation), audience interests, visitor geography by country, audience overlap between…
Backlink research
Backlink profile analysis: referring domains, anchor texts, authority scores, link growth history, and competitor link comparison.
Backlinks research
Backlink Analytics: for a single domain's link profile — backlinks, referring domains and IPs, anchor texts, geographic and TLD distribution, Authority Score breakdown, domain and referring-domain…
Competitors research
Competitive Research: find who competes with a domain in organic search, paid search, and Google Shopping (PLA); compare keyword overlap and backlink profiles between multiple domains; analyze market…
Domain overview
Get high-level counters for a domain, subdomain, subfolder, or URL — Semrush Rank, keyword/traffic/cost totals, PLA, SERP Features.
Execute report
Execute any Semrush report.
Get report schema
Get a report's parameters.
Keyword research
Keyword Analytics: look up any keyword — search volume, CPC, competition, keyword difficulty, SERP results (organic and paid), related keywords, broad match variations, phrase questions, and ads…
Control
What Runlayer can see and stop in Windsurf
Some controls apply to every client at the gateway. Others depend on what Windsurf exposes to Runlayer.
Gateway policy (available)
Every Semrush call from Windsurf passes through Runlayer, where your policies can allow, alert, mask, or block it.
Audit trail (available)
Each call is recorded with the user, Windsurf as the client, the tool, and the policy and scanner decisions.
Client hooks (available)
Capture supported prompts, reasoning, local and MCP tool calls, responses, and scanner decisions in real time.
Stop a call before it runs (available)
Runlayer can deny a tool call before Windsurf runs it.
Block output after it runs (not available)
Windsurf ignores Runlayer after a tool runs, so Runlayer cannot block its output. The gateway still applies policy to the call.
Redact output in place (not available)
Windsurf has no way to receive replacement output, so Runlayer cannot mask it. The gateway still applies policy to the call.
In Windsurf
- Enforcement needs Windsurf 1.12.31 or newer.
- When Runlayer denies a call, Windsurf shows the reason to the user; Runlayer cannot adjust the call’s inputs.
Frequently asked questions
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