every-app/open-seo: Open source alternative to Semrush and Ahrefs

Open source alternative to Semrush and Ahrefs. Contribute to every-app/open-seo development by creating an account on GitHub.

Summary

OpenSEO is an open-source SEO platform written in TypeScript that positions itself as an alternative to paid tools like Semrush and Ahrefs. It exposes SEO data through an MCP server and reusable Agent Skills, so engineers can plug it into AI agents such as Claude Code, OpenClaw, or Hermes. The project is MIT-licensed and depends on a DataForSEO API key for the underlying SEO data.

What it is useful for

OpenSEO covers the SEO workflows an engineer typically runs: keyword research, rank tracking, competitor insights, backlinks, site audits, and AI visibility. It is aimed at people who find Semrush and Ahrefs too expensive or too feature-heavy, and it offers a pay-as-you-go model where you bring your own DataForSEO key. The MCP and Agent Skills integrations let an AI agent perform SEO analysis alongside coding tasks, rather than requiring a separate manual dashboard.

How engineers can use it

Three documented entry points exist:

• Hosted service at openseo.so, with a free tier and a $10/month subscription. The README states the hosted service charges a 28% markup on DataForSEO requests; self-hosters pay DataForSEO directly.
• Self-host with Docker for personal testing, following docs/SELF_HOSTING_DOCKER.md.
• Self-host on Cloudflare for internet-facing or team use, following docs/SELF_HOSTING_CLOUDFLARE.md. The README notes that Railway, Coolify, and Dokploy are not yet well-supported.

A DataForSEO API key is required for either self-hosted path; see docs/DATAFORSEO_API_KEY.md. To connect an agent, the README points to setup docs for ChatGPT, Codex, the OpenSEO MCP, and OpenSEO Agent Skills. The exact install commands are not given in the README itself, so readers should follow the linked docs (docs/SELF_HOSTING_DOCKER.md, docs/SELF_HOSTING_CLOUDFLARE.md, docs/LOCAL_DEVELOPMENT.md) for concrete steps.

For contributors, the project encourages filing clear issues and provides a helper skill installable with:

npx skills add every-app/open-seo --skill simple-issue-description

Documented constraints: a DataForSEO key is mandatory, the Docker path is positioned for personal/testing use only, and the README explicitly states that simpler hosting on Railway, Coolify, or Dokploy is planned for a future release.