generated: '2026-08-13'
method: searched
source: https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/user-guide/general/#command-line
provider: Screaming Frog
providerId: screaming-frog
name: Screaming Frog SEO Spider Command Line Interface
description: >-
  The SEO Spider can be operated entirely from the command line — launching, full
  configuration, saving and exporting of almost any data and reporting — and can run
  completely headless. This is the automation surface Screaming Frog actually ships:
  there is no REST API, so scheduled audits, CI integration and the MCP server all
  drive the product through this CLI.

binaries:
  - platform: windows
    binary: ScreamingFrogSEOSpiderCli.exe
    location: 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Screaming Frog SEO Spider'
    note: >-
      Windows ships a separate console build (ScreamingFrogSEOSpiderCli.exe rather than
      ScreamingFrogSEOSpider.exe) that behaves like a typical console application.
  - platform: macos
    binary: /Applications/Screaming Frog SEO Spider.app/Contents/MacOS/ScreamingFrogSEOSpiderLauncher
    alternative: 'open "/Applications/Screaming Frog SEO Spider.app" --args ...'
    note: >-
      The `open` command returns immediately; the launcher script logs to the terminal
      until the SEO Spider exits, and closing the terminal kills it.
  - platform: linux
    binary: screamingfrogseospider
    location: placed on PATH during installation
    note: >-
      JavaScript rendering headless on Linux requires a display; the provider documents
      using a virtual frame buffer (Xvfb).

help:
  command: --help
  subtopics:
    - '--help export-tabs'
    - '--help bulk-export'
    - '--help save-report'
    - '--help export-custom-summary'

headless_setup:
  licence_file:
    path: .ScreamingFrogSEOSpider/licence.txt
    format: username on line one, licence key on line two
  eula:
    file: spider.config
    property: eula.accepted=15
    note: version number may need adjusting to a later version
  storage_mode:
    file: spider.config
    property: storage.mode=MEMORY
    default: database
    db_dir_property: storage.db_dir
  embedded_browser:
    file: spider.config
    property: embeddedBrowser.enable=false
  memory_allocation:
    file: '~/.screamingfrogseospider'
    example: '-Xmx8g'
    note: recommended to set via 'File > Settings > Memory Allocation' in the UI where available

commands:
  - group: crawl
    options:
      - {flag: '--crawl', arg: 'https://www.example.com', description: Start crawling the supplied URL.}
      - {flag: '--crawl-list', arg: '"list file"', description: Start crawling the specified URLs in list mode.}
      - {flag: '--load-crawl', arg: '"crawl file" | "database crawl ID"', description: 'Load a saved .seospider or .dbseospider crawl, or a database crawl by ID (from File > Crawls, right-click Copy Database ID).'}
      - {flag: '--list-crawls', description: View database crawl IDs in the CLI.}
      - {flag: '--crawl-comparison', arg: '<database Id> <database Id>', description: Perform a crawl comparison between the two supplied crawls, using crawl date to determine current vs previous.}
      - {flag: '--project-crawl-comparison', arg: '"true"', description: Auto compare the last two crawls in a project.}
      - {flag: '--headless', description: Run in silent mode without a user interface.}
      - {flag: '--save-crawl', description: Save the completed crawl.}
  - group: configuration
    options:
      - {flag: '--config', arg: '"config"', description: 'Supply a saved .seospiderconfig configuration file. Required for any feature without a dedicated flag (exclude, JavaScript rendering, and so on).'}
      - {flag: '--auth-config', arg: '"authconfig"', description: Supply a saved .seospiderauthconfig authentication configuration file.}
      - {flag: '--project-name', arg: '"Name"', description: Project name used for storing the crawl in database storage mode and for the Google Drive folder name.}
      - {flag: '--task-name', arg: '"Name"', description: Task name used for the crawl name in database storage mode and as the Google Drive child folder.}
      - {flag: '--help', description: View the list of options.}
  - group: output
    options:
      - {flag: '--output-folder', arg: '"output"', description: 'Store saved files. Default: current working directory.'}
      - {flag: '--overwrite', description: Overwrite files in output directory.}
      - {flag: '--timestamped-output', description: Create a timestamped folder in the output directory (and in Google Drive) and store all output there.}
      - {flag: '--export-format', arg: 'csv | xls | xlsx | gsheet', description: Format used for all exports. Google Sheets also requires a Google Drive account.}
      - {flag: '--google-drive-account', arg: '"google account"', description: Use a Google Drive account for Google Sheets exporting.}
  - group: export
    options:
      - {flag: '--export-tabs', arg: '"tab:filter,..."', description: 'Comma separated list of tabs and filters to export, e.g. "Internal:All,Response Codes:Client Error (4xx)".'}
      - {flag: '--bulk-export', arg: '"submenu:export,..."', description: 'Comma separated list of bulk exports, e.g. "Response Codes:Internal & External:Client Error (4xx) Inlinks".'}
      - {flag: '--save-report', arg: '"submenu:report,..."', description: 'Comma separated list of reports to save, e.g. "Redirects:All Redirects".'}
      - {flag: '--export-custom-summary', arg: '"item 1,item 2,..."', description: "Items for the 'Export For Data Studio' Custom Crawl Overview report. Requires a Google Drive account."}
      - {flag: '--create-sitemap', description: Creates a sitemap from the completed crawl.}
      - {flag: '--create-images-sitemap', description: Creates an images sitemap from the completed crawl.}
  - group: third-party-api-integrations
    note: >-
      These flags make the SEO Spider a CONSUMER of third-party APIs during a crawl.
      They are not Screaming Frog API endpoints. Google Analytics and Search Console
      require OAuth authorisation through the UI first, after which the 'analytics' and
      'search_console' folders can be copied to a headless machine. PSI, Ahrefs, Majestic
      and Moz keys are set in spider.config as PSI.secretkey, ahrefs.authkey,
      majestic.authkey and moz.secretkey.
    options:
      - {flag: '--use-google-analytics', arg: '"google account" "account" "property" "view" "segment"', description: Use the Google Universal Analytics API during crawl.}
      - {flag: '--use-google-analytics-4', arg: '"google account" "account" "property" "data stream"', description: Use the Google Analytics 4 API during crawl.}
      - {flag: '--use-google-search-console', arg: '"google account" "website"', description: Use the Google Search Console API during crawl.}
      - {flag: '--use-pagespeed', description: Use the PageSpeed Insights API during crawl.}
      - {flag: '--use-majestic', description: Use the Majestic API during crawl.}
      - {flag: '--use-mozscape', description: Use the Mozscape API during crawl.}
      - {flag: '--use-ahrefs', description: Use the Ahrefs API during crawl.}
  - group: notification
    options:
      - {flag: '--email-on-complete', arg: 'address', description: Email on completion of a crawl.}

flows:
  - name: Headless crawl with tab exports
    command: >-
      screamingfrogseospider --crawl https://www.example.com --headless --save-crawl
      --output-folder /tmp/cli --export-tabs "Internal:All,Response Codes:Client Error (4xx)"
  - name: Reopen a saved crawl and export
    command: >-
      screamingfrogseospider --headless --load-crawl ~/Desktop/crawl.seospider
      --output-folder ~/Desktop/ --export-tabs "Internal:All"
  - name: Scheduled comparison of the last two project crawls
    command: >-
      screamingfrogseospider --headless --project-name "Awesome Project"
      --project-crawl-comparison "true" --output-folder /tmp/cli

troubleshooting:
  - If a headless crawl fails to export any results, ensure --output-folder exists and is either empty or --timestamped-output is used.
  - When quoting an argument, do not finish with a backslash before the quote — it will be escaped.

limitations:
  - >-
    Not every configuration option has a command line flag. Anything without one (exclude
    rules, JavaScript rendering, and similar) must be set in the UI, saved as a
    .seospiderconfig profile, and supplied with --config.

related:
  scheduling: https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/user-guide/general/#scheduling
  mcp_server: mcp/screaming-frog-mcp.yml
  packages: packages/screaming-frog-packages.yml

maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com