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VS Code + Semurai

VS Code MCP
for SEO with GitHub Copilot.

Set up the VS Code MCP server for Semurai with MCP: Add Server, sign in once, and GitHub Copilot works with your keyword data, rankings, Search Console, page checks and site audits in agent sessions. Docs, blogs and landing pages get search data where you write and review them. OAuth sign-in, no API keys.

Start freeSetup guide

GitHub Copilot MCP · Copilot Global or .vscode/mcp.json

Paste it in MCP: Add Server

Server address
https://api.semur.ai/mcp
  • Command Palette → MCP: Add Server → HTTP
  • Server ID semurai, saved to Global
  • Sign in to Semurai when the server starts

Setup

How do I set up
the VS Code MCP server?

The guided flow in VS Code adds Semurai for all your projects. GitHub Copilot then uses it in agent sessions.

  1. Open the Command Palette and run MCP: Add Server.

  2. Choose HTTP (HTTP or Server-Sent Events) and paste https://api.semur.ai/mcp.

  3. Give the server the ID semurai.

  4. Save it to Global, then Copilot Global (~/.copilot/mcp-config.json), so it works in all your projects.

  5. When the server starts, Semurai opens in your browser. Sign in, pick a default workspace and click Allow.

  6. Open Copilot Chat in an agent session and ask. Name Semurai in your prompt, or pick its tools in the tools picker.

.vscode/mcp.json
{
  "servers": {
    "semurai": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.semur.ai/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Prefer a file?

  • VS Code still reads .vscode/mcp.json for compatibility, and the guided flow labels that destination deprecated. The semurai entry for it is shown here.
  • This file starts with "servers", not "mcpServers" as in Cursor or Claude Code.
  • The file holds no key or token. Everyone who uses it signs in to their own Semurai account.

Why connect

Copilot on its own
vs Copilot with Semurai.

Copilot knows your code. Semurai adds what happens to your pages in search.

  1. GitHub Copilot on its own

    Reviews a landing page change for code, not for search.

    GitHub Copilot with Semurai

    Checks the new title and headings against volume, difficulty and intent during review.

  2. GitHub Copilot on its own

    Writes release notes, and that is where they stay.

    GitHub Copilot with Semurai

    Turns them into social post drafts in Semurai, ready to queue.

  3. GitHub Copilot on its own

    Cannot tell how a docs page performs.

    GitHub Copilot with Semurai

    Reads Search Console clicks, impressions and positions for your pages.

  4. GitHub Copilot on its own

    Finds broken markup in one file.

    GitHub Copilot with Semurai

    Starts a full site audit with a 0-100 health score and fix tasks.

Use cases

What can Copilot do
with Semurai?

For teams that keep docs, blogs and landing pages in a repository and review every change in VS Code.

  • Docs and blog repositories

    Copilot compares a docs page or a blog post with what people actually search, then suggests a title, headings and the questions the page should answer.

  • SEO checks in code review

    Before you approve a pull request that touches a page, Copilot compares the new title and headings with keyword data: volume, difficulty and intent.

  • Release notes into social drafts

    Copilot reads your changelog and has Semurai write post drafts for LinkedIn and Facebook. After review, queue them on your connected accounts.

  • Keyword data for landing page copy

    Hero lines and headings picked from phrases with real volume, difficulty and a 12-month trend, so the copy matches demand that is growing.

  • A live check of the deployed page

    Copilot runs Semurai’s on-page check on a public URL: meta tags, headings, canonical, robots, load time and JavaScript rendering differences, then fixes the template in your branch.

  • Site audits that end in tasks

    Start a full site audit, read the health score and the worst issues in the chat. When it finishes, Semurai creates fix tasks for the weakest pages.

Example

An SEO check
inside a code review.

A landing page change in a branch, two Semurai tools, and fixes before the pull request is merged.

  1. You:

    Use Semurai: review the changes to src/pages/subscription.astro in this branch. Do the new title, H1 and H2s target phrases people search?

  2. Semurai tool: semurai.research_keywords4 phrases from the title, H1 and H2s
  3. Assistant:

    The new H1 targets no searched phrase:

    PhraseVolumeDifficultyTrend
    coffee subscription22,20052Rising
    coffee bean subscription4,40038Stable
    fresh roasted coffee delivery59021Rising
    our roasting promise0--

    The H1 is “Our roasting promise”. I suggest “Coffee bean subscription, roasted to order” and moving the promise to an H2. Shall I also check the live page?

  4. You:

    Yes, check it.

  5. Semurai tool: semurai.audit_pagemorrowfield.coffee/subscription/
  6. Assistant:

    The live page has no meta description and two H1s. I changed the H1, added a description and fixed the heading levels in this branch. Ready for your review.

Demo project: Morrowfield Coffee Co. (demo data). An example of GitHub Copilot using two Semurai tools during a code review.

Prompts to try

Ask Copilot
like this.

  • “Use Semurai to compare the titles and H2s of the pages changed in this branch with keyword data.”
  • “Read CHANGELOG.md and have Semurai write a LinkedIn and a Facebook post draft about the latest release.”
  • “Run a Semurai page check on https://morrowfield.coffee/subscription/ and list what this branch should fix.”
  • “Find phrases with real search volume for the hero of src/pages/subscription.astro.”
  • “Start a Semurai site audit and tell me the three worst issues when it is done.”

GitHub Copilot MCP

Semurai in Copilot,
for you and your team.

Semurai’s tools work in GitHub Copilot agent sessions. Everyone on the team connects their own Semurai account.

Ask in an agent session

Open Copilot Chat in an agent session. Name Semurai in your prompt, for example “Use Semurai to…”, or pick its tools in the tools picker to choose which ones Copilot may use.

  • Type /semurai.weekly_seo_report in chat to run one of the six Semurai prompts, or /semurai.seo_article to start an article.
  • Copilot works in your default workspace. Ask it to list your workspaces to use another one.
  • Tools that change something live, such as publishing to WordPress, carry a mark in Semurai, and Copilot waits for your go-ahead before it runs one.

Team setup

Each person adds Semurai once with MCP: Add Server, or the team keeps the entry in .vscode/mcp.json in the repository. Either way, everyone signs in with their own Semurai account.

  • Each person’s role in each workspace applies: owner, admin or editor.
  • Actions count toward the workspace’s usage limits, the same as in the app.
  • Each person can disconnect their own VS Code connection in Semurai at Settings → AI assistants (MCP), and its access ends at once.

VS Code or Cursor?

VS Code
or Cursor?

Use the editor your team already works in. Both reach the same Semurai server with the same account.

Two editors, one Semurai server

VS Code and Cursor with the Semurai MCP server
VS Code with GitHub CopilotCursor
SetupGuided: MCP: Add ServerA JSON entry in mcp.json
Config file~/.copilot/mcp-config.json (Global) or .vscode/mcp.json~/.cursor/mcp.json or .cursor/mcp.json
Top-level keyserversmcpServers
Where you askCopilot Chat, in an agent sessionCursor’s agent

Working in Cursor? The setup is one entry in mcp.json, explained on the Cursor MCP page.

Other assistants

Use Semurai
in another assistant.

The same server address and the same Semurai account work in every assistant below.

FAQ

VS Code and Semurai: questions

How do I add an MCP server in VS Code?

Open the Command Palette, run MCP: Add Server, choose HTTP (HTTP or Server-Sent Events) and paste the server address. For Semurai that is https://api.semur.ai/mcp with the ID semurai. Save it to Global and sign in to Semurai when the server starts.

What is VS Code MCP, and what does Semurai add?

VS Code MCP is VS Code’s support for Model Context Protocol servers, whose tools GitHub Copilot uses in agent sessions. Semurai is a remote MCP server: added once, it gives Copilot keyword data, rankings, Search Console reports, page checks, site audits and drafts in your Semurai workspace.

Where does VS Code save the Semurai server?

With the Global option, in Copilot Global: ~/.copilot/mcp-config.json, outside your projects. VS Code still reads .vscode/mcp.json in a workspace for compatibility, and the guided flow labels it deprecated.

How does GitHub Copilot sign in to Semurai?

With OAuth. When the server starts, Semurai opens in your browser. You sign in, pick a default workspace and click Allow. No API key goes into your settings, and access tokens last one hour and renew automatically.

Does Copilot ask before it runs Semurai tools?

Semurai marks every tool that changes something live, such as publishing to WordPress, queueing a social post or applying store proposals. When Copilot is about to run one, it stops and asks you first. Tools that only read data, such as keyword research, are marked read-only.

Can Copilot in VS Code create images in Semurai?

Yes, with the full server as a second MCP server. Run MCP: Add Server again, choose HTTP, paste https://api.semur.ai/mcp/full and give it the ID semurai-full. When it starts, approve the new connection in Semurai. In agent sessions Copilot can then generate images in your brand style, create designs in Canvas and Creative Studio, and write alt texts, titles and tags for media library images. Copilot also answers the designer’s questions, revises designs and puts finished ones on social posts. Each graphic counts toward the workspace’s usage limits.

Can my team use the same VS Code setup?

Yes. Everyone adds Semurai with MCP: Add Server, or you share a .vscode/mcp.json in the repository. Nobody shares a login: each person connects their own Semurai account, with the access their workspace role gives them.

Which Semurai prompts can I run in Copilot Chat?

Six: seo_article, competitor_gap_report, weekly_seo_report, monthly_content_plan, store_product_seo and social_week. Type / in chat, then semurai, a dot and the prompt name, for example /semurai.monthly_content_plan.

Do I need the .vscode/mcp.json file?

No. The guided MCP: Add Server flow saves Semurai for you. Use the file only if you want the setup in the repository, and note that its top-level key is servers.

Add Semurai
to VS Code.

Create your Semurai account, run MCP: Add Server and ask Copilot about your pages.

  • Free forever plan
  • No credit card
  • Set up in about 3 minutes