Ahrefs MCP server: Ahrefs data in Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor

“Ahrefs MCP” can mean more than one thing in 2026. Ahrefs runs its own hosted MCP server at https://api.ahrefs.com/mcp/mcp for accounts on a Lite plan or higher, with a connector in Claude and a setup guide for ChatGPT. Ahrefs also publishes a REST API (v3) that any script can call, and developers self-host community servers from GitHub. The Ryze AI server sits on the REST API with your key and puts the results next to Search Console, GA4 and ad data. This page documents the Ryze AI server and compares it with Ahrefs’ own in section 06.

One caveat on this page: the tool name comes from the Ryze AI app source, and no workspace had Ahrefs connected when it was checked, so the tool list was not read from a live connector.

Ahrefs has a single tool in Ryze AI, and it only reads. The agent picks the report, the target and the columns for each question, so the useful part is knowing which Ahrefs reports exist and what each one costs in units (see section 07).

Ahrefs API v3 reports the tool can reach

Paths from the Ahrefs OpenAPI reference, checked Nov 8, 2026. All Ahrefs data endpoints are GET with query-string parameters; a select parameter lists the columns to return and where filters rows. Ryze AI does not publish the tool’s input schema. Ad and analytics tools on the same URL are documented on Google Ads MCP, Meta Ads MCP and Google Analytics MCP.

Ahrefs knows who links to you and what you rank for. Search Console and GA4 know what people clicked and did. Each pair below is a question that needs both halves, and the join key is the page URL.

Each Ahrefs read spends units, so ask for the columns you need. Search Console and GA4 reads do not touch your Ahrefs balance.

Every answer comes from your own Ahrefs account and Search Console property, so no sample numbers are shown here. A longer walk-through of Search Console in Claude is in how to connect Claude to Google Search Console.

Step 1: link Ahrefs in Ryze AI with an API key

1. 01In Ahrefs, open Account settings, then API keys, click Generate API key, name it (for example Ryze AI) and copy it.
2. 02In the Ryze AI app, open Integrations and click Connect on the Ahrefs card.
3. 03Paste the key into API key and click Continue. The card shows Ahrefs as connected.
4. 04Prefer to stay in the chat? Ask the Ryze AI agent in Claude or ChatGPT to connect Ahrefs. It sends a one-time link, valid once and for 24 hours, to a page where you paste the key.

Details and error fixes are in the Ryze AI Ahrefs guide. Your Ahrefs plan has to include API access, and only Ahrefs owners and admins can create the key.

Claude on the web or desktop

1. 01Go to Customize, Connectors.
2. 02Choose + Add, then Add custom connector. Enter Ryze AI as the name and https://connector.get-ryze.ai/mcp as the MCP server URL, then keep OAuth sign-in on. No client ID or secret is needed.
3. 03Press Connect, sign in to Ryze AI, tick the workspace that holds Ahrefs and press Allow connection.
4. 04Connected Ahrefs after adding the connector? Claude keeps the tool list it saw at the start, so remove the connector, add it again and start a new chat.

Any Claude plan works, and Free holds one custom connector. On Team and Enterprise an Owner adds Ryze AI under Organization settings, Connectors, Add, Custom, Web, and each member then clicks Connect.

ChatGPT

OpenAI documents custom MCP connections on ChatGPT web for Business and Enterprise/Edu, and read and fetch only on Pro. The Ahrefs tool only reads, so a Pro connection can use it. Go to Plugins, choose the plus button, then Add custom MCP server, name it Ryze AI, paste the URL, choose OAuth, create it and sign in to Ryze AI. On Business an admin or owner has to create and publish it first. ChatGPT freezes the tool list for an approved workspace, so an admin refreshes it after Ahrefs is connected.

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http ryze https://connector.get-ryze.ai/mcp --scope user

Type /mcp, choose ryze and finish sign-in in the browser. --scope user loads it in every project; --scope project writes a shared .mcp.json instead. Scripts can skip OAuth with a Ryze AI API key from Workspace Settings, Profile, API keys, sent as Authorization: Bearer rk_live_....

Cursor and VS Code

{ "mcpServers": {
  "ryze": { "url": "https://connector.get-ryze.ai/mcp" }
} }

{ "mcpServers": {
  "ryze": { "type": "http", "url": "https://connector.get-ryze.ai/mcp" }
} }

Cursor asks for approval before a tool runs by default and opens a sign-in window the first time. The developer page has an Add to Cursor link and the other config variants.

Grok Bot

The Ryze AI help center says Ryze AI is a built-in app in Grok Bot’s Connect apps: search Ryze AI, Add, sign in. If it is not listed, add it as a custom MCP server with the same URL. On grok.com, xAI documents adding a custom connector by URL; Ryze AI was not tested there.

Creating and managing the key

Key rules from Ahrefs’ API key documentation, checked Nov 8, 2026; Ryze AI steps from the Ryze AI help center. Ahrefs allows up to 1,000 keys per workspace.

Removing access

In Ahrefs, delete the key under Account settings, API keys, which stops every call at once. In Ryze AI, open View on the Ahrefs card and use the trash icon. In Claude, open Customize, Connectors, Ryze AI and click Disconnect, which cuts off every workspace at once.

Six things called Ahrefs MCP

Ahrefs describes its hosted server as available on paid plans from Lite, synced across devices, and says using the MCP endpoint from custom scripts or standalone HTTP clients is unsupported; scripts should use the public API. Sources: docs.ahrefs.com MCP introduction, tool categories, Claude and ChatGPT setup pages, checked Nov 8, 2026. Community servers were not reviewed for this page.

Ryze AI and Ahrefs’ hosted server side by side

As published on Nov 8, 2026. Ahrefs changes its tool groups, so check its documentation before you decide.

Which to pick: if the work stays inside Ahrefs and needs Site Audit, Rank Tracker, Brand Radar or SERP data, Ahrefs’ own server covers far more and is the better fit. Ryze AI fits when the question crosses tools, such as broken backlinks checked against Search Console impressions, or organic keywords set next to GA4 sessions, and when you want Ahrefs, Search Console and ad platforms behind one connector URL with a read-only Ahrefs tool.

From Ahrefs’ API introduction, limits consumption, free test queries and API key pages, checked Nov 8, 2026. Ryze AI does not publish which Ahrefs plan tier includes the API, and the unit allowance per plan is on the Ahrefs pricing page. Track usage in Ahrefs under Account settings, Limits and usage.

The first eight rows are Ryze AI connections, with causes taken from the Ryze AI help center and Ahrefs’ API documentation. The last two are Ahrefs’ own server, from its tool categories page. More Ryze AI answers are in the integrations FAQ.